For months, fans of college football patiently wait around for the season to begin. The spring and summer months, which for many are the best time of the year, are tortuous for football supporters, as there are no games happening to wet their appetite. For them, they look forward to autumn/fall and winter, for when the action in the NCAA finally kicks off.
Thankfully for them, the excitement is now well underway, as most teams have played between 6 and 7 games each. This means that the conference standings are starting to shape up nicely, and we can finally begin to make some accurate predictions for how things will finish come the end of November and early December. Who is going to make it to the postseason? Who is going to get close, but just miss out? Which teams are miles away, and will need a miracle to turn things around? These are the questions fans constantly think about when researching college football lines on their mobile sports betting apps, as they try to work out which teams are worth betting on, and which ones are not.
Let’s take a look back at some of the recent results, and also examine which fixtures are on the horizon, to see if we can’t make a few predictions ourselves.
Wolverines looking strong
The further the season goes on, the fewer teams remain who have a perfect record. One such team are the Michigan Wolverines. They are well known around the world as the play their home fixtures at the ‘Big House’, a huge stadium in Ann Arbor that holds 107,000, more than any other stadium in North America. The Wolverines also have the most all-time wins in college football history, so it is no surprise to see them having a great season this year so far.
Some results have been easier than others. Take the game against the Northern Illinois Huskies, where Blake Corum had 13 carries for 125 yards, and scored 3 touchdowns, helping the Wolverines to a 63-10 triumph. Other times the scores have been much closer, like their recent game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The Cornhuskers were ahead going into the 4th quarter, but the Wolverines dug deep and managed to score 13 points to seal the game 32-29.
Their next game on the 23rd of October is against the Northwestern Wildcats. Given the Wildcats mixed start so far (3-3) we predict the Wolverines will still have their perfect record at the end of the game.
Crimson Tide bounce back
For the early part of the season, the Alabama Crimson Tide were the favourites for the National title. However, something happened that no one had predicted, they were beaten by the Texas A&M Aggies. The Aggies are a perfectly good side, but given how strong the Crimson Tide had looked, it was a defeat that shocked many college football fans.
The sign of a good team is to not let one negative result throw you off track, and that is exactly what happened for Alabama. Their next game was up against the Mississippi State Bulldogs, and the Crimson Tide had no trouble in brushing them aside. Quarterback Bryce Young threw 4 touchdown passes, with Biran Robinson Jnr carrying a total of 73 yards. It was a routine 49-9 victory, and things were back on track in Tuscaloosa.
We, therefore, predict that Alabama will have more than enough to get past the Tenessee Volunteers, whose mixed record of 4-3 so far suggests they will be powerless to stop the Crimson Tide.
Fighting Illini could do with a win
It’s always a shame to see a formerly great team struggling unless you are a fan of their direct rivals of course. In this case, the Illinois Fighting Illini could really do with a pick-me-up, as they have struggled this season. Remember, they are a team with 5 national titles, and one of their most recent Conference title in 2001. This year, however, has been one to forget, as Head coach Bret Bielema currently has a record of 2-5.
Two game weeks ago they did pick up a much-needed win against the Charlotte 49ers, but that good result was followed up by a very bad one last week, where they were undone by the Wisconsin Badgers 24-0. The scoreline was bad enough, but given the Badgers had only won once before that game themselves, it clearly highlights the deficiencies that the Fighting Illini currently have.
We’d love to be able to predict them to win this weekend, but it really does appear unlikely. Partly down to their poor form, but also because they are going up against the Penn State Nittany Lions, who are currently ranked in 7th in the AP Top 25. Unfortunately, a more likely prediction is that the Fighting Illini will be 2-6 once the weekend is over.
