College Football Week 14 Best Bets: Friday NCAAF Predictions | Pickswise

The final week of the college football season is here, which means this is our final Friday of action before the College Football Playoff and bowl season. Fortunately, there are a healthy amount of games to choose from on Friday of this week, way more than the average week. Headlining the slate will be Georgia Tech vs Georgia, but many of the games have intrigue and should be the perfect appetizer for Saturday’s main slate of rivalry week. After combing through all of the matchups, there are 2 spots that stood out to me more than the rest.

Let’s get to the picks, and make sure you continue to check Pickswise after the regular season for college football picks and CFB predictions throughout bowl season and the College Football Playoff.

College football Week 14 Friday best bets

Odds courtesy of Fanatics Sportsbook at the time of publishing

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East Carolina Pirates -2 over Navy Midshipmen (-110)

East Carolina has been electric offensively since coach Mike Houston was fired, winning 4 consecutive games while scoring at least 38 points in each. In fact, the Pirates are 1st nationally in PPA per play outside of garbage time since Week 8, owning a massive advantage over Navy in that department – which ranks 90th. Navy hasn’t been creating many scoring opportunities either, as the Midshipmen are 132nd in total trips inside the 40-yard line sans garbage time since mid-October. 

While it sounds like Navy quarterback Blake Horvath is doubtful at best, he is apparently going to warm up on Friday and see how he feels. Regardless of if he plays or not, I don’t like the Navy offense in this particular matchup given ECU’s ability to stop the run. Since Week 8, the Pirates’ defense is top 35 in PPA per rush, with top 50 marks in rush success, line yards, explosiveness per rush and stuff rate. They are also 8th nationally in power success in that time, which will be useful in short-yardage situations against Navy’s rushing unit. For what it’s worth, this is a very odd spot for the Midshipmen, who had a week off last week, and will still have another game to play against Army in 2 weeks following conference championship week. Playable to -3.

Find our college Football best bets for our most confident picks of Week 14

Iowa Hawkeyes -3.5 over Nebraska Cornhuskers (-110)

Money has come in heavily on Nebraska throughout the week, pushing this line down at least 2 points from the early-week 5.5-point spread. I’m going to go the other way with this one, and back the home team despite the injuries at quarterback and at right tackle. Iowa’s passing offense is going to struggle, but I’m buying the Hawkeyes running game with Kaleb Johnson. The junior running back has surpassed 100 yards in 3 of his last 4 games, scoring 8 touchdowns in that span. In this game, he has a plus-matchup against a Nebraska defense that ranks outside the top 50 in stuff rate outside of garbage time since Week 8, as well as outside the top 70 in PPA per rush, explosiveness per rush, line yards and front 7 havoc generated. 

Through their efficient ground game and strong defense, the Hawkeyes have an edge over the Cornhuskers in finishing drives. They have scored over 4 points per opportunity in the last 6 weeks, while allowing fewer than 3.2. Nebraska, on the other hand, has scored fewer than 3.75 points per trip inside the opposing 40-yard line, and has given up more than 4.15. The ‘Huskers rely heavily on the arm of Dylan Raiola, but they are not a very efficient passing offense. Since Week 8 they are 118th in PPA per pass, 74th in passing success and dead last nationally in explosiveness per pass. Iowa counters with a defense that is top 55 in PPA per pass and top 15 in explosiveness per pass. Both teams have secured bowl eligibility, so only pride is on the line in this matchup. I’m going to lay it with the Hawkeyes — who are 3-0 ATS at home against Big Ten opponents — against a team that has failed to cover as a road underdog in 2 of its last 3. Playable to -4.

Check our full Nebraska vs Iowa prediction