Best NCAA Football Games to Bet in Week 9
The College Football Playoff committee is nearly ready to release rankings. What that means now is teams will have an idea of where they need to be. It also means that each result will be amplified as teams look to solidify their positions in the conference and national title races.
Here’s a look at some of the best games to bet on in Week 9.
Notre Dame at Syracuse (-2.5)
The Orange aren’t getting much respect following a game where they narrowly lost to top-10 opponent Clemson.
Syracuse has played well at home and beat up on a beat-up N.C. State team two weeks ago. The Orange will need to maintain their balance on offense to beat the defensively-sound Fighting Irish.
Syracuse quarterback Garrett Shrader has thrown for 1,601 yards and 13 touchdowns. Orange running back Sean Tucker is averaging 5.4 yards per carry and has 698 rushing yards, along with six touchdowns and 698 yards on the ground. Notre Dame limits its opponents to 340.9 yards per game and has allowed 21.9 points per game.
Syracuse is 6-1 against the spread this season and is 5-0 at home. The Fighting Irish, who are 3-4 against the spread, have been inconsistent all season and will drop a game to the Orange on the road by at least a field goal.
Ohio State Buckeyes (-16) at Penn State Nittany Lions
The Nittany Lions didn’t pick the Buckeyes for their annual White Out game, instead choosing for Minnesota to take that beatdown last weekend.
The Nittany Lions have yet to notch a signature win this season, as a road win over Auburn is unimpressive in hindsight following the Tigers’ struggles since that game.
Penn State, which is 4-3 against the spread, also has shown it will struggle against the Big Ten East Division’s top teams. The Nittany Lions gave up 41 points in a 24-point road loss to Michigan earlier this season. Ohio State, which is 4-2-1 against the spread, is showing no signs of wear.
The Buckeyes, who are 6-0 straight up at home, will only be playing their second road game of the season. Ohio State’s offense is second nationally in scoring by putting up 49.6 points per game. Penn State will not be able to keep up with the Buckeyes’ offensive machine.
Oklahoma State Cowboys (+102) at Kansas State Wildcats
The Cowboys nearly saw their aspirations of a Big 12 title go up in smoke last week. Still reeling from an overtime loss to TCU, Oklahoma State fell behind Texas by double digits last weekend before rallying to score a win late in the game. The Cowboys tend to turn their games into track meets, as the over has hit in six of their seven games.
Oklahoma State quarterback Spenser Sanders has had his share of success this season and will have a game dance partner with Kansas State’s Adrian Martinez. The Wildcats quarterback was forced out of last week’s loss to TCU due to an injury.
Oklahoma State’s offense has been consistently excellent, but it will need to win this game in order to stay in the race for the Big 12 title game. Count on the Cowboys to win as slight road underdogs.
Wake Forest Demon Deacons (-4) vs. Louisville Cardinals
The Cardinals are fortunate to have beaten Pitt last Saturday, taking advantage of the Panthers’ generous quarterback, who kept tossing passes to the wrong team. Louisville won’t have the luxury of getting such a performance two weeks in a row.
Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman has been consistently excellent this season. He has thrown for 1,755 yards and 21 touchdowns so far this season.
The Demon Deacons’ offense has rallied around him, scoring 41.4 points per game, which ranks 10th nationally. Wake Forest is 6-1 against the spread this season and will cover this game.
Missouri Tigers at South Carolina Gamecocks (-4)
The Gamecocks have recovered from getting beat up by Georgia to one of the surprises in the SEC East Division. Sitting at 5-2, South Carolina is in a great position to finish with a better record than the 7-6 mark the Gamecocks put together in coach Shane Beamer’s first season. The Gamecocks are 4-3 against the spread.
Missouri has been continuing its slide. The Tigers’ games have mostly been on the lower-scoring side, as the over has gone 1-6 in Missouri’s games this season. The Tiger’s offense has struggled with giving the ball away.
If the Tigers continue to turn the ball over, this could spell doom for Missouri’s chance of winning.
Derek Hudson
Derek is a long time sports bettor who grew up in Providence, RI. Derek is data driven and believes the key to betting the sportsbooks is finding an edge in analytics. Derek is happily married and has two young boys. Derek will bet on anything if you let him.
