Michael Calabrese

Michael Calabrese

Michael Calabrese
College Football, College Basketball
Role
Sports Betting Analyst
Experience
20 years
Location
The Maine Line, PA
Total Bets
2.9K
Followers
55.2K

Mike Calabrese's Picks

Today
Pending
A salute to our troops! Army upset a lifeless Kansas State, scored 10 points in the final three minutes to take UNT to overtime, and then beat the crap out of UAB and Charlotte. What that’s done is make them appear closer to last year’s team than they really are. Here’s the underlying stats that prove they’re a below average American team, all they do is run but they’re 99th in success rate, 91st in explosiveness, they’re 40th in havoc avoidance, a stat should be closer to top 10 given their offense style, and they’re 117th in red zone scoring. They’re not explosive, they’re not finishing in the end zone when they march down the field and they’re not equipped to throw it at all. Tulane got the extra two days by playing on Thursday last week to prepare for this game. They have revenge on their mind after getting embarrassed in the American title game up at West Point. Now they’re hosting, Retzlaff is dealing. He was the reason they pulled it out against East Carolina, and I trust him to protect the football which is paramount against a keep-away team like Army. This is a below average Army secondary, not total dogshit, but they’re gettable. If Tulane keeps the turnover margin anywhere north of -1, they cover this number.
22
3
KENT +26.5-110
KENT
KENT Team Abbreviation@TOL Team Abbreviation
TOL
1.1u
10/18 6:00 PM
Kent State looked fiesty as hell in a narrow loss to Buffalo by 3. Then they basically say the hell with it, we’re shelving our best players in paycheck games. And then reemerge against UMass and lay the wood 42-6. Toledo meanwhile, just choked away a 21-0 lead to Bowling Green. Ready for their second half drive chart PUNT
PUNT PUNT PUNT PUNT FUMBLE PUNT INT END OF GAME Holy Jason Candle. Where is this team at emotionally? Can’t be good. Where is the execution, where is the leadership from Tucker Gleason. And now we’re expecting a four-touchdown win in MAC play? Oh they blew out Akron, so this is a slam dunk right? Just rinse and repeat. Well prior to that blowout, they hadn’t beaten a MAC opponent by four touchdowns in 25 games. It’s just not Candle’s MO, and Kent has way more fight, they have an elite return game to steal yardage and points. Gimme the Fightin’ Julian Edelman’s.
22
1
BUFF -16.5-115
BUFF
BUFF Team Abbreviation@MASS Team Abbreviation
MASS
1.15u
10/18 6:30 PM
Duck call @Joshua_Nunn 🦆
25
4
Under 43.5-105
AKR
AKR Team Abbreviation@BALL Team Abbreviation
BALL
1.05u
10/18 7:30 PM
Winds near 15 MPH are forecasted. Akron can’t pass as it is, and Ball State will be happy to play keep away with their run game.
12
6
Over 65-110
TXST
TXST Team Abbreviation@MRSH Team Abbreviation
MRSH
3u
10/18 7:30 PM
What have I learned about Texas State in 2025 that I didn’t already know? Not much if we’re being honest. There has been a slight downgrade year over year with the offense, losing McCloud and Mahdi in the backfield hurt a bit. Last season, they were fifth in total yards and seventh in scoring. They’ve fallen back to 15th and 29th respectively there. So they’ve gone from elite to merely really good. Brad Jackson and Beau Sparks and Lincoln Perry are more than enough to score 35 on this Marshall defense. But this defense, goodness gracious. I’ll sum up the entire experience in one run-on sentence. Can’t tackle, can’t stop the run no matter how many are in the box and the turnover well has dried up like an oil deal gone bad. Marshall meanwhile has gone from hopeless in August to fercorious in October. Carlos Del Rio Wilson. In his three starts vs. FBS competition: 13 TDs, 0 turnovers, 305 total yards per game. Points per game, scored and allowed with Del Rio Wilson at the helm? 82! Some came in OT against Louisiana but holy hell. TOTAL OF THE YEAR Texas State plays fast, and Marshall’s pacing is closer to top 30 with Del Rio Wilson running than the show than their season long number which is in the 60s.
48
3
UTSA +165
UTSA
UTSA Team Abbreviation@UNT Team Abbreviation
UNT
1u
10/18 7:30 PM
The Roadrunners have woken up. They took their lump, fought the good fight in an 18 point loss in College Station, collected their paycheck. But lost the following week in a shootout vs. Texas State. But they’ve won 3 of 4, offense just ragdolled Rice. Perfect balance offensively, McCown has a super deep receiving corps to work with, but he was let down early by his offensive line. 129th in pass pro, but this line was going to take time to gel, they had three transfer making contributions from day 1. What has Justin Burke their OC done? The quick game. He’s cut down on McCown’s aDOT by 15% year over year and saving the deep throws for play action. I saw a lot of waggles and rollouts against Rice, speed outs and bubbles screens. This is a smart coach, with a veteran offense and I trust him to protect McCown with his playcalling. And North Texas, emotional letdown after getting BLASTED in the game of the century by USF. They do not get to the passer very well, 91st in pass rush, only 13 on the entire season. They even made the Western Michigan offense look pretty good. This has shootout written all over it, and I like the Roadrunners to continue their ascent to the top of the American and North Texas needs to prove to me that a freshman QB like Mestemaker can rebound from an embarassing three turnover performacne. I’m willing to pay to see it.
11
1
Over 62.5-110
UNLV
UNLV Team Abbreviation@BOISE Team Abbreviation
BOISE
1.75u
10/18 7:30 PM
UNLV games have gone over the closing total by an average of 9.8 points per game this season. Boise overs are 4-2. UNLV is getting torn apart on the ground. 120th in ground explosives allowed. Boise State’s numbers fall into two buckets Against nationally ranked USF and Notre Dame: 111 yards per game on the ground at a woeful 3 yards per carry flat. Against the rest of their schedule? 923 yards at 5.5 yards per carry. Dylan Riley breakout game incoming. And the biggest concern I have with Boise is that their fundamentals are trash this season. 123rd in tackling, and they’re dealing with a dangerous mobile QB here in Colandrea. They’ve played two dual threats, Byrum Brown and Liam Szarka. They gave up 71 points to those two.
32
5
3-WAY PARLAY-122
1.22u
TA&M -300
TA&M
TA&M Team Abbreviation@ARK Team Abbreviation
ARK
10/18 7:30 PM
ORE -770
ORE
ORE Team Abbreviation@RUT Team Abbreviation
RUT
10/18 10:30 PM
TEX -475
TEX
TEX Team Abbreviation@UK Team Abbreviation
UK
10/18 11:00 PM
14
4
HAW +116
HAW
HAW Team Abbreviation@CSU Team Abbreviation
CSU
1u
10/18 11:00 PM
I don’t trust this Colorado State defense if they’re not getting turnovers. You can throw on them, you can run on them, and they cannot rush the passer to save their life. 132nd PFF. You can rough up Alejado, but if you give him time to cook, I mean just look at the blitz vs no blitz When you drop 7 or more and make him throw into tight windows and get in his face with 3 or 4 rushers PFF passer grade of 62 with 6 TDs and 4 INTs But when you have to blitz to get to him, and he see’s cover 1, cover 0, man to man concepts, look out PFF grade 78, 3 TDs, 1 INT, 4:1 big time throw to turnover worthy grade
5
1
2-WAY PARLAY+1154
0.09u
6
1
Under 58.5-115
CIN
CIN Team Abbreviation@OKST Team Abbreviation
OKST
3u
10/19 12:00 AM
Winds are going to be out of control, 30 MPH gusts in the second half.
18
7
Futures
Utah Utes+1800
2025 NCAAF Big 12 Conference - To Win
1u
Via Bet365
11
7
Southern Miss Golden Eagles+2500
2025 NCAAF Sun Belt Conference - To Win
1u
10
5
UTSA Roadrunners+650
2025 NCAAF American Athletic Conference - To Win
1.75u
13
4
Rice Owls o3.5-155
2025 NCAAF Regular Season - Total Wins
3u
9
4
Southern Miss Golden Eagles o4.5-160
2025 NCAAF Regular Season - Total Wins
3u
9
4
James Madison Dukes+300
2025 NCAAF Sun Belt Conference - To Win
1u
4
3
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns+700
2025 NCAAF Sun Belt Conference - To Win
0.5u
9
3
Hawai'i Warriors o5.5-167
2025 NCAAF Regular Season - Total Wins
3u
3
2
UAB Blazers u4.5-135
2025 NCAAF Regular Season - Total Wins
3u
10
3
Navy Midshipmen u8.5+120
2025 NCAAF Regular Season - Total Wins
2u
9
3
North Texas Mean Green+1700
2025 NCAAF American Conference - To Win
0.3u
BetMGM
4
1
Houston Cougars o6.5+120
2025 NCAAF Regular Season - Total Wins
3u
12
5
Past Performance
Yesterday0-0-00%
0.00u
Last 7 Days8-10-044%
-2.31u
Last 30 Days22-36-038%
-15.82u
All Time1402-1465-3748%
-29.60u
Top Leagues
NHL1-1-050%
4.51u
MLB2-2-140%
1.80u
NFL1-2-033%
-1.10u
NBA2-2-050%
-1.68u
NCAAF556-573-849%
-12.66u
NCAAB839-882-2848%
-21.72u

