Wise is the bettor who consults Nick’s No-Nonsense Betting Tips before logging on to his sportsbook.
I may not always be perfect, but if you’ve followed my advice in the past, you’re money ahead.
Every Friday in this space throughout the 2024 college football season, I give you my straight-up picks for games involving SuperWest teams.
For those who don’t know, that includes all the former Pac-12 teams, the Mountain West, plus BYU.
On rare occasions, when I blow a pick (or two), I evaluate my mistakes the following week, analyzing where I may have gone wrong.
Last week, I went 6-4. So, where did I go wrong with those three losses?
UCLA has shown some promise this season but hasn’t been able to close out games, so the win over Nebraska was a real surprise.
Betting against ASU was definitely a mistake, given how well the Sun Devils have played and how disappointing Oklahoma State has been. And I didn’t see Hawai’i beating Fresno State despite the Rainbow Warriors’ solid defense this season.
Washington was the biggest surprise of all. After disappointing week after week, it was hard to see them taking down USC after their win over Rutgers.
But enough of that. I’m still a solid 67-33 on the season, good for 67 percent.
I fully expect to be basking in the glory of success again this week—and you should, too.
As always, my selections come with incredibly accurate game scores and just enough commentary to keep me from eating too many leftover Halloween Tootsie Rolls here in the South Shore District of Seattle.
They’re almost gone, so let’s get on with the picks!
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Iowa at UCLA
Friday, November 8
6:00 pm PT, FOX
UCLA is a team everyone thought was dead, but they’ve won their last two games, improving their record to 3-5.
The Bruins have won two Big Ten road matchups in a row and had an impressive victory in Lincoln last Saturday.
Quarterback Ethan Garbers leads UCLA, and he’s been ballin’ out his last two games. He’s thrown for 402 yards, ran for 104, and scored a combined six touchdowns his previous two times on the field.
Everyone knows what Iowa is about. The Hawkeyes are a smashmouth team that relies heavily on their halfback, Kaleb Johnson. Johnson ran for 135 yards and three touchdowns in their last game versus Wisconsin.
Iowa is without their starting quarterback, Cade McNamara, but it didn’t matter against the Badgers—the Hawkeyes ran them out of Iowa City 42-10.
UCLA enters this contest with a lot of momentum, but it feels unlikely a team that only beat Hawaii by three will beat a team that massacred Wisconsin.
Iowa gets “Lucky Number Slevin.”
Iowa 24, UCLA 20
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San Jose State at Oregon State
Saturday, November 9
12:30 pm PT, The CW
This should be a competitive matchup between two teams with different styles.
Oregon State is on a three-game losing streak, and they’ll likely need to win this matchup if they want to make a bowl game.
The Beavers started solid this year but aren’t as good as they thought. The key for OSU in this contest is the play of signal caller Gevani McCoy or Ben Gulbranson, whichever starts on Saturday.
It feels like San Jose State has a different quarterback every week.
The Spartans feature the seventh-best passing offense in the nation, led by two quarterbacks. Walker Eget started their last game against Fresno State with disastrous results, replacing Emmett Brown, who has been solid all year.
Ken Niumatalolo has done wonders with the Spartans this year, but it feels like he’s overthinking this one. Overthinking doesn’t work in Corvallis.
Beavs look competent again.
Oregon State 38, SJSU 27
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No. 21 Colorado at Texas Tech
Saturday, November 9
1:o0 pm PT, FOX
This feels like a fun matchup.
Colorado is slightly favored because Texas Tech struggles to stop the pass, and the Buffaloes have a Top 10 throwing unit, but there’s more to consider.
The Red Raiders would probably have a better record if Tahj Brooks were healthy the whole season. Brooks was absent in their loss against Washington State. And he’s a game-changer.
Tech showed how dangerous they are with him in the lineup last week, knocking off undefeated Iowa State in Ames. It also helps that starting quarterback Behren Morton is in his second week back from injury.
