Preseason College Football Picks- Additional Picks

My conference-by-conference preseason picks series wrapped up last week with the SEC. However, I have a few additional picks I've made recently to add to the mix.

Iowa State @ Iowa (Week 2)

I'm bullish on Iowa State this year, as you saw in the Big 12 preview. I'm also a bit down on Iowa this year- the Hawkeyes don't have the same level of talent on the lines as they normally do. It may sound silly, but they've also been the best special teams team in the country, and lose long time STC LeVar Woods- and don't have a Cooper DeJean or Kaden Wetjen to dominate the return game. I like the Cyclones' chances to pull the upset for the Cyhawk trophy this year.

Iowa State ML +440 (1 unit)

Iowa State +12.5 +100 (1 unit)

Arizona State @ Texas A&M (Week 2)

I really like Texas A&M this year- they bring back a lot more than most of last year's playoff teams. Arizona State is also in a transitional state after Sam Leavitt left for LSU- and I don't love what the Sun Devils have at QB this year with Kentucky transfer Cutter Boley at the helm. We saw last year what happened when Arizona State had to play an SEC team (they lost to a mid Mississippi State team) and they just don't have the talent to hang with A&M.

Texas A&M -14.5 -110 (1 unit)

Miami @ Notre Dame (Week 10)

I like Notre Dame a lot this year. The Irish were one of the three or four best teams in the country last year and would've made noise in the playoff. They're near the top of the nation in returning production, with CJ Carr et. al. back. I think people are overrating Miami a bit based on how they finished the season- they were good, but they did lose to SMU and Louisville. I think this line should be around -10.5 or so.

Notre Dame -6.5 -110 (1 unit)

Florida Atlantic to make the Playoff +15000 (0.5 units)

Miami (OH) to make the Playoff +18000 (0.5 units)

Tulsa to make the Playoff +30000 (0.1 units)

Longtime readers of this website will know how much I like a dart throw on a G5 team. I already got Florida Atlantic to win the American at +3500 and Tulsa to win the American at +5500 in my American preview. These lines are set very oddly relative to those. The American champion should be at least a coin flip, likely better, to make the playoff. There's no reason I should be getting 5x longer odds here than I am on them to win the league. Given that I like these teams, adding some more exposure makes sense.

Miami (OH) is a bit of a different case. No MAC team has contended for the top of the G6 since PJ Fleck and Corey Davis were at Western Michigan 10 years ago. Miami, however, is splashing the cash this year- they've allegedly spent $10MM on their roster, which would put it in the top handful of G6 schools. The Redhawks also have non-conference games against Pitt and Cincinnati, so they'll have a real playoff case if they go 12-0. I like a lottery ticket on them.