It’s finally October, which is my second-favorite month on the sports betting calendar for a couple reasons (nothing will ever top March for me). First, we’re into conference play in college football, which means we know a lot more about these matchups. Second, we’ve got postseason baseball coming. Third, we’ve got the NHL and the NBA joining the party, and we’re just a month away from college basketball.
In all, it’s a great time to be a bettor, and we’re coming into October riding a Thursday where one parlay cashed and a second is in the red zone with a Saturday finish. Here are my plays for October 1.
IOWA-MARYLAND U47.5, -110
I trust exactly one unit on this field: the Iowa defense. Maryland has looked good so far, but I know the other shoe is going to drop eventually because the other shoe always drops with Maryland. But Iowa’s offense has been average at best to date, and weeknight games for Top 25 teams do not tend to go well. This looks like a low-scoring battle that’s a real tossup.
HOUSTON-TULSA O54.5, -105
Tulsa is moving the ball well and is getting gashed on defense, giving up almost 400 yards a game. Yes, the Golden Hurricane played two Power 5 opponents and one was Ohio State, but Tulsa also gave up 34 points to Arkansas State. The Golden Hurricane are weak in special teams, and Houston will have no problem getting into a shootout. Five of the past six meetings have gone well over this total, and these teams like to score quickly.
ANGELS-MARINERS U8, -110
Marco Gonzales has been an under bettor’s dream, as the under has cashed in 10 of his past 13 trips to the mound and two of the exceptions came against Arizona. The Angels’ lineup is incredibly weak outside of Shohei Ohtani, and the Mariners are playing at home in their pitcher-friendly park. This looks like another low-scoring Mariner victory as Seattle tries to get itself back to the playoffs for the first time in 20 years.
BYU -9.5, -110
The spot where the sagebrush grows has been BYU’s home away from home in this series, as the Cougars have won four of their past six trips to Logan and won them all by double digits. In fact, none of the past seven meetings in this series have been decided by less than 16 points, so there’s no point messing with a close game. You’re either laying the points with BYU or you think Utah State can win the game outright. The Cougars should bounce back here.
TIGERS-WHITE SOX U8.5, -110
This is a tough one to bet, but Lance Lynn has dominated the Tigers all year long and Wily Peralta has pitched pretty well as of late. The Sox just want to make sure Lynn is ready for the Astros, so he’s the priority here. This reads like a pitching-dominated matchup, so that’s the way that I’ll play it.
