Intro (Full Card At End)
We are already in week 9 of the college football season with only 5 undefeated teams remaining. Unbeaten Ohio State sits at the top of the rankings followed by Indiana and Texas A&M who have both avoided losses as well. BYU jumped up 4 spots to 11th after their win over then ranked Utah last week and Georgia Tech took down Duke to remain undefeated and is at 7th this week, their highest ranking since the 2014 season. This week’s slate is highlighted by 6 different SEC matchups with at least 1 ranked team as well as undefeated BYU facing off with Iowa State in Ames. The Big 12 has a trio of interesting matchups as 6-1 Cincinnati hosts Baylor and 1 loss Houston travels to Tempe for a face off with 24th ranked Arizona State. With so many matchups this week I’ll break down the slate and give you invaluable information to make the best bets this week!
(8)Ole Miss @ (13)Oklahoma
1 of 3 different SEC matchups with both teams ranked on Saturday, Ole Miss is in search of a bounce back result after losing last week. They were outgunned by Gunner Stockton and the Georgia Bulldogs in a 43-35 loss that they led for most of the game. Oklahoma and John Mateer took out their frustrations on South Carolina strolling to a 26-7 win after a disappointing loss to Texas in week 7. Oklahoma’s defense has been elite this season and the under has hit in 8 straight Sooners games going back to last year. Brent Venables’ squad leads the nation in yards allowed per game with 213 per game and is 2nd in pass yards allowed and points allowed. The defense will face their biggest test so far as Ole Miss boasts one of the nations top offenses averaging 491.9 yards per contest and scoring 37.4 points per game. On the other side of the ball both Oklahoma’s offense and Ole Miss’ defense have struggled at times this year. The biggest question is whether or not Ole Miss can move the ball on this Oklahoma defense. QB Trinidad Chambliss already totaled 401 yards of total offense against LSU who have a strong defense of their own and Oklahoma hasn’t faced an offense even close to the level of Ole Miss. So I’ll take Ole Miss to cover the 5 point spread as road favorites in this marquee matchup.
Best Bet: Ole Miss +5 (-110)
(16)Virginia @ North Carolina
The Virginia Cavaliers will travel to Chapel Hill for an ACC matchup with North Carolina whose only 2 wins this season have come against Richmond and Charlotte. The Cavaliers have won 5 games in a row and will be the first ranked team to face the Tar Heels this year. Virginia QB Chandler Morris has completed 68.7% of his passes to go along with 11 TD’s. UNC lost to Cal last week 21-18 and have struggled on offense scoring just 18.7 points per game amplified by the fact that their opponent, Virginia, enters this game averaging 40 points per game. North Carolina QB Gio Lopez has thrown just as many INT’s as he has TD’s, 3, and is without a single game over 167 passing yards. This line feels way too small for how bad North Carolina is playing right now, so I’ll take Virginia to cover the 10 point spread as road favorites in Chapel Hill. I also like Virginia RB J’Mari Taylor to get over 68.5 rushing yards with the game script favoring UVA’s run game.
Best Bet: Virginia -10 (-110)
Player Prop: J’Mari Taylor 68.5 Rush Yds (-110)
(15)Missouri @ (10)Vanderbilt
Diego Pavia and 10th ranked Vanderbilt will host the 15th ranked Missouri Tigers in the 2nd of 3 ranked matchups between SEC foes. Pavia has passed for 15 TD’s already this year only 5 fewer than he had all of last season and has only been sacked 5 times in 183 dropbacks. Missouri came out on top at Auburn last week 23-17, while Vandy took care of LSU 31-24 at home. These 2 teams are the most surprising performers this season in the SEC playing better football than teams like LSU who were ranked much higher in the preseason. Both teams have been led by strong offenses that rank inside the top 25 in total yards per game and rush yards. The real difference between these 2 teams is their defenses, as the Tigers have been locking down opponents allowing just 16.7 points per game. Vandy defense hasn’t been bad giving up only 20 points per contest of their own, but Missouri has won 5 in a row after last season’s double overtime victory and I expect their defense and run game to lead them to a win on the road against a quality ranked opponent. I also like Ahmed Hardy to bounce back from a couple rough performances against Alabama and Auburn to get over 86.5 rush yards.
