Friday Night NCAA Football Predictions, Odds & Best Bets (11/8)

College Football has given us 4 games today amongst the 63 College Basketball games tonight, all set to entertain us before we have a gauntlet of sports action tomorrow. Of course, we need to find our best bets for the NCAA Football slate, so let’s dive right into these matchups tonight!

Be sure to check out all of our NCAA Football game pieces and Expert Picks for the entire weekend, but for now, let’s look at tonight’s games!

• California vs Wake Forest
• Iowa vs UCLA
• Rice vs Memphis
• New Mexico vs San Diego State

Check out our Expert NCAA Football Picks!

Friday Night NCAA Football Best Bets

California vs Wake Forest Best Bets

Betting Odds

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• California -7.5 (-110)
• Wake Forest +7.5 (-110)
• Over/Under 55

Best Bet: Fernando Mendoza Over 280.5 Passing Yards (-114) BetOnline

The young Cal quarterback is playing back on the East Coast this weekend at Wake Forest, and I expect him to sling the rock. For starters, the California Golden Bears are 0-4 in ACC play, they are on the road, yet they are greater than a touchdown favorite against Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons are coming off two away wins, while California just got that swagger back against Oregon State following 4 straight conference losses. However, I think they turn it around tonight starting with their QB.

He’s cleared 280+ yards in 4/8 contests this season, including his L2 and he’s just 9 yards away from doing so in 5 straight. He’s got a fantastic 10-3 TD to INT ratio this season and is completing 69% of his passes. He only averages about 262, but California lets him air that thing out. Mendoza has thrown 38.3 passes on average in his L3 games, and has completed over 71.4% in each of those games as well.

Wake Forest ranks 131st (out of 134 teams) in passing yards allowed, giving up over 300 per game. At home that number jumps up to 333.5 and over nearly 9 yards per pass attempt. Mendoza has done fine on the road, and tonight I see him leading Cal to their first ACC victory.

Rice vs Memphis Best Bets

Betting Odds

• Rice +8 (-110)
• Memphis -8 (-110)
• Over/Under 50.5

Best Bet: Memphis -8 (-110) BetOnline

Colby Marchio’s Thoughts:

We’re in for a classic letdown-and-bounce-back spot between two American Athletic Conference teams. One team’s coming off a massive upset as 12.5-point underdogs, while the other is smarting from an 8-point loss as 7-point favorites.

Who are we backing? The Memphis Tigers, who dropped a rough one to UTSA and have struggled to cover spreads lately. They’re 4-1 straight up, but just 1-4 against the spread—sure, most of those were double-digit lines, but it still shows they’re playing below expectations. This week is the perfect spot for a rebound, with a spread under ten against a Rice team riding high after an emotional win over Navy.

The Owls bring a strong defense, ranked in the top 50 in yards allowed and giving up just 25 points per game. But on the road, that average balloons to nearly 30, and their offense ranks among the worst, especially away from home, where they’re averaging just 10.3 points. Meanwhile, Memphis is averaging 36 points per game at home and ranks 25th in scoring.

This is the ideal game for Memphis to get back on track and take down a Rice team still celebrating last week’s win. Give me the Tigers!

Memphis on the spread – number doesn’t matter should be 9 or less come Friday.

Iowa vs UCLA Best Bets

Betting Odds

• Iowa -6.5 (-110)
• UCLA +6.5 (-110)
• Over/Under 44.5

Best Bet: Kaleb Johnson Under 128.5 Rushing Yards (-114) BetOnline

This is so gross. So gross. BUT, Johnson faces a very tough UCLA Defense on the road tonight, and I see the Bruins competing with Iowa.

UCLA ranks 14th in yards allowed per carry at 3.3, and 9th in rushing yards allowed per game. The Bruins hold their opponents to just 100 yards on the ground per game, and even against Iowa, I think they can contain Johnson.

Now, Kaleb Johnson is one of the best RBs in the country. He’s cleared this line in 5/9 games, and has gone for 100+ in two other contests. He’s running for 7.5 yards per carry, but hasn’t really faced a good rushing defense besides Ohio State, who held him to 86 yards on 15 carries. If Johnson gets 20 touches, he’s probably clearing this line. Tonight I’m betting on the Hawkeyes having to air it out more against a dangerous UCLA front 7. The Bruins have built some momentum as they come off two straight wins, and winning 3 of their L4 games would make them bowl eligible.

Point being, they come to play tonight, especially on defense against a one dimensional Iowa offense, focusing on slowing down their star RB. In my mind, that is too many yards for this guy.

New Mexico vs San Diego State Best Bets

Betting Odds

• New Mexico +2.5 (-110)
• San Diego State -2.5 (-110)
• Over/Under 66

No Bets or Leans

Honestly not many thoughts here at all. It’s quite the stinker in the Mountain West, but I will say this… that total seems REALLY high for two bad offenses.

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• Current Heisman Odds
• ACC 2024 Preview
• SEC 2024 Preview
• Big Ten Preview
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