Beating Vegas: Gettin' Green With the Irish

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Between the NFL and college football picks, we broke dead even last week. Wisconsin was really the biggest let down in not covering the spread last week and seeing them pretty much sleep-walk through games is going to be something to watch for as the season progresses. This week we’re trying to pack an extra punch so let’s go!

Notre Dame -14 at North Carolina

Whenever Notre Dame is a double-digit favorite it seems they kind of lag and never cover. This year has been pretty different just for the fact that they are NOT playing to the level of their competition. The Fighting Irish, are actually playing like a contender this season. N.D. is currently 4-1 with their only loss being to Georgia by one point (and if you’ve seen Georgia lately, you know that losing to them by a single point is nothing to scoff at). The Irish are tenth in the nation when it comes to rushing yards per game (301.4) and is third in the nation in yards per carry (7.1). Leading the charge behind this offensive line is running back Josh Adams who is averaging a ridiculous 9 yards a carry at the moment. Irish quarterback Brandon Winbush isn’t trusted much to throw the ball, but his running ability is what keeps teams on notice as he is averaging 6.8 yards a carry. This Notre Dame defense is allowing 18 points a game and is facing a Larry Fedora coached Tar Heels team that needs to act as if this is the first game of the season. The Tar Heels are 1-4 on the season and have an offense that is sputtering out brown oil from the sides of its engine. If that’s not bad enough their defense is allowing 33 points per game, allowing 11 touchdown passes (tied for most in the ACC) and allowing 5 yards a rush. Last week against Georgia Tech, another team whose offense is predicated off the rushing attack, they allowed two backs to go over 100 rushing yards and gave up a net of 403 yards on the ground. Using the Beating Vegas “Smash Average” – Notre Dame should easily average about 5.95 yards a carry. The Tar Heels’ last four losses are snowballing into bigger point differentials (5, 8, 10 then 26) and Fedora may have to chalk this season up as a try out for the younger guys on the depth chart.

The Pick: Notre Dame -14

New Mexico State +10.5 at Appalachian State

The last time Beating Vegas went against Appalachian State, they beat Texas State but couldn’t cover the big number. Now the Mountaineers have caught our eye again at Beating Vegas. . . Quarterback Taylor Lamb has continued to be efficient throwing 8 touchdowns with no interceptions so far this year but if you take away their game against poor ole Savannah State, the offense hasn’t really had a chance to take off. They’ve played two “big boy” defenses in Georgia and Wake Forest, but even then when they played against Texas State (ahem, ahem) the offense could only muster up 20 points. New Mexico State, has been airing it out all season long with senior quarterback Tyler Rogers. Rogers looks like a totally different quarterback than he was last year – raising his completion percentage from 55% to 65% and has gone from a TD: Interception ratio of 4:3 to 3:1. What’s been helping Rogers a lot is a healthy Larry Rose III who is averaging 5.6 yards a carry and is currently three yards short of 400 on the year. Also, Appalachian State does not have a corner to stick with the 6’6″ wide-out Jaleel Scott, which will end up being a problem. New Mexico State has the firepower to score, it’s all about how much they are willing to gamble.

The Pick: New Mexico State +10.5

Ole Miss +21.5 at Auburn

I remember a time when Ole Miss was probably one of my favorite teams to watch. From Bo Wallace to Chad Kelly. Robert Nkemdiche to LaQuan Treadwell – they were exciting, energetic and aggressive. Nowadays, if you have a defense, they can’t score… .and if you punch them in the face, they won’t stop you. The Runnin’ Rebels are 2-2 on the season, beating up on the likes of South Alabama and Tenn-Martin to then getting the muzzle put on them by Cal and getting completely stomped and obliterated by Alabama. Ole Miss is giving up 35 points per game and 5.3 yards a rush. Sure they can air it out – but most of those numbers are a mirage thanks to those two early season cupcake opponents. Auburn is the real deal. You can’t run on their defense, and you can’t pass against this defense. They are 4-1 on the year losing 14-6 to a Clemson team that is still apparently as dangerous as they were last year, but in the last two weeks they have completely wiped the floor with Missouri and Mississippi State (who up to last week people were saying could be a surprise team to come out of the SEC – yeah, okay). Ole Miss is a team the shoots themselves in the foot with penalties and will lose focus quickly. The atmosphere and competition are too much for this Ole Miss team to overcome.

The Pick: Auburn -21.5

Four-Game Teaser of the Week: Notre Dame -2; Marshall -3; Kentucky +2 and Wisconsin +.5

Good Luck and Wager Wisely!

G.W. Gras

Twitter @GeeSteelio