What to watch: Week 9 college football viewing guide
Every week throughout the season we’ll give you a college football viewing guide by highlighting the five best games of the coming weekend. We will pick those five games against the spread and highlight some other matchups that caught our eye from a betting perspective.
Welcome to Week 9, the group of games that precedes the first edition of the College Football Playoff selection committee's rankings for the 2023 season.
In Week 8, we had a top-10 matchup between Ohio State and Penn State go the Buckeyes' way, No. 10 North Carolina get upset at home by Virginia and three other top-10 teams (Washington, Oklahoma and Texas) barely avoid their own upset scares.
It's that time of year. Upsets can emerge where we least expect them, so we'll have our eye out for major surprises in addition to watching the big games listed below.
(Note: All times ET, odds from BetMGM)
No. 1 Georgia vs. Florida
Time: 3:30 p.m. | TV: CBS | Line: UGA -14.5 | Total: 47
Coming out of the bye week at 7-0, Georgia’s quest for a third consecutive national title is about to ramp up, beginning with a rivalry game vs. Florida (5-2, 3-1 SEC) in Jacksonville. The Bulldogs have not faced many challenges this season but will square off with a Florida team that has won five of its last six before a three-game stretch vs. ranked opponents. This will be UGA’s first game without star tight end Brock Bowers (ankle), but some other prominent players are closer to returning to the lineup, including multiple offensive linemen.
On the other side, Florida has rebounded nicely since a rough season-opening loss at Utah. The Gators, also coming out of an off week, have won five of six but are entering a much more difficult portion of their schedule. In their most recent game, the Gators had a furious late-game comeback to beat South Carolina 41-39. Graham Mertz threw for 423 yards and three touchdowns in the win. How will Mertz and the UF offense fare against the vaunted Georgia defense?
Nick Bromberg: Florida +14.5, Sam Cooper: Georgia -14.5
No. 8 Oregon at No. 13 Utah
Time: 3:30 p.m. | TV: Fox | Line: Oregon -6.5 | Total: 47.5
Oregon and Utah are two of the four teams with one loss in Pac-12 play jockeying for position behind undefeated Washington. Oregon lost its showdown with UW a few weeks ago but rebounded by taking care of Washington State at home, 38-24. The Ducks rushed for 248 yards, while Bo Nix threw for 293 yards and two TDs in the win. A trip to Salt Lake City should represent a much tougher challenge for Oregon, which is trying to keep both its Pac-12 title and CFP hopes alive.
Utah is the two-time defending Pac-12 champion and is firmly in contention for a three-peat despite a barrage of injuries. The Utes started the season 4-0 as questions about the potential return of starting QB Cam Rising swirled. Rising, who injured his knee in last year’s Rose Bowl, has since been ruled out for the season. After a loss at Oregon State on Sept. 29, the Utes fully turned the reins over to Bryson Barnes. The former walk-on had four total TDs in last week’s upset over USC, while Sione Vaki, a safety who now has a major role on offense, caught five passes for 149 yards and two TDs.
Nick: Utah +6.5, Sam: Oregon -6.5
No. 20 Duke at No. 18 Louisville
Time: 3:30 p.m. | TV: ESPN | Line: UL -4 | Total: 46
Louisville has typically been a middle-of-the-pack team in the ACC, but Jeff Brohm has UL in contention for a conference title midway through his first season. The Cardinals got off to a 6-0 start that included a big win over Notre Dame, but they followed that up by losing to Pitt. After a bye week, the Cardinals are set to return to action at home vs. Duke in one of the toughest games remaining on their schedule. Everybody is chasing Florida State in the ACC, but Louisville avoids both FSU and North Carolina.
Duke, meanwhile, is coming off a tough loss to FSU. The Blue Devils took an early 17-7 lead in Tallahassee but could not hang on. With the loss, Duke fell to 5-2 overall and 2-1 in ACC play. Duke’s other loss came to Notre Dame back on Sept. 30 in a game that saw QB Riley Leonard go down with an ankle injury. Leonard returned against FSU but was clearly not at full health. He then re-aggravated the injury in the second half and it’s unclear whether he will play at Louisville. This is a big game in the ACC race, so Duke needs Leonard on the field.
