Gridiron Player Club NCAAF 1-2 Units (10/12/24)

NCAAF

6 Picks.

12:00PM EST: Washington +3 (2 Units), Washington/Iowa Under 42 (2 Units).

Iowa starting QB Cade McNamara has thrown for 686 total yards in 5 games. The Hawkeyes run the football and they're damn good at it averaging 5.7 YPC this season. Washington's shown they can handle Big 10 rushing offenses in back-to-back games against Michigan and at Rutgers. They surrendered a few long runs in those games but shut both of those offenses down for the majority of the game. Michigan threw for 113 and Rutgers 115. Washington's ranked 11th allowing 15.2 PPG to FBS opponents.

Iowa's defense will likely cause some issues for the Washington offense. The Huskies have struggled to finish drives and score touchdowns and that's been on full display in their 2 games played away from Home. Iowa's a tough venue to go into and they consistently produce one of College's top defenses year in and year out. They finished last season 4th overall and let up just 11.3 PPG at Home. They've let up 21 points or less in 4 of 5 games this season. They just went on the road and lost 7-35 to Ohio State. The defense played well and kept them in the game going into the half down 7-0. Eventually the offense’s inability to do anything caught up to them.

4:00PM EST: Texas/Oklahoma Under 49.5 (4 Units).

These are the 2nd and 12th ranked scoring defenses so far this season. Texas has only allowed 35 total points through 5 games but one could argue the Sooners defense has been even more impressive. With that they've gotten from their offense this year it's a near miracle they're 4-1.

Oklahoma had switched to Michael Hawkins Jr at QB, and it's paid off thus far. With OU's lead RB averaging a measly 3.5 YPC, Hawkins ability to run the ball has paid dividends. It's just going to be enough in this game. The issue with Oklahoma's offense is its offensive line. They don't hold up in Pass Pro and they don't run block. Hawkins was able to improvise enough with his legs against Auburn, but this Longhorns defense is littered with NFL speed and talent. OU's offense got embarrassed at Home by Tennessee's defense and this is that same caliber of play. This is also a massive spot for a True Freshman in just his 2nd career start without his leading WR.

The Texas offense has been humming along this season, be it Quinn Ewers or Archie Manning at QB. Ewers does return from injury and will start for this game. The veteran option on the road in a massive rivalry game is certainly the play but there may be a little rust considering he hasn't played in a Month. Either way the Oklahoma defense is very good. They pretty much dominated Tennessee’s offense the last time they were at Home. This will be Texas's 2nd road game of the season. They went into Michigan and won 32-12 with 10 points coming off takeaways in Michigan territory. This will be as tough a road game as there is in college football.

4:00PM EST: BYU/Arizona Under 48.5 (3 Units).

BYU's defense has allowed 15 points or less in 4 of 5 games this season. They've played 1 home game against an FBS opponent and dominated Kansas State 38-9. They also went on the road and held an SMU offense that's averaging 37.2 PPG to 15. They're 5th in opponent completion % and allow just 3.5 YPC. Arizona's offense relies heavily on QB Noah Fifita but he's struggling a bit early on. Arizona lost their coaching staff to Washington, but Fifita chose to stay. His completion % is at 61.5 compared to 72.4 last year and he's thrown just 7 touchdowns to 6 interceptions. Arizona's really struggling in the redzone, scoring a TD on just 1 of 4 trips in their 22-28 Home loss to Texas Tech last time out. That’s been the theme all season and it's hard to see them put it together on the road here. Arizona also ranks 90th in plays per second.

The BYU offense is scoring points, but they haven't had to do too much. Special teams and defensive takeaways are responsible for a lot of BYU points and at a rate that just isn't sustainable. They're 90th in the country averaging 350.5 yards per game and 129th in Third Down conversion percentage. The Arizona defense has played well enough against good offensive teams. Games against Texas Tech, Utah, and Kansas State all went under the total. BYU also operates slow, ranking 119th in plays per second.

7:00PM: Washington State/Fresno State Over 61 (2 Units).

WSU has scored 24 or more in every game this season. They're 19th in total yards per game and 22nd in points per game. Their defense gave up 45 in their last game and 52 the week before that. Fresno State just gave up 59 points to UNLV last week and really struggled with the Rebels dual threat QB. Washington State's John Mateer is arguably the best dual threat in the country. He leads his team in rushing and ranks 4th in total rushing yards among Quarterbacks. That's with 112 yards lost through sacks. He trails 2 Academy QB's and a QB in the Sun Belt. Wazzu also plays fast, ranking 17th in plays per second. Fresno State averages just 3.3 YPC as a team. They've thrown for 1,405 yards but run for just 568. The ball will be in each QB’s hands for much of this game. It’ll help extend it and lead to chunk plays.

9:00PM EST: UCLA +4 (3 Units).

UCLA is better than their 1-4 record indicates. Going back, they've lost 11-27 @ Penn State, 13-34 vs Oregon, and 17-34 @ LSU but that game was tied at 17 at Halftime. They've competed and showed up against some very good football teams. UCLA has a first-year head coach but he's a former player both in College and the NFL and he's been coaching at UCLA since 2013. This team is going to show up ready to play. This is a great spot for them to get back into the win column. It's a cross-country road trip for Minnesota and a late start time for them. The Bruins will get a better fan turnout with this game being played at night. It's Minnesota's 2nd road game of the season. The UCLA defense played really well against some very good offenses. Minnesota's played 4 games against Power 4 teams and has failed to score more than 24 points in a single game. Should be a tightly contested ballgame.