College Football Player Props: Picks for Cam Cook, JaQuail Smith, Trent Mosely on Saturday, Oct. 24

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Saturday is the time to lock in with West Virginia traveling to TCU, Colorado visiting Oklahoma State, and No. 16 USC heading to Wisconsin; there’s a great lineup of games to add to your betting card.

I’ve pinpointed three player props for Saturday, including picks for West Virginia’s Cam Cook, Colorado’s JaQuail Smith, and USC’s Trent Mosley.

With that said, let’s dive into my top three college football player props and NCAAF picks for Week 7 on Saturday, Oct. 17.

College Football Player Props, Picks

• Cam Cook Over 89.5 Rushing Yards (-115 · bet365)
• JaQuail Smith Over 9.5 Rushing Attempts (-105 · bet365)
• Trent Mosely Over 4.5 Receptions (-114 · FanDuel)

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Cam Cook has been the engine of West Virginia’s offense all year. He has 833 rushing yards through seven games, about 119 a game, which ranks fifth in the country. He has cleared this number in five of seven starts, with games of 142, 123, 193, 142, and 141.

Both misses came in unusual spots. One was the 52-7 blowout of UT Martin, where the starters sat early. The other was last week against Cincinnati, when West Virginia won a 45-42 shootout, and Cook managed 40 on 15 carries. When the Mountaineers need him, he is a volume back who has handled 29, 30, and 34 carries in three of his last six outings.

West Virginia’s whole identity is the run. The Mountaineers average 295.5 rushing yards a game, fourth in the nation, in a quick, gashing attack built around Cook and quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr.

TCU’s strength is its pass rush and pass coverage, and a ground-based offense like West Virginia’s sidesteps much of that. TCU’s rush defense is stingy at about 92 yards a game, but Cook is the kind of runner who produces against good fronts, as his 193 against Oklahoma State and 142 against Iowa State showed.

The game environment supports a heavy workload too. West Virginia’s defense is among the worst in the country, ranking 137th at roughly 484 yards allowed a game, and every Mountaineers game has gone over its total, which sits at about 56 here.

A team that can’t stop anyone has to keep the ball and sustain drives, and Cook is the way West Virginia does that. He also played two seasons at TCU, so he knows this defense and its scheme. If he gets his usual 20 to 30 carries at roughly five yards each, he clears the number comfortably.

Pick: Cam Cook Over 89.5 Rushing Yards (-115)

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JaQuail Smith has been trending up as Colorado’s lead runner. He leads the team with 51 carries for 259 yards, and his most recent game was his busiest, with a season-high 13 carries for 73 yards, 5.6 yards per carry.

He also turned a short pass into a 68-yard touchdown. Colorado’s staff and local analysts have noted that he has the hot hand. The Buffaloes leaned on him against Utah while Micah Welch got just one carry, and with only 10 touches or fewer in the first five games, the usage had nowhere to go but up.

The matchup is favorable on the ground. Oklahoma State allows about 151 rushing yards a game, 87th nationally, so Colorado’s best way to move the ball is through the run game and short, quick throws. Smith is a 5-foot-11 burst runner, and he went for 91 yards on eight carries at Northwestern, so the staff has reason to keep feeding him.

Oklahoma State also converts just 34.3% of its third downs, which ranks 112th. That should keep drives short and keep Colorado’s offense on the field, and Colorado’s underrated defense has allowed only three rushing touchdowns all year.

The game total sits around 55, and Colorado’s defense and pass rush give it a path to keep this competitive. At this price, he needs just 10 carries to cash, a number he reached in three of six games, including 13 last week when Colorado found its offensive rhythm.

JaQuail Smith Over 9.5 Rushing Attempts (-105)

Trent Mosley is the most targeted receiver on USC’s offense when healthy. The freshman slot receiver has 22 catches on 30 targets for 366 yards and five touchdowns, even though he missed three games with a knee injury and left another after two catches.

In his three full games, he caught 7, 4, and 9 passes. The most recent was a 9-catch, 111-yard, one-touchdown game at Penn State on 13 targets, and he has had a bye week to rest since.

Jayden Maiava has the offense humming. He leads the country in nearly every volume metric, throwing for 2,045 yards at a 67.9% completion rate, and the offense ranks seventh in passing yards a game. USC controls the ball for nearly 33 minutes a game, while Wisconsin’s offense holds it for under 28, so the Trojans should get plenty of snaps.

Maiava also spreads the ball around to seven players with 100 or more receiving yards, so Mosley’s volume comes from quick, high-percentage targets.

Wisconsin’s secondary is a strength, but its game plan helps this prop. The Badgers rank 20th against the pass at 171 yards a game and in the top 10 in EPA per pass, largely by keeping everything in front of them and limiting explosive plays. That leaves the short and intermediate areas where a 5-foot-10 slot receiver does his best work.

USC’s own defense ranks 109th against the pass, so Wisconsin will score, and in a game with a total near 50 and a spread of about three points, Maiava will keep throwing to stay in front.

Pick: Trent Mosley Over 4.5 Receptions (-114)