College football has been wonderfully wacky this season. And that wackiness allows me to provide high-profile prop bets featuring players from Army, Colorado and Indiana.
Two years ago, that would have elicited a yawn. In the year of our Lord 2024, these three players and programs are must-watch TV.
Here’s how to turn those television ratings into profits. Let's take a look at my college football player props, including Week 13 picks for Travis Hunter, Kurtis Rourke and Bryson Daily.
College Football Player Props
In the table below, you'll find Mike Calabrese's top player prop picks from Saturday's slate of games. Click on any pick or team logo to navigate to a specific bet discussed in this article.
| Time (ET) | Player Prop |
|---|---|
| 12 p.m. | |
| 3:30 p.m. | |
| 7 p.m. | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our NCAAF Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | |
Indiana vs. Ohio State Player Prop
Kurtis Rourke Under 225.5 Pass Yards
College football doesn’t do Cinderella stories. Sure, we’ve seen Boise State shock Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl or TCU make a wild run to the national title game.
But those examples are so few and far between that they’re the exception and not the rule. What usually happens is that teams that feast on weak competition get a rude awakening when they face off against the big boys.
Ohio State has been the bully on the block in the Big Ten for decades, and its pass defense will win them this showdown with Indiana.
The Buckeyes’ defense is in the top 10 in Coverage, Pass Success Rate, and explosives allowed. They held Penn State’s Drew Allar to 146 yards through the air on the road and had the pass rushers get to Rourke without sending more than five defenders.
And critically, when you get into the weeds, Indiana’s bread and butter is what Ohio State defends the best. Indiana rolls out 3-0-1-1 personnel more often than any other combination. Ohio State defends that exact personnel group at the sixth-best level in FBS football.
Rourke has been held below this total three times this season. Michigan limited him to 206 through the air, and Nebraska did them one better, clamping IU’s passing attack altogether (189).
I have faith that the Silver Bullets will replicate that success. I would play this down to 219.5.
Pick: Kurtis Rourke Under 225.5 Pass Yards (-114)
Colorado vs. Kansas Player Prop
Travis Hunter Over 95.5 Receiving Yards & 1+ TD (+125)
Most coaches want to see their star players recognized, even if they don’t come out and say it.
Deion Sanders, on the other hand, may be one of his generation's most vocal “pro-player” coaches.
He wants to see Hunter win the Heisman Trophy and come off the board at the very top of the NFL Draft. What that has translated to has been more opportunities for Hunter to shine.
In Hunter’s past three games, he’s been targeted 33 times. And they tossed it to him on a reverse in the red zone last week. He took the pitch, put his foot on the ground, reversed field, split a handful of defenders, and leaped into the end zone for a rushing score.
They will move heaven and earth so that he can get into the end zone against Kansas.
But can he get the yardage component of this parlay? Absolutely.
Kansas is below average in nearly every passing metric on the defensive side of the ball. The Jayhawks rank 81st in pass defense, 88th in coverage, and 116th in big plays surrendered. The Jayhawks give up 1.7 plays of 30-plus yards from scrimmage per game (100th).
Hunter remains a big play threat, having secured a pass of 28+ yards in six games this season. He can pick up a third of this total in a single reception against this leaky KU pass defense.
Finally, KU is playing good offensive football right now, which lends itself to a shootout. The worst thing for this prop would be a blowout and an early exit for Hunter. That’s not going to happen. Kansas has orchestrated back-to-back top 25 upsets and has a path to bowl eligibility should they win out. The Jayhawks will give Colorado a four-quarter battle.
Pick: Travis Hunter Over 95.5 Receiving Yards & 1+ TD (+125)
Army vs. Notre Dame Player Prop
Bryson Daily 2+ TDs (+380)
When considering the triple option, you often conjure the image of crafty, quick-twitch athletes who struggle to throw the football. These football magicians are experts in sleight of hand. For the older members of our audience, SMU’s Lance McIlhenny is a great example. Then you get your elite athletes like Nebraska’s Tommie Frazier and Navy’s Keenan Reynolds.
But rarely do you see an option quarterback built like a fullback.
At six feet, 220 pounds, Bryson Daily is a battering ram. If Mike Alstott could sling it, he’d be Daily.
On quarterback isos, powers, counters and blasts, Daily is a load to take down. He’s forced 31 missed tackles this season and keep in mind those aren’t coming in the open field, he’s shedding tacklers in a phone booth. This has made him an incredible goal-line threat and explains how he’s amassed 21 rushing touchdowns in just eight games.
Daily has scored two or more rushing touchdowns in seven of his eight games this season.
Plus, Notre Dame may be without their best defensive tackle, Howard Cross, in this game. Even if Cross guts it out with an ankle injury, Notre Dame is far less fierce in the trenches without Cross at full strength.
The Irish have given up at least one rushing touchdown to Stanford, Navy, and Virginia in the last six weeks. So the talking point that they’ll simply “key” on Daily is overplayed. You can’t “key” on any one player when facing the triple option; the entire offense is designed to punish teams for doing just that.
I would play a multi-touchdown game for Daily down to +350.
Pick: Bryson Daily 2+ TDs (+380)
