College Football Week 10 Odds, Picks & Predictions (Saturday)
Gear up for another awesome weekend of college football action with BettingPros! We’ll have you covered with all of our top picks for the week along with our projected spreads and totals to help guide your college football bets. Below are our top picks and predictions for Saturday’s games.
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Top College Football Odds & Picks: Saturday
Missouri vs. Georgia
The Missouri Tigers will look to take down the Georgia Bulldogs on the road on Saturday. The Tigers have just one loss on the season, which came against the top-rated offense in the nation, LSU. They’re led by Brady Cook, who has thrown for 15 touchdowns and only three interceptions, and the offense also has a premier runner in Cody Schrader, who has nine touchdowns. Yes, they’re playing Georgia. However, the Bulldogs have allowed at least 20 points in four of their last five games defensively. The Bulldogs aren’t nearly as good defensively as the previous years. On the other hand, Georgia’s earning over 40 points per game this season behind Carson Beck. Maybe he’s not Stetson Bennett, but he’s performed well throughout the season. The Bulldogs won’t have Brock Bowers, but Ladd McConkey stepped up last weekend against Florida. I think we see a lot of points in this one. I’ll take the Over 54.5.
Pick: Over 54.5
-Jason Radowitz
Purdue vs. Michigan
This is a weird one. Michigan could have a major letdown game with everything going on. However, the Wolverines still look like one of the best teams in the nation. We’ll just have to see if the distractions will come into play for Michigan. At home, I don’t think it’ll be an issue. The Wolverines are one of the best offenses in the nation, led by J.J. McCarthy, who has thrown for 18 touchdowns and three interceptions. The Wolverines also have an awesome running back duo that includes Blake Corum. Corum has 13 rushing touchdowns on the season. The Purdue Boilermakers have allowed 30 points per game, along with over 5,000 yards in eight games. Meanwhile, the Purdue offense has converted third downs less than 40% of the time, while Hudson Card has thrown seven interceptions this season. I’ll back Michigan in a blowout at home. Give me the Wolverines at -32.5.
Pick: Michigan -32.5
-Jason Radowitz
Ohio State vs. Rutgers
The Ohio State Buckeyes are rated as the best team in the nation. The Committee isn’t saying that Ohio State is the best team. They’re just giving Ohio State the benefit of the doubt, knowing that Ohio State has wins over Notre Dame and Penn State. No other team in the top five has won against two contenders. While the Buckeyes are undefeated, I think many agree that they’re beatable. On the road, against a bowl-eligible Rutgers team, Ohio State can’t just walk into the building and expect to win like previous times. The Rutgers defense has a terrific secondary and continues to tackle at a very impressive rate. The Buckeyes have added no more than 24 points in three of their last five wins. Meanwhile, the Scarlet Knights will just want to rush the football. It’ll be difficult against Ohio State, knowing that the Buckeyes have allowed only 3.08 yards per attempt this season. The Buckeyes are used to bellowing out Rutgers. But I’ve got this game going Under the total of 42.5. Both defenses are legit.
Pick: Under 42.5
-Jason Radowitz
Florida State vs. Pittsburgh
It’s been an embarrassing year for the Pittsburgh Panthers. At 2-6, they’ll have to face an undefeated Florida State team on Saturday. The Panthers are onto their second starter at quarterback but just lost 58-7 to Notre Dame on the road. The program is taking giant steps back, while the Florida State program is taking a giant step forward. Pittsburgh’s offensive line hasn’t held up. Therefore, Florida State’s defensive line should dominate at the line of scrimmage. The Seminoles also have one of the best secondaries in the ACC. So when the game gets out of hand, and Pittsburgh has to throw the ball, things will only get worse. Let’s back the Seminoles at -21.
