College Football Odds Week 6: Picks Against the Spread for Top 25 Matchups
Who is the best team in the Big Ten this season? On Saturday evening, we may just find out.
No. 3 Iowa and No. 4 Penn State are set to face off in Iowa City in one of the biggest matchups of the 2021 college football season to this point. It's not too often we see a pair of top-five teams battle it out during the regular season, making this meeting between the Nittany Lions and Hawkeyes a big one.
It's not a guarantee that the winner of this game will go on to become the Big Ten champion, though. These two teams could meet again in the conference championship game in December, or No. 7 Ohio State, No. 9 Michigan or No. 11 Michigan State could factor into the mix.
Penn State-Iowa isn't the only ranked matchup this week. Saturday will also feature No. 2 Georgia vs. No. 18 Auburn, No. 6 Oklahoma vs. No. 21 Texas, and No. 13 Arkansas vs. No. 17 Ole Miss. So it should be an exciting day of action.
Here's a look at the full top-25 schedule for this week, along with odds and predictions for each matchup.
Week 6 Top 25 Odds, Picks Against the Spread
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Thursday, Oct. 7
No. 15 Coastal Carolina (-19.5) at Arkansas State, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Friday, Oct. 8
Temple at No. 5 Cincinnati (-29), 7 p.m. ET, ESPN
Stanford at No. 22 Arizona State (-13.5), 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Saturday, Oct. 9
No. 6 Oklahoma (-3.5) vs. No. 21 Texas, noon ET, ABC
Maryland at No. 7 Ohio State (-21), noon ET, Fox
No. 11 Michigan State (-6) at Rutgers, noon ET, Big Ten Network
No. 13 Arkansas at No. 17 Ole Miss (-6), noon ET, ESPN
Vanderbilt at No. 20 Florida (-39), noon ET, SEC Network
No. 2 Georgia (-15.5) at No. 18 Auburn, 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS
Boise State at No. 10 BYU (-5.5), 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
No. 19 Wake Forest (-5.5) at Syracuse, 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2
No. 24 SMU (-13.5) at Navy, 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network
No. 4 Penn State at No. 3 Iowa (-1.5), 4 p.m. ET, Fox
No. 9 Michigan (-3.5) at Nebraska, 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC
No. 14 Notre Dame (-1) at Virginia Tech, 7:30 p.m. ET, ACC Network
LSU at No. 16 Kentucky (-3.5), 7:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network
No. 1 Alabama (-18) at Texas A&M, 8 p.m. ET, CBS
New Mexico at No. 25 San Diego State (-19.5), 9 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook. Picks in bold against the spread.
Bet on Texas as Red River Showdown Underdog
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The over-under line for this year's Red River Showdown is currently at 63.5 total points. So, like most years, you can expect Oklahoma and Texas to put on a high-scoring Big 12 shootout when the teams face off at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas on Saturday afternoon.
The Sooners are 3.5-point favorites as the higher-ranked team, but they haven't been too impressive the past three weeks. They beat Nebraska by seven points, West Virginia by three points and Kansas State by six points. Each of those opponents was unranked, though, and Oklahoma was expected to win all of those games by much more.
The Longhorns' offense has been putting up a ton of points, an attack that has been powered by sophomore running back Bijan Robinson and a strong ground game. Oklahoma is having success stopping the run, but Robinson and Texas will be a much greater challenge for that unit.
This game could go either way, and it may come down to has the ball last. In 2020, it took four overtimes before the Sooners came out on top. This time, it will be the Longhorns who pull out the victory (perhaps even in OT), so bet on them with the 3.5 points, which gives some leeway in case Oklahoma somehow wins by a field goal.
Pick Penn State in Highly Anticipated Top-5 Matchup
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Iowa is only a 1.5-point favorite at home against Penn State, so the oddsmakers seem to believe this game could go either way. And with an over-under line set at 40.5 total points, expect a low-scoring defensive battle between two of the best teams not only in the Big Ten but also the entire country.
The Nittany Lions had a six-game winning streak against the Hawkeyes that lasted from 2011-19, but Iowa snapped that run when it won 41-21 at Penn State last year. They are now off to an impressive start this season and are coming off a dominant 51-14 win at Maryland last week.
But the Nittany Lions are also 5-0, and they own strong victories against Wisconsin and Auburn. It wouldn't be surprising to see either Penn State or Iowa emerge with the win in Iowa City on Saturday.
However, betting on Penn State would bring the larger return, considering it's a slight underdog. Pick the Nittany Lions because of their slightly better offense, a unit led by senior quarterback Sean Clifford, as they'll get revenge against the Hawkeyes from that 2020 loss.
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Alabama Should Easily Cover Spread at Texas A&M
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No. 1 Alabama is off to an unsurprising 5-0 start, and four of its victories have come by 21 or more points. The Crimson Tide's only close game to this point has been a 31-29 win at Florida on Sept. 18.
Could Alabama finally play another competitive contest when it goes on the road to face Texas A&M this Saturday? Don't count on it. The Aggies are no longer ranked after losing back-to-back games to Arkansas and Mississippi State. They already have more losses than they did in 2020, when they went 9-1.
The Crimson Tide are 18-point favorites, which is a lead they should blow past. They may even lead by more than 18 points in the first half against the Aggies. That was the case for Alabama last week, when it had a 28-point halftime advantage against Ole Miss.
Alabama's offense will overwhelm Texas A&M's defense (as it's been doing to most of its opponents), and the Crimson Tide will roll to another lopsided victory. This should be a fairly safe bet to make.
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