College Football Betting: Championship Weekend
**The following article contains information that is not representative of the opinions of CommRadio. It solely expresses the opinions of Jasper Abrahams**
It’s championship week in college football. Teams are matched up and prepared to battle for a conference title this weekend. With games all through the weekend, here are some gambling picks to keep an eye on.
AAC Championship: No. 22 UCF (+4) vs No. 18 Tulane
All eyes are on No. 18 Tulane as they aim to bring home their first AAC championship. The Green Wave host No. 22 UCF on Saturday Dec. 3.
These two premier teams faced on Nov. 12 as UCF picked up a 38-31 win. An unwritten rule in all of sports is that beating a team twice very rarely happens, and this favors the Green Wave on their home turf.
Both programs are very strong ATS as UCF is 7-5, while Tulane is 10-2. With such a strong record, the public is favoring Tulane ATS and is loving their moneyline. 72% of the bets are on Tulane to cover -4, and 89% is on their moneyline (-185).
It seems too good to be true for the Green Wave with the public taking them to hoist the trophy at home. Riding with the public on these types of spreads don’t often work out well. Look for UCF to cover +4 and sprinkle the moneyline in New Orleans.
Big Ten Championship: No. 2 Michigan (-16.5) vs Purdue
It's David vs. Goliath for the Big Ten Championship in Indianapolis, IN. No. 2 Michigan has all the confidence – and momentum – after pummeling No. 5 Ohio State in “The Game”.
The Wolverines are on their way to making back-to-back College Football Playoffs as long as they take care of business against Purdue.
Purdue has a golden opportunity to shake up the Big Ten and even the CFP rankings. Under coach Jeff Brohm, the Boilermakers are 3-1 against top-five teams. But against such a high-powered offense in Michigan, the odds are heavily stacked against them with a +580 moneyline.
Michigan should be able to comfortably run past Purdue with JJ McCarthy and co. The play should be Michigan -17. This will be a warm-up for a potential matchup with No. 3 USC in the CFP
SWAC Championship Game: Jackson State (-17.5) vs Southern U
In Deion Sanders’ potential last game at Jackson State, the Tigers are squaring up against Southern University in the SWAC Championship Game. Sanders aims to bring back-to-back titles to Jackson, AL.
Jackson State is 11-0 this season, and have covered six of their last 10. At home, the Tigers are 4-2 ATS and Sanders will have the team ready in front of a hostile home crowd.
Earlier in the season, the Tigers ran past Southern as they won 35-0 as an 18-point favorite. Jackson State should be able to cover a 17.5 point spread on Dec. 3 with Shedour Sanders leading the way.
Pac 12 Championship: No. 4 USC (-145 ML) vs No. 11 Utah
Heisman favorite quarterback Caleb Williams has put the nation on notice in Southern California as he’s led USC to the Pac 12 championship.
With a conference win against No. 11 Utah, Williams will secure USC a spot in the College Football Playoffs, most likely as a No. 3 seed. The conference rivals matched up on Oct. 15 as Utah picked up a thrilling 43-42 win. This is the only loss on the Trojans’ schedule.
If anything, this loss brings a positive outlook to the USC locker room as beating a team twice in one season is very rare.
At home, USC is 5-2 ATS while Utah is 2-4 on the road. USC has covered their last three games and is red-hot right now. Though it may be a close game in the end, expect USC to come out on top in the Pac 12 championship game.
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Jasper Abrahams is a first-year student studying communications. To contact him, please email jpa5778@psu.edu
