Best Bets: Week 4

Every week, Rock M Nation will post the SEC betting lines for that week’s slate of games. DISCLAIMER: Rock M Nation is not an online gambling operator, nor a gambling site of any kind. We are simply here to provide information about sports betting for entertainment purposes only. None of the staff will be using this information for gambling purposes and are not liable for any losses incurred due to the analysis contained within.

We had another good showing in Week 3, as our Best Bets went 2-1 thanks to an upset win in the Apple Cup for Washington State and a closer-than-expected win by Mizzou. We also hit on our bonus bet of U54 points in the Mizzou-B.C. game. Only Georgia left us hanging with their lackluster performance against Kentucky. Overall, our picks went 4-2 as Pitt won as a home dog against rival West Virginia and BYU routed hapless Wyoming. On the season, the Best Bets are now 7-3 and the overall picks are 11-7, not that we’re big on bragging around here. Here’s to some continued consistency… let’s move on to Week Four!

Best Bets

Tennessee (-7) @ Oklahoma

Tennessee is off to a steaming start on both sides of the ball to begin the 2024 season. The Volunteers are scoring 63.7 ppg while only allowing 4.3 ppg. Oklahoma will field by far the best defense Tennessee has seen so far this year, but the Sooners’ offense is not nearly potent enough (33.7 ppg) to keep up with the high-flying Vols. I expect Tennessee to win going away, perhaps by three scores or more.

California (+2) @ Florida State

It has been well established that Florida State is a bad football team. They started the season 0-3 including a hapless loss at home to coach Mike Norvell’s former team in Memphis last week. Cal comes in hot at 3-0 after easily beating San Diego State last week. The Golden Bears already have one win in a difficult road environment under their belts, beating Auburn 21-14 in Week 2. It’s a bit of a mystery why they are the underdogs here, as I’d probably take them all the way up to -2.5.

Vanderbilt (+20.5) @ Missouri

I’ve picked against Mizzou covering the spread two of the first three weeks of the season, and this week is no different. Similar to last week, I don’t necessarily expect the Tigers to struggle too much in the second half against Vandy, but this team hasn’t been explosive enough on offense for me to feel confident in betting on a three touchdown victory. Mizzou will win comfortably, but it’ll be by 17-20 points.

Worth a look

Michigan State @ Boston College (-7)

Michigan State arrives in Boston carrying a 3-0 record under new head coach Jonathan Smith. Both programs have had better-than-expected starts to their new coaches’ tenures, but Boston College’s ball control style will put them over the top in this game as I don’t anticipate MSU moving the ball enough to keep their defense fresh. The match up being in Chestnut Hill will also help the Eagles come out on top by more than a touchdown.

Arizona State (+3) @ Texas Tech

Texas Tech has had a pretty brutal start to the season, though they did finally bounce back against North Texas last week. I’m still fading the Red Raiders, however, and 3-0 Arizona State already has a tough road victory last week against Texas State. I’m picking the Sun Devils to win outright on the road, probably by at least a touchdown. Cam Skattebo is a name you should know.

Arkansas (+3) @ Auburn

Both programs are trending down, or at least treading water in the case of Arkansas. However, I’m picking the Hogs to win outright at Auburn this week for one reason: their offense is explosive and Auburn’s is not. It sounds like the Tigers will start RS freshman quarterback Hank Brown again this week after a decent showing against a terrible New Mexico team last week. I’m taking Bobby Petrino’s offense to put up points (they are averaging 46 ppg) and win by a touchdown.

Those are my picks for the week. All odds are provided by DraftKings. Which SEC teams will you be taking this week against the spread?

Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.