It feels like a blessing that college football games aren’t confined to taking place on Saturday. We have a great slate of games today to choose from for our Friday night football bets. With our college football bets in mind, we want to survey the available odds and focus on the best game to profit from.
Best Bets for Louisville Cardinals vs. Miami Hurricanes
Louisville and Miami meet in a battle of ACC teams.
Miami has taken a great leap forward this season: whereas the Hurricanes finished 10-3 last year with a loss in the Pop-Tarts Bowl, they are currently 5-0 and ranked number two.
While Louisville doesn’t share Miami’s playoff ambitions, the Cardinals are 4-1 after losing a game to Virginia in which they outgained the Cavaliers by 180 total yards. They could easily still be undefeated, making this an entertaining option for our college football betting picks.
Friday Night Odds (Miami -13.5)
While the spread has shifted only minimally, the total for this game has seen a big shift. Miami opened as a 14-point favorite and is currently a 13.5-point favorite. The total opened at 53.5 and dropped three points. Both shifts reflect the strong improvement that Louisville has accomplished on defense.
Whereas the Cardinals ranked 74th in total defense last year, they now rank 12th in the category. The under has seen such a strong shift because Miami’s defense has likewise improved, going from 29th in total defense last year to 18th in total defense this year.
As it happens with the college football odds, it wouldn’t surprise me if the total dropped a bit more before gametime.
Friday Night Picks (Miami -13.5)
On offense, Louisville is one-dimensional because it lacks an efficient rush attack. As such, it is dependent on passing the ball.
This is a huge problem against Miami because Louisville’s pass protection is also weak – it ranks 105th at limiting sacks. Miami has the elite pass rush to take advantage with high-caliber players who help the team rank number one at creating pressure without blitzing.
If you look at Louisville’s recent games, then you’ll now think that Miami is the play.
However, Louisville’s high opposing point totals have been flukish: Pittsburgh achieved a rare pick-six; Virginia benefited from very short scoring drives and overtime. Miami’s pass attack struggled against Florida’s low-ranking pass defense and will certainly struggle against Louisville’s twelfth-ranked one.
Partly relying on transfers, Louisville’s pass rush and coverage are both excelling. Given the strong outlook for Louisville’s defense, the under is the best play for this game.
While this is my favorite game to bet on, you might also want to bet on other games.
Louisville’s Miller Moss Under 257.5 Passing Yards
For my favorite player props, I want to emphasize the advantage that Miami’s defense has.
This game will be a struggle for Louisville’s quarterback Miller Moss because he’ll have trouble simply attempting passes. He might not even last the whole game behind his poor offensive line, which won’t be a match for Miami’s pass rush.
Like when Florida’s quarterback mustered 61 passing yards against them, the Hurricanes repeatedly limit opposing quarterbacks to low yardage totals. Florida State’s quarterback constitutes an exception only because Miami’s offense had accumulated so many points, which positioned Miami’s defense to take the foot off the gas pedal.
This won’t happen in tonight’s low-scoring game.
What We’ve Covered and Next Steps
It will be very exciting to see the number two Hurricanes in action and to see them be challenged by a familiar foe in Louisville.
For my favorite Friday college football bets, I like the under and the Miller Moss pass yards under in what will be a defensive slugfest. To alleviate our anxiety as much as possible, we ought to wager on the under as soon as possible.
While this game won’t see a combined total of 40 points, it will still feel nice to have the highest possible total. Capitalize on these favorable bets by opening an account and wagering today.
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