College Football Week 9 betting odds: Picking Top 25 teams against the spread
By Brad Rowland
West Virginia (+14) over No. 5 TCU
Everybody is on TCU and, as you may know, I’m totally fine fading the public. More than 70% of the early action, according to Vegas Insider, is on the Horned Frogs, but if anything, the line is actually trending downward. That, at least generally, indicates that the sharp money could be on the underdog Mountaineers, and TCU is a team that I’ve been fading a lot as the public continues to be impressed with Trevone Boykin and company. The Horned Frogs should still be in for a comfortable victory at home, but West Virginia is better than their 3-3 record would indicate and I’m comfortable with a two-touchdown margin.
NC State (+10) over No. 3 Clemson
This is the “fade the public” special of the day. As of the time of this post, the Tigers have 97% of the action (!) according to Vegas Insider, and Clemson is suddenly a public darling as they look to shed their never-ceasing label of “Clemson-ing”. Independently of that, I actually very much enjoy this NC State team, with Jacoby Brissett as a stud under center, and I’m always up for a quality underdog that is playing in their own backyard. I would not go as far as to say that the Wolfpack can (or will) win outright in this spot, but I think NC State will be hanging around throughout the 60-minute contest. Wait until the line rises to its peak before firing, but take the Wolfpack and the points with vigor.