Free Picks: Papa Dude Best Bets for the NFL and College Football Weekend

This is a difficult week for me as I struggled to find 5 games that jumped out at me, which is what I look for on Mondays when the lines first come out on the upcoming games for the weekend. After doing more studying than I wanted too, I have settled on 5 that I will spending most of my bankroll this week. Let’s take a look at them.

Saturday’s Best Bets:

Virginia at North Carolina: The Tar Heels were disappointing in their opener against Virginia Tech losing a game that they should have won, but managed to lose. They bounced back last week against an outmanned Georgia State. Meanwhile, Virginia opened with a 43-0 win over Bill & Mary and their children and then thumped Illinois 42-21. North Carolina was in the Top-10 in some preseason polls and should be 2-0 instead of 1-1. They have the same players now as they did when the polls were coming out. I think they are ready to roll this weekend and I like them to cover this one in Chapel Hill.

PAPA DUDES PICK: North Carolina -8

Arizona State at BYU: Last week, BYU knocked off Utah who was nationally ranked, and have a chance to do it again against 19th-ranked Arizona State. For the 2nd week in a row, the game will be in Provo where the Cougars are extra tough. The Sun Devils have been unimpressive in their first two games, winning 44-14 over Southern Utah and 37-10 over UNLV. They will be focused and ready this week and BYU will get their full attention, so expect a much better performance. Meanwhile, the Cougars are looking to build on their win over arch rival, Utah and hope to add another PAC-12 scalp to their resume’. I’m banking my hopes on the Cougars for the 2nd week in a row to beat the spread.

*PAPA DUDES UPSET SPECIAL OF THE WEEK: BYU +4

Cincinnati at Indiana: The Bearcats are starting a two-week stretch that will go a long way deciding what their season could end up to be. They invade Bloomington to play the Hoosiers who were a huge disappointment opening weekend against Iowa. Cincinnati has won their first two games against cupcakes and have been so-so. This will be their first test against decent competition and I expect them to be sky-high and completely focused for this one. Indiana has struggled on offense and will need to play a lot better to pull off the upset. Cincinnati is a 4-point favorite.

*PAPA DUDES LOCK OF THE WEEK* Cincinnati -4

2 Other Games to Consider:

Utah -9 at San Diego State: The Utes are coming off a tough loss to rival, Utah. San Diego State is 2-0 and thumped Arizona 38-14 at Tucson.

PAPA DUDE BONUS PICK: San Diego State -9

East Carolina at Marshall -10: The Thundering Herd has throttled their first two opponents while East Carolina is 0-2 against much better competition which is a concern. However, I like Marshall at home.

PAPA DUDES BONUS PICK: Marshall -10

Sunday’s Best Bets:

Kansas City at Baltimore: The Chiefs are coming off a nail-biter against Cleveland but escaped with a 33-29 win. They took a big shot to the mouth from the Browns but prevailed in the end which is impressive. On the other hand, the Ravens played Monday night and lost in overtime in Las Vegas to the Raiders. So, that means Baltimore will have a short week of preparation and when you are playing the Chiefs, you need all the preparation you can get. We know the Chiefs are going to score so the question becomes, can the Ravens keep up? This is a big game for Baltimore because a loss puts them at 0-2 in a very tough decision. They are a 3.5 point underdog.

PAPA DUDES PICK: Kansas City -3.5

San Francisco at Philadelphia: The 49ers are coming east for the 2nd week in a row which concerns me a little bit as travel can wear on a team and affect their preparation. They are coming off a so-so performance in a 41-33 win in Detroit and look to go 2-0 in games they really need to win considering how tough their division is. Meanwhile, Philadelphia was very impressive in their opener at Atlanta winning easily 32-6. Jalen Hurts was really good and their defense played to the max. But are they that good or do they come back to reality? We are going to find out this week. The Niners are a 3 point favorite.

PAPA DUDES PICK: San Francisco -3

1 Other Game to Consider:

Cincinnati at Chicago: Chicago is a 2.5 point favorite at home against the Bengals. Cincinnati was impressive last week and I think Joe Burrow will keep them rolling.

PAPA DUDES BONUS PICK: Cincinnati +2.5