College football Week 9 best bets

Ty Son Lawton #17 of the Indiana Hoosiers celebrates a touchdown with Justice Ellison #6 against the Northwestern Wildcats during the second half at Martin Stadium on October 05, 2024 in Evanston, Illinois.
Ty Son Lawton #17 of the Indiana Hoosiers celebrates a touchdown with Justice Ellison #6 against the Northwestern Wildcats during the second half at Martin Stadium on October 05, 2024 in Evanston, Illinois. | Michael Reaves/GettyImages

The college football season is chugging along as Week 9 is upon us. This Saturday’s slate includes some very intriguing games including five ranked matchups.

We got back on the winning side last week with my picks going 6-3 and will hopefully keep that momentum rolling.

Here are the best bets in Week 9 of the college football season:

Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook | Gambling Problem? Call | Season Record: (35-40)

Indiana -6.5 (-120) vs Washington

Count me in on Curt Cignetti and the Indiana Hoosiers who have become an absolute wagon this season. If you have not heard yet, the Hoosiers are 7-0 and have stomped their opponents.

Washington comes in at 4-3, but has struggled in Big Ten games where they have had to travel out east, losing at Rutgers 21-18 and at Iowa 40-16.

Indiana will be without starting QB Kurtis Rourke due to a hand injury, but backup Tayven Jackson is no slouch. Jackson started in five games last season for Indiana and will bring more of a dual threat ability to the Hoosiers offense. He also looked good last week when he replaced Rourke in the second half going seven for eight for 91 yards and two touchdowns through the air.

Bloomington will be buzzing on Saturday as they welcome College Gameday for the first time in school history for a noon kickoff (9 a.m. Washington time).

BYU moneyline (+104) at UCF

BYU simply just keeps winning. Last week they pulled off an incredible 75 yard drive to win the game with 10 seconds left that has me thinking it might just be the Cougars year.

On the other end UCF is really struggling right now with four straight losses and was on the opposite end of one of those game winning drives a week ago. 

The Knights currently ranked 118 out of 134 in passing defense and BYU has a solid passing attack with QB Jake Retzlaff throwing to receivers Darius Lassiter and Chase Roberts who each have over 420 yards on the season. 

BYU has already won straight up as an underdog three times this season, so why not make it four on Saturday.

Colorado -5.5 (-110) vs Cincinnati

Hand up, I was very wrong picking against Colorado last week as they torched Arizona 34-7. Deion Sanders has this program heading in the right direction and they have a legit shot at winning the Big 12.

Cincinnati has really turned some heads this year starting 5-2, and could easily be sitting at six wins had they not completely blown their Week 2 game against Pitt. 

Cincy comes in with a solid defense, but I am questioning how good the offenses they have faced really are. They gave up 44 points to Texas Tech and I could see something similar happening in this one with Shedeur Sanders behind center.

Hopefully the Bearcats are a little sleepy for this 10:15 p.m. kickoff in Boulder.

Illinois +21.5 (-115) at Oregon

This is one of those five ranked matchups and I just think the spread is too big in this one. Oregon dominated Purdue last week while Illinois is coming off a massive program win against Michigan.

Bret Bielema will want to control the game with his offense and keep the ball on the ground here. I believe this will allow the Illini to keep this one close early and keep the score inside the number when it’s all said and done.

Rounding it out:

- Nebraska/Ohio State Over 48.5 (-110)

- Miami FL -20.5 (-115) vs Florida St.

- Utah St. moneyline (-111) at Wyoming

- Penn St./Wisconsin Under 47.5 (-105)

- Texas A&M moneyline (-137) vs LSU

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change | Frank Sciarroni is 35-40 ATS in CFB.