College Football Betting Picks - Expert Predictions, CFB Picks Against the Spread: Week 9

October 30, 2026

Mike's Week 9 college football betting picks against the spread for Saturday, October 31, 2026. Free CFB betting predictions, odds analysis, and ATS picks from RotoBaller.

I'm so damaged from last week that I don't have high hopes for this week. Unfortunately, there are a lot of spots that I like, and I'm on the opposite side of some prediction algorithms. I'm okay with that.

We don't have any FBS vs. FCS games this week, so I'm picking all 47 games on Saturday. If you have questions about these games that I don't cover here, you can jump into our Discord channel, and I can try to help you out. You can also reach out to me on X at @mikemarteny.

We're light on trophy games, but not light on drama. Lincoln Riley is under fire. Iowa can't throw and is down a back. We may have to talk to our kids about a CFP with Wisconsin, UCLA, and Northwestern in it.

CFB Betting Picks for Week 9

I will pick every college football game every week. Not a top five. Not a top 10. All of them. Big deal, right? Lots of people make picks. Well, I do them all against the spread. I take the odds for each game, average them across all Vegas casinos, and round to the nearest half. There will be no ties here. Ties are for the other (European) football.

I think you should know who you're listening to. I've been doing this since 2014, and I have most of my record available for viewing here. This can help you determine which teams I usually pick correctly or incorrectly.

I've had trouble finding the 2019 and 2020 articles, so the page is still under construction. All of the picks from 2014-2018 and 2021-2025 are accurate and accounted for. The all-time totals are still under construction, but for now I'll omit 2019 and 2020.

If any of you know how to recover old WordPress documents or how to get back into broken internet links, I would love to hear from you. Ideally, I would like to make my stats as complete as possible.

We'll try to get back on the winning side of things this week. We've got a few really good spots, but it's Halloween night, and things get weird.

(5) Notre Dame (-28.5) vs. Navy at Foxborough

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 3

This is a rivalry game, but Navy only has 13 wins in 95 meetings. It somehow gets worse. Notre Dame has won by at least 39 points in each of the last three years, and won by at least 22 points in six of the last seven.

Pick: Notre Dame -28.5

(22) Arizona at (13) Texas Tech (-3.5)

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 4

This line has fallen four points. After the way Texas Tech looked last week, that's still generous. Arizona's run defense has been outstanding. The Wildcats finally get some national attention with a win here.

Lead off the Noah Fifita Heisman highlight reel with THIS throw 🎯 https://t.co/1wKLEUWQuH

— Damon (@DamonDawg) October 25, 2026

Pick: Arizona +3.5

(19) SMU (-10.5) at Syracuse

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 2

I know that it's an SMU love-fest right now, but it was Cal. Syracuse is playing good defense, and they're at home. I think this stays within 10, but SMU still wins.

Pick: Syracuse +10.5

(25) Wisconsin at Iowa (-2.5)

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 5

Iowa is NOT winning this without Kamari Moulton. I would bet 10 on this if my scale went that high. The under 36.5 is tempting as well.

Pick: Wisconsin +2.5

California at North Carolina State (-7.5)

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 4

Cal has made teams that are more of a mess than this look like 2019 LSU. Under 10 isn't a deterrent at all.

Pick: North Carolina State -7.5

Boston College at Duke (-7.5)

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 2

BC is a lot like Duke. Neither team has flashy players. Duke has a star at RB in Nate Sheppard, but little else. Both play good defense. I like a Duke win, but I'm not biting on that half.

Pick: Boston College +7.5

Illinois (-2.5) at Maryland

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 2

Michael Clayton Jr. looked solid last week, and Maryland is breaking in a new coach. I believe it, but I'm probably leaving it alone.

Pick: Illinois -2.5

UAB at South Florida (-7.5)

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 4

I like what UAB is doing, but the talent level isn't the same.

Pick: South Florida -7.5

Bowling Green at Western Michigan (-13.5)

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 3

I'm not sure why this line is down two points. I love it for under two touchdowns!

Pick: Western Michigan -13.5

Michigan (-15.5) at Rutgers

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 1

Wow, I hate this line. Rutgers might not score. Michigan might not on offense either. Leave this one alone.

Pick: Rutgers +15.5

Auburn at (12) Mississippi (-11.5)

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 2

Auburn has played better on the road than at home, so I'm lowering the bet.

Pick: Mississippi -11.5

Marshall (-2.5) at Old Dominion

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 2

I was hoping that the Monarchs would be favored, but this line is right.

Pick: Marshall -2.5

Kansas State at Colorado (-1.5)

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 2

Avery Johnson is out, and this is a road game. Isaac Wilson has improved in recent weeks. K-State won't stretch the field like Oklahoma State did.

