Xam’s Gem(s):
Penn State/Illinois Over 48.5 Points -108
Led by QB Drew Allar, Penn State has gotten off to a great start offensively this year. They have averaged over 50 points per game in their first 2 games! They have averaged over 500 yards per game and have done whatever they wanted to offensively. They should have no trouble continuing their offensive prowess today. Illinois has given up 62 points to Toledo and Kansas this year, who don’t have the offensive firepower of the Nittany Lions. However, on offense, Illinois has been alright, averaging 26.5 points per game and scoring 30 in their home opener. If Illinois QB Luke Altmyer can get anything going offensively, this game should easily go over 48.5 points.
Florida State/Boston College Over 46.5 Points -118
FSU has one of the best offenses in college football, led by QB Jordan Travis. They are averaging 55.5 points per game this season! They scored a ridiculous 66 points last week against Southern Miss, with seemingly everyone on offense getting the chance to do damage. Boston College, on the other hand, isn’t exactly known for their defensive prowess. They have surrendered a total of 55 points at home to Northern Illinois and Holy Cross to start the year. Weather issues shouldn’t be a concern, as Hurricane Lee should be passing Alumni Stadium. BC QB Thomas Castellanos has 5 total TDs so far this year. It will be a struggle to do much against FSU’s defense, but if BC can contribute a little bit, FSU’s powerful offense should do the rest here.
Colorado State/Colorado Over 62.5 Points -108
We all know how good Colorado has been so far. Led by Shedeur Sanders, Colorado’s offense has looked unstoppable this year. Even when they struggled at times last week against Nebraska, they still managed to drop 36 points! Meanwhile, Colorado State gave up a 50 burger to Washington State last week. Both teams will be locked in for this state rivalry, with head coaches Jay Norvell and Deion Sanders exchanging words. Colorado will be motivated to embarrass CSU, while CSU will be ready with all the trick plays they can come up with!
Xam’s Prop(s):
Drew Allar Over 247.5 Passing Yards -114
Drew Allar has been as good as he’s been efficient this year. He’s averaging over 264 passing yards per game this year. Last week he only threw for 202 yards due to the blowout nature of the game, but in their game against West Virginia, he threw for 325 yards. If Illinois keeps this close and requires Allar and the PSU offense to play the whole game, Allar shouldn’t have any issues hitting this number. Just last week, Kansas QB Jalon Daniels threw for 277 yards against this Illini defense.
Chris Bassitt over 4.5 Ks -144
Bassitt has 5 or more strikeouts in 4 of his last 6 games. For the season, he’s averaging over 5.3 Ks per game, but at home, that jumps up to just under 6 Ks per game. The Red Sox have also been striking out a lot recently, striking out over 10 times on average for the last 3 games, and for the season they are striking out over 9 times on the road. If Bassitt can keep his pitch count in check, he should be able to go long enough to hit 5 Ks.
Cole Ragans Over 4.5 Ks -148
Ragans has been a strikeout machine lately. He’s had 5 or more Ks in each of his last 6 starts, and in 4 of them, he’s had 7 or more! In his last 30 days, he has 42 Ks in just 30.2 innings pitched, which has been 5 starts. He has great strikeout stuff and shouldn’t have an issue with hitting 5 strikeouts here, so long as he has his usual control.