As the calendar turns to November, college football games start to take on a tremendous amount of magnitude. All of the teams across the country will know where they stand and what work needs to be done to get into the first ever College Football Playoff, but that doesn’t mean that fates are sealed yet. Teams like Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, or even squads like LSU and South Carolina have their opportunities in Week 10 to try to come from way off the pace to vault into the discussion about the College Football Playoff.
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The Numbers
0: The number of times this year Wisconsin has been favored by single-digits. The Badgers are possibly facing a single-digit spread this week at Indiana at -9. This isn’t a game that a team that could challenge for the National Championship should lose, but many have the feeling that this Wisconsin outfit is fraudulent. Playing against a schedule consisting of the Big Ten West, Maryland, Florida Atlantic, BYU and Utah State would make just about any team in America fat. These last four games against Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Minnesota should all be tougher than what the Badgers have become used to, but there still isn’t a ranked team in the bunch.
10: The number of consecutive games against non-Power Five foes in which Tennessee has been favored by at least 16 points. This week, Southern Miss is coming to Rocky Top with at becoming the first Group of Five team since Wyoming in 2008 to pull off a victory over the Vols. For all the indignation for these UT coaches since Phillip Fulmer was booted out of town, none have ever lost to a Group of Five school. Fulmer was the last to do in ’08, and that loss to Wyoming came just four days after he was told he would be fired at the end of the season.
20: The number of points Alabama is favored by over LSU. Why is that notable? The Bayou Bengals haven’t been a 20+ point underdog in any game since 1993 when they were 24-point favorites to Alabama. In that ’93 game, the Tigers came to Tuscaloosa and upset Alabama 17-13.
26: The number of Big XII games in a row in which Kansas has been a double-digit underdog. Is all of that going to end this week with Baylor coming to Lawrence? The Bears have opened up as 9-point chalks, and it’s possible that they extend the Jayhawks’ streak. The better question? Can Baylor finally become the last team in the Power Five to win its first game of the season?
28: The number of points Mississippi State is favored by over Massachusetts, making it the biggest favorite on the board in Week 10. It’s weird to see the Bulldogs playing against a team like UMass ever, let alone dab smack in the middle of the campaign. Mississippi State is favored by more points over the Minutemen then they were against Charleston Southern or BYU. Then again, the team is 4-0 ATS against double-digit spreads, so the oddsmakers had to come up with a huge spread for this game. Just keep in mind that the Minutemen have scored 135 points in their last three games and just upset an Appalachian State team that was a dark horse pick to go to the New Year’s Six at the start of the season.
Opening Week 10 College Football Odds
Bowling Green at Kent State (+2)
Miami-OH at Ohio (OFF)
Central Michigan at Western Michigan (-7
Northern Illinois at Toledo (-10)
Ball State at Eastern Michigan (-24)
Navy at Temple (+8)
Idaho at Troy (-18.5)
Marshall at Florida Atlantic (-8)
Memphis at Tulsa (+12)
UCLA at Utah (OFF)
Baylor at Kansas (+9)
Clemson at N.C. State (+7)
Illinois at Purdue (-14)
Ole Miss at Kentucky (-4.5)
Syracuse at Florida State (-4)
Northwestern at Nebraska (-1.5)
Ohio State at Iowa (+17)
Iowa State at West Virginia (-2)
Virginia Tech at Miami (+2)
Maryland at Rutgers (PK)
Georgia Tech at Virginia (-9)
Nevada at Boise State (-22)
Colorado at Arizona State (-5)
New Mexico State at Texas State (+10)
Georgia State at Georgia Southern (+3.5)
Appalachian State at UL Monroe (+10)
Charlotte at Old Dominion (-8.5)
Southern Miss at Tennessee (-7.5)
Auburn at Texas A&M (+14)
Army at Air Force (-7)
Wisconsin at Indiana (+9)
Cincinnati at Tulane (-7)
South Carolina at Georgia (-23.5)
Massachusetts at Mississippi State (-28)
UCF at SMU (+12.5)
Western Kentucky at Vanderbilt (-11.5)
Kansas State at Texas Tech (OFF)
Texas at TCU (-8)
North Texas at Louisiana Tech (-4)
Oregon at Washington (-26)
Coastal Carolina at Arkansas (-25)
Minnesota at Michigan (-14)
Oklahoma at Oklahoma State (-3.5)
Wake Forest at Notre Dame (-15)
Rice at UAB (-11.5)
UL Lafayette at South Alabama (-4.5)
Utah State at New Mexico (-4.5)
BYU at Fresno State (-11.5)
Hawaii at UNLV (-8.5)
Colorado State at Wyoming (+2.5)
UTSA at FIU (-3.5)
UTEP at Middle Tennessee (-17)
Florida at Missouri (-1.5)
LSU at Alabama (-20)
Penn State at Michigan State (+9)
San Diego State at San Jose State (+24)
Oregon State at California (-8)
Stanford at Washington State (-1)
Arizona at USC (-10)
South Florida at Connecticut (+23)
East Carolina at Houston (-24.5)
(Odds Courtesy of BookMaker.eu)
