College Football Betting Odds Week 9: Picks Against the Spread for Top 25 Schedule
The Pac-12 will be the home of a handful of important games to the College Football Playoff picture over the next five weeks.
The Oregon Ducks' trip to Salt Lake City to face the Utah Utes is the marquee matchup of Week 9. The winner of that contest will be in the playoff picture entering November.
Oregon needs to win the rest of its regular-season games and then beat the Washington Huskies in a potential Pac-12 Championship Game rematch.
The Ducks may be best suited to deal with any type of challenge because of their experience at quarterback and a strong defense.
Utah at least can match Oregon with an impressive defensive unit, which has been a trademark of Kyle Whittingham's program.
Quarterback play could doom Utah against a competent defense. Bryson Barnes played well in last week's upset of the USC Trojans, but that performance came against a much-maligned defense.
Oregon is the only top 10 team in serious danger of losing in Week 9. The Georgia Bulldogs face the second-toughest matchup of the top programs in a rivalry battle with the Florida Gators.
Georgia can use Saturday afternoon's clash a chance to showcase its improvements out of the bye and reinforce its national championship favorite status.
For the latest lines on these games, go to DraftKings.
Saturday, October 28
No. 4 Florida State (-20.5) at Wake Forest (Noon ET, ABC)
No. 6 Oklahoma (-9.5) at Kansas (Noon ET, Fox)
Indiana at No. 10 Penn State (-32) (Noon ET, CBS)
No. 1 Georgia (-14.5) at Florida (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS)
BYU at No. 7 Texas (-20) (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
No. 8 Oregon (-6.5) at No. 13 Utah (3:30 p.m. ET, Fox)
Pittsburgh at No. 14 Notre Dame (-20.5) (3:30 p.m. ET, NBC)
No. 20 Duke at No. 18 Louisville (-4.5) (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
No. 22 Tulane (-10.5) at Rice (4 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
No. 24 USC (-10.5) at California (4 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network)
No. 5 Washington (-27.5) at Stanford (7 p.m. ET, FS1)
No. 19 Air Force (-14) at Colorado State (7 p.m. ET, CBSSN)
No. 21 Tennessee (-3.5) at Kentucky (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
No. 3 Ohio State (-14.5) at Wisconsin (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC)
Vanderbilt at No. 12 Ole Miss (-24) (7:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network)
Colorado at No. 23 UCLA (-16.5) (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
No. 17 North Carolina (-12) at Georgia Tech (8 p.m. ET, ACC Network)
Old Dominion at No. 25 James Madison (-21) (8 p.m. ET, ESPNU)
No. 11 Oregon State (-3) at Arizona (10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Oregon differs from any of Utah's previous Pac-12 opponents because of its defense.
The Ducks slowed down two pass-heavy offenses in stretches of the last two weeks. They did enough to force Michael Penix Jr. into a fourth-quarter comeback two weeks ago and held the Washington State Cougars to 57 rushing yards last week.
Oregon did give up 438 passing yards to Cameron Ward in Week 8, but the Wazzu quarterback only had one touchdown pass and was sacked on six occasions.
The ability to get to the quarterback, earn stops and force turnovers make Oregon's defense tougher to handle than most Pac-12 units.
Utah's three conference wins came at home against the UCLA Bruins' freshman quarterback, over the California Golden Bears and versus a porous USC defense.
The Utes had trouble moving the ball against Oregon in Eugene last season. Cam Rising threw three interceptions in the road loss that was only close because of a 14-point explosion in the third quarter.
Oregon can force Barnes into a handful of bad throws that either result in interceptions or end drives.
The Ducks should capitalize on some of those stops behind Bo Nix, who managed to put up 287 passing yards on the Utah defense last season.
Nix has experience against the Utes defense, and that should help him settle into a rhythm in a raucous environment inside Rice-Eccles Stadium.
A road win over Utah will put Oregon on the inside track to the Pac-12 Championship Game since three of its final four games come at home.
Georgia dominated the last two versions of the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party in Jacksonville.
The Bulldogs beat Florida 34-7 and 42-20 to regain their dominance in the rivalry after suffering a defeat in 2020.
Georgia's offense, which averages 509.4 total yards per game, needs a strong performance against an average Florida defense to set the tone for a strong November.
Carson Beck started to find a rhythm at quarterback in the two games before UGA's Week 8 bye, as he completed over 74 percent of his passes in both contests.
Beck enters Jacksonville with 2,147 passing yards, 12 touchdowns and a 73.6 completion percentage.
He threw for 261 yards two weeks ago without tight end Brock Bowers on the field. Bowers suffered an ankle injury three weeks ago and is not expected to play against Florida.
Beck's ability to find a rhythm with Dominic Lovett, Ladd McConkey and the rest of his wide receivers in game play should alleviate any pressure the UGA offense may feel coming out of the bye.
If Bowers got hurt against the Vanderbilt Commodores two weeks ago, UGA may have struggled for consistency in the first half without him.
Florida has a good quarterback in Graham Mertz, who is coming off back-to-back three-touchdown games through the air.
Mertz has not faced a defense as dominant as Georgia's unit, and if he is unable to adjust to the Bulldogs' pressure, the reigning national champion could cruise once again behind a quarterback in Beck who is growing in confidence.
Gambling problem? Call (877-8-HOPENY) or text HOPENY (467369).
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/MI/NJ/PA/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH), 888-789-7777/visiting ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 1-877-770-STOP (7867) (LA), visiting OPGR.org (OR), or calling/texting TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) or 1-888-532-3500 (VA).
Odds and lines subject to change. 21+ (18+ NH/WY). AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/LA/MI/NH/NJ/NY/OR/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. Eligibility restrictions apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for full terms and conditions
