#Service Academies

The new model for turning a college football program around is the transfer portal. All of a sudden, a four-win USC team can compete for Playoff berths in just a year and two-win Colorados can become overnight national attention-grabbers. While not everyone agrees with the portal, it's become important for player mobility. With mobility comes…

The Armed Forces Bowl usually matches up one of the service academies against a team from Conference USA or the Mountain West. In 2013, the Navy Midshipmen take on the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders. But being a service academy hasn't meant much as far as success in this bowl goes, considering Army, Air Force and Navy are a combined 2-3 both…

During the college football season, the Stadium staff will provide weekly betting picks and advice in this roundtable. Here are our thoughts on the Week 5 slate. podcast. Spotify and Apple for episodes and follow Stadium Bets on Twitter for more sports betting content. Alex Symonds, Stadium Senior Producer: Georgia Tech+22.5 over Pittsburgh. This…

Teams from the Pac-12 and ACC meet as No. 18 UCLA faces Pittsburgh in the Sun Bowl on Friday. The Bruins can capture their first 10-win season since 2014 with a bowl victory in Chip Kelly's fifth season. It would be the team's first successful bowl appearance under Kelly after pulling out of the Holiday Bowl in 2021 due to the pandemic. Pitt…

We have an interesting bowl schedule Thursday, with three games featuring Power Five teams. Here's a look at the matchups, including any players and coaches who have departed via the transfer portal or are opting out. Spreads and totals were taken Wednesday from the consensus odds at VegasInsider.com. Minnesota (-10.5) vs. Syracuse Syracuse (7-5)…

Air Force and Baylor will finish their respective seasons in the Armed Forces Bowl in a matchup flying a bit under the radar. While it's not one of the biggest bowl games on the annual schedule, the Armed Forces Bowl has been a sneaky banger in recent seasons. Last year's game saw Army sneak past Missouri in a 24-22 affair. The year…

Bowl season is underway. This year there are 42 games, including the National Championship Game. The first games started on December 16. Eight teams from the Big 12 will be playing bowl games. Two of those teams will play in one of the NY6 Bowls. As Big 12 champs, No. 9 Kansas State will play No. 5 Alabama in the Allstate Sugar Bowl on December 31.…

The Baylor Bears will take on the Air Force Falcons in the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth as Bowl Season continues to roll on. It's time to continue our college football odds series with a Baylor-Air Force prediction and pick. Baylor has struggled to a 6-6 record, going 4-5 in the Big Ten. The Bears enter this contest on a three-game losing…

The college football regular season will conclude this Saturday with the annual playing of America's Game. Whenever the Navy Midshipmen and the Army Black Knights do battle on the gridiron, it is always a spectacle to behold. This year's meeting is no different as both teams look to tie a bow on their respective seasons with a victory. This is also…

Of the many traditions that make college football special, perhaps none are better than the annual Army-Navy Game. It's a game so special and unique that it gets a standalone spot on the schedule, serving as the final matchup of college football's regular season. This Saturday, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, two service academies will…

It's been a disappointing season for the Baylor Bears who are now tasked with trying to stop Air Force's triple-option offense. Our college football betting picks believe the Falcons can use this to their advantage to win their game. December may come and neglect the Air Force Falcons - a byproduct of the annual festivities around the Army-Navy…

For the first time in 15 years, the U.S. Naval Academy will have a search for a new football coach. On Sunday, just a day after losing to rival Army in heartbreaking fashion in double-overtime, Navy athletic director Chet Gladchuk fired longtime coach Ken Niumatalolo. It would be easy to argue that Niumatalolo is the greatest football coach to ever…

Let's get one thing straight - if the Army-Navy game doesn't elicit some type of emotional response, you've got serious problems. This is one of the best, longest-running traditions in college football and the service academies have the stage to themselves once again Saturday, with Navy taking on Army at Lincoln Financial Field. Monetary interests…

The college football regular season draws to a close with the final boss of all rivalry games as the nation's armed forces go at it: Army and Navy are set to square off in the final leg of the Commander-in-Chief Trophy on Saturday. As always, the service academies play a traditional, ground-and-pound style of offense with few passes and a battery…

Jaguars (+4) vs Titans Coming off back-to-back losses, the Tennessee Titans will try to get back on track as four-point favorites this week against the Jacksonville Jaguars in an AFC South rivalry game. The Jaguars haven't won a game in Nashville since 2013, so they're fighting history if they expect to steal a win this week. However, the…

The annual Army-Navy game is one of college football's most anticipated matchups, but it hasn't been too appealing for fans who like offense. Are we in for another low-scoring matchup between service academies? We dive into that and more in our Army-Navy betting trends to know. The Army-Navy rivalry dates back to 1890, and the teams have met nearly…

The greatest rivalry in college football is set to kick off as Army and Navy renew their hostilities in the Week 15 regular season finale on Saturday. As always, expect some good old-fashioned ground and pound running football as the service academies rely on their respective battery of gifted tailbacks to carry the day. Army comes in at 5-6 on the…

When Colorado travels down I-25 to play Air Force on Saturday it will mark a return of an in-state rivalry game to Colorado Springs, Colorado, for the first time in half a century in a game nationally televised by CBS. The Buffaloes lost big 31-10 in their first game against a TCU squad breaking in a new coach and have not finished with more than…