Best Bet: Missouri ML (+130)
Player Prop: Ahmed Hardy Over 86.5 Rush Yds (-115)
(11)BYU @ Iowa State
Iowa State hosts 11th ranked BYU at Jack Trice Stadium hoping to hand the Cougars their first loss of the season. BYU is led by RB LJ Martin and a rushing attack that averages a ridiculous 232.9 rush yards per game good enough for 10th in the country. Iowa State defense has been disappointing this season and has severely lacked a pass rush only tallying 1 sack per contest so far this year. After losing back to back 1 possession games to Colorado and Cincinnati the Cyclones will be eager to fix their issues following a bye week. They will return starting RB Carsen Hanson, but lost star DT Domonique Orange to injury after missing practice on Tuesday. BYU has run the ball at least 34 times on 5.5 yards per carry this season and Orange will be a big loss for Iowa State’s interior defense. This is a strange line, but I’m going to trust my gut and take BYU to win and continue their undefeated season for at least 1 more week.
Best Bet: BYU ML (+130)
(3)Texas A&M @ (20)LSU
The 3rd and final SEC matchup between a pair of ranked teams as unbeaten Texas A&M will travel to Death Valley for a meeting with the 20th ranked LSU Tigers. This is Texas A&M’s best start to a season since 1994, which also happens to be the last time they won at Tiger Stadium. LSU lost at Vanderbilt last week 31-24 and have been disappointing especially on offense. Other than a cupcake matchup against Southeastern Louisiana in week 4, the Tigers haven’t scored more than 24 points in a game this year. QB Garret Nussmeier was expected to be a Heisman contender, but instead is an afterthought in this contest as Texas A&M’s Marcel Reed has thrust his name into the conversation. Reed leads an explosive offense that ranks 28th in points scored at 36.1 per game and averages 6.7 yards per play good enough for 23rd in the nation. He will face an LSU defense that has been doing everything it can to get wins holding opponents to just 14.6 points per game that has them ranked 9th in the country. The Aggies defense has been inconsistent this year shutting down Florida and Mississippi State for a combined 26 points, but giving up 40+ to both Arkansas last week and Notre Dame in week 2. I like the under in this game with LSU’s defense slowing down Texas A&M’s offense to some extent while the Tiger’s continue to struggle moving the ball down field. However, I also like Marcel Reed to score a rushing TD as he has become more confident in his legs scoring in his last 3 games on the ground.
Best Bet: Under 48.5 (-110)
Player Prop: Marcel Reed Rush TD (+160)
Houston @ (24)Arizona State
A really underrated matchup between a Houston team whose only loss came against Texas Tech in week 6 and 24th ranked Arizona State coming off a win over then undefeated Texas Tech last week. That win by the Sun Devils was their first victory over a top 10 ranked opponent since 2019. QB Sam Leavitt passed for a career-high 319 yards with star WR Jordyn Tyson reeling in 10 passes for 105 yards and a score. Unfortunately for Leavitt Tyson will not be available for this contest as he suffered a leg injury at the end of last week’s win. Arizona State will face a Houston defense allowing just 19 points per game tied for 27th in the nation and has also tallied 17 sacks and 8 takeaways this season. Offensively the Cougars are led by Connor Weigman who became the first Houston QB to throw 3 passing TD’s, score a rushing TD, and gain 95 yards on the ground since Kevin Kolb in 2003 in their win last week. Weigman and Tyson were named Co-Offensive Player of the Week in the Big 12 for their performances last week, but with Tyson out with injury ASU’s offense takes a big hit. I like Houston to keep this game close and cover the 7.5 point spread as the road underdog.
Best Bet: Houston +7.5 (-110)
Full Card
Best Bets:
- Ole Miss +5 (-110)
- Virginia -10 (-110)
- Missouri ML (+130)
- BYU ML (+130)
- TAMvsLSU Under 48.5 (-110)
- Houston +7.5 (-110)
Player Props:
- J’Mari Taylor 68.5 Rush Yds (-110)
- Ahmed Hardy Over 86.5 Rush Yds (-115)
- Marcel Reed Rush TD (+160)
The Bookie of Eli 
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