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Florida State vs. Wake Forest: College Football Week 9 Odds & Picks (2023)

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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 game: Florida State vs. Wake Forest.

Top College Football Odds & Picks: Florida State vs. Wake Forest

#4 Florida State @ Wake Forest

This is a game where I like the total more, but I will take the under. We saw Florida State look a little flat offensively last week against Duke. Even though they put up points and yards, 21 of their 38 last week came in the fourth quarter. Duke’s defense was gassed, and the Seminoles figured out to just stack the box because Riley Leonard was injured, and the Blue Devils’ passing game was ineffective.

Wake Forest has been 1-5 playing to the Over this year, and the only game they put up points was against Vanderbilt in Week 2. FSU has been a very effective offense and could get most of this total, but the Wake Forest offense is what concerns me. Wake could be down starting QB Mitch Griffis, who not only didn't start last week but wasn't even at the game for undisclosed reasons. Mike Norvell said FSU will prepare as if he'll play. Still, with backup Michael Kerns out until early November, they may have to go back to third-stringer Santino Marucci, who was 12/21, 151-1-2 against Pitt last week.

Wake has been a bend-don’t-break defense, and if they can control the ball a bit (FSU is well below average in TOP), I think that will get us there. Wake has been above average statistically on defense and grades inside the top 25 teams in total defense on PFF, as does FSU. With this being a road game for the Noles, I'll take a shot on both defenses playing well and this game staying under.

Bet: UNDER 51.0 (-110)

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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