College Football Picks Week 9: Odds, Predictions, Schedule, Rankings for Top 25
For the latest lines on these games, go to DraftKings.
Saturday, October 28
No. 4 Florida State (-20) at Wake Forest (Noon ET, ABC)
No. 6 Oklahoma (-10) at Kansas (Noon ET, Fox)
Indiana at No. 10 Penn State (-31) (Noon ET, CBS)
No. 1 Georgia (-14.5) at Florida (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS)
BYU at No. 7 Texas (-17.5) (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 (-18) (3:30 p.m. ET, NBC)
No. 20 Duke at No. 18 Louisville (-3.5) (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
No. 22 Tulane (-11.5) at Rice (4 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
No. 24 USC (-9.5) at California (4 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network)
No. 5 Washington (-27) at Stanford (7 p.m. ET, FS1)
No. 19 Air Force (-12) 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 (-25.5) (7:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network)
Colorado at No. 23 UCLA (-17) (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
No. 17 North Carolina (-11.5) at Georgia Tech (8 p.m. ET, ACC Network)
Old Dominion at No. 25 James Madison (-17.5) (8 p.m. ET, ESPNU)
No. 11 Oregon State (-3.5) at Arizona (10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Oregon may have the perfect balance to counter whatever Utah offers inside Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Nix's experience might be the most important factor to leaving Salt Lake City with playoff hopes still in tact.
Nix battled through a tough game at home against the Utah defense last season. The Utes scored 14 third-quarter points before Nix led a drive that resulted in a game-winning field goal in the fourth period.
The valuable experienced gained by Nix should prepare him for what to expect on Saturday.
Utah may not be able to match Oregon's explosiveness on offense, especially if the Ducks are disciplined on defense.
The Utes earned their upset win over USC last week thanks in part to a porous Trojans defense that could not contain Bryson Barnes.
The Ducks will force Barnes to beat them through the air. They gave up 57 yards on 22 carries in their Week 8 win over the Washington State Cougars and allow 95.1 rushing yards per contest.
Barnes only eclipsed the 200-yard mark through the air last week. He ran for over 50 yards in each of the last two games.
Oregon can take away Barnes' threat on the ground, and it can force him into mistakes through the air. After all, we are talking about a quarterback with a 58.4 completion percentage.
A solid game from Nix in the pocket combined with a ton of pressure on the Utah passing game should help Oregon move into November with its playoff aspirations still alive.
Duke comes into Week 9 with a big question at quarterback.
Riley Leonard left the loss to the Florida State Seminoles in the second half and then everything fell apart for the Blue Devils.
Duke owns a win without Leonard from two weeks ago against the NC State Wolfpack, but Louisville carries more quality on its roster.
The Cardinals are one of the most surprising teams in the FBS. They are one of four ACC teams with one conference loss jockeying for second place and the chance to play Florida State in the ACC Championship Game.
Louisville is in that position because of a 17-point road loss to the Pittsburgh Panthers in Week 7 that occurred one week after an emotional win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
The Cardinals must rediscover the form displayed in the victory over Notre Dame and their previous five wins.
Quarterback Jack Plummer must avoid mistakes against a tough Duke defense. He has eight interceptions and has been sacked on 15 occasions.
Louisville needs Plummer to avoid those mistakes at home to outplay a Duke team that could be without Leonard.
Leonard's status has yet to be determined, but even if he plays, he will not be at 100 percent, as we saw against Florida State.
Duke backup Henry Belin IV had two touchdown passes against NC State, but he only completed four of his 12 passes in that victory.
Louisville can get to Belin in the pocket, if he starts, and Duke's potential inability to move the ball on offense could be the ultimate difference-maker on Saturday.
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