College Football Week 9 Top 25 Preview And Picks

Our 2026 college football Week 9 report and Top 25 preview is initially available at Off Shore Gaming Association. Additional information you can bet on is added here along with stats, ATS and top offenses and top defenses to monitor as you watch and wager on college football into November and December.

The college football Week 9 Top 25 schedule on Sat., Oct. 31 includes two Top 25 matchups plus No. 26 Wisconsin at No. 25 Iowa in a Big Ten battle and super low total. Big game betting also includes early Saturday kickoffs between No. 22 Arizona at No. 13 Texas Tech and No. 3 Georgia vs. No. 17 Florida in a neutral site in Atlanta for the annual Cocktail Party rivalry game.

The winning picks continued in Week 8 going 5-0 on Top 25 picks and opinions and 6-1 overall running the record to 34-14 ATS since Week 4. Will college football Week 9 on Halloween Saturday produce more upsets and send scares towards the only three remaining undefeated teams in college football? Follow our Top 25 coverage and picks and see if No. 1 Miami No. 6 Utah and No. 7 UCLA can remain unbeaten.

Week 8 Top 25 Recap

After 14 ranked teams lost in Week 7, seven more Top 25 teams lost in Week 8. Five of them lost to unranked teams, including two of them to our winning underdog picks – No. 15 Iowa (-7′) lost at Minnesota 13-10 in the scrambling Big Ten, and No. 2 BYU (-7′) lost at Central Florida 39-31 in double overtime in the Big 12.

 

Look at the top of the Big Ten standings into college football Week 9 and you’ll see undefeated UCLA (7-0) and NCAA football coach of the year favorite Bob Chesney, who I talked with ahead of the season at Big Ten Media days. I also spent more time with Minnesota Gophers coach PJ Fleck, Michigan coach Kyle Wittingham and UCLA crosstown rival USC head coach Lincoln Riley and QB Jayden Maiava.

UCLA is 5-0 in Big Ten play ahead of Ohio State (6-1/4-0 Big Ten) and Indiana (7-1/4-1). The Bruins don’t play the Buckeyes or Hoosiers in the regular season, and their toughest remaining games in November are at Minnesota and Michigan, and home vs. crosstown rival USC (6-2/3-2) on the biggest rivalry weekend. USC has the toughest schedule in the Big Ten this season, and the No. 16 Trojans just lost at Wisconsin 24-7 dropping USC out of the Top 25 and moving Wisconsin in this week.

No. 14 Tennessee lost on a last-second field goal at South Carolina, 27-24 in SEC play while No. 7 Ole Miss fell at No. 19 Texas 34-27, another winner for us on the Longhorns. No. 10 Utah battled and outlasted No. 14 Houston and scored a late-game touchdown off a turnover to get the near miracle cover (-6′) in a 21-13 win. No. 11 Texas Tech (-11) lost at Cincinnati 37-24, reminding us again that motivation and emotion are huge in college football with the Bearcats playing their best game of the season motivated by their quarterback last season Brendan Sorsby leaving for Texas Tech only to have his gambling and football betting situation leave him sidelined this season. The Red Raiders joined the BYU Cougars as the two other previously undefeated teams that lost in Week 8. There were seven undefeated teams last year heading into Week 9.

NCAA Football Top 25 Games and Week 9 Odds

Betting lines and college football odds from top online sportsbooks refresh periodically and are subject to change, including on props and live/in-game betting. Point spread on favorites plus game totals as of Tuesday afternoon. Check out the opening lines Sunday from Las Vegas for college football Week 9. All times ET.

