Parlay Palace: Top four CFB bets for Friday night (9/2), Parlay of the Day (+1258)
One of the college football season’s busiest Saturdays is only one day away.
But first, we have four best bets and a juicy parlay for the 9/2 slate. Before we get to our top picks of the night, load up your account with a free $200 from DraftKings Sportsbook:
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Illinois ML (-105) vs. Indiana
In the Illini’s Week 0 victory over Wyoming, junior running back Chase Brown of Illinois burst for 151 yards and two touchdowns. Illinois amassed 260 yards on the ground in total against the Cowboys, and this success is probably going to continue against Indiana in Week 1.
Last year, Illinois finished fifth in rushing play Explosiveness, while the Hoosiers were 86th in rushing success rate allowed. With Indiana giving up 386 yards a game the last year, Illinois should be expected to make huge plays frequently and early.
Michigan State first half (-13.5) vs. Western Michigan
MSU heads into 2022 with several questions: who will succeed Kenneth Walker III as the star running back? Will the criticized pass defense become better? In his second year as the starter, how much has Payton Thorne improved?
Western Michigan is trying to replace some key players from last year’s team, so Michigan State should win this game comfortably. I expect a two-score lead early.
TCU (-14) vs. Colorado
The Horned Frogs’ brand-new head coach, Sonny Dykes, plans to use the same Air Raid offense that helped SMU.
On the other hand, TCU hired highly regarded Tulsa defensive coordinator Joe Gillespie. The Frogs would be hard-pressed not to improve from last year’s bottom-of-the-barrel rankings. There will be continuity and a welcome change of pace thanks to extremely high TARP ratings on both sides of the ball.
The quarterback duel between Max Duggan and Chandler Morris is still going on. That will just cause problems for Colorado because each quarterback will want to make a strong impression to win the job for the remainder of the season.
TCU will have plenty of opportunities to perfect its new defense as its offense takes advantage of a weak secondary considering Colorado’s offense has struggled all offseason.
Temple vs. Duke under 51.5
This score total is too high if Temple’s new offensive strategy under Drayton is to focus more on the run.
In each of the final seven games of the previous season, the Owls managed to score fewer than 15 points. Mathis hasn’t ever demonstrated that he can be a reliable FBS passer.
How Duke will replace the output of quarterback Gunnar Holmberg is a subject of much speculation. Riley Leonard, the new starter, is utterly inexperienced, and Cutcliffe, the Blue Devils’ previous quarterbacks coach, isn’t there to mentor him.
The under should be safe here.
Parlay of the Day (+1258) via DraftKings Sportsbook: $10 to win $136
See you all in the palace.
Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross | USA TODAY Sports
