Ahead of college football’s Week 9 slate, here’s a look ahead at what bets The Action Network’s CFB experts Mike Calabrese and Mike Ianniello like for this week — and how they did last week.
Each week on the Big Bets on Campus podcast, Calabrese and Ianniello take over for the Wednesday “Group of 5 Deep Dive”. No one covers the G5 better as the duo goes through best bets, heroes of the week, moneyline underdog parlays and the G5 Hi-Five Round Robin.
Here’s what they have this week.
Week 8 Group of 5 Recap — How Did They Do?
The best bets of the week went 1-1, with Florida State cruising as 35.5-point favorites in a 59-3 win. It looked like Central Michigan would make it a clean sweep, but the Chippewas blew a 35-18 third-quarter lead to Northern Illinois. The Huskies won outright 39-38 when Central Michigan fumbled the snap on a potential game-winning field goal attempt.
However, the underdog moneyline parlay hit big for a +445 payout when San Diego State (+160) beat Air Force and Toledo (+110) beat Western Michigan.
The G5 Hi-Five Round Robin struggled, going 1-4 with Eastern Michigan as the lone cover. Fresno State was backdoored by Nevada and Coastal Carolina lost on a last-second field goal to Appalachian State as two swing games went the wrong way.
Week 9 Best Bets
Ianniello's best bet is on South Alabama -8.5 at home against Arkansas State. "Arkansas State's defense may be the worst unit in the country. They are horrific.
Arkansas State is giving up 578 yards per game. "You snap the ball and it's second-and-2," he said.
Ianniello recommends the Jaguars up to -10.
Calabrese is going with a total, taking the over 62 between SMU and Houston. Since Sonny Dykes took over SMU in 2018, Houston and the Mustangs are the top two teams to the over in the AAC. Calabrese believes this number is off due to a public correction on the Houston defense.
Week 9 Underdog Moneyline Parlay
Can the duo hit for the second week in a row?
The first play is Navy +335 over Tulsa. Navy is top-15 in rushing, losing to Cincinnati and SMU by just 7 points each.
In addition, Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo is 5-1 against Tulsa's head coach Philip Montgomery.
The other play is on Hawaii +180 at Utah State, a team that struggles defending the big play.
A $100 dollar bet would profit $1,118.
Week 9 G5 Hi-Five Round Robin
- SMU +1 vs. Houston
- UTEP +11 at Florida Atlantic
- Cincinnati Team Total over 43 vs. Tulane
- Virginia at BYU over 64
- Central Florida at Temple under 52
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