5 College Football Best Bets for Saturday, October 19: Will Green Get Arkansas Past LSU?

Ready for Week 8 of college football? If not, we can help get you there with our betting preview! Our expert has found 5 best bets for Saturday, October 19.

Alabama Crimson Tide vs Tennessee Volunteers

In what is likely to be the 2^nd most anticipated game of the week, only behind Georgia/Texas, the #7 Alabama Crimson Tide are traveling to #11 Tennessee. Alabama is coming off a tough win over the upset-minded South Carolina team last week where they escaped with a 27-25 win.

This win was following the historic loss to Vanderbilt the week prior. Leading 27-19, Bama gave up a touchdown in the final seconds but was able to prevent a successful 2-point conversion to get the win.

Tennessee also bounced back from their 1^st loss of the season by defeating Florida last week 23-17. After losing to unranked Arkansas, Tennessee found themselves tied with unranked Florida at the end of regulation.

In overtime, Dylan Sampson was able to punch in a short touchdown to get the win after they forced a missed field goal from Florida to begin the overtime period. The score by Sampson was his 3^rd of the game and he was able to go over 100 yards rushing for the day.

Best Bet: Tennessee +3

Both teams have lost their 1^st game of the season and now have survived a very close 2^nd game. They should each be set for this well-anticipated matchup, and we should see the best shot that each of these programs has in their artillery.

We believe the points are going to play a factor here. We will ride the home underdogs here and believe the Vols could pull off the upset but happy to take the field goal with the hook in this one in Knoxville.

Key Trends:

• Tennessee is 10-4 ATS in their last 14 games at home.
• Tennessee is 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games.
• Tennessee is 17-1 SU in their last 18 games played on a Saturday when playing at home.

Georgia Bulldogs vs Texas Longhorns

Georgia has gotten past their last 2 opponents after taking their 1^st loss of the season to their rival, Alabama Crimson Tide a couple of weeks ago. They took care of Auburn 31-13 before defeating Mississippi State last week 41-31.

In their latest win, Carson Beck went for almost 460 yards and 3 touchdowns but did throw 2 interceptions. He completed 75% of his passes and hit Arian Smith for 5 receptions and 134 yards and a score. The defense was able to hold Mississippi State to just 79 yards on the ground in the win.

Texas took care of Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry game last week 34-3 last week. Quinn Ewers made his return and threw for just under 200 yards while rushing for a touchdown as well as throwing for one.

He did toss an interception and leaned on his run game a bit more than usual. Quintrevion Wisner took 13 carries and ran for 118 yards and a score in the win. The defense looked tremendous in the win. They held the Sooners to just 237 total yards and 4/15 on 3^rd down. They forced 2 turnovers and picked up 5 sacks in the win.

Best Bet: Texas -4.5

Texas, while winning decidedly, did not look their best last week. Quinn Ewers returning for the 1^st time since injury was not his well-polished self.

We believe that Georgia is going to treat this game like it is a playoff game. However, this Texas team is looking just too strong for the Dawgs to be able to pull off the upset. We believe the Longhorns make a statement here with Georgia coming to town.

Key Trends:

• Georgia is 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games
• Georgis is 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games on the road.
• Texas is 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games.
• Texas is 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games at home.

LSU Tigers vs Arkansas Razorbacks

LSU is coming off their biggest win of the season. They defeated then #9 Mississippi last week to move to 5-1 and now are ranked 8^th in the country and have their sights set on the CFB Playoff. In the 29-26 win over Ole Miss, they trailed 17-7 in the 2^nd quarter and then again 23-16 with just over 3 minutes left in the game.

Garrett Nussmeier hit Aaron Anderson with just 30 seconds remaining to tie the game and after holding Ole Miss to a field goal, Nussmeier hit Kyren Lacy for the game-winner. While running for just 84 yards, LSU leaned heavily on their passing game all night to pick up the win.

Arkansas is looking to pull off yet another Top 10 upset here against LSU. They are coming off a bye week but before that, they defeated then #4 Tennessee 19-14. Arkansas stood strong on two 4^th down attempts by Tennessee and held them to just 158 yards passing.

They will try to do the same against the pass-heavy LSU team. Taylen Green played an efficient game at QB and avoided giving the game away for Arkansas. He will be tasked with doing the same against an LSU defense that could be a tougher opponent than Tennessee.

Best Bet: Arkansas +2.5

LSU is in a very tough spot here. They are coming off their biggest win of the season and head to the road against an unranked conference opponent.

Arkansas had an extra week to prepare and has the confidence that they can compete with anyone in the country. We like Arkansas to pull off the upset once again and stun LSU in Fayetteville.

Key Trends:

• LSU is 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games.
• LSU is 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games on the road.
• Arkansas is 12-4-1 ATS in their last 17 games against LSU.
• Arkansas is 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games when playing as the underdog.

Michigan Wolverines vs Illinois Fighting Illini

Michigan is 4-2 and 24^th in the country but will have their hands full this Saturday in Champaign. Illinois is 5-1 and 22^nd in the country and coming off a wild 50-49 win over Purdue last week. Before winning over Purdue, the Illini were on a bye that came after their 1^st loss of the season to Penn State 21-7. The Illini will face now #2 Oregon next week which could cause a look-ahead spot for Illinois. They are averaging 31ppg and have been holding opponents to just 20ppg which has helped them get to this strong start to the season.

Michigan has had an up-and-down start as the defending champions. An early loss to now #1 Texas was not terrible but their latest loss to unranked Washington has swung emotions among the Wolverine faithful. After taking a 17-14 lead into the 4^th quarter, Washington scored 13 unanswered points in the 4^th and stole the 27-17 win over Michigan. Michigan had a problem moving the ball through the air once again here and finished with just 113 yards passing. They gave up over 300 yards passing to Washington.

Best Bet: Illinois +3.5

Illinois can get the ball downfield through the air. They average 242.5 passing yards per game which is 81^st in the country. If Michigan is unable to contain Luke Altmyer and the passing game, it could be another tough Saturday for the Wolverines.

They are a short underdog here at home and we believe they are coming to be able to use their offense to keep this one close enough to cover the number.

Key Trends:

• Michigan is 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games.
• Illinois is 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games when playing as the underdog.
• Illinois is 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games against Michigan.

Miami Hurricanes vs Louisville Cardinals

The Hurricanes are still undefeated and are currently ranked 6^th in the country. However, they have escaped back-to-back upset bids by Virginia Tech and California by a total of 5 points.

They are coming off a bye where they could have gotten refocused and will need that as they head to Louisville on Saturday afternoon. In both games, the Canes were unable to keep the opposing passing games under control. That will be something they need to address going forward.

The Cardinals are 4-2 to this point and avoided a losing streak last week by defeating Virginia on the road. Losses to Notre Dame and SMU preceded the Virginia win, which are both tough teams and respectable losses.

In the win over Virginia, Isaac Brown took 20 carries for 146 yards and 2 touchdowns. He helped pace the Cardinals on offense and the defense was able to step up and get two 4^th down stops.

Best Bet: Louisville +5

We believe this Louisville team is going to be pulling out all of the stops in order to do what both Cal and Virginia Tech failed to do in their meetings with Miami and try to successfully pull off this upset bid.

That said, we feel comfortable taking the points in this one but would not discourage a small sprinkle on the money line. Tyler Shough should be able to find success in the passing game and keep this one tight down the stretch.

Key Trends:

• Miami is 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games against Louisville.
• Miami is 1-8 ATS in their last 9 games played in October.
• Louisville is 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games played in week 8.
• Louisville is 12-2 ATS in their last 14 games played on a Saturday when playing at home.