Pick: Florida State -21
-Jason Radowitz
Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State
This big rivalry game has some meaning, with both teams competing for a spot in the Big 12 championship. Oklahoma was upset last week against Kansas to give them their first loss of the year. It was one of the worst games in Dillion Gabriel’s time with the Sooners, and it was just the third time in 46 games that he threw for under 200 yards and no touchdowns and has lost all three. He goes from playing a Kansas passing defense that’s tenth in the conference to Oklahoma State that’s third. The Cowboys have found recent success in the run game with Ollie Gordon, as he has over 20 carries in his last four games and has run for 200+ yards in his previous two. Oklahoma has been great against stopping the run this season, allowing just 3.7 yards per carry and six rushing touchdowns. This will be strength vs. strength on both sides, which will result in a lower-scoring game.
Pick: Under 61.5
-John Supowitz
Kansas State vs. Texas
The Wildcats have been absolutely incredible over the last two weeks. They’ve outscored their opponents 82-3, as they have scored 41 in each of their games. But they’re about to take a huge step up in competition, against a team that can taste the College Football Playoff after the first ranking was released. The Longhorns destroyed the BYU Cougars 35-6 last week, after a narrow seven-point victory at Houston. Every single win they’ve had this season has been by at least seven points. At home, their average margin of victory is 25.75 points. Both of the Wildcats’ losses have been on the road. Each of those games was decided by eight points or less, but it still shows that the Wildcats aren’t the same team when they play away from home. This week, the Longhorns will knock the Wildcats to 6-3 in convincing fashion.
Pick: Texas -4
-Phil Wood
California vs. Oregon
The Ducks control their own destiny, and if they win out, they’ll play in the Pac-12 championship. Last week was supposed to be a challenge going to Utah, but the defense was spectacular, holding the Utes to 241 total yards, then you add their effectiveness in the passing and running game, and they showed they need to be taken seriously as a playoff contender. Cal is coming in with three straight losses, and last week, had a two-touchdown lead in the fourth quarter, but USC was able to come back and get the win. Fernando Mendoza has been playing well recently with two passing touchdowns in three straight, and when they gave Jaden Ott the ball, he’s been effective, running for over 5.7 yards per carry in four straight. Cal has yet to cover in a game as the road underdog, and as both the offense and defense rolls for Oregon, it won’t happen again.
Pick: Oregon -24.5
-John Supowitz
LSU vs. Alabama
Jayden Daniels has thrown 25 touchdowns and just three interceptions this season. His team has scored at least 40 points in six of their eight games, and at least 30 in all but their season-opening loss to the Florida State Seminoles. The defense has allowed over 30 points in four games. But we think all these trends will come to a screeching halt this week against the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Crimson Tide have allowed just one opponent to score more than 30 against them, and that performance came all the way back in Week 2. They held the Ole Miss Rebels to just 10 and the Tennessee Volunteers to just 20 a week ago. Only Alabama’s 56-7 win over Middle Tennessee went over 60 this season. The Crimson Tide play great defense, and their offense isn’t as good as it has been in past years. We’d take this as low as 56.5.
Pick: Under 60.5
-Phil Wood
Arizona State vs. Utah
Even after allowing 32 or more points in back-to-back weeks, the Utah Utes still have the 22nd-best scoring defense in college football. They’re allowing just 19 points per game, and they have held five of their opponents to 14 or less. This week they get to face a Sun Devils’ offense that is averaging just 19.0 points per game. They have been held to 24 or fewer points in five of their eight games. While the Sun Devils’ defense has been solid for the most part, they are allowing 27.3 points per game. Therefore, we can’t confidently take the game under. But we can confidently take the Sun Devils’ team under, as we wouldn’t be surprised if they get shut out on Saturday.
Pick: Arizona State Under 13.5
-Phil Wood
Notre Dame vs. Clemson
Notre Dame is likely out of the CFB playoff picture as their wins are no longer meaningful, and they don’t have a strong enough remaining schedule. Audric Estime has been great, Sam Hartman has had mixed results, but as we’re seeing, this team lives or dies by the defense. They’re coming off a game where they had a major impact with two defensive touchdowns. Another former powerhouse that is having a disappointing season is Clemson. Not a great year for Cade Klubnik as his 58.8 QBR is 73rd. Even Will Shipley has regressed by running a full yard less per carry than last year. The defense has some good stats, but other than FSU, they haven’t faced a top-15 scoring offense.
