College Football Odds: Week 4 Betting Line Predictions

The 2011 college football season quickly moves into its fourth week, and some major games are scheduled throughout.

Favorites came out with a 25-22 against-the-spread record in games featuring Football Bowl Subdivision teams, while the "under" finished with an idenitical 25-22 mark.

Road teams that laid the number finished with a slight 8-7 ATS advantage.

Let's take a look at 10 of the top games from a betting perspective before the lines are released this afternoon.

San Diego State at No. 22 Michigan

The San Diego State Aztecs are a perfect 3-0 this season after tallying a 42-24 win over the Washington State Cougars as 4.5-point home favorites Saturday.

It was perceived to be a trap game for the hosting squad, as a trip to the Big House and facing their old coach was on deck. 

The Aztecs won the turnover battle 4-2 while out-gaining the Cougars by a 500-419 margin in total yards.

Michigan's Brady Hoke watched his team suffer a slight hangover after its come-from-behind win over Notre Dame, failing to score in the first quarter in an eventual 31-3 victory over Eastern Michigan as 28.5-point home favorites.

This game will feature a pair of talented quarterbacks in the national landscape, as San Diego State's Ryan Lindley and Michigan's Denard Robinson will likely determine the outcome.

Bettors will find that the Aztecs are 4-1 ATS versus the Big Ten, while the Wolverines are 9-3 ATS in September.

Handicapper Line: Michigan Wolverines (-7.5)

Notre Dame at Pittsburgh

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish finally pulled one out in handing the Michigan State Spartans a 31-13 defeat in South Bend. 

Ironically enough, the team was actually out-gained by 83 yards while also committing three more turnovers.

Pittsburgh comes off an emotional loss of blowing a 27-10 fourth-quarter lead, eventually falling 31-27 to the Iowa Hawkeyes on the road.

Bettors will find this series to be very competitive in terms of scoring the past three years, as all three have been decided by six points or less.

It certainly shows, with the underdog being 5-0-1 in the last six meetings.

Handicapper Line: Notre Dame Fighting Irish (-5.5)

No. 14 Arkansas at No. 3 Alabama

The pollsters were once again penalized Alabama for playing lesser competition, dropping the program to No. 3 this week after a 41-0 win over North Texas as 47-point home favorites.

It's the second time that LSU has jumped over them.

Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban has to be feeling good about his team's play this year, winning the total yards battle by an astounding 917 yards through three games.

Alabama has won four consecutive meetings in this series, but failed to cover as 6.5-point road favorites in last year's 24-20 win.

Arkansas has played absolutely no one in racing off to a 3-0 start, but has covered two of three games as favorites of 23 or more.

Bettors will find that the Razorbacks are 10-1 ATS in their last 11 SEC contests.

Handicapper Line: Alabama Crimson Tide (-16)

No. 7 Oklahoma State at No. 8 Texas A&M

The Big 12 Conference has three teams ranked in the top 10 of the AP poll, but will likely be unrecognizable at season's end.

None of that will matter Saturday night in College Station, as Texas A&M plays host to Oklahoma State.

Both teams have solid wins on their resume, including the Aggies opening the season with a 46-14 win over SMU as 15-point home favorites, while the Cowboys registered a dominating 37-14 win over Arizona in front of a national audience two weeks ago.

The last two meetings have been decided by eight combined points, both falling in favor of this week's road team.

Handicapper Line: Texas A&M Aggies (-2)

No. 11 Florida State at No. 21 Clemson

Both teams are coming off emotional games, but only one came out a winner.

Clemson finally picked up a win over Auburn in its series, overcoming an early 14-0 first-quarter deficit, ultimately winning 38-24 as 3.5-point home favorites. 

The Tigers finished with a 189-yard advantage and will be looking to win their fifth-straight home game in this series.

Florida State failed to deliver as three-point home underdogs in a 23-13 prime-time loss to the Oklahoma Sooners.

Many bettors will point to Seminoles quarterback EJ Manuel being knocked out of the game as the difference, but professionals will disagree.

Oklahoma was the better team and now the question is—Can Florida State rally back and win the ACC?

The Seminoles won last year's meeting, 16-13, as 6.5-point home favorites.

Handicapper Line: Florida State Seminoles (-4)

No. 2 LSU at No. 16 West Virginia

The LSU Tigers escaped in last year's meeting with a 20-14 win as 9.5-point home favorites, but were out-gained in the contest by 58 total yards.

Both picked up solid road wins in Week 3, as LSU opened up SEC play with a 19-6 victory over Mississippi State, while West Virginia handed Maryland a 37-31 loss.

Professionals will point to the advantage that the Tigers will have in terms of preparation time, playing last week's game on Thursday night.

It could make all the difference.

Handicapper Line:  LSU Tigers (-4.5)

No. 10 Oregon at Arizona

The Oregon Ducks have surprised many in bouncing back from their season-opening loss to the LSU Tigers, coming away with 69-20 and 56-7 home wins in the last two weeks.

Quarterback Darron Thomas stated that the loser of the opener would likely be out of the national title picture, but the team has moved past that and rallied.

Professionals will see that the Ducks have out-gained all three of their opponents and have scored at least 44 points in the last three meetings in this series.

Arizona has played two ranked teams in the opening three weeks, dropping 37-14 and 37-10 contests to Oklahoma State and Stanford respectively.

The public will likely flock to the Ducks, but the Wildcats have covered five of the last six meetings—being underdogs in all.

Handicapper Line: Oregon Ducks (-11.5)

No. 23 USC at Arizona State

USC is back in the rankings and has tallied back-to-back spread victories at home over Utah and Syracuse. The Trojans have out-gained their opponents by 268 yards in three games.

Arizona State just didn't have enough in the tank Saturday, dropping a 17-14 road contest to the Illinois Fighting Illini as two-point underdogs. 

It was an expected flat spot for the Sun Devils, who were coming off a 37-30 prime-time overtime win over Missouri while looking ahead to their Pac-12 opener.

The home team has suffered numerous injuries already in 2011, which could be the difference in the fourth quarter.

Handicapper Line:  USC Trojans (-1.5)

Tulsa at No. 4 Boise State

The Boise State Broncos will play their 2011 home opener this week, entering with a perfect 2-0 straight-up and against-the-spread record.

In the last three meetings in this series since the 2003 season, professional handicappers will find that the average margin of victory to be 5.67 points.

Many will also throw out the Golden Hurricane's 59-33 loss to the Oklahoma State Cowboys in Week 3 as 13.5-point home underdogs, as the game was delayed numerous times due to weather.

Boise State and its fans will likely be looking squarely ahead to a revenge game against Nevada on Oct. 1.

Handicapper Line:  Boise State Broncos (-23.5)

Missouri at No. 1 Oklahoma

The Oklahoma Sooners survived their trip to Tallahassee, FL, coming away with a 23-13 win over the Florida State Seminoles as three-point road favorites.

It wasn't pretty, but the team needs to refocus quickly heading into its Big 12 Conference opener.

Missouri upset Oklahoma last year, 36-27, as three-point home favorites in last year's meeting. The two teams also went over the posted total of 53.

It's definitely not a sandwich situation—Oklahoma has Ball State following this contest before a showdown with Texas on Oct. 8.

Handicapper Line: Oklahoma Sooners (-18.5)