“Bear Bets” are real wagers that Chris “The Bear” Fallica is actually making.
Is there anything better in the world than fall sports?
If you know me, you know how much I love football. But there’s another sport I also enjoy laying wagers on: soccer.
Let’s dive into what I’m eyeing at the moment.
Big 12 teams to make College Football Playoff
I just don’t see a path for there to be multiple Big 12 teams in the Playoff.
The conference is so balanced from one to say eight or nine, that the likelihood is we get a glut of 9-3 and 8-4 teams.
It doesn’t mean the league is bad; it just means it’s balanced.
In projecting the Playoff, I’m seeing Clemson and Miami from the ACC, the Big 12 champ, the Group of Five representative and Notre Dame. That’s five spots right there, leaving seven for the Big Ten and SEC, which seems right — and coincidentally, what the math added up to last year.
PICK: Under 1.5 Big 12 teams (-135) to make CFP
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The Road Runners started slow last year, but QB Owen McCown and RB Robert Henry really got going later in the season.
UTSA opens with Texas A&M and is a three-TD dog there, but if they can just hang in there, it will go a long way to establishing the public opinion of the team. The schedule is helpful as Tulane plays at home and could very easily be favored in every game after the opener at Kyle Field.
UTSA is one of the rare G5 teams that can dominate at the line of scrimmage, especially on the offensive side of the ball. There’s a good chance this team is in the AAC title game, and if you look around the college football landscape, I expect the MWC to take a step back this year, which potentially opens up the G5 berth to the AAC winner.
PICK: UTSA (+500) to win AAC, to reach CFP (+1400)
Manchester United Under 59.5 points
United is coming off a lost year in Ruben Amorim’s first season at Old Trafford, with 42 points, a -10 goal differential and a 15th-place finish in the table. They were closer to relegation than they were to a Champions League spot.
United managed just 44 goals in 38 games and went hard in the transfer window to address that, bringing in Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and then Benjamin Sesko from Leipzig.
But the issues are a bit deeper here than just on the field.
There is a lot of off-the-pitch angst from fans and employees. After winning just seven of 19 home games last year, an opener against Arsenal could go a long way in saying things will be different this year — or just more of the same.
The midfield still concerns me, as does the keeper, who has been known to let in a howler now and then.
United won’t be 42 points bad, but asking them to hit 60 seems like a lot.
PICK: Manchester United Under 59.5 points
Chris “The Bear” Fallica has covered sports for nearly three decades. While college football has been his focus, he also enjoys the NFL, Soccer, Golf, Tennis, MLB, NHL and Horse Racing, with an “occasional” wager on such events. Chris recently won the inaugural Circa Football Invitational and finished in the Top 10 of the Golden Nugget Football Contest. He’s a multiple-time qualifier for the NHC Handicapping Championship. Remember, “The less you bet, the more you lose when you win!” Follow him on Twitter @chrisfallica.
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