College Football Odds Week 9: Over-Under and Picks Against the Spread for Top 25
Ohio State and Tennessee are among the best college football programs in the country this season, and the two schools are among the six FBS teams that remain undefeated. But both the No. 2 Buckeyes and No. 3 Vols will get a test on Saturday.
In its toughest matchup of the year thus far, Ohio State will be going on the road to take on No. 13 Penn State. Each of the Buckeyes' first seven games has been against a team that is not currently ranked in the AP Top 25 poll.
Tennessee will be hosting No. 19 Kentucky, but this won't be the first ranked team to come to Knoxville this season. The Vols have already defeated Alabama, now No. 6 in the poll, at home earlier this year.
Before getting more into those two marquee matchups, here's a look at the full schedule for Top 25 teams in Week 9, along with odds and picks for each game.
Top 25 Schedule, Odds for Week 9
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Thursday, Oct. 27
Virginia Tech at No. 24 NC State (-13.5), 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN; Over/Under 39 points
No. 14 Utah (-8.5) at Washington State, 10 p.m. ET, FS1; O/U 55.5
Saturday, Oct. 29
No. 2 Ohio State (-15.5) at No. 13 Penn State, noon ET, Fox; O/U 61
No. 7 TCU (-7.5) at West Virginia, noon ET, ESPN; O/U 69
Notre Dame at No. 16 Syracuse (-2.5), noon ET, ABC; O/U 48
Florida vs. No. 1 Georgia (-22.5), 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS; O/U 56.5
No. 8 Oregon (-17) at California, 3:30 p.m. ET, FS1; O/U 58.5
No. 9 Oklahoma State at No. 22 Kansas State (-1.5), 3:30 p.m. ET, Fox; O/U 56.5
No. 10 Wake Forest (-3.5) at Louisville, 3:30 p.m. ET, ACC Network; O/U 64
No. 17 Illinois (-7.5) at Nebraska, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC; O/U 50.5
No. 20 Cincinnati at UCF (-2), 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN; O/U 56
Missouri at No. 25 South Carolina (-4), 4 p.m. ET, SEC Network; O/U 46.5
No. 10 USC (-15) at Arizona, 6 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network; O/U 76.5
No. 19 Kentucky at No. 3 Tennessee (-12), 7 p.m. ET, ESPN; O/U 63
Michigan State at No. 4 Michigan (-23), 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC; O/U 55
No. 15 Ole Miss (-2) at Texas A&M, 7:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network; O/U 55
Pittsburgh at No. 21 North Carolina (-3), 8 p.m. ET, ACC Network; O/U 64.5
Stanford at No. 12 UCLA (-16.5), 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN; O/U 66.5
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook. Picks in bold against the spread.
No. 2 Ohio State at No. 13 Penn State
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Ohio State scored only 21 points in its season-opening win over Notre Dame. Since then, though, the Buckeyes' offense has been much more difficult for opposing defenses to stop, as they've been putting up huge points and yardage totals over the past six weeks.
In each of its past six games, Ohio State has scored at least 45 points. And it's scored 49 or more in each of its four matchups against Big Ten opponents. Not only that, but the Buckeyes' average margin of victory in conference play is 35.75 points.
Saturday's game may be a bit more competitive than that. Penn State is 6-1, and its only loss was a 41-17 road defeat at Michigan, which is now ranked No. 4 in the country. The Nittany Lions have taken care of business in every other game this season.
Penn State has a solid offense. But it may not keep up with Ohio State, which is averaging a Big Ten-best 517.4 total yards per game. Plus, the Buckeyes have dominated the series against the Nittany Lions of late, winning nine of the past 10 meetings between the two schools.
C.J. Stroud has solidified himself among the Heisman Trophy front-runners while leading Ohio State to a 7-0 start. The junior quarterback has passed for 2,023 yards while throwing 28 touchdown passes, the most in the country.
Even if Penn State's offense keeps up early, its defense isn't going to shut down Stroud and Ohio State. Because of that, the Buckeyes are likely to pull away in the second half and win big once again, even in a hostile environment.
Expect Ohio State to cover the 15.5-point spread in a game that will exceed the over/under total of 61.
Prediction: Ohio State 45, Penn State 24
No. 19 Kentucky at No. 3 Tennessee
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A matchup between two of the top three teams in the nation is looming on Nov. 5. That's when No. 3 Tennessee will go on the road to take on No. 1 Georgia in what could be the best regular-season contest of the 2022 season.
But the Vols can't look ahead to that matchup with the Bulldogs yet. Not when they're preparing to host a solid team in No. 19 Kentucky on Saturday.
It won't be Tennessee's most difficult game yet. It already owns a 52-49 home win over Alabama and a 34-27 overtime road victory at Pittsburgh. The Vols and Wildcats likely won't play a game that competitive this week.
Kentucky is coming off a solid win over Mississippi State. However, it lost back-to-back games to Ole Miss and South Carolina before that. And the Wildcats will have trouble trying to slow a Tennessee offense that is averaging 571.7 total yards per game, the most in the country.
The Vols have relied heavily on their passing attack to lead their offense. Senior quarterback Hendon Hooker has thrown for 2,093 yards, 18 touchdowns and only one interception, putting himself in the Heisman conversation.
It's possible that this Tennessee-Kentucky matchup will get one-sided in a hurry. The Vols are the better all-around team, and it won't take long to figure that out.
Tennessee should easily cover the 12-point spread at home, cruising to victory in the second half on Saturday.
Prediction: Tennessee 38, Kentucky 14
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