College Football Picks Week 9: Vegas Odds and Predictions for Top 25 Games
College football gluttons will leave an imprint in their recliners this weekend as plenty of juicy ranked matchups headline the Week 9 schedule.
The Big Ten and Big 12 will be the center of the college football universe as both conferences feature Top 25 matchups. There's also a contest between a growing ACC powerhouse and Notre Dame.
In addition to the quartet of ranked battles, a few of the nation's top teams take to the road in an attempt to keep up strong starts in conference play.
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Here's a look at each of the contests featuring ranked teams in Week 9.
Thursday, October 26
9 p.m. ET: No. 20 Stanford (-20) at Oregon State
Unless you've stayed up to watch a ton of Pac-12 football, the success of the Stanford Cardinal has flown under your radar. You'll see plenty of the Cardinal in the next month, as the team takes on Washington State, Washington and Notre Dame in November.
Another reason to watch David Shaw's team is running back Bryce Love, who has run for 1,387 yards and is averaging 10.3 yards per carry.
There's good reason to believe Stanford will cover on Thursday night since Oregon State has lost by 92 combined points to three ranked opponents in Pac-12 play. If there's any good sign to take Oregon State against the spread, the Beavers only lost by three to Colorado at home on October 14.
Prediction: Stanford 49, Oregon State 17
Friday, October 27
8 p.m. ET: Tulane at No. 24 Memphis (-10)
Memphis begins the easy part of its schedule at home on Friday against Tulane. The Tigers survived close games against Navy and Houston to take the top spot in the AAC West. There's still plenty of work to be done to clinch a spot in the AAC Championship, but the foundation has been laid.
If you're looking to put money on something other than the spread, look to take the over. Memphis has scored 30 or more points in each of its six wins, and it's also given up 27 or more points in six of seven games.
One concern about selecting Memphis is the tight games Tulane has played against the best of the AAC. The Green Wave lost by two to Navy and by six to USF last weekend.
Prediction: Memphis 38, Tulane 24
Saturday October 28
12 p.m. ET: No. 5 Wisconsin (-23.5) at Illinois
The Big Ten West is Wisconsin's to lose. The Badgers have cruised to a 7-0 record, and with the way their schedule is set up, they have a chance to run the table all the way to the Big Ten Championship.
Saturday's trip to Champaign, Illinois, should be business as usual for the Badgers, but a massive 23.5-point line is a bit risky. Wisconsin has only beaten one Big Ten team by 23 or more points. However, that one occurrence was Saturday against Maryland.
Illinois is stuck to the bottom of the Big Ten West after losses to Nebraska, Iowa, Rutgers and Minnesota. The Illini don't exactly inspire confidence in anyone looking to outsmart the experts to pick them to cover.
Prediction: Wisconsin 35, Illinois 13
12 p.m. ET: No. 8 Miami (FL) (-20.5) at North Carolina
Much like Wisconsin, Miami (FL) faces one of the cellar dwellers of its conference on the road to kick off the Saturday slate. But unlike the Badgers, the Hurricanes could be susceptible to looking ahead at two critical games against ranked opposition that could determine their playoff fate.
Miami must take care of business on Saturday before focusing on Virginia Tech and Notre Dame, but this has the setup for a potential letdown game, or at least to be closer than expected. The Hurricanes haven't been blowing anyone out either in recent weeks, as they've won their last three games by a combined 13 points.
If you want hope Miami will cover, North Carolina lost 59-7 to Virginia Tech last time out and fell by 23 to Notre Dame at home. As unlikely as a win is for the Tar Heels, they only have two chances left to pull off an upset and save a lost season.
Prediction: Miami (FL) 27, North Carolina 16
12 p.m. ET: No. 11 Oklahoma State (-6) at No. 22 West Virginia
Both Oklahoma State and West Virginia barely escaped Week 8 with victories. The Cowboys were taken to overtime by Texas, while West Virginia avoided a catastrophic upset at Baylor.
The Cowboys and Mountaineers don't inspire confidence for those picking them either, as they have a combined 1-3 record versus teams in the Top 25. With that being said, it's hard to predict what exactly will occur in Morgantown, West Virginia, on Saturday.