Sat, Oct. 31

– No. 1 Miami (-15), at North Carolina, 52.5 | 7:30 pm | ABC
– No. 2 Ohio State (-6.5 / -7) at USC, 51.5 | 7:30 pm | NBC
– No. 3 Georgia (-12) vs. No. 17 Florida, 55 (Atlanta) | 3:30 pm | ABC
– Minnesota at No. 4 Indiana (-18.5), 41 | 3:30 pm | CBS
– No. 5 Notre Dame (-30) vs. Navy, 57 (Foxborough, Mass.) | 12 pm | ABC
– No. 6 Utah (-6.5) at Cincinnati, 57 | 3:45 p.m. | ESPN
– Nevada at No. 7 UCLA (-21.5), 44 | 4:15 pm | Big Ten Network
– Arizona State at No. 8 BYU (-16.5), 48 | 3:30pm | ESPN2
– No. 9 Kentucky | Bye, next week at Tennessee
– No. 10 Alabama | Bye, next week at LSU
– Mississippi State at No. 11 Texas (-19.5), 50.5 | 7:30 pm | ABC/ESPN
– Auburn at No. 12 Ole Miss (-13), 57.5 | 12:45 pm | SEC Network
– No. 22 Arizona at No. 13 Texas Tech (-3.5), 54.5 | 12 pm | ESPN
– Virginia at No. 14 Wake Forest (-12.5), 48.5 | 3:45 pm | ESPN2
– No. 15 LSU | Bye, next week vs. Alabama
– No. 16 Tennessee | Bye, next week vs. Kentucky
– No. 18 Houston | Bye, next week vs. Cincinnati
– No. 19 SMU (-9.5) at Syracuse, 58.5 | 12 pm | ESPN2
– Texas State at No. 20 Boise State (-) | 10 pm | CW
– No. 21 Northwestern at Oregon (-3), 47.5 | 3:30 pm | Peacock
– No. 23 Missouri (-19) at Arkansas, 48.5 | 7:45 pm | SECN
– No. 24 Oklahoma State (-8.5) at Iowa State, 58 | 7 pm | FS1
– No. 25 Wisconsin at No. 26 Iowa (-3.5), 36.5 | 12 pm | FOX

Others receiving votes: Iowa 76, New Mexico 41, Cincinnati 11, Oregon State, South Carolina, Minnesota, USC, UTSA, Virginia Tech

Other college football Week 9 games of interest (teams in bold have 5 wins and need 1 more for bowl eligibility)

• Baylor at Central Florida (UCF pk ’em), 48 – Friday
• Boston College at Duke (-7), 47.5
• Cal at NC State (-7), 56.5
• SMU (-9.5) at Syracuse, 58.5
• Illinois (-2.5) at Maryland, 54
• Michigan (-14) at Rutgers, 46.5
• Bowling Green at Western Michigan (-12.5), 44.5
• Kansas State (-2) at Colorado, 47
• Louisiana Tech (-5.5) at South Alabama, 58
• UCONN at Air Force (-2.5), 53
• Stanford at Louisville (-22.5), 60.5
• Kansas at TCU (-6), 47
• Florida Int’l at Liberty (-14), 45
• Colorado State at Utah State (-6.5), 63.5
• New Mexico (-14.5) at San Jose State, 42.5
• Purdue at Penn State (-8), 54.5
• South Carolina at Oklahoma (-5), 44
• Appalachian State at Georgia Southern (-5.5), 56
• Clemson at Florida State (-6), 50.5
• Georgia Tech at Pittsburgh (-7.5), 54
• Missouri (-10) at Arkansas, 48.5
• Army at Memphis (-6), 60
• Washington at Nebraska (-8.5), 50
• Texas State at Boise State (-12), 63.5
• Oregon State (-5.5 / -6) at Fresno State, 57

Next Tuesday, Nov. 3 MACtion to kickoff Week 10

Buffalo at Miami, Ohio. Both teams 5-3 and 3-1 in MAC.

Totals Trends and Defensive Deficiencies

Colorado State (3-4, 1-2 Pac-12) games are 7-0 Over the total this season including just their second FBS win last week 56-49 over San Diego State. The Rams FBS-worst defense allows 550 yards per game at 8.2 yards per play against FBS opponents. West Virginia‘s games are now 7-1 Over after last week’s Under in WV’s 24-20 road win at TCU. The Mountaineers have the second-worst NCAA defense allowing 507 yards per game and 7.1 yards per play. West Virginia (5-3/2-3) is shooting for a bowl game and has a bye this week before a road game at Texas Tech, home vs. Kansas and Houston and final game at Utah the day after Thanksgiving.

