Group Of Five Underdog Of The Week: Boise State +3.5 vs. UCF

The Mean Green were anything but … mean last Saturday. 

As last week’s Group of Five Underdog of the Week, North Texas allowed Cal to run all over its defense. The Golden Bears rushed for 357 yards and six touchdowns. From the first drive, you knew Jaydn Ott was going to cause trouble for UNT. The Cal RB finished with 205 yards on the ground while the Mean Green looked like they had forgotten how to tackle. I must admit, I wasn’t very familiar with Ott’s playmaking abilities.

Interestingly enough, I thought it would be the Cal defense that would struggle against UNT’s deep running back room. That’s Week 1 for ya. 

There were plenty of G5 underdogs that covered the spread and a handful that even won outright in Week 1. Let’s see if this week’s selection can do the same (with college football betting odds via BetMGM):

Boise State (spread: +3.5, moneyline: +134) vs. UCF

In the past, this would have been one of the best Group of Five matchups of the season, and if the Golden Knights were still a G5 team, maybe they wouldn’t be favored in this game. 

Boise State football isn’t an underdog very often. In the past 10 seasons, the Broncos have been an underdog just 15 times, and only twice at home. They’re 1-1 against the spread in those home outings. Boise also hasn’t started 0-2 since 2005, when they lost to Georgia and Oregon State to open the season.

The previous three times Boise has opened its season with a loss to a Power Five school, it has bounced back to win its next game. We also know how dominant the Broncos are on the blue turf, going 21-6 in the past five seasons at home. 

Yes, Boise was throttled by Washington last week, but don’t be surprised if that Huskies team is flirting with the CFP late in the season. The 56-19 loss was closer than the score indicates and the Broncos had a lot of miscues and mistakes that don’t typically happen to that disciplined program.

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On the other hand, the Knights throttled Kent State 56-6 last Thursday. Kent State is arguably one of the worst teams in the country, however. 

I don’t like that UCF got that extra time to prepare for Boise, but I do like the Broncos at home as an underdog. They will be anxious to get the bad taste out of their mouth.

The Knights are also traveling the furthest they have for a game since they visited Stanford in 2015. 

Honorable Mentions

Ohio (+5) at FAU

I’m not sure if it’s full panic mode when it comes to the Bobcats since Kurtis Rourke hasn’t been under center. He supposedly will be back for this matchup and should breathe some life into Ohio, whose prolific offense will find its stride any time now. This line might move once it’s certain that he’s playing.

FAU’s defense wasn’t as dominant as expected in a 42-20 win over Monmouth last week, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it won’t be dominant going forward. Regardless, I don’t know if FAU will win this game by more than a field goal, even if they want payback following Ohio’s 41-38 win last season.

New year, but very similar teams.

UAB (+7.5, +230) at Georgia Southern

It was against North Carolina A&T, but the Blazers’ defense looked great in their Aug. 31 victory. Next up is a solid Georgia Southern squad where UAB will face a much better offense headlined by Davis Brin and Khaleb Hood. 

The line is moving in favor of the Eagles, but that shouldn’t scare bettors away too much. UAB was expected to rebuild this year, but I think this fresh roster and first-year head coach have other things in mind.

Charlotte (+24.5, +1200) at Maryland

49ers on primetime NBC? No, not San Francisco on Sunday Night Football, but Charlotte visiting Maryland for a Saturday night showdown. 

First-year coach Biff Poggi and the Niners are coming into the season guns blazing and I’m not sure we can expect them to roll over for any opponent. Give me Charlotte to keep it within four scores in this one, even on the road against a Big Ten squad.