Week 9’s Top 10 Action
Will Bo Wallace and Ole Miss leave Baton Rouge with a big victory?
With six weeks left on the college football calendar it’s become a downhill race for the top teams in the nation.
With the SEC, or more notably the SEC West, dominating the AP poll this week, there’s plenty to play for down south. There’s also plenty to play for out west in the Pac-12 as well as in the Big 12.
Betting Sports brings you a rundown of all the games involving top 10 teams this weekend, including links to the latest odds, stats and trends. If you’re planning to lay money down on the big teams this week, read on.
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No. 1 Mississippi State at Kentucky
Commonwealth Stadium, Lexington, KY (Sat, 3:30 p.m. ET)
After a week off to bask in the glory of being the No. 1 team in the nation, Mississippi State (6-0, 3-0 SEC) returns to the field on Saturday looking to avoid a costly upset.
As it stands, Kentucky (5-2, 2-2 SEC) is still in with an outside shot at winning the SEC East, although the Wildcats need to win out and get a lot of help along the way. An upset over the Bulldogs would be a huge confidence boost for Mark Stoops’ side.
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No. 3 Mississippi at No. 24 Louisiana State
Location (Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, LA (Sat, 7:15 p.m. ET)
The biggest game of the weekend sees Mississippi (7-0, 4-0 SEC) make the trip to Death Valley to take on a Louisiana State (6-2, 2-2 SEC) that still has plenty to play for.
After wins over Alabama and Texas A&M already this season, the Rebels will look to add a third win over a ranked side to their dossier on Saturday evening. They made short work of Tennessee this past week but Tiger Stadium will be a very different affair.
Meanwhile, LSU will be looking to hold onto any slim hope of a College Football Playoff berth with a victory. Les Miles’ team has had an up and down season, and two losses means they may already be out of the picture, but with the SEC West such a stacked division, a prolonged winning streak could work wonders.
Mississippi opened as a three-point favorite, testament to how close this game could prove to be.
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No. 4 Alabama at Tennessee
Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, TN (Sat, 7:30 p.m. ET)
A 59-0 drubbing of Texas A&M last Saturday made plenty of onlookers stand up and pay attention to Alabama (6-1, 3-1 SEC). Nick Saban and Co. are hell bent on winning the SEC and going to the College Football Playoff but the path is still a tricky one for the Tide, including this weekend’s rivalry game.
On paper nobody expects Tennessee (3-4, 0-3 SEC) to fair well against Alabama on Saturday but if the Volunteers can’t get up for this rivalry game, then the likelihood of a winless season in the SEC goes up a notch or two. Ultimately the team from Knoxville will come up short, but don’t expect another 59-0 shellacking to be handed out by the Tide.
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South Carolina at No. 5 Auburn
Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, AL (Sat, 7:30 p.m. ET)
Having had an extra week off to recover from a 38-23 loss at Mississippi State, Auburn (5-1, 2-1 SEC) returns to the field Saturday night for an inter-division game that most expect to be fairly straightforward.
Expected to contend in the SEC East this season, South Carolina (4-3, 2-3 SEC) has continually come up short and opened as a 14-point underdog heading into this game. Right now Steve Spurrier’s side is playing for a bowl game and to provide spoiler duties. With seven straight losses in the head-to-head series, don’t expect the Gamecocks to play spoiler on Saturday.
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No. 6 Oregon at California
Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, CA (Fri, 10:00 p.m. ET)
In all likelihood, the next two weeks will determine whether Oregon (6-1, 3-1 Pac-12) will finish top of the Pac-12 North and book a slot in the conference championship game at Levi’s Stadium. Before hosting Stanford on Nov. 1, the Ducks will get a little Santa Clara dress rehearsal as they take on California (4-3, 2-3 Pac-12).
It’s hard to imagine that the Golden Bears are playing for anything more than a bowl game berth, having already dropped three within the conference. The side from Berkeley has lost five straight to the Ducks and opened as a 16-point underdog. Can the Bears pull off the unthinkable and send the Pac-12 into a frenzy?
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Michigan at No. 8 Michigan State
Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, MI (Sat, 3:30 p.m. ET)
Some of the luster may have been lost from this one but the battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy is still relevant, at least in the case of the home team.
Michigan State (6-1, 3-0 Big Ten) continues to move forward in a bid to emerge as the Big Ten champion, potentially earning a shot at the national championship in the process. Right now it looks to be between the Spartans and Ohio State, scheduled to clash on November 8. But looking ahead to the Buckeyes could be very dangerous.
A win over Penn State last weekend was by no means enough to turn the season around, but Michigan (3-4, 1-2 Big Ten) at least got to savor victory for the first time in more than a month. The taste of victory would be so much sweeter if the Wolverines could find a way to upset the Spartans in East Lansing.
Michigan has lost five of the last six to Michigan State and hasn’t won in East Lansing since 2007. Right now it’s hard to go against the home side marching on.
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Texas Tech at No. 10 TCU
Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, TX (Sat, 3:30 p.m. ET)
TCU (5-1, 2-1 Big 12) has emerged as the darling of the Big 12 but it’ll be hard to hang on to that tag in a conference that seems content to beat up on itself – which itself could have drastic consequences come playoff selection time.
This week the Horned Frogs will look to take care of business against a Texas Tech (3-4, 1-3 Big 12) side that’s only win within the conference came last week against the Big 12 doormat that is Kansas. Don’t expect Gary Patterson’s team to be complacent though; the Red Raiders have won 12 of the last 15 head-to-head meetings, including the last two.
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Bye Week
No. 2 Florida State – The Seminoles’ (7-0, 4-0 ACC) reward for a hard fought victory over Notre Dame is a week off. Jimbo Fisher’s side will find itself tested again this coming Thursday as they travel to Louisville.
No. 7 Notre Dame – The Fighting Irish (6-1) will look to rebound from Saturday’s psychologically daunting defeat but they’ll have to wait to do so. The Irish returns to action on November 1 with a road game against Navy in Annapolis, Md., before heading out to the desert for a showdown with Arizona State on November 8.
No. 9 Georgia – The Bulldogs (6-1, 4-1 SEC) could have Todd Gurley back on the field as they travel to Gainesville, Fla., next weekend. For now they’ll rest up and prepare for the run in to the SEC East title.
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