College Football Picks Week 9: Predictions and Odds for Top 25 Schedule – Bleacher Report
As top college football teams continue to lose, the race for spots in the College Football Playoff remains wide open.
Notre Dame and Baylor suffered their first losses of the season in Week 8, which leaves just four undefeated teams in all of FBS. Marshall remains an outside contender for a playoff spot, but Mississippi State, Florida State and Ole Miss are still on top of the rankings.
Every week becomes more important as squads jockey for position and want to continue to prove themselves. Even without too many high-profile matchups in Week 9, anything can happen during the weekend.
Here is a look at predictions for each game and a breakdown of the top battles to watch.
| Date | Time (ET) | Away | Home | Pick ATS* |
| Oct. 23 | 7 p.m. | Connecticut | No. 18 East Carolina | CONN +26.5 |
| Oct. 24 | 10 p.m. | No. 6 Oregon | California | ORE -18 |
| Oct. 25 | 3:30 p.m. | No. 1 Mississippi St. | Kentucky | MSU -14 |
| Oct. 25 | 7:15 p.m. | No. 3 Ole Miss | No. 24 LSU | MISS -3 |
| Oct. 25 | 7:30 p.m. | No. 4 Alabama | Tennessee | BAMA -16 |
| Oct. 25 | 7:30 p.m. | South Carolina | No. 5 Auburn | SC +17 |
| Oct. 25 | 3:30 p.m. | Michigan | No. 8 Michigan St. | MSU -16.5 |
| Oct. 25 | 3:30 p.m. | Texas Tech | No. 10 TCU | TCU -21 |
| Oct. 25 | 12 p.m. | Texas | No. 11 Kansas St. | KSU -10 |
| Oct. 25 | 8 p.m. | No. 13 Ohio St. | Penn St. | OSU -13 |
| Oct. 25 | 10:45 p.m. | No. 14 Arizona St. | Washington | WAS +2.5 |
| Oct. 25 | 5 p.m. | No. 15 Arizona | Washington St. | ARI -3 |
| Oct. 25 | 12 p.m. | Rutgers | No. 16 Nebraska | NEB -17 |
| Oct. 25 | 10 p.m. | No. 20 USC | No. 19 Utah | USC -1 |
| Oct. 25 | 7 p.m. | Syracuse | No. 21 Clemson | SYR +15.5 |
| Oct. 25 | 3:30 p.m. | No. 22 West Virginia | Oklahoma St. | WVU +3 |
| Oct. 25 | 3:30 p.m. | Florida Atlantic | No. 23 Marshall | MAR -27 |
| Oct. 25 | 2 p.m. | No. 25 UCLA | Colorado | UCLA -13.5 |
*Spread info courtesy of Odds Shark
Top Games
No. 3 Ole Miss vs. No. 23 LSU
Few expected Ole Miss to still be undefeated at this point of the season, but the Rebels moved to 7-0 on the season thanks to a defense that has been one of the best in the country.
The defense currently ranks first in the nation with just 10.6 points per game allowed, never giving up more than 20 points in any game. ESPN’s Damien Woody is a big fan of the unit:
This Ole Miss defense is too real!!
— Damien Woody (@damienwoody) October 19, 2014
Find me a better defense than Ole Miss….boys flying to the rock!!
— Damien Woody (@damienwoody) October 19, 2014
This could cause some serious problems for an LSU offense that has struggled against weaker opponents throughout the year. The rushing attack helped the Tigers put up 41 against Kentucky, but quarterback Anthony Jennings has not completed more than 50 percent of his passes in any of the last five games.
Ole Miss is capable of shutting down the run with a great front seven, which could force Jennings to make plays, and he simply has not shown the ability to pull that off.
Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace has his faults as well, but he has limited his interceptions lately and should be able to do enough to earn an easy win, even on the road.
No. 19 Utah vs. No. 22 USC
Stephen Dunn/Getty Images
Utah has now played in three straight close games but came out victorious in the last two, both on the road. The Utes defeated UCLA by two points earlier in the month and then knocked off Oregon State in double overtime last week.
The squad now returns home against USC. Running back Devontae Booker and the rest of the Utah offense will try to keep up the strong play.
Unfortunately, things will only get tougher, as the Trojans are coming off an impressive game against Colorado. Quarterback Cody Kessler threw seven touchdown passes in a 56-28 win, showing what the offense can do when it is at its best.
Head coach Steve Sarkisian noted his thoughts on the performance of his quarterback in the press conference after the game:
We challenged him. We want more explosive plays in our offense. We want to throw the ball down the field more and to trust our guys that they’ll go make plays. We did that from the very beginning. They weren’t all completions, but it became an aspect of our team and our game that created bigger plays.
This vertical passing game to Nelson Agholor, JuJu Smith and others will be extremely difficult to stop for anyone when Kessler is hitting his targets like he was Saturday. Utah could have its hands full in the secondary and could be in danger of allowing a number of explosive plays.
With the way both teams can move the ball, this is likely to be a high-scoring battle. However, USC should find a way to win this one.
No. 25 West Virginia vs. Oklahoma State
These two teams had opposite fortunes Saturday.
Oklahoma State came into the day considered a top contender in the Big 12, but the squad was embarrassed by TCU in a 42-9 loss.
West Virginia’s day went much better, as the Mountaineers upset Baylor 41-27 thanks to 322 passing yards and three touchdowns from Clint Trickett. The squad has two losses on the year, but they came in hard-fought games against Alabama and Oklahoma. It now appears this is a good team capable of beating anyone in the country.
While these squads seem to be headed in opposite directions, Oklahoma State has a chance to prove the latest loss was just a fluke with a better effort against West Virginia. The Cowboys will be at home and will now be the squad trying to pull off the upset, and the talent is there to get the win.
However, TCU exposed this defense, which means it could be another big day for Trickett and wide receiver Kevin White. These two will link up a bunch of times, and it will led to another big win for the Mountaineers.
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