Army vs Navy (+3)
As usual, the college football pre-bowl schedule concludes with the Army-Navy game, which will be played Saturday at Gillette Stadium. Navy’s dominance during the first part of the century has turned around in recent years with the Black Knights winning four of the last six matchups against the Midshipmen. Army has even turned the tide enough to be considered three-point favorites in Saturday’s game.
Of course, 2023 has been a disappointing season for both sides. Each team enters this matchup at 5-6, meaning neither will be involved in a bowl game. That adds extra incentive for both sides, as each needs to win to avoid a losing record. The Black Knights also enter with a lot of momentum after three straight wins, including a 23-3 win over Air Force. The caveat is the Black Knights are 0-3 when favored against FBS opponents this season. They are also averaging just under 21 points per game, making it hard to eat the points. While Navy’s offense has been even worse, the Midshipmen put together some strong defensive performances late in the year, holding four of their last six opponents to 17 points or less, including two shutouts. With this likely to be a low-scoring game, it’s best to take Navy and the points.
To get college prop picks and advanced stats for every college football game this week, check out BetQL.
Colts vs Bengals
With the AFC Wild Card race as tight as can be, this week’s game between the Indianapolis Colts and the Cincinnati Bengals is among the most important on the Week 18 schedule. Oddsmakers list the game as a straight-up PK, showing just how tight this matchup is and how close the Wild Card race is in the AFC overall.
While many were ruling out the Bengals from the playoff picture after the injury to Joe Burrow, that changed following Monday’s surprise overtime win in Jacksonville. Cincinnati is just one game out of a playoff spot with back-to-back home games over the next two weeks, so the Bengals aren't done yet. Jake Browning was shockingly efficient against the Jags and will now face an Indy defense that’s giving up 24.7 points per game. Of course, despite having one of the NFL’s worst defenses and relying on backup quarterback Gardner Minshew, the Colts have won four in a row. However, keep in mind the four teams Indy has beaten during that stretch have a combined 12 wins. The Colts also needed four field goals and a blocked punt returned for a touchdown just to force overtime. Indy’s winning streak might be a little bit of fool’s gold, which is why we're backing the Bengals at home to win an ugly game.
For NFL expert picks for every game in Week 14, including moneyline picks and NFL player prop picks head over to BetQL. At BetQL you can find picks from their computer model, the most updated odds, and public betting data!