West Virginia is 3-0 at home and Oklahoma State is 4-0 on its travels with conquests at Texas Tech and Texas included. There are few stats that differentiate the two, so enjoy the game, but stay away from the line unless you like being risky.
Prediction: West Virginia 24, Oklahoma State 21
3:30 p.m. ET: No. 2 Penn State at No. 6 Ohio State (-7)
We also did a double take when we saw such a big opening line for the top contest of the weekend.
It's hard to fathom the logic behind Penn State, the No. 2 team in the country with a favorite to win the Heisman Trophy, being a seven-point underdog going into Ohio Stadium, especially since Ohio State lost to Oklahoma at home on September 9.
Penn State and Ohio State have a combined winning margin of 449 points, and both are looking to prove themselves in a massive game on the national stage with College Football Playoff implications.
If you're looking to base your pick off recent history, Ohio State won 63-14 at home over the Nittany Lions in 2013 and 38-10 in 2015. The last two meetings at Penn State have been one-possession games.
Prediction: Ohio State 28, Penn State 24
3:30 p.m. ET: No. 3 Georgia (-13) at Florida
Florida would love nothing more to spoil Georgia's bid for the College Football Playoff with a win at the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party in Jacksonville, Florida.
The neutral field brings a different feel to the game, with the stadium split as close to half as it can be. Before their bye week, the Gators lost two close games to LSU and Texas A&M.
Georgia is without a doubt the class of the SEC East, and if it knocks off Florida and South Carolina in the next two weeks, it could seal up a spot in the SEC Championship Game in early November.
Florida's given up 21.5 points per game in SEC play, but that total could easily balloon with Jake Fromm, Nick Chubb and Sony Michel lining up across the field.
Prediction: Georgia 38, Florida 16
3:30 p.m. ET: No. 4 TCU (-7) at No. 25 Iowa State
TCU and Iowa State have limited opponents to 61 points each in Big 12 play, but both have been drawn into high-scoring affairs against the other ranked teams in the conference.
Iowa State grabbed our attention with an upset win at Oklahoma, and unlike some other teams who earn a surprise win, the Cyclones have remained relevant, and they have a real chance to contend for the top spot in the Big 12.
If you're looking at the Horned Frogs as your pick, they've won their two ranked matchups by 13 and seven. Iowa State has lost to Iowa and Texas at home, and Saturday marks the start of a three-game stretch against the best of the Big 12.
Prediction: TCU 27, Iowa State 19
3:30 p.m. ET: No. 14 NC State at No. 9 Notre Dame (-7.5)
NC State couldn't have asked for a better warmup for the November 4 clash with Clemson that could decide the ACC Atlantic than a trip to South Bend, Indiana.
The Wolfpack have an explosive offense led by quarterback Ryan Finley and the versatile Jaylen Samuels. They also have key assets in leading receiver Kelvin Harmon and top rusher Nyheim Hines.
It's hard not to like Notre Dame as a 7.5-point favorite after it steamrolled USC at home, but NC State is a different animal with a 2-0 record against the Top 25. Quarterback Brandon Wimbush, who threw and ran for over 100 yards against USC, could be the X-factor for the Fighting Irish.
Prediction: Notre Dame 35, NC State 21
3:30 p.m. ET: UCLA at No. 12 Washington (-17.5)
Washington had an extra week for the loss to Arizona State to fester, which means we could be in for an offensive outbreak from the Huskies after scoring seven in the desert on October 14.
The Washington defense has been excellent in 2017 with 74 points allowed, and if you combine that with UCLA's brutal road record, it could be a fun afternoon for Chris Petersen's bunch.
Speaking of UCLA's abysmal road form, the Bruins have given up 153 points in three true road games.
Prediction: Washington 48, UCLA 23
3:30 p.m. ET: No. 16 Michigan State (-1) at Northwestern
Michigan State is hanging with Penn State and Ohio State for now in the Big Ten East, and with the Nittany Lions and Buckeyes on the schedule in the next two weeks, the Spartans can control their own destiny.
