When college athletes began profiting from NIL money (name, image, and likeness), there was one side fearful that it would forever make the richest schools also the best teams. NIL proponents on the other side said those fears were unfounded. NIL money would not be used as a recruiting tool.
Quarterback Bryce Underwood is the No. 1 recruit in the nation, and had originally committed to LSU. On Thursday, he flipped that commitment to the University of Michigan, and not coincidentally, it came just days after Michigan reportedly offered him as much as $12 million in NIL deals. That’s up from the $10.5 million that we reported just last week.
At LSU, Underwood was set to make $1.5 million per season. At Michigan, he’ll make twice that, with the $12 million being paid over his four-year college career.
With the 12-team College Football Playoff set to make even more money for the NCAA, more and more of that money will be funneled to the players.
No. 5 Indiana at No. 2 Ohio State (-10.5)
No. 1 Oregon is off this week, which makes the game in Columbus, Ohio, the most important for teams in the College Football Playoff. Either Ohio State or Indiana will play the Ducks for the Big Ten title, and that will be determined this Saturday.
Indiana is one of just two undefeated teams in the top-12, but bookmakers are still not sure if they’re on the same level as Ohio State. The Hoosiers are 10.5-point underdogs a week after struggling to get past Michigan. However, other than last week, Indiana won every game this season by at least two touchdowns.
Kentucky at No. 3 Texas (-20)
Texas is the favorite to win the SEC and get a first-round bye in the CFP. But when it comes to covering the point spread, they are not a great bet. They failed to cover last week against Arkansas, and they’ve only covered twice in their last six games and missed the cover in two of their last three home games.
The Longhorns have a big battle with Texas A&M next weekend, but they better not look too far past Kentucky. The Wildcats won at Ole Miss when they were 15-point underdogs.
No. 4 Penn State (-11.5) at Minnesota
Technically, Penn State isn’t out of the running for the Big Ten title. But their road to Indianapolis and the Big Ten Championship Game is bumpy at best. They need to win out, very doable. But then they need Indiana to lose twice to end the season, and Ohio State to lose to Michigan.
The plan goes awry in that final game for Indiana, which is against 1-9 Purdue, which is quite possibly the worst team in college football.
Penn State can get into the College Football Playoff as a third or fourth team from the Big Ten, and if they finish at 11-1, and with their only loss coming to Ohio State, even as they have to sit and watch the Big Ten Championship Game, they will be in the playoffs.
No. 19 Army vs. No. 6 Notre Dame (-14)
Army is undefeated at 9-0, but they have yet to beat a ranked team, and thus they are on the outside of the College Football Playoff. An upset win at Notre Dame, however, would change all that. It’s also highly unlikely that the rankings committee will have to worry about such a scenario.
Notre Dame is favored by 14 points, and in each of their last five games, they have been favored by at least two touchdowns, and in all five games Notre Dame covered. That includes a 51-14 win over Navy and a 52-3 thumping of Florida State.
As the College Football Playoff bracket stands today, Notre Dame would host Alabama in the first round.
No. 9 Mississippi (-11.5) at Florida
If Oklahoma beats Alabama and Kentucky beats Texas, then Texas loses to Texas A&M after the Aggies lose to Auburn, Mississippi might make it to the SEC Championship Game.
In other words, all they have to really hope for is enough impressive wins to close out the season to get an at-large bid to the College Football Playoff. An SEC title isn’t in the cards, but if you want to throw an end-of-season Hail Mary, they are paying +5000 to win the conference.
Florida did just beat LSU, so Mississippi needs to be at its best this weekend.
No. 12 Boise State (-22.5) at Wyoming
There has been an assumption most of the year that the four first-round byes would go to the four power conference champions. Not so fast, says Boise State, the highest-ranked Group of Five team, which is now ranked above anyone from the Big 12.
The Broncos are ranked 12th, but would jump to the No. 4 seed thanks to BYU’s loss to Kansas last week. The Cougars fell from sixth to 14th, and their likely opponent in the Big 12 Championship Game is No. 16 Colorado.
Boise State should take care of things on their end, which includes this week at Wyoming, next week against Oregon State, and then a Mountain West Championship Game against either UNLV or Colorado State.
Other Top-12 Games
No. 7 Alabama (-13.5) at Oklahoma
Wake Forest at No. 8 Miami (-23.5)
UMass at No. 10 Georgia (-42)
UTEP at No. 11 Tennessee (-40)
With over 25 years of experience as a distinguished sports writer for renowned platforms such as Fox Sports and ESPN, Kyle Garlett is a sports betting specialist who has been at the forefront of documenting the global surge in sports betting and online gaming. Based in Denver, Colorado, Kyle hosts an NFL betting YouTube show and podcast. Kyle also has two sports books published by HarperCollins.
Kyle graduated the Azusa Pacific University in 1996 with a B.A. Degree in Communication and Journalism.
