The first set of College Football Playoff rankings are just mere days away from being released, and there is a tremendous question about who would be out and who would be in if the playoff started today. With Alabama idle in Week 9, this will give a great chance to the rest of the nation to make its case for being in one of those other three spots in the initial playoff.
The Numbers
1: The number of times Kentucky has been favored against Tennessee since betting lines became widely available in college football in 1985. The Wildcats were -3 against the Vols in 2007 at home and were beaten 52-50. Now, with Tennessee reeling from yet another horrifying loss at Alabama, it is +4.5 on the road in Lexington. It’s getting harder and harder to see a path to Butch Jones keeping his job at the end of this season. Lose this game, and it’ll be rather difficult to see him keeping his job until Halloween.
3: The number of SU victories Arizona State owns as an underdog this year. Not only have the Sun Devils won three games as dogs, but they were double-digit underdogs in all three games, too. No other team in America can make a claim anywhere near the sorts. Todd Graham’s side is set to battle it out with USC in a game that suddenly might ultimately decide the Pac-12 South this year. If ASU could score a fourth victory as a dog this season, Graham might go from a coach who was set to get run up the street in Tempe to one that could win Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors.
24: The number of games in a row in which South Florida has scored 30+ points, an FBS record. The Bulls broke the record last week against Tulane, and it’s hard to see them not getting to 30+ against a Houston defense that has surrendered 40 burgers in each of its last two games. South Florida has a team this year that could have three 1,000-yard rushers. Offenses like that are tough to stop, but Houston is going to give it its best shot at Raymond James Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
26: The number of points Wisconsin is favored by over Illinois, making it the biggest favorite on the board in Week 9. It’s strange to think that almost all of the biggest favorites are on the road this weekend. Of the six 20+ point favorites on the Week 9 docket, four are playing away from home. The Badgers have been mauling teams left and right, so this shouldn’t be much of a surprise, especially since there’s a good chance that true freshman Cam Thomas will be making his first career start at quarterback for the Fighting Illini. Illinois is already without its leading rusher, and to toss a true freshman into the mix against a team as good as Wisconsin might be insane. That said, with Jeff George Jr. and Chayce Crouch stinking up the joint under center, Lovie Smith might not have much of a choice either.
854: The number of yards both Oklahoma and Texas Tech had against each other last season when these two Big XII foes met in Lubbock. That total would be impressive if it was the total yardage in a game for both teams combined, yet somehow, both the Red Raiders and Sooners managed that themselves. Of course, Joe Mixon and Dede Westbrook, who combined for almost 600 total yards of offense in that game, and Patrick Mahomes II, who broke the NCAA record for the most yardage accounted for in a single game, are all off to the NFL. That said, former Red Raider, Baker Mayfield would love nothing more than to throw for seven more touchdowns against the team that he transferred away from five years ago.
Opening Week 9 College Football Odds
Toledo at Ball State (+23)
South Alabama at Georgia State (+2)
Eastern Michigan at Northern Illinois (-8)
Stanford at Oregon State (+21.5)
Florida State at Boston College (+3.5)
Tulane at Memphis (-10)
Tulsa at SMU (-10)
Nebraska at Purdue (-5.5)
Tennessee at Kentucky (-4.5)
Vanderbilt at South Carolina (-7.5)
Buffalo at Akron (OFF)
Louisville at Wake Forest (+2.5)
Miami at North Carolina (+20)
Rutgers at Michigan (-21.5)
Florida International at Marshall (-16.5)
Appalachian State at Massachusetts (+4)
Virginia at Pittsburgh (-3)
Georgia Tech at Clemson (OFF)
Missouri at Connecticut (+11)
Oklahoma State at West Virginia (+7)
Indiana at Maryland (+4.5)
Duke at Virginia Tech (-16.5)
Texas State at Coastal Carolina (-9)
Wisconsin at Illinois (+26)
Kansas State at Kansas (+22.5)
Minnesota at Iowa (-9)
New Mexico at Wyoming (-4)
Arkansas State at New Mexico State (+5.5)
San Jose State at BYU (-15.5)
UTSA at UTEP (+15)
UL Monroe at Idaho (-2.5)
Air Force at Colorado State (-11.5)
UAB at Southern Miss (-14)
California at Colorado (-4)
USC at Arizona State (+3)
Louisiana Tech at Rice (+11.5)
Utah at Oregon (+3)
N.C. State at Notre Dame (-8.5)
UCLA at Washington (-17)
Georgia Southern at Troy (-24)
Michigan State at Northwestern (PK)
Old Dominion at North Texas (-10)
Texas at Baylor (+10.5)
TCU at Iowa State (+7)
Georgia vs. Florida (+14)
Florida Atlantic at Western Kentucky (+2)
Washington State at Arizona (+3)
Texas Tech at Oklahoma (-18)
Arkansas at Ole Miss (OFF)
Penn State at Ohio State (-5)
Mississippi State at Texas A&M (PK)
Boise State at Utah State (+8)
UNLV at Fresno State (-15)
San Diego State at Hawaii (+9)
Houston at South Florida (-10)
(Odds Courtesy of BookMaker.eu)
