NCAA College Football Week 9 Picks - Late Games
NCAA Week 9 Late Games
All times Eastern
3:30 pm #4 Notre Dame (-20, 57) at Georgia Tech - 20 points may sound like a lot, but for the Fighting Irish, it's just three drives in their usual offensive game plan.
Making matters worse for the Yellow Jackets, while the Irish have the best defense in the ACC, Georgia Tech's is the worst, allowing 247 points over six games. The Irish: 49 points allowed in five games, all wins.
Coin Flip: Notre Dame
Prediction: Fighting Irish 41 Yellow Jackets 13
Indiana was also a surprise winner, outlasting Penn State, 36-35, winning on a two-point conversion gamble in overtime. Hoosier QB Michael Penix Jr. played a solid game and Indiana has plenty of returning starters from last season. Not sure at this point how good either team is, though the oddsmakers seem to indicate that Indiana has the goods.
Coin Flip: Indiana
Prediction: Hoosiers 34 Scarlet Knights 17
Hard to say where LSU stands defensively, but the offense is on the right track, putting up 42 points per game to Auburn's 24.4.
Auburn gets a slight nod on defense and for having home field. The SEC has been allowing more fans each week and that should benefit the home crew.
Coin Flip: Auburn
Prediction: Auburn Tigers 33 LSU Tigers 31
Wisconsin took care of business in their opener, routing Illinois, 45-7. Difficult to imagine how this line is only three points, but there it is. Wisconsin has beaten Nebraska eight out of the last nine times they've met.
Coin Flip: Nebraska
Prediction: Badgers 31 Cornhuskers 16
Oklahoma remains undefeated at 4-0 atop the Big 12, while Texas has already suffered two defeats, to Oklahoma and TCU. They had to go to overtime to down Texas Tech, 63-56, but they seem to be better than they were at the start of the season. The Longhorn offense is their strength, but the Cowboys can run up the score on the Texas defense.
Coin Flip: Oklahoma State
Prediction: Cowboys 34 Longhorns 23
The Bulldogs will be fortunate to score on the Crimson Tide defense.
Coin Flip: Alabama
Prediction: Crimson Tide 49 Bulldogs 10
The Buckeyes are extremely dangerous and should smother the Lions.
Coin Flip: Penn State
Prediction: Buckeyes 38 Nittany Lions 20
Arkansas seems capable enough, with an opening loss to Georgia followed by a win at Mississippi State, a 30-28 defeat at Auburn, and last week's 33-21 win over Ole Miss, the SEC's punching bag. With plenty of talent on both sides of the ball and eligible for improvement, the Razorbacks are up and coming. This could be one of the more exciting games of the week and razor close.
Coin Flip: Texas A&M
Prediction: Razorbacks 29 Aggies 27
Defense? Maybe, maybe not. The least number of points allowed by the Gators was 24, in a 38-24 home win over South Carolina. Their other win was opening weekend, a 51-35 win at Ole Miss, so, they're probably better at home, as are most teams.
As far as the Tigers are concerned, who knows? They lost to Alabama, 38-19, and Tennessee, 35-12, topped LSU, 45-41, and Kentucky, 20-10 (note, Kentucky absolutely buried Tennessee last week). They appear to be an OK team with the potential to upend the Gators, maybe. Are the Gators two TDs better? Let's find out.
Coin Flip: Missouri
Prediction: Tigers 34 Gators 31
Virginia is the exact opposite. After defeating Duke in their opener, they've lost four straight, though last week's 19-14 loss at Miami was their best effort of the season. Starting QB Brennan Armstrong, a dual threat, returned from two week's injury and played well, though not well enough to produce a win. The defense made Miami work for the win, all of the Hurricane scores were on long, clock consuming drives. With Armstrong back, the Cavaliers have a shot at home.
Coin Flip: Virginia
Prediction: Tar Heels 30 Cavaliers 24
2-3 Texas Tech lost to both K-State and the Cyclones, so it would appear the Sooners have an upper hand and should parlay it into a nifty road victory.
Coin Flip: Texas Tech
Prediction: Sooners 54 Red Raiders 28
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Week 9 Early Games
3:30 pm #17 Indiana (-10, 52 1/2) at Rutgers - The Scarlet Knights rang up a big win at Michigan State last week, topping the Spartans, 38-27, with the help of four first half turnovers.
3:30 pm LSU (-3, 65 1/2) at Auburn - Interesting SEC battle of the Tigers as neither team has exactly lived up to expectations. Auburn is 3-2; LSU, 2-2 and neither is ranked, though a win here might get some post season juices flowing.
3:30 pm #9 Wisconsin (-3, 46 1/2) at Nebraska - The Cornhuskers looked good for about 15 minutes in the first quarter against Ohio State last week, eventually falling, 52-17, to the Buckeyes.
4:00 pm Texas at #6 Oklahoma State (-3 1/2, 58 1/2) - The way the Cowboys played defense in their 24-21 win over Iowa State last week, the Longhorns look to have one of their longer days of the season.
7:00 pm Mississippi State at #2 Alabama (-30 1/2, 63 1/2) - The last time the Bulldogs bettered Alabama was 2007, when they took a home win, 17-12. While Mississippi State may have knocked off LSU, they've lost three straight since, to Arkansas, Kentucky, and Texas A&M.
7:30 pm #3 Ohio State (-12, 63 1/2) at #18 Penn State - Penn State lost in overtime by a point to Indiana, while the Buckeyes looked dominant, defeating Nebraska, 52-17. This isn't a game between two ranked opponents, it's a game against a teaming for a national championship versus a team trying to remain relevant in the national picture.
7:30 pm Arkansas at #8 Texas A&M (-12 1/2, 55) - A&M QB Kellen Mond and RB Isaiah Spiller have sparked the Aggies to a 3-01 record and national ranking, though it's really still too early to tell just how good (or bad) they really are. The 52-24 loss at Alabama and 41-38 home win over the Gators only begins to put them into perspective.
7:30 Missouri at #10 Florida (-13, 61 1/2) - Here's another SEC contest that's nearly impossible to decipher. One can take Florida's #10 ranking at face value, but they've only played three games and last week's loss to Texas A&M doesn't look good, considering the final score was 41-38.
8:00 pm #15 North Carolina (-7, 61 1/2) at Virginia - The Tar Heels are 4-1 after dusting their in-state rival, NC State, 48-21. The only loss by North Carolina was a 31-28 upset at Florida State. They're solid and explosive on offense.
#24 Oklahoma (-14, 69) at Texas Tech - Sooner or later, Oklahoma is going to string together some wins and now could be that time. After a rough start in the Big 12, with losses to Kansas State and Iowa State, wins over Texas and TCU have them on the right path.
