Welcome back, college football fans to episode 691 or the three games tonight. First, Pittsburgh (3-0/11) remained perfect by taking down fellow ACC opponent Syracuse (1-2/53) by a score of 27-13. That propels the GCR into the weekend predictions with a correct result in both picking the winner and which team would cover (PITT for both). Syracuse was gaining yards almost equally with the Panthers all night, but they had some awful penalties: 5 in each half for a total of 94 yards. Add a couple of interceptions and they let the upset bid get away from them. Next up for Pittsburgh is FCS Bucknell (1-2/167) and Syracuse is at UCONN (1-1/136) after a bye week.
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Today’s slate involves a couple of possible blowouts and a pretty good matchup to balance. First, at 7:30 (all times Eastern), Miami FL (2-0/6) travels to Wake Forest (2-0/20) in another ACC showdown. MIAF is 25th in Offensive Efficiency Rating (OER) with a value of 164 (they score 16.4 points for every 10.0 points their opponents give up) and will face a Demon Deacon DER (Defensive Efficiency Rating) of 136 (74th out of 266). That means WF gives up 10.0 points for every 13.6 points their opponents normally score. When we flip that, WF has an OER of 145 (42nd) and the Hurricanes have a DER of 268 (17th). With Miami FL better on both sides of the ball, the GCR is picking them to win. Vegas has MIAF-20.5 and we think the spread is close, but WF will stay within the spread: Deacons cover. Watch this game on ESPN.
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Our second game, at 8:00, features two more undefeated teams, this time is a Big 12 fight. Texas Tech (2-0/44) hosts Houston (2-0/47) in the first conference game for both teams. When the Red Raiders have the ball, they bring a mediocre OER of 112 (112th) to bear while facing a HOU DER of 158 (55th). When the Cougars are driving, they bring an OER of 147 (38th) while attacking a TXTC DER of 95 (163rd). Vegas has this game with TXTC-7.5 and the GCR thinks home field advantage will give the Raiders the win, but it should be closer than that – Houston covers. You can watch this game on Fox.
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Our final game, kicking off at 10:30, will be Oregon (1-1/87) trying to bounce back from their loss to Oklahoma St (1-1/68) by playing their FCS game against Portland St (0-3/253). This one should be pretty ugly. Vegas has the line ORE-58.5 and the GCR agrees and Oregon should cover. That game will be on the Big Ten Network. Here is the summary of all 3 games.
| Time (ET) | Games of September 18th | Conference | Vegas | GCR | Cover | TV |
| 7:30 | Miami FL (2-0/6) at Wake Forest (2-0/20) | ACC | MIAF -20.5 | MIAF | WF | ESPN |
| 8:00 | Houston (2-0/47) at Texas Tech (2-0/44) | B12 | TXTC -7.5 | TXTC | HOU | Fox |
| 10:30 | Portland St (0-3/253) at Oregon (1-1/87) | SKY/B10 | ORE -58.5 | ORE | ORE | Big Ten Network |
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That’s it for today. Tune in tomorrow for the lion’s share of college football. First game is at 11:30am so look for an early post. Thank you for reading (it’s why we write this), commenting/suggesting (it’s how we get better), and sharing with others (it’s how we grow), JoJo and G
