College football trends, predictions: Cougars and Tigers and Bruins, oh my

Bruce Marshall is a handicapper for WagerTalk.com. He provides the Review-Journal with college football notes and trends.

Wyoming at UNLV: The Cowboys have made a surprising move this season, winning and covering four of their last five games. Wyoming is also 6-1 to the under in its last seven games in 2026. The Rebels are just 7-10 against the spread under Dan Mullen since early 2025. Edge: Wyoming and under, based on recent and totals trends.

BYU at Utah: The Cougars have won outright in the past three meetings, including the last two by a combined four points. BYU is 8-3 as an underdog since late in the 2023 campaign. The Utes, however, are on a 14-0 straight-up run since mid-2025 and are 8-1 against the spread in their last nine games (7-1 this season, 5-0 in Salt Lake City). Edge: Slight to BYU, based on series trends.

Texas at Missouri: The Longhorns have failed to cover in their last five games as an SEC visitor and are 1-7 against the number as a league road team since entering the conference in 2024. The Tigers are 3-0 in their last three and 4-1 in their last five against the spread as an SEC host. Edge: Missouri, based on recent trends.

UCLA at Minnesota: The Bruins continue their remarkable turnaround under Bob Chesney, going 8-0 straight up and 7-0-1 against the spread this season. UCLA has also stayed under the total in its last four games. The Gophers have covered their last four as underdogs this season. Edge: Under and slight to UCLA, based on totals and recent trends.

Clemson at Syracuse: The road team has covered the last three meetings and six of the last seven in the series. Dabo Swinney has won and covered four straight as an ACC visitor. Note, however, that the Orange have covered four straight this season. Edge: Clemson, based on series trends.

Duke at NC State: The Blue Devils have won and covered the last three meetings and are now 9-1-1 against the spread versus ACC foes away from Durham since mid-2024. The Wolfpack are 1-0 straight up and against the spread (31-10 over Cal) under interim coach Todd Goebbel. Edge: Duke, based on team trends.

Maryland at Purdue: The skidding Terrapins are 0-12 straight up in their last 12 games and 1-8-1 against the spread in their last 10 against Big Ten foes since mid-2025. Aazaar Abdul-Rahman is now Maryland’s interim coach and is 0-1 straight up and 0-1-1 against the spread. Edge: Purdue, based on team trends.

Texas A&M at South Carolina: The Aggies are just 4-7 against the spread since late in the 2025 campaign. They are also 4-1 to the under in their last five games this season. The Gamecocks enter having won and covered three straight this season, and Shane Beamer has covered in each of the past four seasons against Texas A&M. Edge: South Carolina, based on team and series trends.

Alabama at LSU: The Crimson Tide have won and covered the last three meetings. As an underdog, Kalen DeBoer’s teams at Washington and Alabama are 8-3 since 2023. The Tigers, however, are 5-0 straight up and against the spread at Baton Rouge this season under Lane Kiffin. Edge: Slight to Alabama, based on recent series trends.

Oregon at Ohio State: This is a rematch of Ohio State’s 41-21 Rose Bowl victory two years ago. The Ducks, however, have won and covered the last two regular-season meetings in 2021 and 2024. Dan Lanning is 2-3-1 as an underdog with Oregon. The Buckeyes are 13-6 against the spread since early last season but have covered just two of their last five in 2026. Edge: Slight to Ohio State, based on team trends.

Cincinnati at Houston: The Bearcats are entering their trouble zone, now 0-10 straight up and against the spread in the final five games of the season, including bowls, since 2024. They are also 1-14 straight up and against the spread in those final five games since 2023. Edge: Houston, based on team trends.

Penn State at Washington: The Huskies may be showing signs of recovery with wins and covers in their last two games this season, both on the road. In Seattle, however, Washington is 0-6 against the spread in its last six. Matt Campbell’s teams at Iowa State and Penn State are 8-3 in their last 11 games as an underdog, including 1-1 this season with the Nittany Lions. Edge: Slight to Penn State, based on extended trends.

Boise State at Colorado State: The home team has won and covered the last three meetings. The Broncos are just 2-5 against the spread in their last seven conference games, spanning the Mountain West and new Pac-12. The Rams, however, have lost and failed to cover five of their last six this season in Jim Mora’s debut season, though they had gone over the total in seven straight before last weekend against Utah State. Edge: Over, based on totals trends.

Kentucky at Tennessee: The old Beer Barrel game. The road team has covered the last three meetings and six of the last seven in the series. Kentucky has won and covered six straight this season and is 3-0 straight up and against the spread in SEC play under Will Stein, winning outright as an underdog in each contest. Tennessee is 5-1 to the under in its last six games this season. Edge: Kentucky and under, based on recent and totals trends.

Miami (Fla.) at Notre Dame: The once-heated rivalry saw Miami win and cover 27-24 last season in the opener. The Hurricanes are 15-1 straight up since mid-2025, and Mario Cristobal has also covered his last four as an underdog. The Irish are just 1-3 against the spread in their last four this season and 9-8 overall against the number since late 2024. Edge: Miami, based on team trends.

Georgia at Ole Miss: The Rebels have won outright as underdogs against Georgia in each of the past two seasons. Ole Miss is 7-3 against the spread at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium since last season and 3-3 as an underdog. The Rebels are also 4-1 to the over in their last five games this season. Edge: Slight to Ole Miss and over, based on recent series and totals trends.

West Virginia at Texas Tech: The Mountaineers are on an 8-4-1 spread surge since late 2025 and are 5-3-1 in their last nine as underdogs. Rich Rodriguez’s team has also gone over the total in seven of eight games this season. The Red Raiders are 6-1 to the over in their last seven this season. Edge: Over and slight to West Virginia, based on totals and recent trends.

Iowa at Northwestern: The Hawkeyes have won the last five meetings outright, dating to 2019, and are on a 15-5 surge against the spread since early last season. The Wildcats, however, have won and covered all five home games this season, including a 3-0 mark at the new Ryan Field. Edge: Slight to Iowa, based on series and extended trends.

Air Force at Army: Commander-in-Chief Trophy games have gone under the total at a 49-14-1 clip over the past 21-plus years after Air Force’s 14-9 win over Navy last month. This series in particular has been under-oriented, with 11 straight unders since 2015 and no game totaling more than 43 points. Edge: Under, based on totals trends.

Texas State at Oregon State: The Beavers covered their first seven games this season, including a 4-0 mark at home, before last week’s loss at Fresno State. Oregon State is also 7-1 to the over this season under first-year coach JaMarcus Shephard. Texas State enters Corvallis on a 5-1 over run. Edge: Over and Oregon State, based on totals and recent trends.