Pick: Colorado -1.5

Coastal Carolina at Georgia State (-4.5)

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 2

The Panthers haven't played a home game in a month. This should make for a nice homecoming.

Pick: Georgia State -4.5

Connecticut at Air Force (-1.5)

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 2

Shop around for whichever side you like better. UConn is favored on FanDuel and at MGM. Air Force has no juice at DraftKings and Circa. We have options.

Pick: Connecticut +1.5

Temple at East Carolina (-4.5)

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 2

The last time we saw Temple, they lost to Charlotte.

Pick: East Carolina -4.5

Louisiana Tech (-5.5) at South Alabama

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 2

NEW: Major Applewhite is sticking with Jared Hollins at QB for South Alabama — even after a 12-of-33 disaster against Marshall 👀

Bishop Davenport is healthy. The starter isn't changing. @calebwardell32 dives into the Jaguars quarterback.

Details: https://t.co/DNsJ86QecI

— BleedTechBlue (@BleedTechBlue) October 28, 2026

Jared Hollins played so poorly last week that many thought Bishop Davenport would start this week. He is healthy, but he was said to be healthy last week.

I see why USA is the dog here, but I have to think that if Hollins had a horrible first half, Davenport comes in. If Hollins doesn't, USA hangs around.

Betting on South Alabama seems like a good plan no matter what happens at quarterback.

Pick: South Alabama +5.5

Stanford at Louisville (-22.5)

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 2

Ouch. Stanford hasn't played a good team in a while, but the Louisville defense is going to allow points to Davis Warren, Brandon High, and Micah Ford. This Stanford offense is not without talent.

Pick: Stanford +22.5

(17) Florida vs. (3) Georgia (-12.5) at Atlanta

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 3

The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party moves north, inside, and gets corporate feces smeared all over it. Stop NFL'ing college football!!

This game should have been at Sanford Stadium. You know that once the Benz has a taste of this game, they're going to steal it from Jacksonville, right?

There will be no stealing this game. The Georgia defense is going ot punish Florida.

Pick: Georgia -12.5

Minnesota at (4) Indiana (-20.5)

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 2

I realize that Indiana's offense hasn't looked good lately, but they played Ohio State and Michigan. Those are two elite defenses.

When Indiana sets out to do something, it usually happens. Sorry, Minnesota.

Pick: Indiana -20.5

Arizona State at (8) BYU (-16.5)

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 2

Who had Cutter Boley getting benched? It won't matter who starts or finishes this one.

Pick: BYU -16.5

(20) Northwestern at Oregon (-3.5)

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 5

The level of disrespect for Chip Kelly's return to Oregon is astounding. The Oregon defense has been good, but have they seen anything like this?

Urban Meyer breaking down the creativity in Northwestern’s offense under Chip Kelly ✍🏼 https://t.co/t93KRkEosl

— Jake Franklin Football (@JakeFranklinFB) October 13, 2026

Pick: Northwestern +3.5

Kansas at TCU (-6.5)

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 3

You've got to be joking. TCU will be able to hold Kansas defensively, but they may only score 10 points.

Pick: Kansas +6.5

Colorado State at Utah State (-6.5)

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 3

I don't think people fully appreciate the historical level of ineptitude we're about to witness in Logan on Saturday.

Utah State currently ranks dead last nationally in scoring offense, averaging just 14.9 points per game. Colorado State ranks dead last in scoring defense, allowing 44.0 points per game.

Naturally, I was curious how often we've seen something like this happen.

Looking back over the last 30 seasons, I found three matchups between teams that finished the year with the nation's worst scoring offense and worst scoring defense.

2004: Washington (worst offense) beat San José State (worst defense), 21–6.

2007: FIU (worst offense) beat North Texas (worst defense), 38–19.

2019: UMass (worst defense) beat Akron (worst offense), 37–29.

So, in these three games, the nation's worst offense actually went 2–1 against the nation's worst defense.

This should be a fascinating display of terrible football.

— Braden “Brady” Clark (@BradenTClark) October 27, 2026

What the above fails to take into account is the Hauss Hejny factor.

Pick: Colorado State +6.5

UTEP at North Dakota State (-24.5)

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 3.

NDSU needs this.

Pick: North Dakota State -24.5

Florida International at Liberty (-13.5)

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 3

The FIU defense was abused on national TV last week for everyone to see. At least everyone won't see it this time...

Pick: Liberty -13.5

Southern Mississippi (-3.5) at Louisiana-Monroe

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 1

I would feel a lot better about this one if Monroe hadn't won last week.

Pick: Southern Mississippi -3.5

(6) Utah (-7.5) at Cincinnati

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 3

Cincinnati is capable of winning this game, and everyone is on Utah. That has tipped the half in our favor. I expect a close game, so the free half opens up the betting points for me.