Pick: Notre Dame -3
-John Supowitz
UCLA vs. Arizona
The Wildcats pulled off a solid upset of the Oregon State Beavers last weekend to win their second consecutive game. Though they’re just 5-3 on the season, all three of their losses have been by seven points or less, with two of those losses coming in overtime. Meanwhile, the Bruins dominated nearly every aspect of their game against the Colorado Buffaloes last week. They had more than double the yardage of the Buffaloes, but they turned the ball over four times, which kept the game closer than it should have been. Offensively, the Bruins have struggled at times this season, and if they turn the ball over at the rate they did last week, they’re on upset alert this week. The Wildcats are confident, and they’re 3-1 at home this season. Their only loss was a 31-24 defeat at the hands of the Washington Huskies. In conference, the Bruins are 1-2 on the road, with their two losses coming by an average of 9.5 points.
Pick: Arizona +3
-Phil Wood
Texas A&M vs. Ole Miss
Both of these SEC foes get talked about a lot for what they do, or don’t do, on offense. Ole Miss rates really well in many of advanced efficiency stats offensively. They rank 15th in SP+ and 24th in EPA per play on offense. However, this efficiency hasn’t really resulted in big point totals. They’ve had some success against lesser defenses, but managed less than 30 points against Alabama, Auburn and Arkansas who can all play a little defense. Play defense is really all Texas A&M can do. They rank 7th in SP+ on that unit, while sitting 39th and 105th in offense and special teams, respectively. This game could really turn into a good old-fashioned SEC slugfest. The defenses will really shine in this matchup and makes the under the play.
Pick: Under 54.5
-Ryan Rodeman
Arkansas vs. Florida
Talk about two teams that need to get a bad taste out of their mouth. Florida came out of the highly anticipated matchup with Georgia taking quite a few body blows. Arkansas is licking its wounds after a 7-3 loss to Mississippi State before the bye week that resulted in the firing of their offensive coordinator. The Razorbacks had a murderer’s row of games in the SEC West to start conference play. LSU, A&M, Ole Miss and Alabama? No wonder they had nothing left against Mississippi State. The bye week and a fresh face calling plays should inject a little life into an offense that is much more talented than they’ve showed this year. Florida, for their part, will be more than happy to oblige in letting them score. Georgia, South Carolina and Kentucky all scored 33 or more against the Gators. Arkansas is being left for dead in the SEC West, but HC Sam Pittman is fighting for pride and likely his job. I like the fresher team coming off the bye to cover.
Pick: Arkansas +6
-Ryan Rodeman
Penn State vs. Maryland
Penn State nearly got caught in a massive flat spot last week. After laying an egg against Ohio State, Penn State struggled until the last few minutes to put away a pesky Indiana team. A 4th ranked SP+ defense looked sleepy at times against a Hoosier offense that should have been overmatched. With a game that could make or break a season with huge expectations on the horizon for next week, I think this is a week HC James Franklin gets his team focused. Unfortunately for Maryland, they’re following a trend that plagued them last season. After a strong 5-0 start, they’ve fallen apart down the stretch. The defense has really taken a dive after crumbling in the second half against Ohio State. They gave up 27 and 33 to Illinois and Northwestern, respectively. This is good news for Drew Allar who finally seemed to find his deep ball last week after averaging only 6.8 yards on his average depth of target. It’s the perfect get-right spot for the whole Penn State team.
Pick: Penn State -8.5
-Ryan Rodeman
Oregon State vs. Colorado
After a hot start, Deion Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes desperately need a win to right the ship as they fight for bowl eligibility. While the Buffs have exciting playmakers on both sides, their lack of balance has played a major part in their recent demise. The Buffs rank dead-last in rushing offense despite having a dynamic passing game led by Shedeur Sanders. Simply put, Colorado is a relatively easy team to game plan for, and Oregon State’s defense will likely be looking for a bounce back after allowing 8.6 yards per pass attempt in a loss at Arizona last weekend. The Beavers should have no issues getting theirs offensively, as Colorado ranks outside the top 60 in both rush and pass defense. While I worry about Oregon State outside of Corvallis, I trust their talent to overwhelm Colorado as big road favorites.
