Witt's Wagers: Week 8
Ben Wittenstein offers insight on Indiana's start in its Week 8 game against Michigan State, as well as other games he's eyeing this week.
Some of you may remember Witt’s Wagers, featured in each BSB weekly preview during the 2024 season and produced by my good friend and respected betting expert (and IU alumnus) Ben Wittenstein. We’re bringing it back for 2025 and expanding it into its own weekly guest BSB post!
Ben will offer at least one Indiana bet that he likes each week, as well as other bets around college football that may or may not be Indiana-related.
I’m thrilled to have Ben back in the BSB fold, and I know he will make us all lots of money! The edition below is the first installment.
Our boys are LEGIT!
It only took about 5 minutes for us to cash our bet last weekend, and I’m hoping we can do it within 12 minutes this weekend.
Bet: Indiana 1Q Team Total Over 7.5 (-105, DraftKings)
Season Record: 3-3
Listen, if you’re going to keep giving us IU 1Q team totals under 10 points, I’m just going to keep taking it.
Indiana is 9th in the country in 1Q points per game, and has been averaging over 10 points per first quarter over its last three games. The Hoosiers come out of the gate hot, and love to do it at home, especially.
Now, going against a Michigan State defense that ranks 123rd in defensive EPA/play and 98th in defensive passing success, I expect Fernando Mendoza and Co. to put the foot on the gas early and take a large lead after the first frame is done.
Most would expect a letdown spot for a team coming off a road top-5 win, but there’s something different about this team under Curt Cignetti. They don’t have letdowns, they don’t stop to smell the flowers, and they sure don’t let themselves get surprised at home. This team only knows one direction: forward. So let’s bet on it!
OTHER GAMES I’M EYEING
Season Record: 6-7-1
Ole Miss 1H +4.5 (-120, DraftKings) @ Georgia: Lane Kiffin clearly kept things conservative last week against Washington State, not wanting to show anything to Kirby Smart. Ole Miss slogged through that game, failing to cover as a -33.5 favorite but still winning by three. Now, with Georgia on deck, expect the Rebels to open up the playbook from the start. The Bulldogs often begin slowly, ranking 47th in first-half scoring, while Ole Miss ranks 12th and has won every first half against SEC foes this year. After that lookahead spot, Kiffin’s team should come out aggressive and attack Georgia early with the full offense unleashed.
Utah -3.5 (+100, ESPNBet) @ BYU: After losing to Texas Tech nearly a month ago, Utah fell off the national radar. A bye week and a quiet game against West Virginia didn’t help. Last week’s blowout over Arizona State went unnoticed since the Sun Devils’ starting QB was out. Still, Utah looks undervalued in the market. BYU is coming off an emotional overtime win against Arizona, a game it probably shouldn’t have won. This feels like a letdown spot for the Cougars, while Utah is rested, physical, and better than most think. I like the Utes to win comfortably.
Ben Wittenstein has created sports betting content during the last six years for various media outlets, including CBS Sports, Stadium, Bleav Network, BetMGM, and Bet QL. He graduated from IU with a journalism degree in 2017 and spent four years broadcasting IUFB games on top of Memorial Stadium’s press box (shoutout WIUX). You can find Ben on Twitter at @BenWittenstein, where you can ask betting questions about IU and beyond.