Best situational betting angles for the 2019 college football season

Trends and situational angles shouldn't be deal-breakers when handicapping college football teams. Some don't even apply, given the constant roster and coaching turnover. But there certainly are some fascinating betting nuggets to explore when you're dealing with 130 programs.

Here are some of our favorites ahead of the 2019 season:

Eastern Michigan: 16-3 against the spread in last 19 road games

Eastern Michigan was a legitimate cash cow last season. Head coach Chris Creighton was money in several situations, whether as an underdog or when playing on the road. The Eagles have a chance to improve to 17-3 against the spread as visitors when they travel to Coastal Carolina in the first week of the season.

When it applies: Week 1 at Coastal Carolina, Week 2 at Kentucky, Week 3 at Illinois, Week 6 at Central Michigan, Week 9 at Toledo, Week 11 at Akron, Week 12 at Northern Illinois

Purdue: 10-1 to the "under" in last 11 road games

Purdue finished the 2018 season going under the total in each of its final four road games, continuing what's been a pretty consistent trend under head coach Jeff Brohm. The combined average score for Purdue home games last year was 64.4. That number dropped to 51.8 when the Boilermakers played as visitors.

When it applies: Week 1 at Nevada, Week 6 at Penn State, Week 8 at Iowa, Week 11 at Northwestern, Week 13 at Wisconsin.

Pittsburgh: 11-1 to the under in last 12 road games

Pittsburgh and Purdue are cut from the same cloth. The Panthers went "over" in their first road game in 2018, then flipped the script in each of the next five. Pitt leaned heavily on its run game late in the season and proceeded to register four "unders" in its final five games overall.

When it applies: Week 3 at Penn State, Week 6 at Duke, Week 8 at Syracuse, Week 10 at Georgia Tech, Week 13 at Virginia Tech

Ohio State: 0-6 against the spread in last six games before facing Michigan

If only Urban Meyer was still hammering home Ohio State's apparent lapses in game-planning and focus immediately preceding games against its archrival. It's been tough sledding for the Buckeyes when they have the Wolverines on deck: They're 0-6 against the spread over the previous six situations and nearly lost to Maryland as 14-point favorites last season in the week before "The Game."

When it applies: Week 13 vs. Penn State

Iowa State: Held opponents to the team total under in 13 of last 15 road games

Standard game totals are more popular bets than team totals, the numbers assigned to each team on which bettors can choose to bet "over" or "under." But if you were playing Iowa State's opponents to go "under" the team total when the Cyclones were away from home the last few seasons, you were raking. They allowed 99 total points in five road games last year - with 42 of those coming in one contest.

When it applies: Week 5 at Baylor, Week 7 at West Virginia, Week 8 at Texas Tech, Week 11 at Oklahoma, Week 14 at Kansas State

Penn State: 3-13 against the spread in last 16 games following a loss

There are certain head coaches in college football who have historically been great bounce-back bets following a straight-up loss. Penn State's James Franklin is not one of them. He stopped the bleeding on a 2-13 clip last season, posting a win and cover against Wisconsin in Week 11 following a loss to Michigan, but it's still been a profitable fade overall.

When it applies: TBD

Michigan: 7-0 to first-half over in last 7 contests when favored by 30 points or more

Michigan kept the perfect streak alive last season in Week 11 against Rutgers: With a first-half total of 21.5, the two Big Ten programs combined for 28 points. That pushed the Wolverines to 7-0 to the first-half "over" under head coach Jim Harbaugh when his team is a 30-point favorite or better (Michigan was a 36.5-point favorite against the Scarlet Knights).

When it applies: Week 1 vs. Middle Tennessee State, Week 5 vs. Rutgers

Northwestern: 13-3-1 against the spread in last 17 games as an underdog

One could argue that nobody embraces the underdog role better than Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald, who also has 10 outright wins in such situations.

When it applies: Week 1 at Stanford, Week 5 at Wisconsin, Week 6 at Nebraska, Week 8 vs. Ohio State, Week 9 vs. Iowa.

Texas coach Tom Herman: 13-2-1 all time against the spread as an underdog

There's one man standing between Fitzgerald and the top of the underdog leaderboard. Herman built a reputation for pulling off big upsets at Houston and brought it with him to Texas. Overall, he's been a go-to play when it comes to getting points.

When it applies: Week 2 vs. LSU

Alex Kolodziej is a betting writer for theScore. He's a graduate of Eastern Illinois who has been involved in the sports betting industry for 12 years. He can quote every line from "Rounders" and appreciates franchises that regularly wear alternate jerseys. Find him on Twitter @AlexKoIodziej.