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Best Small Conference College Football Teams in 2008

Written by Jimmy Boyd on August 8, 2008

Each and every single year some of the biggest money can be made from low profile teams in small conferences that are going to quietly and consistently cover the point spreads. Last season small teams like Troy, Bowling Green, Temple, Ball State, San Jose State and Central Florida were all among the best top 25 teams against the spread. Each of these teams was at least 7-4 ATS and yet many sports bettors could not even name three players from the six teams combined. Everyone has their eyes focused on high profile teams like Florida, Georgia, USC and Ohio State. I don’t feel that there is too much value here like there is with those low profile teams when making college football picks. Instead of spending your time looking at them, use your time to look at those small conference teams and it will be very effective and profitable. The college football betting volumes are much less and the college football odds are often much looser. Let’s take a look at some teams that will go unnoticed this season and could put together a solid year:

New Mexico State – This is a perfect team for this list. They were not very good last season and have not been too good in a while, but they have a solid core. At quarterback they have Chase Holbrook and he is the real deal. He had almost 3900 yards last year and has completed a massive 70% of his passes over his entire career. Holbrook has 26 touchdowns to go with 18 interceptions. His receiving core is pretty good and it will return this year mostly in tact. New Mexico also has a fairly good schedule and they will visit Nebraska in week 2. They will be an underdog here but may surprise many people so keep an eye out.

Florida Atlantic – Last year the Owls had a great year as they managed to win the Sun Belt Conference and they are in a good position to do it again. They went 7-5 ATS last season and look to do more of the same. Florida Atlantic will return quarterback Rusty Smith and his expectations are very high. In his first full year as a starter last year he had close to 3700 passing yards and had 32 touchdowns. He has an edge over many in his conference and is amazing. Smith is just one of the 17 returning starters. The Owls have some brutal non conference match ups against Texas and two others in the Big Ten but I still feel you should expect some solid profit if you stick by them.

Ball State – I seem to be focusing my picks around flashy quarterbacks, but I feel that it is the best place to start for teams looking to surprise people. Ball State is in a lesser conference and has a deadly offense which will give them an edge. Nate Davis will lead the team at quarterback. He had solid numbers last season with 3668 total passing yards to go along with 30 touchdown passes. Ball State managed to make a bowl for the first time in a long while last year and they will look to do the same again this upcoming year. They were 7-4 ATS and there is little doubt in my mind that they will make you a lot of cash.

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