Locksley the Loser

Penn State is still winless in Big Ten play at 0-4 along with Michigan State (0-5) and Maryland (0-4). Those three teams are the only Power 4 programs without a Power 4 win this season. Maryland fired their bumbling head coach last week, and the Terrapins had the least following at Big Ten media days and is among the lowest Big Ten teams in home game attendance again this season (approx. 42,000). Mike Locksley was fired just days after he fired his white DC as scapegoat, promoted one of his own in Aazaar Abdul-Rahim, and he’s now the interim head coach. Maryland has lost 12-straight Big Ten games, and was outscored 92-13 after halftime in its four Big Ten games this season under Locksley. The 56-year-old Locksley has been robbing the MD bank since he took the job in 2015, and finished with a 17–52 record in Big Ten play. Second-year Maryland athletic director Jim Smith won’t be keeping Abdul-Rahim, and the head coaching search is open. Maryland has spent more on their roster this season than winning teams Iowa, Minnesota, Northwestern and on-the-rise Purdue, who all spend far less with smaller athletic and football budgets than the top teams 7-8 teams in the Big Ten.

Did you know that Central Florida (UCF), Cincinnati and Kansas of the Big 12 and Wake Forest of the ACC all have $20 Million rosters and are bottom 5 of the 68 Power Four programs in NIL roster spending this year? UCF (5-3/2-2 Big 12) and Cincinnati (5-2/2-2) just pulled off big upsets last week over BYU and big spender Texas Tech, and Wake Forest (6-1/4-1 ACC) has a coach of the year candidate with a highly-rated defense and on a 5-0 ATS run. The Demon Deacons coach Jake Dickert continues to work his magic in Winston-Salem after going 9-4 in his first year last season after Dave Clawson had six winning seasons before falling to 4-8 in both 2023 and 2024 with just 3 conference wins in the weaker Power Four ACC. Sixth-year Kansas (3-4/1-3) coach Lance Leipold is widely respected for pulling the program out of a historic multi-year slump getting to two bowl games in his first three seasons despite continued lack of spending and resources.

Week 9 College Football Prediction and Picks

Winning profiles, projections and picks

Fairways Forecast and all NCAA Football picks and opinions posted at OSGA since Week 4 are 34-14 ATS (71%). For the 2026 season, all CFB posted picks and opinions are 46-30 ATS (60%) producing top payouts at leading online sportsbooks without the hype and tout talk.

Check back Friday for all picks and opinions.

Top 25

• Arizona (+3.5)
• Wisconsin (+3.5)

NCAA Football Opinions

• Arizona/Texas Tech Over 54.5
• Minnesota/Indiana Under 41.5
• Florida/Georgia Over 56.5
• Syracuse (+10)
• Oklahoma State (-9.5)
• Texas State (+10.5)

Non-Top 25 – Picks and Opinions (P & O)

• None

Georgia vs. Florida – Georgia has 5-straight wins over Florida (2-3 ATS) including 24-20 in last year’s Cocktail Party in the closest contest since 2013. Bulldogs senior QB Gunnar Stockton has passed for 1,570 yards on 74% completions with 16 TD passes, 4 INTs (2 against Auburn in huge upset) and 1 rushing touchdown. The Dawgs also feature a top defense while Florida’s stop unit is 118th in EPA/Play and 123rd in success rate on defense with a sieve secondary (110th in EPA/Pass) this season. Georgia is sixth in adjusted EPA/Play and 15th in success rate on offense this season, and the Bulldogs are top 10 in the country in defensive success rate against the run. Florida leads the SEC in run-rate at 57.2%, second behind Tennessee in rushing attempts per game (42.7) and rushing yards per game (191) while averaging 4.5 yards per rush. Georgia runs for 185 ypg at an SEC-best 5.5 yards per rush vs. FBS opponents. The Gators (5-2/3-2 SEC) do have wins over Ole Miss 52-28 in a huge letdown spot for the Rebels, and recent win at Texas 27-24 as a 2-touchdown underdog. No play yet, and only a lean or opinion if it makes our card.