Pick: Oregon State -13.5
-Matt Barbato
Washington vs. USC
Washington remains perfect, but they’ve been playing some close games recently. You understand the tight game between Oregon, but the ones between one conference-win Arizona State and Stanford were just one possession in the fourth quarter. Despite the recent results, USC still controls their destiny as they sit second in the conference. Caleb Williams is out of the Heisman race but had a rebound game against Cal, throwing for 369 yards and two touchdowns. Two very high-octane offenses and 76 points is a very high number, but how we’ve seen them operate this year, it can be done.
Pick: Over 76.5
-John Supowitz
UConn vs. Tennessee
I always feel squeamish laying such a heavy number with a favorite in the midst of its conference season. But it’s hard not to like Tennessee even as 35-point favorites against UConn. Primarily, Tennessee’s ground game should run all over a Huskies defense that ranks 85th in yards allowed per carry. And while the way to beat Tennessee’s defense is through the air, Connecticut’s passing game is averaging just 6.2 yards per pass attempt. The Volunteers do have a crucial road meeting with Missouri on deck, so to hedge a bit I’ll just take Tennessee to get out to a hot start before likely resting starters for a big stretch against Missouri and Georgia.
Pick: Tennessee -21.5 (1H)
-Matt Barbato
Best Ways to Bet College Football for Beginners
Game Total
Bettors new to the hobby can be confused by spreads, but game totals are simple. Every football game has a total posted for the combined final score between the two teams. Bettors have the option to choose the OVER or UNDER, generally at -110 odds (risk: $110; win: $100). So if the total is 42 and you take the OVER, you need 43 points to win the bet. If you put a bet down on the over to win $100 and it goes over, you get back the money you initially risked, plus $100. If it stayed under, you would have lost your $110 and that’s it. If by chance the game ended with 42 total points, it’s called a push; when a game pushes, you get the money you risked back but nothing more.
ie: California vs. Illinois, Over 42 or Under 42
tip: Over bets can be a really fun social event with your buddies. Have everyone throw in a few bucks, then take the over together. Instead of getting pumped when one side scores, everyone is pumped for ANY score, all game.
Moneyline
The moneyline is the easiest way to test your college football knowledge: who will win the game? That’s it. The moneyline doesn’t use favorites or underdogs, it’s totally straight up. That said, the risk-reward can be challenging because they’re weighted. Instead of every game being around -110, like game totals and spreads, moneylines vary depending on the matchup.
For our example, California was favored by seven points over Illinois, meaning oddsmakers think the Golden Bears are a touchdown better than the Fighting Illini. If you took Cal on the moneyline, points don’t matter, they just need to win the game. But because it’s safer to take them straight-up without points, you’ll have to risk more when you make the bet — remember, they’re seven points better than Illinois in the eyes of the oddsmakers. In this case, Cal is -280 on the moneyline, so if you want to win $100, you have to risk $280. On the flip side, moneyline bets can be valuable when taking the underdog because it’s a riskier bet — they’re seven points worse than their opponent. In this case, Illinois is the underdog — +220 on the moneyline. You’d win $220 on a $100 bet if you picked Illinois on the moneyline and they pulled off the upset.
ie: California (ML -280) vs. Illinois (ML +220)
tip: Check their history against one another. Keep an eye on the injury report and the weather.
Player Props
Player props are some of the most exhilarating bets you can place during a college football game, but they’re also easy to understand. For major conferences, you’ll have a wide array of options to choose from. Quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, and sometimes tight ends will have props to choose from. It’s simple, fun and easy to follow, and odds on player props don’t vary as much as moneylines. Generally, prop bets are in the -110 range like generic spread and total bets.
ie: How many passing yards will Brandon Peters have against California? Over 250 or Under 250
tip: Check how players have performed in the situation they’re going to be in. Use split stats on any reliable site to see their numbers at home, on a neutral-site, in December, etc.
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