College Football Week 7 Player Props: Best Bets & Picks

College football Week 7 is going to be a big one. We have six ranked matchups on tap, headlined by a Big Ten Championship rematch, a heated SEC rivalry and an underrated Big 12 matchup. Ahead of the action, I have three CFB player props to make for Saturday of Week 7, and each of these picks come from one of the six ranked matchups. Let’s get into it, and don’t forget to find the rest of our CFB picks and CFB best bets for this weekend’s action.

CFB Week 7 Player Prop: Drew Mestemaker (OKST) over 271 passing yards (-114)

Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook at the time of publishing. Playable to 284.5 (-110). 

If you read my Week 7 early best bet article, you already know I like points in the ranked Big 12 matchup between Oklahoma State and Houston. Expect both teams to contribute to the scoreboard in this one, and look for QB Drew Mestemaker to orchestrate multiple sustained drives for the Pokes. He has a fairly good matchup against this Houston defense, which struggles on the back end. In fact, I’d argue Mestemaker is the best down-field passer on Houston’s schedule this year, sitting second in the Big 12 in passing yards and big-time throws. Oregon State’s Braden Atkinson is in the discussion too, and he threw for 376 yards against the Coogs in his first FBS start. Unlike Atkinson, Mestemaker has ample FBS experience. Like Atkinson – who leads the country – he’s top-15 in passing yards and has surpassed the 300-yard mark in four straight games. 

CFB Week 7 Player Prop: Jeremiah Smith (OSU) longest reception over 37.5 yards (-118)

Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook at the time of publishing. Playable to 39.5 (-110). 

No introduction is needed for Jeremiah Smith, and frankly, I don’t think anyone at the college level can guard this guy. He has racked up 916 yards already, which is good or second nationally, and he’s a constant big-play threat for QB Julian Sayin, posting the second-most receptions of at least 30 and 40 yards (CFBStats). He has recorded a long reception of at least 40 yards in five of Ohio State’s six games; the only time he didn’t was against Kent State when he didn’t play a full allotment of minutes. For what it’s worth, he also had a 52-yard reception against Indiana in the Big Ten Championship last year. 

Indiana’s defense is strong, but the Hoosiers may have some deficiencies on the back end. They have surrendered six passes of at least 30 yards and three passes of at least 40 yards, while they are 99th in pass explosiveness allowed outside of garbage time (CollegeFootballData) despite playing against a strength of schedule that Sagarin ranks outside the top 65. To me, this sounds like an exploitable matchup for arguably the best player in the country.

CFB Week 7 Player Prop: DeSean Bishop (TENN) over 89.5 rushing yards (-115)

Odds available at bet365 at the time of publishing. Playable to 95.5 (-110)

With the Tennessee quarterback situation in flux, I’m expecting the Volunteers to rely heavily on their rushing attack when they host Alabama on Saturday night, and RB DeSean Bishop will likely be the beneficiary of that. The Tennessee tailback is second in the SEC in rushing yards and yards after contact, and he’s surpassed this number in four of Tennessee’s six games. Plus, he has experience against this program already – he rushed for 123 yards on 14 carries against the Tide last year. 

Alabama is strong defensively, but the Tide have been gashed in conference a couple times. South Carolina’s Matt Fuller gained over 110 yards and averaged almost six yards per carry in a blowout loss, while Georgia’s duo of running backs ran for almost 190 combined yards and an average of seven yards per carry against the Alabama defense last week in a win.