College Football Odds Breakdown
Week 9 of the college football season was a barnburner. The Oklahoma Sooners fell from the ranks of the undefeated, dropping a 48-41 decision to Kansas State as 24-point road favorites on the NCAA odds board. The Alabama Crimson Tide continued apace with Mac Brown (and Taulia Tagovailoa) at quarterback, destroying Arkansas (+32.5 away) 48-7. And in the week’s featured matchup, the LSU Tigers held on to beat the Auburn Tigers 23-20 as 12-point home favorites.
LSU couldn’t beat the NCAA football lines, but their win was impressive enough for the Associated Press writers to put the Tigers at No. 1 on their poll, ahead of Alabama at No. 2. Neither team is playing in Week 10; nor are the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes. On top of that, the No. 4 Clemson Tigers will be hosting an FCS team in the Wofford Terriers (Southern Conference), and the No. 5 Penn State Nittany Lions are idle. But there are still some compelling matchups on the schedule, starting with yet another critical Top 10 battle in the SEC.
NCAA Odds Week 10: Best Odds and Matchups
1. No. 8 Georgia Bulldogs “at” No. 6 Florida Gators (Saturday, 3:30 PM ET, CBS)
The winner of this game will most likely go on to take the SEC East and get their shot at either LSU or Alabama for the conference title – and a spot in the College Football Playoff. Georgia (6-1 SU, 3-4 ATS) appear to have the advantage as 6-point road favorites on the NCAA football odds board at Bovada; however, they’ve played a weaker schedule than Florida (7-1 SU, 5-3 ATS) up to this point. It might help the Bulldogs that they’ll be playing at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, rather than Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville.
2. No. 15 Southern Methodist Mustangs at No. 24 Memphis Tigers (Saturday, 7:30 PM ET, ABC)
When you bet on NCAA football, it’s usually a good idea to pay close attention to the mid-major conferences. This year, the American Athletic Conference has been playing like it belongs in the Power 5, and they’ve earned themselves Saturday’s prime-time slot on ABC. The Tigers (7-1 SU, 5-3 ATS) are 5.5-point home favorites over SMU (8-0 SU, 6-2 ATS) at press time, up from –3 at the open, but again, Memphis have played the softer schedule, and the Mustangs will have the rest advantage after beating Houston (+13 at home) 34-31 on Thursday.
3. No. 7 Oregon Ducks at Southern California Trojans (Saturday, 8 PM ET, FOX)
There are several interesting Pac-12 games on the Week 10 NCAA football betting calendar, and this is the most important one. The Ducks (7-1 SU, 4-4 ATS) have a real chance of making the Playoff now that Oklahoma has a loss on their record, but they’ll have their beaks full with USC (5-3 SU, 4-4 ATS) as 5-point road favorites. Despite their key injuries, the Trojans already have two wins over ranked opponents this year, including their Week 4 victory over the road team in our next contest.
4. No. 9 Utah Utes at Washington Huskies (Saturday, 4 PM ET, FOX)
The Utes (7-1 SU, 5-3 ATS) are the other one-loss team from the Pac-12 with legitimate playoff aspirations. They’ve also played at a higher level than the Ducks, albeit against a weaker schedule – and their loss to USC (+4 at home) hurts more than Oregon’s season-opening loss to Auburn (–3.5 in Arlington). This will be a tough get in Seattle, where the Huskies (5-3 SU and ATS) are 3.5-point home dogs in a matchup they’ve dominated at 6-1 SU and 4-3 ATS since Utah joined the Pac-12 in 2011.
5. Miami Hurricanes at Florida State Seminoles (Saturday, 3:30 PM ET, ABC)
This has no real bearing on the title chase, but the rivalry between Miami (4-4 SU and ATS) and Florida State (4-4 SU, 3-4-1 ATS) is always must-see TV. The Hurricanes have won the last two games and split the cash; before that, Florida State won seven times consecutively. This time around, FSU are 4-point home favorites, and while they have a long way to go to reclaim their top-flight status, the ‘Noles have played the most difficult schedule in the ACC, while the ‘Canes have played one of the weakest.