CFB bad line of the week: Sell high on NC State
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You won't find an easier pick in this segment than last week's take on Missouri. The Tigers won outright over LSU, handing the reigning national champs their second loss as double-digit favorites over the last three games.
Let's keep the momentum rolling, folks. Here's the oddsboard for Week 7, and our take on which line looks fishy:
Week 7 spreads
| Matchup | Spread |
|---|---|
| Coastal @ UL Lafayette | ULL -7 |
| Ga. State @ Arkansas State | Ark. St. -3.5 |
| SMU @ Tulane | SMU -6.5 |
| BYU @ Houston | BYU -3 |
| Auburn @ South Carolina | Auburn -3.5 |
| Texas St. @ South Alabama | USA -2.5 |
| South Florida @ Temple | Temple -10 |
| Liberty @ Syracuse | Liberty -3.5 |
| Cincinnati @ Tulsa | Cincinnati -3 |
| Navy @ ECU | Navy -2 |
| Pitt @ Miami | Miami -10.5 |
| Clemson @ Georgia Tech | Clemson -27 |
| Kansas @ West Virginia | WVU -22.5 |
| Kentucky @ Tennessee | Tennessee -6 |
| Army @ UTSA | Army -7 |
| Western Kentucky @ UAB | UAB -13.5 |
| Louisville @ Notre Dame | ND -17 |
| UCF @ Memphis | UCF -3.5 |
| Ole Miss @ Arkansas | Ole Miss -3 |
| Duke @ North Carolina St. | NC State -4.5 |
| LSU @ Florida | Florida -13.5 |
| UMass @ Georgia Southern | Ga. Southern -28.5 |
| Virginia @ Wake Forest | Virginia -3 |
| Texas A&M @ Mississippi State | A&M -6.5 |
| North Texas @ MTSU | MTSU -7 |
| Marshall @ Louisiana Tech | Marshall -14 |
| North Carolina @ FSU | UNC -13.5 |
| Southern Miss @ UTEP | Southern Miss -4.5 |
| Vanderbilt @ Missouri | Missouri -20 |
| FIU @ Charlotte | Charlotte -7.5 |
| Georgia @ Alabama | Alabama -6 |
| Boston College @ Virginia Tech | VT -11.5 |
Bad line of the week: North Carolina State (-4.5 vs. Duke)
Don't look now, but North Carolina State is 3-1 despite being favored in only one game. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Devin Leary has been the spark, leading the Wolfpack to consecutive upset wins over Pitt and Virginia.
But as NC State gains some support in the betting markets, it's hard not to think the program's bound to regress at some point.
Three of the Wolfpack's four opponents have outgained them this season. The lone outlier was lowly Wake Forest - and the Demon Deacons still logged close to 400 yards of offense with 42 points to boot.
NC State (-0.1) currently has the edge over Duke (-0.4) in net yards per play, but the Blue Devils' struggles can be at least partly attributed to a Week 1 outing in which a talented Notre Dame squad outgained them by more than 100 yards.
That was more than a month ago. Now, the Blue Devils' offense is starting to gain some confidence. Following a couple of tough matchups to start the year, Duke has registered 69 combined points over the last two weeks.
Frankly, the Blue Devils have appealing advantages on both sides of the ball in this Week 7 matchup. They're currently No. 10 in the nation with 3.6 sacks per game, and they should continue moving the ball against an NC State defense allowing close to 450 yards per game. If the Duke can stay on track defensively, it should present a serious challenge for a Wolfpack offense currently converting just 36.2% of its third downs.
This is simply a sweet spot to back Duke head coach David Cutcliffe, who's on a 31-15-1 run against the spread as an underdog. The Wolfpack, meanwhile, are 1-6 ATS the last seven following an outright win and 1-5 ATS the last six as favorites.
Take the 'dog in this spot.
(Odds source: theScore Bet)
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 @AJKolodziej.