CU needs to take advantage of a porous Raiders defense. TTU features one of the worst scoring defenses in the nation, and this could prove troublesome against a Buffs offense that’s becoming more proficient on the ground.
Both teams will be up for this game because a loss for either would pretty much eliminate them from the Big 12 title chase.
The Buffaloes aren’t there yet.
Tech does it for small-town America.
Texas Tech 35, Colorado 30
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Maryland at No. 1 Oregon
Saturday, November 9
4:o0 pm PT, Big Ten Network
This game is pretty straightforward. Oregon’s damn good at football.
Even though Maryland was able to beat USC, this is a different chapter.
Oregon is the No. 1 team in the country and has looked stellar in Big Ten play.
If Maryland wants to compete, they’ll need quarterback Billy Edwards to play out of his mind. Edwards has thrown for 2,314 yards, 13 touchdowns, and six interceptions.
The Terrapins will also need their offensive line to play better than usual … or else.
The Ducks just need to take Maryland seriously.
The combination of Dillon Gabriel, Jordan James, and Traeshon Holden should prove too much against a Terrapins defense that ranks 90th in points allowed per game.
Oregon’s defense also gets a boost, with Jordan Burch returning to full strength for an already potent unit.
If the NCAA still did a four-team playoff, then maybe the pressure would get to UO, but they don’t, and it won’t.
Ducks giggidy all over Maryland.
Oregon 52, Maryland 17
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UCF at Arizona State
Saturday, November 9
4:o0 pm PT, ESPN2
Arizona State is probably one of the most underrated teams in the country.
They currently boast a 6-2 record and hold an outside chance of competing for the Big 12 title. They still have BYU and Kansas State remaining to play, though.
The key to the contest against UCF should be whether the Sun Devils can generate enough offense without Cam Skattebo.
Skattebo is listed as doubtful for this week’s contest. He was vital last week, gaining a combined 284 yards and scoring three touchdowns.
Luckily for ASU, starting quarterback Sam Leavitt returned against Oklahoma State and is one of the country’s best freshman signal-callers.
For UCF, it’s all about RJ Harvey. Harvey is a quick, explosive back who can take any place in the dancing zone. He’s run for 1,201 yards, 16 touchdowns, and is averaging seven yards per carry.
Harvey is pretty much everything for the Golden Knights offense because they have instability at the quarterback position. Dylan Rizk got the start last week for UCF.
The one-dimensional nature of the Knights offense feels like a losing formula against ASU.
Sparky burns Central Florida.
ASU 38, UCF 31
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Nevada at No. 12 Boise State
Saturday, November 9
5:o0 pm PT, FOX
Boise State enters this matchup with their College Football Playoff dreams still in the balance.
The Broncos only have four games remaining on their schedule, and they won’t want to slip up in this one.
Nevada enters this contest on a three-game losing streak and in a bad place.
Quarterback Brendon Lewis and halfback Savion Red lead the Wolf Pack.
Jaden Smith is also solid at the wideout position, having caught passes for 630 yards and four touchdowns on the season.
Enough with the compliments.
The Wolf Pack offense ranks 96th in the nation in points scored per game, which is terrible. They’ll need to score points because Boise State’s offense has proven deadly recently because of the play of Maddux Madsen.
Everyone knows about Ashton Jeanty, but Madsen shreds defenses when they overload the box.
The Bronco offense is ranked third in the nation in points per game. The Boise State defense is also a lot better than the stats may indicate.
I’m blue, da ba dee da ba di Da ba dee da ba di.
Boise wins on the Blue.
Boise State 42, Nevada 14
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Washington at No. 6 Penn State
Saturday, November 9
5:o0 pm PT, Peacock
Washington is a squad that doesn’t make any sense, and it’s because of Jedd Fisch.
Will Rogers has proven to be a solid college quarterback, but he is regularly removed from the game for Demond Williams. This constant switching seems to have shaken Rogers’ confidence.
