Category: College Football

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Great news! Our week-long drought without a top-five matchup is finally over! We get another one in Week 10 when No. 4 Ohio State hits the road to take on No. 3 Penn State.

While that’s clearly the college football betting headliner for Week 10, there are some other big-time matchups worth watching. What there are not, in the world of ranked teams, are a plethora of games with tight spreads. Of the 15 matchups featuring a ranked team this week, only six feature spreads of one score or less.

Here’s a look at the early lines for Week 10. Odds via FanDuel. Use FanDuel promo code to get in the game with all the latest college football spreads. 

Games of the week

No. 4 Ohio State (-3.5) at No. 3 Penn State: The game of the week and one that has huge implications in the Big Ten title race. Ohio State cannot afford another loss if it wants to stay alive, while Penn State could solidify its standing with a huge win. What we don’t know is what Penn State’s QB situation looks like. Drew Allar was hurt in Penn State’s win over Wisconsin and did not play in the second half. His status will be a topic of conversation all week; it serves Penn State no purpose to share his status until it must. 

No. 1 Oregon (-14.5) at Michigan: The Wolverines are coming off a huge win over rival Michigan State, but they have a far more difficult test this week. Oregon has been a wrecking ball since knocking off Ohio State three weeks ago, decimating both Purdue and Illinois. Michigan’s only hope here is to turn this one into a rock fight.

Florida at No. 2 Georgia (-16.5): The World’s Largest…

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NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – OCTOBER 26: DeAndre Moore Jr. #0 of the Texas Longhorns runs the ball for a touchdown against the Vanderbilt Commodores in the first half at FirstBank Stadium on October 26, 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Carly Mackler/Getty Images)

The Texas Longhorns have solidified their spot at No. 1 in ESPN’s Week 10 College Football Power Index (FPI). The Horns are looking to stay in favorable position for a College Football Playoff berth and a shot at the SEC Championship. With a projected record of 10.7-1.8 and a notable 24.5% chance of clinching the National Championship, Texas is emerging as a favorable contender on the national stage.

This week, Texas had to dig deep to hold off a feisty Vanderbilt squad in a close 27-24 victory. The Longhorns built a 21-10 halftime lead, led by quarterback Quinn Ewers, who fired three touchdown passes. Yet the Commodores fought back in the second half, closing the gap and adding pressure to a Texas team with championship aspirations.

Late in the fourth quarter, Texas extended its lead to 27-17, appearing to secure the win. But Vanderbilt refused to back down, scoring a late touchdown with just 46 seconds remaining to make it a one-score game. In the final moments, the Longhorns’ defense held firm, preserving the win and keeping Texas away from two upsets back to back.

Ohio State and Alabama are following closely in the FPI rankings, the playoff race is intensifying. One tantalizing scenario circulating on social media is the potential for a high-stakes Texas vs. Texas A&M showdown, with SEC Championship implications on the line.

One thing is for certain, there is still a lot of football left, but only time will tell the outcomes. I’m a fan of analytics just as the next guy, but they have proven to be wrong before. As of now, Texas is favored to win-out all…

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While the college football rankings are not expected to see major upheaval after Week 9, there are plenty of changes coming after a week that featured five games between teams ranked in the AP Top 25 poll. Of those five matchups, none were more significant than Texas A&M’s win against LSU, which kept the Aggies in first place in the SEC standings and will likely propel them into the top 10 when the rankings are updated on Sunday. 

The top of the rankings are likely to stay mostly static. Oregon was one of the only top teams to get through Week 9 without facing the real potential of an upset. Penn State, Ohio State and Texas all faced various levels of adversity in victory with the Nittany Lions and the Buckeyes getting late touchdowns to preserve their standing, while the Longhorns held off a late charge from Vanderbilt. 