Winning in Evanston, Illinois, won't be easy, as Northwestern has a 3-1 home record, but Mark Dantonio's Spartans are 2-0 on their travels. The Spartans are also battle tested, as they've won four straight one-possession games.
Prediction: Michigan State 23, Northwestern 9
3:45 p.m. ET: Houston at No. 17 South Florida (-9)
South Florida has positioned itself nicely to be the best Group of Five school, but there's still four games left for the Bulls to complete a perfect regular season.
Quarterback Quinton Flowers has run for 80 or more yards in the last four games, and he's coming off a performance against Tulane in which he threw for 127 yards and racked up 138 yards on the ground.
While South Florida has been cruising through the AAC East, Houston's gone through the battles of the AAC West in recent weeks with consecutive defeats at the hands of Memphis and Tulsa.
Prediction: South Florida 34, Houston 17
5 p.m. ET: Austin Peay at No. 18 UCF
The rare FCS vs. FBS late-October matchup features UCF against 5-3 Austin Peay of the Ohio Valley Conference.
UCF has put up no less than 31 points in a game this season, while the visiting Governors are 0-2 against FBS competition in 2017.
Prediction: UCF 49, Austin Peay 16
7:20 p.m. ET: Duke at No. 13 Virginia Tech (-15.5)
Duke could easily face the same fate as its biggest rival did in Blacksburg, Virginia, a week ago.
Virginia Tech stormed past North Carolina at Lane Stadium in Week 8, and it's ready to fine tune its play against the other bottom feeder of the ACC Coastal.
The Hokies' 259 points scored combined with Duke's 161 points conceded could make for an ugly scoreline, one people who chose the favored Hokies would prefer.
8 p.m. ET: Georgia Tech at No. 7 Clemson
Georgia Tech has two defeats to two ranked teams by one point, but going into Death Valley to do the same thing on Saturday night will be difficult.
Outside of the September 9 win over Auburn, Clemson has won all of its games by multiple scores. With the Tigers coming off the heartbreaking loss in Syracuse following the bye, the Yellow Jackets could be in for a brutal night.
Clemson quarterback Kelly Bryant suffered a concussion in the loss at the Carrier Dome, and his health will be something worth monitoring if you're looking to bet on the Tigers.
Prediction: Clemson 34, Georgia Tech 16
8 p.m. ET: Texas Tech at No. 10 Oklahoma (-21)
Oklahoma is one of four teams in the top half of the Big 12 standings that has scored 290 or more points.
Despite being able to score 42 points per game, the Sooners have struggled to pull away from Texas and Kansas State in their last two games. The good news for Oklahoma is it's back at home for the first time since the loss to Iowa State.
Texas Tech's only win in the Big 12 is a 65-13 thumping of Kansas, but outside of that, the Red Raiders haven't shown signs of pulling off an upset. But neither did Iowa State ahead of its October 7 win in Norman, Oklahoma.
Prediction: Oklahoma 47, Texas Tech 30
9:30 p.m. ET: No. 15 Washington State (-5) at Arizona
Washington State is locked in a fight with Stanford and Washington for first place in the Pac-12 North, and the Cougars can ill afford another flat performance on the road like the 37-3 defeat to Cal two weeks ago.
Luke Falk has had plenty of success against Arizona in his career, with a 514-yard passing performance in 2015 being the best of the bunch.
Arizona enters with three consecutive one-score victories, which is why the spread is so low in favor of the visiting Cougars.
Prediction: Washington State 37, Arizona 21
10:45 p.m. ET: No. 21 USC (-4) at Arizona State
USC's last two road trips have resulted in disappointing defeats to Washington State and Notre Dame. It'll be hard for the Trojans to recover from the 49-14 loss to Notre Dame against an Arizona State team that has an upset over Washington in its cap.
Even though the Sun Devils lost three of their first five games, they've rebounded with victories over Washington and Utah to put them in contention for the Pac-12 South.
Arizona State is also one of three Pac-12 teams to give up fewer than 100 points in conference play to date. That could spell more trouble for the struggling Trojans.
Prediction: Arizona State 26, USC 17
All statistics obtained from ESPN.com.
All odds via Oddsshark.com.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
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