Arizona at Texas Tech – Another solid season for Arizona (6-1/3-1 Big 12) and coach Brent Brennan in his third year leading the Wildcats following 9-wins last season. I saw the Wildcats live in Morgantown put a beatdown on West Virginia 52-31 on Oct. 10 and last week the ‘Cats rolled again 39-3 over Iowa State for their 5th straight win. The Wilcats now average 36 points per game, and while lacking a top rushing attack, they are a highly-productive and efficienct offense running a more pass-heavy Air Raid-influenced offense coordinated by Seth Doege, a protégé of the late Air Raid pioneer Mike Leach. Arizona also buried Cincinnati 39-7 on Oct. 3 rolling up 30 first downs and 480 yards offense with senior All-Big 12 QB Noah Fifita passing for 303 yards at 9.1 yards per pass and 2 TD’s. Fifita has passed for at least 284 yards in five straight games with 15 TD passes. Arizona is on a 5-0 SU run with their closest victory by 10 points and the other four by 20+ points. Fifita also passed for 230 yards vs. top-10 BYU and their highly-rated defense on the road in Provo in the Wildcats only loss this season, 28-17. Arizona is now on our top defenses list allowing just 18.3 points per game, 335 yards per game and 4.7 yards per play and 3.5 yards per rush (Tech 22.2 points, 403 yards, 5.4 yards per play, 3.7 yards per rush). The complimentary football on both sides of the ball shoud serve the Wildcats well as they make their first trip to Lubbock in nearly four decades. Texas Tech (6-1/3-1) just lost to Cincinnati last week as an 11-point road favorite allowing 427 yards to the Bearcats offense and earlier this season allowed 460 balanced yards to Houston’s offense with another capable, solid QB Conner Weigman passing for 283 yards and 3 TD’s in a 28-26 Red Raiders win. Tech’s pass defense is allowing 290 passing yards per game – bottom 5 in the country and recall in the season opener, Oregon State’s pass heavy offense went for 417 passing yards. Texas Tech has underachieved despite their record. This betting line has been adjusted, and certainly from preseason expectations. But perception meets reality and the Wildcats are clearly capable of winning in a battle of top Big 12 teams with a team total recommendation as well on Arizona over 25 points.

Wisconsin at Iowa – A Big Ten battle of top defenses and low total of 36.5 points. The Badgers (5-2/3-1 Big Ten) are playing better and come off the impressive 26-7 win and strong defensive performance over high-powered USC, holding the Trojans to 7 points, negative rushing yards and 275 total yards. Wisconsin’s defense is allowing a nation-low 3.9 yards per play and 276 yards per game (top 10). The Hawkeyes (5-2/2-2) lost their leading rusher Kamari Moulton (hand) in last week’s 13-10 loss at Minnesota and he’s out for the season – another break for the Badgers who have played a number of teams that have lost key players before playing Wisconsin. Both teams average 138 rushing yards per game, but with Moulton out and his 125 all purpose yards and a TD against Wisconsin last season, the Hawkeye’s hopes are diminished against an angry Badgers defensive dominator. Wisconsin players and coaches still have a sour taste from Iowa’s 37-0 win last season. Another scare on Halloween with the Badgers enjoying more sweet treats in victory to become bowl eligible and continue their climb back in the Big Ten with their final games ahead against losing teams Rutgers, Maryland, Purdue and home rivarly vs. Minnesota and the Gophers Big Ten-worst rushing attack that Wisconsin will shut down to take back Paul Bunyan’s Axe.

You can bet on it.