Nick: Duke +4, Sam: Louisville -4
No. 3 Ohio State at Wisconsin
Time: 7:30 p.m. | TV: NBC | Line: OSU -14.5 | Total: 45.5
Ohio State turned in a dominant defensive effort and stayed undefeated with a 20-12 win over Penn State last week. The Buckeyes kept PSU out of the end zone and well under 200 yards of offense until a garbage-time TD drive in the final minute. They also got a huge performance from Marvin Harrison Jr., who caught 11 passes for 162 yards and a TD in a game where several of OSU’s top offensive weapons were sidelined. Will the Buckeyes be able to avoid a letdown this week as they travel to Wisconsin?
Wisconsin’s first season under coach Luke Fickell has been up and down. The Badgers had an early season loss at Washington State but still started the year 4-1. However, starting QB Tanner Mordecai went down with a broken hand during the Oct. 14 home loss to Iowa. With Braedyn Locke replacing Mordecai, the Badgers posted a come-from-behind road win over Illinois last week. UW trailed 21-7 entering the fourth quarter but rallied to score the game’s final 18 points. It was a big win for UW's Big Ten West title hopes.
Nick: Wisconsin +14.5, Sam: Wisconsin +14.5
No. 11 Oregon State at Arizona
Time: 10:30 p.m. | TV: ESPN | Line: OSU -3.5 | Total: 56.5
Don’t forget about Oregon State in the Pac-12 title race. The Beavers lost their Pac-12 opener at Washington State but have since won three straight to improve to 6-1 (3-1 Pac-12). Included in that three-game winning streak were home wins over Utah and UCLA. The Beavers have a stellar running game and have gotten strong QB play from Clemson transfer DJ Uiagalelei, but they cannot overlook a feisty Arizona team.
Arizona feels like the team nobody in the Pac-12 wants to face. The Wildcats nearly upset both Washington and USC before blasting Washington State 44-6 in Pullman two weeks ago. Coming off a bye, the Wildcats have the chance to pull off another upset with OSU visiting Tucson. One interesting thing to watch in this game will be Arizona’s QB situation. Jayden de Laura has been the Wildcats’ starter dating back to last season, but Noah Fifita has been excellent while de Laura has been out with an injury. Will Jedd Fisch go back to de Laura? Or will he ride the hot hand with Fifita?
Nick: Arizona +3.5, Sam: Arizona +3.5
Head-to-head ATS: Nick: 16-24-2, Sam: 24-16-2
Week 9 best bets
No. 1 Georgia (-14.5) vs. Florida: Florida couldn’t really get pressure against a bad South Carolina offensive line, so Carson Beck and Georgia should be in for a big day even with Brock Bowers sidelined. At the same time, this UGA defense is not the dominant unit it has been in years past. Billy Napier can scheme up some easy throws for Graham Mertz, especially on the opening script. Pick: Over 47
Michigan State at Minnesota (-7): I know Michigan State just got shut out by Michigan, but there’s no way Minnesota should be laying a full TD. The Gophers are one-dimensional on offense and MSU is solid along the defensive line and should be able to limit Minnesota’s running game. I also think this could be a letdown spot for the Gophers after finally winning at Iowa for the first time since 1999. As long as MSU hasn’t completely quit, this stays within the number. Pick: MSU +7
Purdue at Nebraska (-2.5): I like this spot for Purdue. Coming off a bye week, Purdue should be getting some key players back from injury while Nebraska will be down three starting offensive linemen. The Huskers also lost top receiver Billy Kemp to injury last week. Nebraska has won four of its last five, but is only laying 2.5 points against a two-win Purdue team. The number says a lot. Pick: Purdue +2.5
No. 24 USC (-11) at Cal: I don’t expect USC to come out with much focus going on the road in Berkeley. The loss last week to Utah was a crusher. It was a game the Trojans really wanted after losing twice to the Utes last year. It also dashed USC’s CFP hopes. Cal is coming off a bye and trying to get to a bowl game. The Golden Bears are the much more motivated team and should really be able to run on the Trojans. Pick: Cal +11
No. 21 Tennessee (-3.5) at Kentucky: I really want to back Kentucky here but QB Devin Leary has just not been trustworthy this season. Tennessee will likely sell out to try to stop Ray Davis and the UK rushing attack, which puts pressure on Leary and his drop-happy receivers. On the other side, I don’t think Tennessee QB Joe Milton will fare very well in another SEC road environment. Pick: Under 52
Last week: 3-3
Season to date: 30-21
