Previewing The Top Week 7 Matchups: Betting Picks for Miami, Notre Dame, USC, Air Force and more

After a week of upsets mixed with great games, we can only hope this week turns out just as well.

With traditional rivalries such as USC vs. Notre Dame mixed with elite matchups like Oregon vs. Washington, there is a good mix of games to be excited about.

The best of the best is listed below. So, let us look at some of the games and what to expect in each of them to make some money.

No. 8 Oregon Ducks vs. No. 6 Washington Huskies

Betting Lines: Washington -2.5(-120) O/U 67.5 O(-110)U(-110)

This could be the best game. Not just of the week, but of the season to this point. Both Oregon and Washington have elite offenses led by Heisman candidate QBs. Oregon has Bo Nix while Washington relies on Michael Penix Jr.

2023 Heisman Trophy Winner Odds via @DKSportsbook:
Michael Penix +210
Caleb Williams +230
Bo Nix +600
Dillon Gabriel +1200
Jordan travis +1600
Drake Maye +1800
JJ McCarthy +2200
All other players +3000 or more

— BetStats (@hottesthand) October 11, 2023

Last season as 12-point underdogs on the road, Washington was able to defeat the Ducks 37-34. Bo Nix was injured during the game, and this led to the defeat for Oregon. They will be hoping Nix can remain healthy this season as Oregon will need to defeat Washington in Seattle instead of in Eugene.

In the Ducks’ last game, a 42-6 win over Stanford, Nix threw the ball for 290 yards and four TDs on 27 of 32 passing. On top of the passing efficiency, Oregon also ranks eighth in the country with 227.2 yards rushing per game. Washington, while having an elite offense at 569.1 yards/game (1^st in NCAAF) has struggled on defense allowing 364 yards, good for just 64^th. This will need to improve as Oregon comes in with the second-ranked offense in the nation at 557.8 yards.

The offense of Washington will find it harder to move on the Oregon defense. One which will challenge the Huskies' elite receivers to beat them. Coach Lanning will force the Oregon secondary to play man-to-man against the best group of WRs in the nation. Although Oregon has not played a team as talented on offense as Washington, it has held its opponents to just 255.6 yards/game which ranks them sixth nationally.

The defense really excels in pass defense where it has allowed just 153.6 yards/game. Good for fifth. On the other side, with Ja’Lynn Polk, Rome Odunze, and Jalen McMillan forming the best trio of receivers in the nation, Penix has averaged 446 yards. That leads FBS.

Something will need to give in this matchup. Both offenses will score. The defense that can get a stop could be the winner. Oregon looks to have the better defense so they would be the play. To be safe, the over is a better bet.

Betting: Oregon +2.5, Over 67.5

No. 9 USC Trojans vs. No. 21 Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Betting Lines: ND -2.5(-115) O/U 62.5 O(-115)U(-105)

USC is the worst undefeated team in the country. Caleb Williams is great, and he saves them each week. Without him, the team would have a minimum of two losses and potentially more.

Caleb Williams makes highlight play after highlight play pic.twitter.com/9ueRIupcEr

— Bussin' With The Boys (@BussinWTB) October 8, 2023

Lincoln Riley and his all-gas, no-brake philosophy has led to excitement. Both offensive excitement and late-game excitement when the defense cannot hold on due to being tired and lacking depth.

Even when he struggles through the air, as he did against Arizona with just one TD, Williams is a threat on the ground. He finished Saturday with three rushing TD and got the game-winning two-point conversion in the third overtime of the game. Notre Dame is far better on the offensive line and the defensive line than the Wildcats. This will make it more difficult for the Trojans to have their way with the Irish.

ND played a miserable game on Saturday. A 33-20 loss to Louisville is not what Marcus Freeman wanted after losing to Ohio State and barely escaping Duke in the previous two games. Sam Hartman, after not throwing an interception in the first 5 games, had three on Saturday to only two TDs.

This will be a matchup of strength-on-strength as the USC offense, ranked 4^th at 523.3/game will go against a Notre Dame defense that ranks 12^th allowing just 279.4. Ohio State’s offense was held down by this Notre Dame defense, but Kyle McCord is not the talent of Williams at the QB position. Williams will be able to make plays against a Notre Dame defense playing in its fourth primetime game in a row. Both teams will score but only one can win. Fight on!

Betting: USC ML, Over 62.5

Miami Hurricanes vs. No. 12 North Carolina Tar Heels

Betting Lines: UNC -3.5(-115) O/U 56.5 O(-115)U(-105)

Miami comes into this one after a final-minute collapse against an overmatched Georgia Tech team on Saturday. This collapse led GT to win the game 23-20 and again showed Mario Cristobal as a great recruiter, but a less than good game day coach.

This is the second time in his career that Cristobal decided to run the ball in the final minutes while up in the game. Both times, the same thing happened. First, as Oregon's head coach, he ran the ball against Stanford. This led to a fumble by his running back, a field goal by Stanford to send the game to overtime, and an eventual loss. This time, the fumble led to a two-play 75-yard drive and a winning TD with one second left on the clock.

With this being the first game in a brutal stretch for Miami, the Hurricanes needed the win on Saturday. Now, with games left against UNC, Clemson, Florida State, and Louisville, Miami will not be favored to make it to the ACC championship game in 2023.

UNC had its most complete game on Saturday in a 40-7 beat down of Syracuse. Going 33 of 47 for 442 yards and three TDs, Drake Maye showed against Syracuse why he is the likely second pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. The defense, much maligned for the past two seasons, also proved worthy, holding the Orange to just seven points and 221 total yards.

If the Tar Heels can hold Tyler Van Dyke in check, or if Miami cannot recover from its devastating loss, this game could go sideways early. If Miami can play the way it did against Texas A&M, it could make this a fight for UNC.

Betting: UNC -3.5, Over 56.5

Wyoming Cowboys vs. Air Force Falcons

Betting Lines: AFA -10.5(-105) O/U 42.5 O(-110)U(-110)

Air Force might be training our young men and women to fly, but it’s the ground game that makes the football team go.

Air Force has gotten out to a 5-0 start this season. It has not won any game by less than 10 points. The 10-point victory came on the road against a Sam Houston State team that plays slower than me trying to blindly drive a car down a major highway. This game was also the only time this season the Falcons have scored under 39 points in a contest.

Despite the Air Force being a ground attack, it can put up plenty of points. Something Wyoming has been able to avoid in many of its games.

This will only be the second road game for the Cowboys, their first since a 31-10 loss to Texas in Austin. The only loss of the season for Wyoming, the Cowboys came out on Saturday and beat a Fresno State team which many had pegged to be the Group of Five participant in the New Year’s Six. This now could be the matchup to decide what team makes it to the major bowl game.

Fresno State, Wyoming, and Air Force look to be the best of the Group of Five. Wyoming will now need to beat another undefeated team in Air Force. This time on the road and with the Air Force coming off its bye week.

.@JensenJones15 pushes into the endzone 🤩 pic.twitter.com/x64Ka7muAd

— Air Force Football (@AF_Football) October 1, 2023

This series of games has gone under the total in seven of the past 10 contests, but this number is too low at 42.5. Air Force has gone over this number on its own in three of its five games. While Wyoming will hope to contain the Falcons in Colorado Springs. It will be easier said than done.

Betting: AFA -10.5 OVER 42.5

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