Caleb Wilfinger
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Week 5 was another wild one in college football, as we saw more upsets and a ton of nail-biting thrillers throughout the weekend. This week’s slate promises to be no different, as there are a number of intriguing contests on the board.
But before we can get to Saturday’s loaded slate, there’s a Friday card to explore. These aren’t the most high-profile games of the weekend, but there are still good spots to find value. Let’s look at the three components of our mega parlay for Friday’s action.
Memphis football -2.5 (-110)
San Jose State football -6.5 (-110)
Rutgers football ML (+125)
Parlay odds: +720
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing.
For this parlay, we are going with two favorites against the spread and an over. Let’s break down each of these legs one by one.
Get our college football picks for all of the big Week 6 matchups
Memphis Tigers -2.5 (-110) over Houston Cougars
After an opening weekend loss to Mississippi State, Memphis has won 4 straight games by double digits. The Tigers are off to a 2-0 start in the conference, and a win against Houston would have Memphis thinking about a trip to the AAC title game. The same can’t be said for Houston, as the Cougars have underachieved mightily this season. Playing 3 overtime games within their first 5 contests has taken a toll. Each week, it seems that the Cougars are playing close games that amplify any mistake. The offense is overly reliant on Clayton Tune and Houston’s defense hasn’t been nearly as effective as a season ago. Simply put, this team is hard to back at the moment.
On the whole, Houston is still being inflated in the market based on preseason expectations. At this point, it’s probably time to have a more realistic evaluation of who the Cougars are this season. Against a tough opponent like Memphis on the road, it’s safe to say that while the Cougars are capable of keeping this one close, they likely won’t slow down this Tigers offense. Memphis is playing better football at the moment, so I’ll back the Tigers with confidence here.
Check out our full Houston vs Memphis predictions
San Jose State Spartans -6.5 (-110) over UNLV Rebels
UNLV has been a great story in the Group of 5 this season, but the Rebels are going up against their strongest opponent to date on Saturday. San Jose State has been winning games with defense, which is 21st in defensive stuff rate this season. This profiles perfectly against a UNLV ground attack that is the basis for the Rebels’ offense. But while UNLV has put up over 400 yards per game, those results came against pretty weak competition.
On the other side, San Jose State has been balanced and effective on both sides of the ball. But it’s the Spartans’ defense, which is only allowing 15.8 points per game, that holds an edge in this matchup. This unit already has 6 interceptions on the year and their front seven has been stout against the run. Overall, San Jose State is 7-3 against the number in its last 10 games. The Spartans are playing with confidence and their defense should be able to get enough stops against Doug Brumfield and the UNLV offense.
Check out our full UNLV vs San Jose State predictions
Rutgers Scarlet Knights ML (+125) over Nebraska Cornhuskers
To close out our mega parlay, we’re going with Rutgers on the money line. The Scarlet Knights have had the misfortune of playing Iowa’s defense and Ohio State’s offense over the last 2 weeks, but Nebraska offers no such challenges. Rutgers’ pass defense has been excellent, surrendering under 200 yards per game to this point. The same can’t be said for the Cornhuskers, as their defense has been their Achilles’ heel up to this point. In fact, Nebraska ranks near the bottom of the FBS in most statistical categories through the first 5 weeks.
With Rutgers’ offense struck in the mud to begin this season, the Scarlet Knights will gladly welcome in the lousy defense of Nebraska. The Cornhuskers have actually been solid offensively, but this Rutgers team has a good enough defense that it should be able to slow Nebraska down at the least. Nebraska has yet to face a true road game this season, and the Cornhuskers’ tendency for penalties and undisciplined football won’t help them away from home. Back Rutgers to pull off the outright upset.
Be sure to get our college football Week 6 best bets – we’ve gone 10-2 over the past 4 weeks!
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