2018 NCAA Football Week 9 Betting Picks.

2018 NCAA Football Week 9 Betting Picks

Written by on August 10, 2018

This will be the last opportunity for teams to impress the college football playoff committee before the first rankings are released on October 30. The AP Poll gives us an idea of where everyone might fall, but we have seen some rather big differences once those official rankings come out. From this point forward, teams will very clearly know what they need to do to get into the postseason. Let’s look at the best Power 5 Conference games for the 2018 NCAA Football Week 9.

2018 NCAA Football Week 9 Betting Picks

ACC

Clemson Tigers at Florida State Seminoles – The Seminoles came into last season as one of the favorites to be playoff bound, but an opening week loss to Alabama and a season disrupted by weather cancellations threw a spanner in the works. It’s a new coaching regime for the Seminoles this season and they still have a talented group of players that could cause fits for the Clemson Tigers. The reality here is that Clemson just do nothing but win, so I expect them to go on the road and pick up the W here.

Big 12

Baylor Bears at West Virginia Mountaineers – The Thursday night games played in college football are very often reserved for lesser match-ups, but we have some very good ones on the schedule this season. Baylor will head to West Virginia to face the Mountaineers on the Thursday night game in Week 9, and we could be in for a bit of a treat here. Baylor is coming off a 1-win season that was beset by scandal, and you have to believe that the only direction for them now is up. Despite the losses last season, the Bears were competitive in a 38-36 loss to the Mountaineers in 2017. I see a bigger win for WV this season.

Big Ten

Wisconsin Badgers at Northwestern Wildcats – Northwestern finished last season on a bit of a high, winning each of their last 7 games of the season, which included a bowl game win over Kentucky. Expectations are high for the coming season, but the reality is that if you want to be the top dog in this conference, Wisconsin is one of the teams that you need to get past. It was the Badgers who won this match-up last season, nabbing a 33-24 win, and I think it will be Wisconsin getting the W once again in this one.

PAC 12

Washington State Cougars at Stanford Cardinal – The Cougars had themselves an impressive 9-4 season in 2017 at the PAC 12, but they have had some off-field issues to start this year, including the apparent suicide of former QB Tyler Hilinski. The Washington State Cougars are no favorites to win at the 2018 NCAA Football Week 9. These are the types of things that very often bring a team closer together, so can we perhaps expect a big year from the Cougars. They had a good day against the Cardinal last season, winning that meeting 24-21, and while I expect another close one here, I like Stanford to win.

SEC

Florida Gators vs Georgia Bulldogs – Week 9 of the season delivers one of the great days of the year in college football, which is the Greatest Outdoor Cocktail Party in the world, otherwise better known as the Florida Gators versus the Georgia Bulldogs in Jacksonville. These are two teams that really do not like one another, and things tend to get a little testy in these match-ups. Georgia hammered the Gators last season and I expect more of the same this year.