Welcome back to our CFB picks and college football best bets for Saturday's Week 9 CFB schedule. The college football picks went 1-1 last week with UCLA coming through, but we did get a bad beat on Navy barely failing to cover vs Air Force. If you watched the Bettor Sports Betting show, more winners were given out there for free. Our CFB Week 9 best bets feature a pick in Cincinnati vs Oklahoma State and then Clemson vs NC State. Enjoy these CFB picks and college football predictions as you tune into the Week 9 games. Plus, keep an eye out for the CFB DFS Playbook for top Week 9 college football daily fantasy picks. Let's now get to the college football best bets and CFB betting picks for Saturday, October 28th.

If you want some free CFB picks, check out Thursday's Bettor Sports Betting show for more bets!

 

College Football Week 9 Best Bets 

Cincinnati at Oklahoma State

Saturday, 8 pm ET

After starting the season 2-0, both SU and ATS, Cincinnati has gone in the complete opposite direction. It’s now stuck in a five-game losing streak while going 0-5 ATS in this stretch as well. The Bearcats are struggling in their first season in the Big 12, failing to cover as both underdogs and favorites against league competition. The back-to-back home losses to Iowa State and Baylor in the past two weeks are especially disappointing, considering they were favored in both. 

Now Cincinnati has to go on the road at night to face a red-hot Oklahoma State team that’s found its rhythm. The Cowboys have won three straight, capped off with a double-digit road victory at West Virginia last week. Head coach Mike Gundy has his squad rolling now in Big 12 play after an ugly 33-7 home loss to South Alabama back in September. 

The big matchup here is Oklahoma State’s running game against Cincinnati’s rush defense. The Cowboys are averaging 201 rushing yards per game in conference play (17th-best in FBS) with an impressive 5.96 yards per carry mark (7th-best). Running back Ollie Gordon is the offense’s workhorse with four straight games with 120+ yards, including last week’s 282 yards and four TDs on the ground. Meanwhile, Cincinnati has been solid against the run with only 94 rush yards allowed per game in conference action (12th-best in FBS). However, the Bearcats haven’t yet faced a rushing attack as dangerous as Oklahoma State’s. Here are the national ranks of rushing yards per game for Cincy’s conference opponents so far: Oklahoma (79th), BYU (130th), Iowa State (95th), and Baylor (116th). 

If Oklahoma State and Gordon can get going on the ground, it can stretch out a two-score lead and cover this spread. Cincinnati’s offense has been very inconsistent this year with QB Emory Jones throwing seven interceptions over the past five games combined. Plus, he and the Bearcats have yet to play a true Big 12 road game this year. Their two road matchups so far have been at Pitt (non-con) and BYU (another conference newcomer). Oklahoma State is now 3-1 ATS in its past four games and trending in the right direction to be a darkhorse Big 12 contender. Cincinnati has hit a wall after its hot start and could be in for a long night on the road here. 

PICK: Oklahoma State -7 (-115 BetMGM Sportsbook)

Clemson at NC State

Saturday, 2 pm ET

Heading into this season, Clemson had big aspirations to contend for the ACC title, a College Football Playoff berth, and even the national championship. Well, those hopes are all basically gone now with the Tigers sitting at 4-3 following last week’s loss to Miami (FL). Simply put, this is a disappointing year for Dabo Swinney’s squad and you have to wonder about the mindset and motivation moving forward. The likely best possible outcome for Clemson would be making a mid-level bowl game and playing spoiler to Notre Dame or North Carolina on its remaining schedule.

Speaking of that, this might be a slight lookahead spot for Clemson with Notre Dame on deck next weekend. Could you blame Swinney and/or the players looking past NC State to a marquee matchup against a ranked Irish team? Rewind to last year, Notre Dame beat Clemson 35-14 and put a real dent in the Tigers’ season. Clemson has a chance to return the favor next week and ruin any CFP dreams for the 14th-ranked Irish. 

Meanwhile, North Carolina State is coming off its bye week and will be well-rested for this matchup. The time off also provides an extra week of prep, which is a big deal for a Wolfpack offense that recently switched QBs from Brennan Armstrong to MJ Morris. The NC State defense isn’t exactly a strength, but neither is Clemson’s offense with some inefficient and inconsistent play from QB Cade Klubnik. The Tigers are only averaging 19.8 PPG against conference opponents this season (103rd in FBS) with just one game scoring more than 30 points. 

NC State can keep this within two scores and put a real scare in Clemson at home. In recent years, the Wolfpack have played the Tigers tough. Last year, it was a 30-20 win for Clemson. Two years ago, NC State pulled off a double-overtime upset win at home in this matchup. Four of the last six matchups between these programs have been decided by 7-10 points, including two of the last three in Raleigh, NC – the site of this week’s game. Clemson is just 1-3 ATS as favorites against ACC teams this season and 1-4 ATS overall in conference play. 

PICK: NC State +10 (-110 BetMGM Sportsbook)

Other CFB Week 9 Bets:

(All given out on Thursday's Bettor Sports Betting show)

  • Oregon -6.5 
  • BYU/Texas Under 51.5
  • California +10.5
  • Georgia/Florida Over 47.5
  • Marshall -4