Further down the rankings, voters will have to start making some decisions about how long they are willing to put undefeated power conferences teams behind other teams with losses. BYU and Indiana both won by double-digit margins on Saturday to maintain their unbeaten start, and on Thursday, Pitt totally dismantled Syracuse to improve to 7-0. In last week’s balloting, there were six teams with losses ahead of BYU, seven ahead of Indiana and 12 teams with losses ahead of Pitt, including two-loss Ole Miss. 

There will also be some split decisions regarding teams in the 20s after Illinois, Missouri, Navy and Vanderbilt all lost. Some voters will boot any team in that range that loses, while others have been more reluctant to keep teams on their ballot if the defeat came at the hands of a top-ranked team. All four lost to top-15 teams in Week 9.  

Here’s how we project the new AP Top 25 to look on Sunday after Week…

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Gophers linebacker Maverick Baranowski was not listed on the team’s unavailability report on Saturday, setting up his return against Maryland at Huntington Bank Stadium.

Baranowski was the U’s leading tackler with 36 stops through five games, before missing the last two with an injury.

Minnesota’s offense, however, will be without receiver Cristian Driver, who has six receptions for 45 yards and one touchdown through seven games. He has not been a regular within the U’s three-receiver sets.

Safety Darius Green is also listed as out. He has played in only four games this year, totaling 11 tackles.

True freshman defensive tackle Riley Sunram, who has not appeared in a game this season, was ruled out for the rest of the season. Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck said the Kindred, N.D., native has been one of the young player standouts in practices.

Three tight ends were also ruled out Saturday: Pierce Walsh, Nathan Jones and Jacob Simpson.

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No. 17 Boise State travels to Las Vegas for a Friday night marquee Mountain West showdown against UNLV on CBS Sports Network. This game carries massive implications for the College Football Playoff picture, as the Broncos are currently sitting in the driver’s seat to claim one of the five automatic bids awarded to conference champions to the inaugural 12-team event.

Coming off a bye, Boise State knocked off Hawaii 28-7 in its most recent outing back on Oct. 12. The Broncos’ lone loss came against No. 1 Oregon in Week 2. They have trailed just under 22 total minutes this season, which ranks fourth in the FBS behind Indiana, Army and Ole Miss.

UNLV also enters Week 9 with only one loss in nonconference play and could be the biggest challenger to Boise State for the MWC title. The Rebels are coming off a 33-25 win over Oregon State, their second consecutive victory after falling to Syracuse in overtime earlier this month.

Here is everything you need to know ahead of Boise State’s matchup against UNLV. 

How to watch Boise State vs. UNLV live

Date: Friday, Oct. 25 | Time: 10:30 p.m. ET
Location: Allegiant Stadium — Las Vegas

TV: CBS Sports Network | Live stream: CBSSports.com, CBS Sports App (Free)
Streaming on Paramount+ with Showtime (Try It Free)

Boise State vs. UNLV: Need to know

CFP hopes on the line: The winner of this game will have the inside track to the Mountain West title game and potentially the CFP. UNLV, Boise State, Colorado State and San Diego State all enter Week 9 at 2-0 in conference play. UNLV has already notched wins over Kansas, Fresno State, Houston, and Oregon State. At No. 17, Boise State comes in as the highest-ranked Group of Five team in the AP poll. 

Ashton Jeanty has been unstoppable: Jeanty…

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(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Nebraska offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield and defensive coordinator Tony White met with the media earlier this week. The Huskers will remain on the road this Saturday when they travel to Columbus to face the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Ohio State’s record is 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the league. This will be the 11th game between the schools, and the Buckeyes lead the all-time series 9-1.

The Nebraska offense under Satterfield ranks No. 87 in the country in total offense at 370.3 yards per game. They also rank No. 88 in scoring offense at 25.0 points per game.

The Nebraska defense under Tony White ranks No. 18 in the country in total defense at 304.3 yards allowed per game. They also rank No. 19 in scoring defense at 17.71 points allowed per game.

Nebraska will travel to Ohio State this Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. CT, and the game will be shown on Fox.

