By Darren Cooper in College Football
Published:
South Florida (3-1; 3-1 ATS) remains on the fringe of the Top 25 and is looking to impress voters when it hosts Charlotte (1-3; 1-3 ATS) Friday at Raymond James Stadium.
The Bulls opened the season with two wins over ranked teams, but were thumped by Miami in Week 3. South Florida leads the all-time series 2-0 and won by 35 points last year.
Charlotte is looking to spring an big upset, and I’ve got your Charlotte vs South Florida prediction, pick and look at the best odds for Friday.
South Florida was the talk of college football early on, after beating Boise State and Florida, but now we know that the Gators’ win wasn’t all that. South Florida had a chance to beat a third-ranked team when it faced Miami, but got dominated 42-13. They bounced back with a win over South Carolina State last week.
Charlotte is in full-scale rebuild under new coach Tim Albin, who came over after having success at Ohio University. Their only win is against an FCS squad, Monmouth, by a touchdown. Not that impressive.
Things got worse for the Miners last week in a 28-17 loss to Rice when starting quarterback Conner Harrell got knocked out with an injury. He’s out for the year. Charlotte has turned to Duke transfer Grayson Loftis behind center. The news got worse for South Florida, who also lost starting running back Henry Rutledge to an injury for the season.
I’m picking the Bulls to cover the spread and the over, knowing that each of South Florida’s last seven games as favorites have gone over the total.
South Florida has too much firepower for the Miners. Bulls QB Byrum Brown threw for four TDs last week against South Carolina State. Earlier this season, he had a streak of 252 passes without an interception. Bulls WR Chas Nimrod, a transfer from Tennessee, is averaging 26.2 yards a catch and will try to tie a school record with his third straight 100-yard game.
The Bulls will wear special helmets paying homage to their first season back in 1997. The Bulls are a contender in the American. Charlotte is not. Don’t overthink it. South Florida will roll.
Odds as of Oct. 2 from BetMGM. Join the party at BetMGM with our BetMGM bonus code.
There has been some movement on the point spread before kickoff Friday. The spread was 26.5 at DraftKings early in the week, but it’s now 28.5 at DraftKings and FanDuel. It’s 27.5 at BetMGM. That one point is a big difference.
Oddsmakers have the total at 55 at Bet365 and FanDuel. Its 54.5 at BetMGM. Both teams are 2-2 over/under this season. The best moneyline number is +2200 for Charlotte at FanDuel and -4500 for South Florida at Caesars.
South Florida has covered the spread easily in the first two meetings. They were 1.5-point favorites last year (won by 35) and 7-point favorites in 2023 (won by 34). The favorite has covered in Charlotte’s four games this season. The Miners have lost their last nine road openers.
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Darren has been covering the world of sports since 1998. His grandfather had a special 'system' to bet on the ponies, but the secrets of that system have been lost to time. He loves betting the under, thinks homefield advantage is worth more than 3 points nowadays and always stays within his means.
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