Gridiron Player Club NCAAF 1-5 Units (9/13/25)

NCAAF

4 Picks (12 Units).

12PM EST: Oklahoma/Temple Under 51.5 (4 Units)

Oklahoma's defense allowed 13 points to Michigan last week and 3 in their season opener vs Illinois State. Oklahoma ranked 19th in yards allowed per game and 22nd in scoring defense last year. That was their first season as a member of the SEC. This is Brent Venables’ 4th season as Head Coach of Oklahoma. He was the longtime Clemson DC that helped Dabo win multiple National Championships. This will be an elite defensive team. The Temple offense has played well against the likes of Howard and UMass but there's just levels to College Football.

Offensively Oklahoma's offense has been okay. They put up 24 against Michigan and 35 in their win over Illinois State. Transfer QB John Mateer's legs account for a lot of their offense. He's also a risk taker and known for turnovers. Once OU starts to pull away they won't open Mateer up to hits in the run game and this offense will get real vanilla. Temple's defense has allowed 17 combined points through their first two games. Temple's HC K.C. Keeler has been a winner wherever he's been. He was previously HC of Sam Houston State, leading them to an FCS National Championship in their final year in FCS play. He would make the leap to FBS play with them and finished last season 9-2 in their 2nd season in Conference USA. Sam Houston had the 19th ranked scoring defense last year. He's a defensive guy and we believe he's capable of keeping a lid on Oklahoma's offense.

12PM EST: Alabama -20.5 (3 Units).

This is a prime Alabama spot for us. A lot of people are overreacting to Bama's loss at FSU in Week 1. Bama was breaking in a new QB and FSU is one of if not the toughest stadiums to play in. On top of that FSU still has one of the most talented rosters in College Football. They had a rough 2024 season, but they were betting favorites to win the Natty in 2023 prior to Jordan Travis's injury. The Tide got their swagger back in their 73-0 win over ULM in their home opener last week. Wisconsin is stout defensively, but Alabama's speed is going to present some major challenges for the Badgers defense. It's going to help keep the box light and allow Alabama to establish a run game.

It's the Tide defense we really like to make the difference here. Their run defense struggled against the Seminole’s, but FSU has one of the most electric QB's in the nation. Alabama only allowed 152 yards passing against FSU. Wisconsin is pro-style and doesn't have a running QB. They've struggled to run the ball against inferior competition through the early going. They averaged 3.8 yards per carry against Miami Ohio in Week 1. Excluding a 61-yard TD run by WR Trech Kekahuna, Wisconsin averaged 3.1 YPC vs Middle Tennessee State last week. Both of those games were at Home. Alabama brought back 8 starters from last year's 9th ranked scoring defense.

Alabama also has a bye next week, so we don't see them looking overlooking this matchup. This is their first meaningful game at Home and a chance to change the narrative around DeBoer, and the program given the current state of things. It's a Bama spot.

3:30PM EST: Georgia/Tennessee Under 50.5 (5 Units).

Georgia's beaten Tennessee in 8 straight meetings. Since HC Josh Heupel took over in 2021 they've failed to score more than 17 points against Georgia. They scored 17 and 10 in their 2 games at Home. The Vols offense has looked great against Syracuse and East Tennessee State, but the Vols offense always looks good against inferior talent. The up-tempo quick hitting offenses destroy teams that lack the same talent and speed on defensive side of the ball. Georgia isn't one of those teams. Tennessee's a run first team and that'll help wind this clock down. This is also Tennessee QB's Joey Aguilar first real test as a starting QB. He started for Appalachian State last year and has yet to play this level of competition.

Georgia's passing offense has struggled against the likes of Marshall and Appalachian State. QB Gunner Stockton was more efficient last week but he has just 417 passing yards and 2 touchdowns through 2 games. Georgia's been able to pound the rock against the lesser competition. Will be much tougher sledding on the road against Tennessee. Tennessee was 5th in opponent yards per carry last year and 13th 2 years back. They had the 8th ranked scoring defense last year and were tied 2nd in points allowed per game at Home at 11. Tim Banks has been the Vols DC since 2021 and that continuity plays. Syracuse had some success throwing the football against Tennessee week 1 but Georgia doesn't air it out like that. Going to see a lot of handoffs from both sides in this game.

8PM EST: Duke/Tulane Under 51.5 (4U).

Manny Diaz took over at Duke last season and had the 20th ranked scoring defense. Now they struggled against Illinois last week but that's a very good offensive football team. Their defense played well week 1 against Elon, limiting them to just 112 yards passing. Tulane's a heavy run first offense. They have 87 carries to just 59 pass attempts this season. They've been inefficient passing, complete just 57.6% of passes for 317 yards. Their first two games were against South Alabama and Northwestern, not some powerhouses. Northwestern's defense gave them issues week 1, limiting them to just 23 points. It's a program with stronger defensive tendencies of late, similar to Duke.

Tulane has as strong a home field advantage as some of the biggest programs in College Football. They had the 28th ranked scoring defense last year and allowed just 18.8 PPG at Home. Their HC is a defensive guy who had a ton of success during his time as HC of Troy. 2024 was his first season at Tulane and he led them to a 9-5 overall record and 7-1 mark in Conference play. This is a team set to improve, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Duke's offense has thrown the ball well, but they've really struggled to run the football. Their ground game was practically non-existent against Illinois, and they even struggled against Elon. Have to be able to run the football if you want to score touchdowns in the redzone. This should be a tightly contested football game.