After a wild week in which some of the top teams in the country went down, I’m targeting three underdogs in my Week 7 college football predictions.
The Northern Illinois Huskies already have one big upset win this year, and I like them to win outright as an underdog this weekend. Meanwhile, the Stanford Cardinal and Mississippi State Bulldogs are among the bottom-dwellers in their conferences but should cover against heavy favorites on Saturday.
Keep reading to see my full analysis, as well as a same-game parlay on the Syracuse Orange, in my parlay college football picks.
Best college football parlays for Week 7
- Parlay
Northern Illinois ML
Stanford +23.5
Mississippi State +33.5
(+727 at FanDuel) 
SGP 
Syracuse -3.5
Over 53.5
Allen anytime TD
(+260 at BetMGM)
Best Week 7 parlay
Northern Illinois moneyline
Stanford +23.5
Mississippi State +33.5
Northern Illinois picked up one of the biggest upset wins in recent memory earlier this season when it beat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 16-14 in early September.
Two losses since have taken the Huskies out of any serious discussion of picking up a College Football Playoff berth, but it’s hardly as though they’ve played badly, losing by one score to both the North Carolina State Wolfpack and the Buffalo Bulls.
Meanwhile, the Bowling Green Falcons are coasting on a couple of close losses — admittedly, to quality opponents in the Texas A&M Aggies and the Penn State Nittany Lions — to maintain their reputation as a quality team.
But the Falcons also took a 30-27 loss to the Old Dominion Monarchs and have failed to cover as a favorite in each of their last two games. I like Northern Illinois to win this one outright.
Speaking of the Fighting Irish, they’ve bounced back from the Northern Illinois loss to pick up three straight wins, even covering in two of those games. However, the Irish haven’t shown much offensive firepower this year, scoring more than 31 points just once.
That makes it hard to believe they can cover a 23.5-point spread against the Stanford Cardinal, who've played reasonable defense this year and have hit the Under in four straight games. Stanford should cover in a low-scoring contest.
Finally, I’m targeting a nearly five-touchdown line in an SEC contest as the Georgia Bulldogs host Mississippi State. There’s no doubt Georgia should win this game easily, but it hasn’t beaten an FBS opponent by more than 31.
Mississippi State just went on the road and kept things reasonably close against the Texas Longhorns, and it should be able to do that at Sanford Stadium on Saturday, too.
Best Week 7 SGP
Syracuse -3.5
Over 53.5
LeQuint Allen anytime touchdown
The Syracuse Orange slipped under the radar a bit after suffering an upset loss at home against the Stanford Cardinal last month, but this is still a 4-1 squad that beat two ranked teams — at least at the time it played them.
This weekend, the Orange travel to play North Carolina State Wolfpack who've proven little this year, but are still getting a fair amount of respect at home from oddsmakers.
Syracuse is favored by a bit over a field goal in this game which doesn’t seem nearly enough considering NC State is coming off a four-point home loss to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
Both Cuse and NC State have been adept at scoring points this season but haven’t been able to stop any significant opposition. Even the Holy Cross Crusaders put up 14 points against the Orange, while the Wolfpack have given up 34 points or more to each of their three Power 4 opponents.
Syracuse is averaging 35.8 ppg on offense and is coming off the UNLV game, which was played to a massive total of 85 points. NC State has a capable enough offense, scoring 27.8 ppg, and should contribute enough to hit the Over here.
I’m completing my same-game parlay with an anytime touchdown bet on Orange running back LeQuint Allen. The Junior has picked up his usage as of late, getting 19 carries against UNLV last Friday.
That led to four touchdowns — including the game winner — for Allen, who has a total of six scores on the year.
Not intended for use in MA.
Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