The weird part is, if the Huskies gave halfback Jonah Coleman more carries, it would probably have the same result as playing Williams. In the last two outings, the Huskies have trended in this direction, handing the ball off 42 times to Coleman.
Penn State would benefit by jumping on UW early. The Huskies have looked crappy in Big Ten road games, and this is their biggest matchup yet.
The Nittany Lions feature the eighth-best scoring defense in the nation, which could prove problematic for a Husky offense that often hurts itself.
PSU is fueled by the Drew Allar-Tyler Warren combination on offense. They’ve combined for 606 yards and four touchdowns through the air.
Penn State’s coming off a loss, and that’s too much for Washington to overcome.
The Lions merk the Dawgs.
Penn State 31, Washington 21
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UNLV at Hawai’i
Saturday, November 9
6:o0 pm PT, CBS Sports
Some analysts are questioning whether UNLV will be up for this game because of their loss to Boise State a few weeks ago.
The loss effectively eliminated the Rebels from the College Football Playoff, though the Mountain West Title game remains possible.
UNLV’s still legit, with two stars on both sides of the ball.
On offense, Hajj-Malik Williams has proven better than Matthew Sluka after he left and threw a tantrum. Williams is complemented by Ricky White III, who might be the best receiver in the MW.
Hawaii is a pretty complete team, but they lack top-end talent.
The Rainbow Warriors enter this contest on a two-game winning streak after an impressive win against Fresno State. Quarterback Brayden Schager leads Hawaii but also features an underrated defense.
Tylan Hines is also starting to do his thing at halfback. The Rainbow Warriors have continued to improve, but their lack of star power will show in this one.
UNLV’s defense combination of Jackson Woodard and Jalen Catalon will be the difference.
Rebels don’t cry over spilled milk.
UNLV 42, Hawai’i 17
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No. 9 BYU at Utah
Saturday, November 9
7:15 pm PT, ESPN
I understand that Utah is having problems with the quarterback position, but I’m shocked that they’ve lost three games in a row.
I didn’t think Kyle Whittingham knew how to do that.
The one thing that may snap the Utes out of this lull is the possibility of ruining BYU’s season. The Cougars enter this contest undefeated, with notable wins against Oklahoma State, UCF, and Kansas State.
The Cougs are a complete team, led by quarterback Jake Retzlaff, who has thrown for 1,872 yards, 18 touchdowns, and seven interceptions.
If he can find a rhythm early with Chase Roberts and Darius Lassiter, it may spell doom for the Utes.
The Cougs also feature a Top 25 scoring defense, allowing only 19.6 points per game.
For Utah, the question is simple: Will Isaac Wilson be able to perform? If Wilson doesn’t boss up, the Utes likely won’t be able to keep pace with their rival.
The U of U features a phenomenal defense, but it’s disheartening getting stops, knowing that they’ll likely lose.
It feels unholy picking against Whittingham, but I’m not from Utah.
BYU eats rice.
BYU 28, Utah 21
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Utah State at No. 20 Washington State
Saturday, November 9
7:30 pm PT, The CW
This game is a matchup between two teams coming off a bye week.
Utah State enters with a 2-6 record, the most recent result being a 27-25 win at Wyoming. Washington State enters after beating San Diego State at Snapdragon 29-26.
The key to this contest is the Cougars defense.
The Aggies have a reputable offense that’s scored 30 points or more in three out of their last four outings. USU is led by quarterback Spencer Petras, who’s thrown for 1,825 yards, 13 touchdowns, and seven interceptions.
Washington State’s defense has vastly improved since Boise State lit them up like some weed.
They’ve allowed a combined 53 points over their last three games, an average of 17.6 per contest. But they just feel better.
WSU also boasts the 13th-best scoring offense despite struggling with consistency. The Cougs have already tried to Coug it twice this season, actually three times. Two plus three is five, but they’re not gonna make it four.
WSU wins in a blowout.
Washington State 45, Utah State 14
