College football Week 9: 5 best bets to take to the bank

College football Week 9 best bets that you can bank on cashing out as the point spreads and over/under lines can be had this week. 

Now that we have the Big Ten back on the field, only one Power 5 conference in college football remains out of action — and the Pac-12 enters the fray next week. If nothing else, that gives use more options to choose from when it comes to identifying the best bets for college football in a given week. And the help would be greatly appreciated.

It’s been a tough year to totally figure out. Whether it was Clemson leading by just seven points in the second half last week after being over 40-point favorites against Syracuse, Indiana upsetting then-No. 8 Penn State or Pitt’s defense completely disappearing and allowing a previously low-scoring Notre Dame team to put up 45 points, things have just been unpredictable.

Yet we press on. So as we go into another week and look at what we’ve learned about the teams in action, let’s try to get some sure-fire winners once again. These are the five best bets for college football Week 9.

All odds are via The Action Network.

Best bets for college football Week 9

5. North Carolina (-6.5) vs. Virginia

North Carolina came out last week against rival NC State and looked like the team they were projected to be coming into the year. The offense was dominant and the defense was suffocating and opportune. So it’s a bit baffling why they are favored by less than a touchdown, even if they are on the road, against Virginia. Yes, the Cavaliers only lost to Miami by five points last week. But the UVA defense has not been consistent and the offense is a viable issue. North Carolina has put up at least 28 points in each game this season and if they do that this week, they’ll cover as Virginia likely can’t match it.

4. Memphis vs. Cincinnati – Over 55.5

To this point in the season, Cincinnati has been the better team between these two AAC rivals. Furthermore, the Bearcats have thrived on the strength of their defense, even if Desmond Ridder is capable of putting up points. While that may be true in 2020, Memphis beat Cincy twice last year and controlled those games with offense. Ryan Silverfield may not have been the head coach then but he was present to see the blueprint. Even if the Tigers don’t upset the Bearcats, expect a veteran offense to find success and force more of a high-scoring affair than Cincinnati would typically prefer.

3. Georgia (-14.5) vs. Kentucky

Honestly, I’m not sure what I’m missing in this game other than the fact that the Dawgs are on the road. Yes, Georgia is coming off a bye week after their loss to Alabama and a week ahead of the Florida rivalry game — but even then, this seems like a walk in the park for Kirby Smart‘s team. Even if a solid Kentucky defense causes Stetson Bennett and the UGA offense some hiccups, the Dawgs have too much talent on that side of the ball to fully be stopped. More importantly, a suspect Wildcats offense doesn’t stand a chance against this elite Georgia defense.

2. Oklahoma vs. Texas Tech – Over 68.5

If we knew that Texas Tech quarterback Alan Bowman was for sure going to play in this matchup on Saturday, I would be running to the window for this bet. But even with the uncertainty there, it’s hard to see how this game doesn’t follow the Big 12 formula and hit the over pretty comfortably. These are two offenses more than capable of putting big numbers on the scoreboard but, more importantly, they are opposed by defenses that offer little-to-no resistance to such efforts. This should be an all-out blitz to put up a big number on the scoreboard, not dissimilar to Texas Tech’s 63-56 overtime loss to Texas. That should easily hit the over at this total.

1. Michigan State vs. Michigan (-24.5)

Buying in early on the Michigan Wolverines has undoubtedly bitten many people before. But I’m ready to do exactly that — at least against rival Michigan State. Because with what we saw from these two teams in their season-openers, no chance this one is within four scores by the sound of the final buzzer. Joe Milton gave the Michigan offense more life than we’ve ever seen in the Harbaugh era while the run game and defense looked elite as well. Couple that with the fact that Sparty didn’t even look like a Power 5 program in their first game of the year, this one should be a hearty rivalry win for the faithful in Ann Arbor.

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