2024 College Football Week 7 action report: 'We’ll need Oregon come kickoff'

College football’s Week 7 oddsboard is loaded with marquee matchups, with several games sure to impact College Football Playoff odds, as well. 

Topping the list is No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 3 Oregon.

It’s a massive Saturday night clash in the Big Ten, as both teams look to stay unbeaten. The point spread is moving Oregon’s direction, but Caesars Sports head of football trading Joey Feazel isn’t necessarily a believer.

"I’m not buying Oregon’s offense. It’s definitely a downgrade from Bo Nix last season to Dillon Gabriel this season," Feazel said.

Oddsmakers and sharp bettors serve up their insights on Ohio State vs. Oregon and more, in this week’s college football betting nuggets.

Dollars on Ducks

The Buckeyes are 5-0 straight up (SU) and 3-2 against the spread (ATS). The Ducks are also 5-0 SU, but haven’t been good for point-spread bettors, going just 1-4 ATS.

Still, early action flowed toward short home underdog Oregon at Caesars Sports. Ohio State opened -4 on Sunday and bumped up to -4.5 on Monday morning. But Ducks action quickly took the number back to Buckeyes -4, then -3.5 (-105).

"We saw some sharp money going for Oregon. We’re now at 3.5 and leaning toward 3," Feazel said. "I could see this going to 3. But we’ve got more Ohio State money. We’ll need Oregon come kickoff."

College Football Rocks On FOX

Week 7’s Big Noon Kickoff on FOX pregame show heads to the mountains of Provo, Utah, where unbeaten and 14th-ranked BYU hosts Arizona. The game itself won’t kick off in the usual noon ET window, but rather at 4 p.m. ET.

The Cougars are 5-0 SU and ATS, so they’ve been a boon for bettors this season. Arizona is 3-2 SU/1-4 ATS entering this Big 12 contest.

At DraftKings Sportsbook, BYU opened -2.5 and climbed as high as -5 on Tuesday. By Wednesday night, the line receded to BYU -3.5.

Still, it’s all Cougars midweek. BYU is attracting 86% of early bets/89% of early money on the point spread. And although the total is down to 48.5 from a 50 opener, early bettors are banking on points. The Over is netting 86% of bets/80% of money.

On-Campus Sharp Side 

College football betting expert Paul Stone was rightly on Texas A&M -2 last week. The Aggies boatraced visiting Missouri 41-10.

In Week 7 college football odds, Stone is involved with a noon ET contest on FOX: Washington vs. Iowa.

Washington (4-2 SU/3-3 ATS) is coming off a field-storming 27-17 home victory over Michigan, in a rematch of last January's National Championship Game. Iowa (3-2 SU/2-3 ATS) hung with Ohio State for 30 minutes last week, down just 7-0 at halftime. But the Hawkeyes got blasted in the second half and lost 35-7.

The Huskies have played every weekend this season and could be emotionally spent after the Michigan win. With Washington now traveling to Iowa, Stone sees a fresher Iowa team bouncing back in a big way on Saturday.

Specifically, Stone sees the Huskies’ run defense as susceptible. 

Two weeks ago, Rutgers rushed for 184 yards (5.6 yards per carry) in a 21-18 victory over Washington. Stone believes run-heavy Iowa will have similar success against the Huskies, so he recommends Hawkeyes -3.

"Kaleb Johnson constitutes a healthy chunk of Iowa's offense and is one of the nation's top backs," Stone said. "I think he gets 25 carries, and the Hawkeyes prevail using a familiar recipe of ball-control offense and stout defense."

Johnson has rushed for 771 yards through five games, averaging 7.9 yards per carry.

College Football Quick Hitters

The Red River Rivalry is on tap for Saturday, as well. Texas meets Oklahoma in a neutral-site game at Dallas’ Cotton Bowl, in a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff.

The top-ranked Longhorns (5-0 SU/4-1 ATS) are 14.5-point favorites vs. the No. 18 Sooners (4-1 SU/2-3 ATS). Texas opened -15 at Caesars early Sunday afternoon and quickly dipped a half-point, even with QB Quinn Ewers (oblique) back under center after missing two games.

"We’ll see if this goes below 14," Feazel said. "Right now, we are seeing Oklahoma money. I expect as we get closer to game time that’s gonna flip, and we’ll need the Sooners."

Feazel chimed in on two more key Saturday games:

• No. 9 Ole Miss vs. No. 12 LSU: Caesars opened Ole Miss -2.5 and quickly went to -3 on Sunday, then advanced to -3.5 on Tuesday afternoon. "There’s more money on the Rebels and more money on the Over, even at that high total," Feazel said of an Over/Under of 62, which is actually down from the 63.5 opener and 64.5 high point. "We have a very big presence in Louisiana and also in Mississippi. I’ll be interested to see which side we need, but we’ll certainly need a lower-scoring game."
• No. 18 Kansas State vs. Colorado: Visiting Kansas State opened -5.5 and briefly touched -6 on Sunday at Caesars. But on Monday morning, the line fell to Wildcats -4, with stops at -5/-4.5 along the way. "All year, in any sort of Big 12 matchup, they take the underdog. So we’ve seen some Colorado money come in. I would expect to see more Colorado money come in on game day."

Patrick Everson is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and senior reporter for VegasInsider.com. He is a distinguished journalist in the national sports betting space. He’s based in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golfing in 110-degree heat. Follow him on Twitter: @PatrickE_Vegas.