8 Thursday Picks, Including Minnesota vs. Nebraska, UConn vs. NC State

The week of College Football Christmas is here.

Starting today, we have college football gracing our television screens and bet slips for five straight days. That’s right — college football on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

And what better way to kick off this glorious stretch than with a slate that features a team making its Power 5 debut, a divisional matchup in the Big Ten and a ranked team hosting a historical blue blood?

There’s plenty of action to go around on this phenomenal Thursday schedule, and our staff came through with eight best bets in an attempt to help you win some money along the way.

So, let’s strap in and enjoy the ride for the next five days.

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Thursday’s College Football Best Bets

The team logos in the table below represent each of the matchups that our college football betting staff is targeting from Thursday’s slate of games. Click on the team logos for any of the matchups below to navigate to a specific bet discussed in this article.

By Mike Calabrese

UCF may be jumping up to the Power 5 level from the AAC, but this roster already looks like a conference contender.

Its defense, which held its four nonconference opponents to just 48 points last season including two P5 programs, brings back plenty of experience up front and bolstered its back seven through the portal. Cornerback Decorian Patterson and STAR DeJordan Mask have been the talk of fall camp and should help UCF patch up what turned out to be a leaky pass defense down the stretch.

They’ll be facing off against a Kent State team that embodies Year 0. The Golden Flashes were gutted this offseason, losing their starting quarterback, running back and top three wide receivers. Toss in a first-time head coach in Kenni Burns, and this is simply a game to get through for Kent.

It may come as a surprise, but UCF finished only 92nd in offensive explosiveness last season because it rarely burned teams through the air. If Kent, which is replacing nearly everyone on defense, is competitive against the run, it could force UCF to chew up some clock on long drives.

With stormy conditions, UCF could opt to just run the ball down Kent’s throat all game long. That could translate to a de facto running clock with the new first-down rules.

Toss in the potential for a lightning delay throwing these offenses out of rhythm, and it’s easy to see why this total has crept down from its opener of 62.5.

By Mark Harris

Inclimate weather is affecting the lives of millions of Americans in the Southeast, and it’s probably going to have an effect when UCF hosts Kent State tonight. Rain showers are expected tonight in Orlando in the wake of Hurricane Idalia, and it should make for a sloppy game between the Knights and Golden Flashes.

In addition to the rain, a lightning delay would not be unexpected. If that…