Pick: Cincinnati +7.5

Virginia at Wake Forest (-12.5)

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 4

I'm done pretending that Virginia is good.

Pick: Wake Forest -12.5

New Mexico (-14.5) at San Jose State

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 4

The Spartans might have played their worst game of the year last week. Their reward is a top-5 defense in FBS.

Pick: New Mexico -14.5

Nevada at (7) UCLA (-22.5)

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 2

Wow, that's a lot of points. Nevada likely won't score, but will UCLA get enough possessions? I guess all they need to do is score touchdowns on half the drives.

Pick: UCLA -22.5

South Carolina at Oklahoma (-3.5)

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 4

If the Oklahoma offensive line can protect like they did last week, this is too low.

Pick: Oklahoma -3.5

Purdue at Penn State (-10.5)

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 3

I don't know about this one. It feels high with how the Penn State offense has looked.

Pick: Purdue +10.5

Appalachian State at Georgia Southern (-5.5)

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 2

This line is climbing, but I feel it's out of line. I don't feel like this game will be decided by a touchdown.

Pick: Appalachian State +5.5

(24) Oklahoma State (-9.5) at Iowa State

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 5

The perfect Halloween matchup doesn't exi...

@CycloneATH https://t.co/ctMOADMDyb

— Oklahoma State Athletics (@OSUAthletics) October 28, 2026

I'm glad that both teams are embracing the Halloween matchup. The uniforms will be the best part of the game for Iowa State. They are in a lot of trouble here. OSU is more explosive than the Arizona team that just buried them.

Pick: Oklahoma State -9.5

Clemson at Florida State (-5.5)

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 5

Quintrevion Wisner and Gavin Sawchuk will fill in nicely for Ousmane Kromah. Clemson's offense still doesn't have a pulse. This looks easy.

Pick: Florida State -5.5

Washington State at San Diego State (-2.5)

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 3

This is where we'll finally see the improvement of Owen Eshelman. He wasn't enough to beat Oregon State or Boise State, but San Diego State? They gave up 56 points last week.

Pick: Washington State +2.5

(1) Miami (FL) (-14.5) at North Carolina

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 4

UNC has won the last four games in Chapel Hill, but those Miami teams weren't anywhere close to the ones of the NIL era.

Pick: Miami (FL) -14.5

(2) Ohio State (-6.5) at USC

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 3

It looks like Luke Fahey will start, but if I'm Ohio State, I push USC around and make them stop it. They can't. USC isn't physical enough to win this game.

Pick: Ohio State -6.5

Mississippi State at (11) Texas (-20.5)

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 3

We've already seen how bad this team is without Kamario Taylor.

Pick: Texas -20.5

Georgia Tech at Pittsburgh (-7.5)

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 2

I was hoping that the half wouldn't be on that side, but I still can't take Tech.

Pick: Pittsburgh -7.5

(23) Missouri (-9.5) at Arkansas

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 3

They play for the Battle Line Trophy, which isn't as nice as it should be. It has potential, unlike Arkansas.

The Battle Line Rivalry trophy will stay in Missouri for another year. https://t.co/cRy4LOWMPi

— Mason Choate (@ChoateMason) December 1, 2024

Pick: Missouri -9.5

Washington at Nebraska (-7.5)

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 2

It's a blackout in Lincoln. I distinctly remember a blackout of a different sort on Halloween night of 1997 in Lincoln. Let's hope that doesn't happen again.

Washington will have Demond Williams Jr. back, but is he really better? I have my doubts.

Pick: Nebraska -7.5

Army at Memphis (-6.5)

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 2

I don't trust this Memphis defense. I'm not sure that I trust the offense either...

Pick: Army +6.5

Texas State at (20) Boise State (-11.5)

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 2

Boise's defense hasn't been great, and the Texas State offense can score. This feels a bit high.

Pick: Texas State +11.5

Northern Illinois at UNLV (-23.5)

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 3

It checks out. The Huskies have been bottom feeders in the Mountain West.

Pick: UNLV -23.5

Oregon State (-5.5) at Fresno State

Betting Pick Confidence Factor: 5

The only Freshmen in CFB History with more than 14 receiving touchdowns in a season:

Michael Crabtree (22)
Jeremiah Smith (15)

Jesse Legree has 14 in just 7 games played. https://t.co/BDkb7YIfEf

— Underdog CFB (@UnderdogCFB) October 21, 2026

Good luck, Fresno. You're going to need it.

Pick: Oregon State -5.5

I didn't mean to chicken out with 24 two-point bets, but I maxed out five to make up for it. Good luck out there!

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