College Football Picks: H2H Mythical Matchups (Week 1)
A new market has been released on FanDuel that has many bettors intrigued and excited.
That market is called “Mythical Matchups.â€
These mythical matchups pit rivals head-to-head despite neither team playing the other. The idea is that they’re taking two teams who are not playing each other and are creating spread, Moneyline and totals lines based on the games those two teams are playing.
We’ll use the Mythical Matchup of North Carolina and North Carolina State as an example. North Carolina will take on Minnesota tomorrow, while North Carolina State will play Western Carolina. Since the Wolfpack has an easier matchup ahead, NC State is -21.5 (-108) in the mythical matchup.
Hypothetically, if North Carolina State scores 42 and North Carolina finishes with 21, the Tar Heels would still cover +21.5 with a 21-point loss outright.
In addition, the total for this matchup is 72.5. You’d take both teams’ scores after their games and add them up to see if they’ve gone over or under the Mythical Matchup line.
Now that you understand how these work, here are a few bets to consider for Week 1.
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Mythical Matchups Picks (Week 1)
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Ohio State vs. Michigan
There’s no rivalry like Ohio State-Michigan. These two teams don’t play until November 30. But after that Connor Stalions Netflix documentary, many Buckeyes fans can’t wait to play Michigan again.
Michigan will compete against Fresno State on Saturday night. Ultimately, Fresno State is expected to be one of the best non-Power-4 teams in the nation this year. With coach Harbaugh out of the picture, Michigan is a bit of a mystery.
Meanwhile, Ohio State will battle Akron. This should be much more of a beatdown. With Will Howard at quarterback and Quinshon Judkins at running back, the Buckeyes are the team to beat this season. They’re going to prove it when they take the field on Saturday.
Let’s take Ohio State -21.5 (-110). I’m not super high on Michigan this year.
Pick: Ohio State -21.5 (-110)
Alabama vs. LSU
The Alabama Crimson Tide and LSU Tigers won’t play head-to-head until November 9. Yet, the mythical matchups will let us bet them head-to-head in the first week of the season.
Alabama is set to play Western Kentucky (WKU) at home. It’s no longer the Nick Saban era, but I’d be shocked if Alabama struggled offensively against WKU. After all, Jalen Milroe is a Heisman candidate for the Crimson Tide, and the Hilltoppers allowed a total of 338 points last year. They also gave up 63 points to Ohio State in a 63-10 loss on the road. Don’t be surprised when Alabama lights up the scoreboard this week.
On the other hand, LSU will take on USC in Las Vegas. The USC Trojans allowed 419 points last season. They ultimately watched seven teams score at least 34 points last year.
LSU lost Jayden Daniels, Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. However, the offense, led by Garrett Nussmeier, should still be one of the best in the country. Nussmeier threw for 395 yards in the ReliaQuest Bowl against Wisconsin and completed nearly 69% of passes with three touchdowns.
This game will likely be a shootout as well.
Therefore, the best bet for this mythical matchup is the over 80.5 points.
Pick: Over 80.5 Points (-110)
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