The good news is last week's special Four Pack edition of The Six Pack had a winning week. The bad news is that only three of the four games were played. The Hawaii Bowl was canceled on the eve of the game -- which would be Christmas Eve Eve? -- and more have gone down since. It shouldn't come as a surprise considering what's happening in every…

Louisville and Air Force will meet Tuesday in the First Responder Bowl at Dallas' Gerald Ford Stadium. The matchup between the Cardinals and Falcons provides quite an intriguing showdown between ACC and Mountain West opponents. The Cardinals are coming off a disappointing 52-21 loss to rival Kentucky in their regular-season finale, which came after…

College football rivalry week is always so bittersweet: It's what we've been waiting for, and the buffet of games we get on this week is incredible. Meaningful games, day after day, hour after hour, with bowl or championship implications in so many of them. But then, when Saturday ends, it's just about over. Sure, championship week is fun, and who…

College football rivalry week is always so bittersweet: It's what we've been waiting for, and the buffet of games we get on this week is incredible. Meaningful games, day after day, hour after hour, with bowl or championship implications in so many of them. But then, when Saturday ends, it's just about over. Sure, championship week is fun, and who…

Missouri football is headed to Fort Worth, Texas. The Tigers accepted an invitation Sunday to participate in the Armed Forces Bowl against Army, the program announced. Missouri's first trip to the postseason in three years will take place at 7 p.m. Dec. 22 from Amon G. Carter Stadium, where TCU typically plays its home games. The matchup will be…

Action Network college football handicapper Taylor McGrath steps in for Thomas Casale. It has been an unbelievable run for TCU, which has won nine consecutive big-time matchups. But it's time for a letdown game, and this is a very tough spot for TCU to overcome. The last time these two teams played, in November 2021, TCU knocked off Baylor (which…

After going 0-3 in Week 10, we bounced back with a 2-0 effort in Week 11. It's hard to believe that we've only got two more weeks left in the regular season. However, this column will continue into conference championship week and the beginning of bowl season. So we've still got plenty of time to keep the winning going. The Week 12 slate isn't…

The (#20) Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Navy Midshipmen will square off on Saturday at M&T Bank Stadium, home of the Baltimore Ravens. The Irish are fresh off a huge home win against the then (#4) Clemson Tigers 31-17. Special teams and defense played a huge role in the victory, with a blocked punt return touchdown to give the Irish a quick 7-0…

Navy came through with a relatively sweat-free cover last week as an 18-point pooch against Cincinnati. The cover continued one of the strongest trends in college football. Generally speaking, service academies perform admirably as big'dogs. Army, Navy and Air Force have gone 44-26-1 (.619 winning percentage) against the spread as underdogs of at…

With the FBS bowl season fast approaching, it's another excuse to bring-up how pigskin gamblers are actually some of the most "wholesome" and "optimistic" sports-watchers out there, in direct defiance of old-fashioned countryside writers who argue that gambling detracts from the audience's genuine sporting interest. For example, virtually 100% of…

The Air Force Falcons and Wyoming Cowboys will square off in a college football matchup on Friday night in Wyoming. With that said, it's a good time to check out our college football odds series, which includes an Air Force-Wyoming prediction and pick, laid out below. Air Force has gone 2-0 to open their season, beating both FCS Northern Iowa 48-17…

The Navy Midshipmen will travel to Dallas to take on the SMU Mustangs in an American Athletic Conference football matchup on Friday night. With that said, it's a good time to check out our college football odds series, which includes a Navy-SMU prediction and pick, laid out below. Navy has gone 2-3 to open their season, both wins coming against…

Will Duke's unsustainable turnover differential prove costly against Boston College? Can bettors really trust Air Force to roll on the road in a rivalry game against Army? Why is No. 25 UCF laying only a field goal at Memphis? Our Week 10 college football upset picks are locked and loaded. Week 10 of the college football season arrived with some…

Making it to a bowl game is a huge deal for college football student-athletes. The chance to play one more game with your brothers or make an impact in front of scouts has a tremendous amount of allure. Now that the calendar has hit November, it is time to start factoring bowl eligibility into your handicapping process. James Madison is ineligible…

It has been an interesting week at Wisconsin. The Badgers fired head coach Paul Chryst and promoted defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard. Regardless of who is coaching, Wisconsin hasn't earned the right to be a 10.5-point road favorite. The biggest issue with the Badgers this season is their inability to run the football. Wisconsin has been known for…

Wake Forest was super close to upsetting one of the best teams in the country last time out, and we don't think the books are giving it enough credit in Week 5. See why the Demon Deacons headline the Triple Option's college football picks. It was a nice bounce back for the Triple Option last week, so now we're going to carry that momentum into Week…

Strap in for the biggest game in NC State history. North Carolina State has played football since 1892, won 11 conference titles (seven ACC) and appeared in a handful of New Year's Day bowl games, so I don't type the previous sentence lightly. But Saturday's trip to Clemson, the 1274th in program history, will be the first an AP Top 10 Wolfpack…

Most of the nonconference fun has been had and we're looking at a lot of league play the rest of the way. These are important games for programs, especially at the Group of Five level where making the College Football Playoff is not an attainable goal. Division and conference titles are what teams strive for, along with winning the magic number of…