College football handicapper Brian Edwards contributes a weekly piece for The Linemakers on Sporting News, highlighting key trends and injuries for the games ahead and offering a few picks to boot.
Quick Hitters
-- Alabama is a 48-point home favorite Saturday vs. Southern Miss. When the Crimson Tide have been favored by 38 points or more going back to Week 3 of 2011, they have limped to a 1-7 spread record.
-- A number of reports out of Stillwater on Sunday indicated Oklahoma State QB J.W. Walsh had a broken foot and would be out 6-8 weeks. Those reports were shot down Monday, however, and Walsh's injury isn't as bad as initially anticipated. The plan was for him to remain in a walking boot until Tuesday, but coach Mike Gundy had yet to budge on a status update as this story was filed early Wednesday. The Cowboys play host to a feisty Texas-San Antonio squad Saturday, but a line has yet to be released. If Walsh can't play, the starting nod will go to Daxx Garman, who completed 16-of-26 throws for 244 yards and two touchdowns without an interception in last week's 40-23 win over Missouri State.
-- Minnesota QB Mitch Leidner reportedly suffered an MCL strain in last week's 35-24 win over Middle Tennessee. Although most injury reports were showing him as 'doubtful' as of Wednesday, reports out of Minnesota indicate that Leidner and his teammates are expecting him to play Saturday at TCU. The Horned Frogs, who are 14-point home 'chalk,' are 4-9-1 against the spread in their last 14 games as home favorites. The Gophers went 3-1 ATS as road underdogs in 2013.
-- Vanderbilt RB Jerron Seymour, who rushed for a team-high 716 yards and 14 TDs last season, has yet to play this year due to a knee injury. He remains 'questionable' for Saturday's home game vs. UMass.
-- Toledo QB Phillip Ely is out for the season due to a torn ACL sustained on a running play in the third quarter of Saturday's 49-24 home loss to Missouri. Ely, a transfer from Alabama, won the Rockets' starting job in August and had a stellar performance in a 54-20 season-opening home win over New Hampshire. He completed 24-of-34 throws for 337 yards against the Wildcats, with four TDs and zero interceptions.
-- UConn redshirt sophomore QB Casey Cochran has decided to retire from football due to multiple concussions. Cochran started the last four games of 2013 for the Huskies, posting an 11/4 touchdown-to-interception ratio while leading them to three straight wins to close the season. He was the starter going into UConn's season-opening loss to BYU, throwing for 171 yards before sustaining a concussion. Chandler Whitmer will start in Saturday's home game vs. Boise State, with the Huskies listed as 16-point home underdogs. Although the Huskies failed to cover in the 35-10 loss to BYU, they still own an incredible 19-5 spread record as home dogs going back to 2005.
-- Florida has won 27 consecutive games over Kentucky, the second-longest active team vs. team streak behind only Penn State's 30-game winning streak over Temple. The Gators will take on UK as 18-point home favorites Saturday, but they'll be without two starters. Senior tight end Jake McGee, a transfer from Virginia who led the Cavaliers in catches (43) and receiving yards (395) last year, is out for the season with a broken tibia. OT D.J. Humphries is out for at least 2-3 weeks with a bone chip in his ankle.
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Picks
South Carolina (+6) over Georgia. Just a few weeks ago, Steve Spurrier's team was favored by 1.5 over UGA at the LVH SuperBook. This is South Carolina's first game as a home underdog since spanking top-ranked Alabama 35-21 in 2010. As home underdogs since 2009, the Gamecocks are 4-0 against the spread with three outright wins. They have won 35 of their last 39 home games. South Carolina star RB Mike Davis is 100-percent healthy, which he wasn't when his team got drilled by Texas A&M in Week 1. We've got the head-coaching advantage, the home-field factor and we're catching points.
North Texas (-3.5) vs. La. Tech. This is a terrible situation for La. Tech, which is playing a third consecutive road game. Making matters worse, it is a road team on a short week of preparation. The Mean Green have been dynamite as a home favorite during Dan McCarney's tenure, producing an 8-2 spread record.
Brian Edwards is a college football handicapper who contributes a weekly column 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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