Week 9 College Football Lines and Picks

I was THIS CLOSE to finishing with a winning week, but Tennessee - down 7 points in the 4th quarter at Alabama - had to remember it is Tennessee and absolutely ran out of gas and melted down to lose by 28. In doing so, it tilted a 3-3 mark to 3-4 instead of a much-needed bounce back winning week. I still sit at 32-23-1 for the season, but it would be nice to get back to some winning ways this week.

As usual, all lines are courtesy of DraftKings...

Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.

Michigan at Michigan State; UNDER 50.5. Defensively, these teams are solid, so I don’t see a shootout into the 30s. I’ll take a chance on a tight, lower-scoring game here.

Miami (+9) at Pitt. This opened at 11, and I would have jumped on it then. I have a feeling this will continue to drop as the game approaches, but in any event, as much as we’ve complained about the results, Miami has at least been fighting and competing for 40 minutes. They’ve been playing competitive football, ending up on the right and wrong side of close games along the way. I have a feeling this one will follow script. Give me 9 points here.

FSU (+9) at Clemson. Ugh. I hate taking this, but Clemson simply hasn’t blown ANYONE out this year that has a pulse. Unfortunately, FSU very much has a pulse lately, winning big at UNC between wins Syracuse and UMass. The Noles are playing with confidence and will be in this one until the end. Again, unfortunately.

Duke at Wake Forest (-16). I’m starting to buy into the Deacons. Yeah, they haven’t beaten anyone big yet, and even a down Clemson will be a test for them, but they have an explosive offense that can give them a puncher’s chance against most teams in the Top 25. Duke....well, they are far from a Top 25 team, and Wake will bomb away and win by 3+ scores.

Colorado at Oregon (-24). Colorado is one of the worst offensive Power Five teams, and while Oregon has been playing teams far closer than they should for much of the year, the Buffaloes feel like an opponent that the Ducks can blow off the field. I’ll hesitantly call for the Ducks to finally look like the Top 10 team they are believed by the voters to be.

Iowa at Wisconsin; OVER 37. I could get burned here, because the Wisconsin offense has been absolutely sad, especially in the passing game. These two teams scream low-scoring game, but a 23-17 type of game is absolutely possible between these teams, and that’s more than enough to hit the over.

Arizona at USC (-21). Winless Arizona has been competitive at home (obviously winning none), but blasted on the road. I don’t think the trend will change much in the Coliseum this weekend.