By Rant On Contributor, Nick Newton
10/1/2021
Nick is back with more picks! Take a look at what he's thinking for the upcoming weekend!
“New England secondary is a no fly zone but the rushing defense hasn’t been all that good. With Mac Jones looking like a mini Tom Brady I can see them keeping this game close”
The Opening Line - Week 5
Welcome back to article # 2 of The Opening Line on the Rant On podcast! Last week we went 5-2 in college football. We kinda took a hard hit in the NFL by going 1-4, but just like Jalen Hurts said, “ You take a deuce… you flush it and move on”. So let’s get started on this week's games.
1) Ole Miss vs Alabama (-14.5) O/U 79.5
This is a game that if you’re an Alabama fan, you have circled for a whole year. When you first look at this game, if you’re basing it of last year, you’re probably taking the dog in Ole Miss. It opened at 17.5 and it jumped down to 14.5 in a day and just hasn’t moved since then. Because it hasn’t moved, I’m starting to like Bama more and more as the days goes by. I think Ole Miss’ offense is better than last year but are they as physical as Bama’s defense? That’s the question. This is supposed to be Bama’s best defense since that 2018 team when they lost to Clemson in that final second. Ole Miss also hasn’t seen an offense like Alabama all year and the rebels defense just hasn’t changed. By seeing that the line just hasn’t moved this game has back door written all over it.
Pick: Under 79.5 no lower than 78.5. If you can get 80 HAMMER IT.
2) Cincinnati (-1.5) vs Notre Dame O/U 50.5
Neither offensive line is playing well. Notre Dame has been struggling to run the ball. We are talking about an American athletic conference team going into Notre Dame and being a favorite? Absolutely not. Notre Dame is going to win this ball game. Notre Dame surprisingly has been the hottest team in football.
Pick: Notre Dame +1.5
3) Oregon (-7.5) vs Stanford
Oregon's has been a force on the ground and that force is exactly the weakness Stanford has. With the backfield of C.J. Verdell and Travis Dye, they have already combined for 17 explosive plays. Now on defense...with Oregon arguably having the best edge rusher in the nation in Kayvon Thibodeaux, I just don’t see how Stanford moves the ball to keep up with Oregon. Lock this one up to be my favorite of the day.
Pick: Oregon -7.5
4) Seahawks vs 49ers (-3.5)
The 49ers should be playing Trey Lance. He offers way more to the 49ers offense than Jimmy G and with that being said, until they make the change, Seattle has the better QB in Russel Wilson. This game in the past has always been close and if the 49ers win, it’ll be in the 3.5 point margin. With the 49ers secondary banged up like it is, DK and Tyler Lockett are both going to thrive all game. The potential problem I see in this game is that Seattle can not stop a slant to save their life. But with it being a divisional matchup, I like this game close.
Pick: Seahawks +3.5
5) Bucs (-7) vs Patriots
This is the game that I think if you’re a football fan, and you’ve watched how the patriots have ripped out people’s souls every year in the past 20 years, you know how this story might go. That being said, you’re probably going to watch this game.
Tom Brady finally returns to Foxboro against his old team. We all know that both; Brady and Belichick have waited all year for this one. And if that wasn’t enough to get you interested, Brady will break the NFL career passing yardage in this game too.. They’ve popped the popcorn, they’ve paid the refs, they’ve got the fireworks set up; this game has the foundation to be an instant classic.
New England secondary is a no fly zone but the rushing defense hasn’t been all that good. With Mac Jones looking like a mini Tom Brady I can see them keeping this game close. Also Bill Belichick is 27-13-1 ATS covering 67.5% of the time and when was the last time the Patriots got 5% of the bets??
Pick: Pats +7
Additional Games to Take a Look at:
Picks: NCAA
Ole miss +14.5
Fresno State -10.5
Ohio state -14.5
Michigan +2.5
Picks: NFL
Denver -1
Washington Football team -1.5
Cowgirls -4.5
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