The Westgate SuperBook updates its Games of the Year on a weekly basis. Two regular-season finales of particular interest are the Egg and Iron Bowls. The betting shop currently has Ole Miss as a three-point home favorite vs. Mississippi State, while Alabama is 5.5-point home 'chalk' vs. Auburn.
Other upcoming Games of the Year include Florida State -7 at Louisville on Oct. 30. This number was 17 back in August. Georgia is favored by 10.5 vs. Florida for their annual scrap in Jacksonville. On that same weekend (Nov. 2), Ole Miss is a 2.5-point home favorite to Auburn, while Oregon is favored by 7 for Stanford's visit to Eugene. On Nov. 8, 'Bama is an 8.5-point road favorite at LSU, Michigan State is a 3-point home favorite vs. Ohio State and Oklahoma is favored by 3.5 for Baylor's trip into Norman.
You can see all of the updated lines on the Westgate's Games of the Year in the document below.
More quick hitters
-- Florida will start Jeff Driskel at quarterback Saturday vs. Missouri. The fourth-year junior has an abysmal 1:5 touchdown-to-interception ratio in UF's last two games. Treon Harris will get playing time, though the extent of his role is unclear. Harris relieved an ineffective Driskel in the final minute of the third quarter at Tennessee two weeks ago. The true freshman out of Miami immediately led the Gators on a pair of scoring drives to propel them to a 10-9 win. Harris didn't play in a 30-27 loss to LSU on Saturday at The Swamp, but he was reinstated to the team Friday after being suspended Monday. The suspension stemmed from a sexual-assault complaint that was withdrawn by the accuser last Friday.
-- Clemson was dealt a crushing blow when true freshman quarterback Deshaun Watson broke a finger that will cause him to miss 4-5 weeks. Despite losing Watson in the first quarter, the Tigers beat Louisville 23-17 but failed to cover the number as 9.5-point home favorites. Cole Stoudt completed 20-of-33 passes for 162 yards, but Dabo Swinney's squad needed a touchdown apiece from the defense and special teams, in addition to a defensive stand deep in the red zone in the final minute, to hold off the Cardinals.
-- Indiana QB Nate Sudfeld is out for the season due to an injury suffered to his non-throwing shoulder in a 45-29 loss at Iowa. Sudfeld had completed 60.1 percent of his passes for 1,151 yards with a 6:3 touchdown-interception ratio. True freshman Chris Covington is the new starter. In relief of Sudfeld starting midway through the second quarter in Iowa City, Covington connected on just 3-of-12 throws for 31 yards. He rushed 11 times for 41 yards. Kevin Wilson indicated Monday that another true freshman, Zander Diamont, who the Hoosiers previously planned on redshirting, might also play in Saturday's home game against Michigan State.
-- Boise State WR Matt Miller's stellar collegiate career is over after undergoing ankle surgery Monday. He is the Broncos' all-time leader in receptions (244), second all-time in receiving yards (3,049) and third in TD grabs (29). Miller sustained the injury in the second quarter of a loss at Air Force on Sept. 27.
-- Arizona State QB Taylor Kelly appears poised to return to the field Saturday vs. Stanford. Kelly has been out since Sept. 13 when he injured his foot. His streak of making 30 consecutive starts for the Sun Devils has ended in the last two games started by Mike Bercovici, who has gone 1-1. Bercovici led ASU to a win at USC on Oct. 4, so Todd Graham can afford to bring Kelly back slowly.
-- TCU (5-0), Virginia (5-0-1) and Ole Miss are the three remaining teams who are undefeated ATS.
-- UConn (0-6 ATS) is the only winless team versus the number.
-- The UNDER is 6-0 for Northwestern, 5-0 for Stanford.
PICKS
Iowa +4.5 at Maryland -- Iowa has covered the spread in six consecutive road games, winning outright in both road assignments this year. Dating back to last season, the Hawkeyes have won eight of their last 10 games with the only setbacks coming by 10 combined points. Maryland is only 9-14 against the spread at home during Randy Edsall's tenure. I made this game a pick 'em and will gladly jump on Iowa catching more than a field goal.
Northwestern +7 vs. Nebraska -- This is a huge revenge game for the Wildcats, who lost 27-24 in Lincoln last year when the Cornhuskers scored via Hail Mary pass on the final play of the game. In Evanston two years ago, Nebraska rallied to win a 29-28 decision after trailing by double digits in the fourth quarter. Pat Fitzgerald's squad has won outright as underdogs of 7 points or more twice this season. Northwestern blasted Penn St. 29-6 as a 10.5-point road underdog and knocked off Wisconsin 20-14 as a 7.5-point home puppy. I'll go with the Wildcats, who are 11th in the nation in scoring defense (17.5 points per game), as generous home dogs.
More handicapping help: Week 8 lines | Power Ratings
Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook's Games of the Year
2014 College Football Games of the Year
Brian Edwards is a college football handicapper who contributes weekly columns to The Linemakers on Sporting News. For more valuable information and insight, follow him on Twitter @vegasbedwards and visit his website, BrianEdwardsSports.com.
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