NCAAF Pick: Texas Longhorns More Wins Than Toledo Rockets -120 at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
Playing win totals on college football futures has been a staple with bettors for years, but a new twist of playing one school’s win total against another school is becoming more popular. With the college gridiron season here, our handicapper examines three of those matchups.
Key Facts
- Texas (Big 12) and Toledo (MAC) are both favored to win their respective conferences.
- Deion Sanders is in Year 1 of a major rebuild of the Colorado program.
- Duke & Kansas are each looking to build off the 2022 seasons when they made big improvements.
There aren’t any MAC teams on the schedule for Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns, but they are paired up with the Toledo Rockets in one of the win totals matchups at BetOnline, and it’s an interesting combination of conference favorites.
Gimme a ‘T’ for Texas, and Another for Toledo
Where the Big 12 ranks among conferences after this year remains to be seen, but it figures to lose some status on the football scene once Texas and Oklahoma bolt for the SEC in 2024. Those two are picked to finish 1-2 this season, and the Longhorns are listed with a 9½-win total.
Meanwhile, up in the MAC, Jason Candle and the Toledo Rockets are the top NCAAF picks to defend their title and are listed with a 9-win total at most outlets. Texas and Toledo are each priced at -120 for the season win total against each other.
The Longhorns have come up short of preseason expectations the last few seasons, but there’s a different feel around the team entering the 2023 campaign. There is talent galore on both sides of the football, with Quinn Ewers and the offense ridiculously stacked. A trip to Alabama in Week 2, plus the annual Red River Whatever-They’re-Calling-It-This-Year are the toughest matchups.
Nobody has repeated in the MAC since Northern Illinois in 2011-12, so the Rockets are up against it to buck that trend in 2023. Toledo has 15 starters back from last year’s squad and faces a test on the road at Illinois in Week 1. The good news is the Rockets are home against their toughest challengers in the MAC West, Eastern Michigan, and Northern Illinois.
There are more potential missteps on Toledo’s slate than the Longhorns have on theirs, and a 10-win campaign in Austin seems assured for Texas.
NCAAF Pick: Texas Longhorns More Wins Than Toledo Rockets -120 at BetOnline
Prime Time Comes to Boulder
Other than black & gold color schemes, there isn’t much the Vanderbilt Commodores and Colorado Buffaloes have in common. Going into this season, one more thing the ‘Dores and Buffs share is they’re both being listed by top U.S. betting sites at around 3½ on win totals boards.
Matched up against each other, Vanderbilt is -180 to beat Colorado +140 in the win column, and there are many who feel that chalk is justified. After all, the Commodores are coming off a 5-win season with a talented quarterback returning, and the Buffaloes just saw a 1-11 team blown up by their new head coach.
But, here’s the deal: Vanderbilt’s best shot at an SEC win might be at Florida on the first Saturday of October, and even with the huge roster upheaval he’s faced with in Boulder, Deion Sanders will guide the Buffaloes to at least two home wins in Pac-12 play.
True, +140 on the Buffaloes to win more than the Commodores isn’t a great price, with my calculations making it about that price for Colorado to match Vanderbilt on the 4-win line. However, I’ll bite and buy into a little of the Deion excitement. At least football is exciting again at CU.
NCAAF Pick: Colorado Buffaloes More Wins Than Vanderbilt Commodores +140 at BetOnline
We’re More Familiar With Their Basketball Teams
Fans and bettors are always going to first think basketball first when hearing Duke and Kansas. Always. Nevertheless, they do play football in Durham and Lawrence in addition to the hardwood action, though it’s going to be tougher sledding for either the Blue Devils or Jayhawks to go bowling in December compared to dancing next March.
- Duke is on the 6-6½ win line at most sportsbooks, while Kansas is in the 5½-6 range.
- The Blue Devils are a -130 play to record more wins than the Jayhawks (-110) on the gridiron this year.
Some preseason rankings suggest Duke to be a dark horse pick in the ACC. The Blue Devils have an experienced roster back from a team that made a huge improvement to 9 wins a year ago. We’ll get to see where they stand in Week 1 when Clemson comes to Durham.
Kansas also made a big jump from 2 wins in 2021 to 6 this past season, and also return a big chunk of players from the top of the depth chart. One of those wins came at Duke’s expense, and the Jayhawks added a win on the basketball court over the Blue Devils about 6 weeks later.
Look for Duke to exact a little revenge this time around, and come up with at least one more win than Kansas on the football field at the NCAAF odds.
NCAAF Pick: Duke Blue Devils More Wins Than Kansas Jayhawks -130 at BetOnline
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
Calculators