Marcus Satterfield on film review and responding to interrelation

Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

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Tony White on reviewing film from Indiana

Syndication: The Herald-Times

“The guys were executing, but there were things that I didn’t like. They were completely stupid. It’s about the manner in which you do things. There are always calls you want back. At the end of the day, we need to make sure that we have that confidence and have the guys running around with their hair on fire. I didn’t do a good enough job of that last week.”

Tony White on defense’s confidence waning

Syndication: The Herald-Times

“Not based on today. You sit back and you listen to Coach (Rhule) and you hear the message. That’s what I do. I sit down and listen to Coach like I am a player. That’s one of the truly great things about him is that he says ‘There’s a lot of ways you can go, but at the…

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The Auburn Tigers (2-5) will attempt to put an end to a brutal losing stretch this weekend when they travel to Lexington, KY to face off against the Kentucky Wildcats (3-4) Saturday evening.

Auburn has lost four-straight SEC contests entering its final road game of the campaign. While the Tigers are only one of seven teams in the country to accumulate at least 6.5 yards per play on the offensive end while holding opponents to under 5.0 yards per snap on the defensive side, Hugh Freeze’s squad is just 2-5 and on the brink of postseason elimination with five contests left to play. Kentucky on the other hand is just one game better, but has the opportunity to put itself well aligned for a bowl game with a victory over the Tigers this weekend.

Auburn’s inability to win close football games along with Kentucky’s home-field advantage and more consistent play have the Wildcats as slight, 2.5-point, favorites entering this matchup according to BetMGM. ESPN FPI seems to be in agreeance with the sports books, as the Index gives Kentucky a 51.3% chance to tame the Tigers on Saturday.

Will a deeper dive into the tale of the tape show the wrong side is favored on Saturday?? As always, we’ll start by analyzing the quarterbacks.

Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne has taken a step forward in his second season on the Plains, although his play still leaves much to be desired, specifically when it comes to taking care of the football and putting away games. The senior has thrown for 1,414 yards this season. Accumulating 11 touchdowns through the air and another 2 on the ground. Unfortunately his 5 early season interceptions put a damper on total of 6 throws to the opposition, casting a dark cloud on what has otherwise been a decent campaign.

Kentucky starter Brock Vandagriff has not been very good either. The junior has thrown for only…

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All season, Alabama football defensive coordinator Kane Wommack has been substituting heavily in the defensive backfield, playing backups in meaningful minutes against top opponents much more than what’s typical at most programs.

The time for it to pay off is this week.

The Crimson Tide will be without safety Keon Sabb due to injury, and he’s not the only one on UA’s initial injury report. Defensive back Red Morgan is listed as probable, but in better news for Alabama, two defensive backs limited or injured against Tennessee − Zabien Brown and DeVonta Smith − will be ready to play. UA’s secondary depth was heavily tested against UT last week, and it will be no different against the Tigers for Alabama Homecoming (2:30 p.m. CT Saturday, ABC). Safety Bray Hubbard is expected to get his first career start at free safety in place of Sabb.

REASONS TO LEAP: Why Alabama football TE C.J. Dippre isn’t jumping over defenders just for show

WHAT A STORY: Alabama football players were unaware of midgame hospital visit for Missouri QB Brady Cook

Key to their efforts will be limiting the impact of Missouri star WR Luther Burden. He’s one of the most explosive offensive weapons in the country, even though his production (37 catches, 447 yards, four TDs) is down compared to last season. At 5-foot-11 and 210 pounds, he’s built like a running back and has power as a ball carrier to go with elite vertical speed. He’s played 260 snaps at the slot position this year, per Pro Football Focus, far more than his action as an outside receiver. That means he’ll match up more with UA’s nickelbacks than its cornerbacks, so the primary challenge will fall to Smith.

Familiar Foe

Missouri’s defense should look awfully familiar to Alabama’s offense on Saturday, as Tigers defensive coordinator Corey Batoon held the same role under Crimson Tide DC Kane…

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