College Football Picks Week 9: Vegas Odds and Predictions for Top 25 Games

The Clemson Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide opened with matching spreads in their favor for their respective Week 9 games.

The pair of 32.5-point favorites sit in different spots of their schedule going into Saturday. Clemson is one week away from a showdown with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, while Alabama will play its first game without Jaylen Waddle with a bye week looming.

Although the spread in favor of Clemson seems high, it is nowhere close to where it sat in Week 8. Clemson was a 46.5-point favorite against the Syracuse Orange.

While some attention will be paid to the monster spreads, there is a minimal line that could play in your favor if you select a top-10 home team.

The Oklahoma State Cowboys face a Texas Longhorns defense that has been gashed in most of their games, and that contest could serve as a national statement game for the lone undefeated team in the Big 12.

Week 9 Schedule and Odds

All Times ET; odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Friday, October 30

No. 19 Marshall (-23.5) at Florida International (7 p.m., CBSSN)

Saturday, October 31

Boston College at No. 1 Clemson (-32.5) (Noon, ABC)

No. 5 Georgia (-15.5) at Kentucky (Noon, SEC Network)

Memphis at No. 7 Cincinnati (-5.5) (Noon, ESPN)

Michigan State at No. 13 Michigan (-26.5) (Noon, Fox)

No. 16 Kansas State at West Virginia (-2.5) (Noon, ESPN2)

No. 20 Coastal Carolina (-3.5) at Georgia State (Noon, ESPNU)

No. 23 Iowa State (-28.5) at Kansas (Noon, FS1)

No. 4 Notre Dame (-19.5) at Georgia Tech (3:30 p.m., ABC)

No. 9 Wisconsin (-8.5) at Nebraska (3:30 p.m., FS1)

No. 17 Indiana at Rutgers (3:30 p.m., BTN) (N/A)

Texas at No. 6 Oklahoma State (-2.5) (4 p.m., Fox)

No. 25 Boise State (-11.5) at Air Force (6 p.m., CBSSN)

Mississippi State at No. 2 Alabama (-32.5) (7 p.m., ESPN)

No. 3 Ohio State (-13.5) at No. 18 Penn State (7:30 p.m., ABC)

Arkansas at No. 8 Texas A&M (-11.5) (7:30 p.m., SEC Network)

Missouri at No. 10 Florida (-13.5) (7:30 p.m., SEC Network Alternate)

Navy at No. 22 SMU (-14.5) (7:30 p.m., ESPN2)

No. 15 North Carolina (-6.5) at Virginia (8 p.m., ACC Network)

No. 24 Oklahoma (-15.5) at Texas Tech (8 p.m., Fox)

Western Kentucky at No. 11 BYU (-28.5) (10:15 p.m., ESPN)

Predictions

Boston College (+32.5) at No. 1 Clemson 

Michael Dwyer/Associated Press

Clemson has not been tested much and deserves its No. 1 ranking, but it has not been the best team to bet on.

The Tigers are 2-4 against the spread and came nowhere close to defeating Syracuse by the enormous margin they were projected to.

Saturday marks the third time in 2020 in which Clemson will be favored by 30 or more points. It did not cover against Syracuse or the Virginia Cavaliers.

Boston College is 4-2 in the first year of the Jeff Hafley era, and it has been able to put up a decent amount of points in each contest.

Notre Dame transfer Phil Jurkovec has four 300-yard passing performances, which is one more than Trevor Lawrence has on his resume this season. Lawrence does have outings with 292 and 289 yards as well.

Jurkovec may find some gaps in a Clemson defense that conceded over 20 points in two of its last four contests.

In 2018 and 2019, Clemson's average margin of victory in ACC games was 35.2 and 36.7, respectively, but that total dropped to 32 through five games in 2020.

If you take out the 73-7 thumping of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, that average falls to 23.25, which plays in favor of Boston College losing, but covering.

Mississippi State at No. 2 Alabama (-32.5)

L.G. Patterson/Associated Press

Alabama owns an average margin of victory of 22 points from its five SEC games. It could pad that number Saturday against an awful Mississippi State team.

After posting 44 points in their opening win over the LSU Tigers, the Bulldogs scored 30 points in three consecutive defeats.

Mike Leach did have a bye week to sort out his offense's issues, but until that happens on the field, it is hard to see it keeping pace with Alabama for any stretch of the contest.

Without Waddle, Alabama had John Metchie III lead the team with 151 receiving yards, and Slade Bolden produced 94 in the Week 8 win over the Tennessee Volunteers.

Mac Jones also has DeVonta Smith and Najee Harris at his disposal to torch the Mississippi State defense, which should see its 192.3 passing yards conceded per game inflated after Saturday.

Alabama's top three wideouts would lead Mississippi State in receiving yards, and Harris owns 506 more rushing yards than the Bulldogs' leader in that category, Jo'quavious Marks.

Additionally, Jones has been much cleaner in the pocket than K.J. Costello and Will Rogers. Jones has 12 passing touchdowns, two interceptions and was sacked six times. The Mississippi State duo has seven scoring throws, 12 picks and was taken down on 14 occasions.

Alabama's defense has seven sacks, five interceptions and forced a trio of fumbles. If its defense swarms the pocket to set up short fields for the offense, the Tide could roll into the bye week with a lopsided victory.

Texas at No. 6 Oklahoma State (-2.5) 

Matthew Putney/Associated Press

No one expected Oklahoma State to be the Big 12's top College Football Playoff hopeful and last undefeated team.

Mike Gundy's side passed its first Top 25 test by beating the Iowa State Cyclones by three points at home in Week 8.

The Cowboys are a marginal favorite once again in Week 9, but they could open up their offense more against a weaker Texas defense.

Texas allowed 32.2 points and 383.4 total yards per game, and it held one of its four conference foes under 30 points.

Conversely, Oklahoma State is one of nine FBS programs to allow 12 points per game or fewer. If you remove the teams that played a single game from that list, the Cowboys are in an elite group of five.

If the Oklahoma State defense contains Sam Ehlinger, it could allow Spencer Sanders, Chuba Hubbard and Tylan Wallace to open up the advantage against Texas' lackluster defense.

In just four games, Hubbard produced the 18th-best rushing total in the FBS. Wallace is tied for 32nd in receiving yards.

If the Cowboys get past Texas, they would be tested two more times on the road against the Kansas State Wildcats and Oklahoma Sooners before facing an easier slate to close out the conference crown.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. Statistics obtained from ESPN.com.

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