College Football Odds Week 9: Picks for Top 25 Matchups Based on Vegas Lines
One of the two participants in the SEC Championship Game could be determined Saturday.
No. 7 Georgia and No. 9 Florida headline the Week 9 slate with SEC East supremacy on the line in Jacksonville.
The clash of rivals in northern Florida is one of three games between ranked foes Saturday, with the other two occurring in the Big Ten and Pac-12.
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Before we can think about Saturday, three ranked sides, including two Week 9 entrants into the AP Top 25, hit the gridiron Thursday and Friday night in an attempt to keep up their winning ways.
Week 9 Schedule and Odds (via OddsShark)
All Times ET.
Picks against the spread in bold.
Thursday, October 25
Baylor at No. 13 West Virginia (-14) (7 p.m., FS1)
No. 25 Appalachian State (-10) at Georgia Southern (7:30 p.m., ESPNU)
Friday, October 26
No. 23 Utah (-10.5) at UCLA (10:30 p.m., ESPN)
Saturday, October 27
No. 2 Clemson (-16.5) at Florida State (Noon, ABC)
No. 20 Wisconsin (-7) at Northwestern (Noon, Fox)
No. 9 Florida at No. 7 Georgia (-6.5) (3:30 p.m., CBS)
Kansas State at No. 8 Oklahoma (-24.5) (3:30 p.m., Fox)
No. 18 Iowa at No. 17 Penn State (-6.5) (3:30 p.m., ESPN)
No. 21 South Florida at Houston (-7.5) (3:30 p.m., ABC/ESPN2)
No. 12 Kentucky at Missouri (-7) (4 p.m., SEC Network)
No. 15 Washington (-11.5) at California (6:30 p.m., FS1)
No. 14 Washington State at No. 24 Stanford (-3) (7 p.m., Pac-12 Network)
No. 16 Texas A&M at Mississippi State (-2) (7 p.m., ESPN)
No. 22 NC State (-2.5) at Syracuse (7 p.m., ESPN2)
No. 3 Notre Dame (-24) at Navy (8 p.m., CBS)
No. 6 Texas (-3.5) at Oklahoma State (8 p.m., ABC)
No. 19 Oregon (-9.5) at Arizona (10:30 p.m., ESPN)
Week 9 Picks
Georgia 31, Florida 23
The best game Week 9 has to offer will go a long way in deciding the SEC East, and it will affect the initial College Football Playoff rankings that come out Tuesday.
Both the Bulldogs and Gators are 6-1 overall and 4-1 in the SEC, which means the victorious side will take the driver's seat in the division and hope for an LSU win over Alabama in Week 10 to further move up the SEC hierarchy in the Top 25.
Florida possesses an easier path to the SEC Championship Game if it wins, as Missouri, South Carolina, Idaho and Florida State remain on its schedule.
However, Georgia will make sure that won't matter, as it wll knock off the Gators and follow it up with a victory over Kentucky to take charge in the division.
While quarterback Jake Fromm will play a major role down the stretch, the Bulldogs will inch ahead in the first half through their ground game.
Georgia's running back tandem of Elijah Holyfield and D'Andre Swift combined for 850 yards and eight touchdowns in the first seven games.
The Gators have had mixed results against the rushing attacks of ranked opponents, as they held Mississippi State to 104 yards on the ground, but they let up 180 rushing yards to LSU.
The difference between Georgia and the two ranked foes out of the SEC West the Gators faced is Kirby Smart's team has a competent passing offense.
Georgia will try to control the ball through its powerful running backs in the first half, but the Gators will strike for a few big plays to stay in the contest.
As the game goes on, Fromm will be able to do something LSU's Joe Burrow and Mississippi State's Nick Fitzgerald were unable to do against the Gators, and that's find extended success through the air.
By connecting with Mecole Hardman, Riley Ridley and others, Fromm's big-game experience will make the difference for the Bulldogs as they move a step closer to a clash with Alabama or LSU during the first weekend of December.
Washington State 34, Stanford 16
No. 14 Washington State will try to reverse a frustrating trend in the Pac-12 by avoiding a letdown after a massive win.
No. 24 Stanford started the maddening string of losses by ranked Pac-12 teams, as it fell to Notre Dame and Utah after beating Oregon in overtime September 22.
Washington made it up to the Top 10 through five straight wins and then dropped an overtime game to Oregon, while the Ducks couldn't keep up their momentum in Week 8 as they were blown out by the Cougars in Pullman, Washington.
The Cougars will be able to avoid the poor fortune their Pac-12 North foes have experienced by way of their dynamic passing game.
Quarterback Gardner Minshew is a dark-horse Heisman Trophy candidate, and he'll add to his resume with his eighth 300-yard passing performance of the season.
Minshew's thrown for 2,745 yards and 23 touchdowns in Mike Leach's quarterback-friendly offense, and it's a system the Cardinal won't be able to stop for four quarters.
Stanford ranks 98th in the FBS in passing yards conceded per game at 252.1, a total that Minshew will easily eclipse by the third quarter.
With Bryce Love day-to-day with a sore ankle, per Tom FitzGerald of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Cardinal won't be able to attack the Cougars with a balanced offense.
In the win over Oregon last week, the Cougars held the Ducks to 270 passing yards and 58 on the ground.
If the Cougars defense produces similar numbers against Stanford, the Cardinal won't stand any chance of keeping up with Minshew and Co., which will lead to a double-digit victory for Washington State.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90
Statistics obtained from ESPN.com
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