Summary

Mike Calabrese is a sports betting analyst and on-air analyst at the Action Network, focusing on college sports, including college football, college basketball, and college baseball.

Mike is a host on the Big Bets on Campus podcast. In the fall, he covers the Group of Five during football season, including as part of the Group of Five Deep Dive with co-host Mike Ianniello

During basketball season, he covers the sports from coast-to-coast through the end of the NCAA Tournament, and in the spring and summer he helps supplement Action’s coverage of college baseball and the College World Series.

Experience

Mike began writing at Action Network in 2019, covering mid-majors on the college hardwood. His betting advice centered around situational spots, highlighting travel, rest, and altitude disparities.

He now covers the college sports beat year-round, touching football, basketball, and baseball in written, podcast, and video formats.

Mike started writing professionally in 2007 and in 2011 started contributing to USA Today’s Media Network. Prior to joining Action, he produced content for theScore, MSN, Fox Sports, Saturday Down South, OLBG in London, Yardbarker, and NumberFire.

Education

Mike graduated from Loyola College in Maryland, earning a BA with a double major in writing and political science.

Betting Highlights
Favorite Bet of All-Time
At that point in my career, the largest single game bet I ever placed was Alabama -1.5 against LSU in 2012 BCS National Championship Game. LSU crossed the 50-yard line just once in the entire game, a 21-0 Alabama victory.
Most Heartbreaking Bet
Iona +4.5 vs. BYU in 2012 NCAA Tournament play-in game. Iona hit an in-game ATS win expectancy of 99.9% before a 17-point second led to a 78-72 loss.
Specialties
  • College Football
  • College Basketball