College Football Week 9 Top 25 Picks, Odds, Box Score Predictions, Rankings, Schedule
Diego Pavia and the Vanderbilt Commodores have a legitimate chance to make the College Football Playoff.
Pavia and head coach Clark Lea have turned Vanderbilt into one of the tougher teams to play against in the SEC, something that couldn't be said about that program for a long time.
On Saturday, the Commodores host the Missouri Tigers in what may serve as a playoff elimination game.
Mizzou needs a Top 25 win after losing to the Alabama Crimson Tide two weeks ago, while Vandy needs another big win to solidify its spot in the top 10.
Mizzou-Vandy isn't the only big game in the SEC in Week 9. The Ole Miss Rebels visit the Oklahoma Sooners in another potential playoff elimination game.
Week 9 Top 25 Schedule and Odds
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Saturday, October 25
UCLA at No. 2 Indiana (-24.5) (Noon ET, Fox)
Syracuse at No. 7 Georgia Tech (-17.5) (Noon ET, ESPN)
No. 8 Ole Miss at No. 13 Oklahoma (-4.5) (Noon ET, ABC)
No. 16 Virginia (-10) at North Carolina (Noon ET, ACC Network)
No. 18 South Florida (-4) at Memphis (Noon ET, ESPN2)
No. 4 Alabama (-13.5) at South Carolina (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
No. 15 Missouri at No. 10 Vanderbilt (-3) (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
No. 11 BYU at Iowa State (-3) (3:30 p.m. ET, Fox)
No. 23 Illinois at Washington (-5.5) (3:30 p.m. ET, BTN)
Oklahoma State at No. 14 Texas Tech (-38.5) (4 p.m. ET, ESPNU)
Baylor at No. 21 Cincinnati (-5.5) (4 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
No. 22 Texas (-7) at Mississippi State (4:15 p.m. ET, SEC Network)
Wisconsin at No. 6 Oregon (-34.5) (7 p.m. ET, FS1)
Stanford at No. 9 Miami (-30.5) (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
No. 3 Texas A&M (-2.5) at No. 20 LSU (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
Boston College at No. 19 Louisville (-24.5) (7:30 p.m. ET, ACC Network)
No. 25 Michigan (-14) at Michigan State (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC)
No. 17 Tennessee (-9.5) at Kentucky (7:45 p.m. ET, SEC Network)
Houston at No. 24 Arizona State (-8.5) (8 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
No. 15 Missouri at No. 10 Vanderbilt (-3)
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Vanderbilt thrived as the plucky underdog over the last two seasons, but now the Commodores are front and center as one of the major talking points of Week 9.
Pavia and Co. beat the LSU Tigers at home in Week 8 to land in the top 10.
Vanderbilt also has a top-15 win over the South Carolina Gamecocks from earlier in the season before South Carolina dropped out of the polls.
A home win over the 15th-best team in the country is expected for Vandy as it continues its playoff push.
Vandy knocked off LSU at home this year and upset the Alabama Crimson Tide in Nashville last season.
There's also a bit of a revenge angle for Saturday since Vandy lost in two overtimes to Mizzou on the road last season.
Mizzou feels like its just hanging on to relevancy in the SEC. The Tigers fell at home to Alabama two weeks ago and barely survived a trip to Auburn with a double-overtime victory.
Eli Drinkwitz's Tigers are 0-4 against ranked SEC opposition in the last two years. A road defeat at Vandy and another defeat to the Texas A&M Aggies in two weeks could keep them far from the playoff conversation.
Prediction: Vanderbilt (-3)
No. 8 Ole Miss at No. 13 Oklahoma (-4.5)
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Saturday's clash in Norman comes at a pivotal point in the season for both Ole Miss and Oklahoma.
The Sooners are back home where they won Top 25 games already this season, but their playoff spot is in danger because of the defeat to the Texas Longhorns two weeks ago.
John Mateer didn't look fully healthy in that game and he only had 164 total yards in last week's win over South Carolina.
But where Oklahoma has been uber consistent is its defense. The Sooners' only concession of 20 or more points came against Texas.
Ole Miss proved it could win a low-scoring game against LSU on September 27, but winning on the road against one of the nation's top defenses is a whole other task.
Lane Kiffin's team needs a win in Norman to solidfiy its playoff spot. If it wins on Saturday, it can cruise to 11-1 with an easy schedule.
Oklahoma only has ranked opponents left on its schedule. It feels like Saturday is a must-win because it is at home before a two-game road trip to Alabama and Tennessee.
The Sooners are going to have to win the game with defense, which is why the Under 52.5 feels like a far safer wager to make than betting on two teams facing a ton of pressure.
Prediction: Under 52.5
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