College Football Odds & Best Bets: Our Top 4 Evening Picks, Featuring Michigan vs Michigan State, Texas A&M vs Ole Miss
Photo by Adam Ruff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images. Pictured: Jayden Reed (Michigan State)
- Saturday's Week 9 college football slate rolls on to the evening games.
- Our staff came through with four best bets for the evening kickoff window, including Michigan vs Michigan State and Texas A&M vs Ole Miss.
- Check out all four of our college football best bets for Saturday evening below.
Kentucky vs. Tennessee. Ole Miss vs. Texas A&M. Michigan State vs. Michigan. And more? Yeah, Week 9's Saturday evening slate is flat-out loaded.
And there's value to be had from a betting perspective on the three games mentioned above — plus a fourth.
Our staff has you covered below with four best bets to help you formulate your Saturday evening college football betting card. So, dive in now!
Saturday Evening Week 9 College Football Best Bets
The team logos in the table below represent each of the matchups that our college football staff is targeting from today's slate of games. Click the team logos for one the matchups below to navigate to a specific bet discussed in this article.
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| Specific bet recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our NCAAF Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | ||
Kentucky vs. Tennessee
Saturday, Oct. 29 7 p.m. ET ESPN |
Will Levis Over 244.5 Passing Yards  |
By Doug Ziefel
If Kentucky is going to hang with the Vols here, it will need a great game out of Will Levis.
All indications show that Levis will have the opportunity to succeed against the Tennessee secondary, as the Vols come in ranked 88th in opponent completion percentage and 131st in passing yards allowed per game.
On top of that, the rushing game will likely be shut down for Kentucky, as it has not gotten much going this year, and Tennessee is seven in the nation in yards per rush allowed.
This is a performance that Levis needs to up his draft stock. Carving up this Tennessee secondary would be enormous for Levis, and it could even lead to a critical upset of a top-five team.
Bank on Levis to step up for his team in this big matchup and sail over this total.
Pick: Will Levis Over 244.5 Passing Yards (Play to 250)
Arizona State vs. Colorado
Saturday, Oct. 29 7:30 p.m. ET ESPNU |
Elijhah Badger Over 50.5 Receiving Yards  |
We recommended Badger over 56.5 last week against Stanford. He posted 118 yards on six catches.
It’s not a victory lap, by any means; I’m just legitimately stunned the over/under opened even lower against a hideous Colorado team.
Badger’s target share numbers are through the roof, and he has 17 more catches than the next-closest receiver on the Sun Devils’ roster.
Plus, I wouldn’t be surprised if he cooks up another 100-yard-plus game after the coaching staff stressed going faster in Week 9, with Shaun Aguano taking over play-calling duties.
The Buffaloes allow quarterbacks to complete close to 64% of passes and give up more than 12 yards on average when they do connect.
This is such a low number, I feel slightly disrespected.
Pick: Elijhah Badger Over 50.5 Receiving Yards (Play to 67.5)
Ole Miss vs. Texas A&M
Saturday, Oct. 29 7:30 p.m. ET SEC Network |
Texas A&M +2  |
In this same column last week, we successfully faded Ole Miss as a short road favorite when it went to Baton Rouge and got blitzed by LSU.
This week, I’m back on the same train, as I think the Rebels will lose once again in College Station.
Ole Miss was never as good as its top-10 ranking suggested and was extremely fortunate to start the year 7-0.
While Texas A&M is hardly a juggernaut offensively, the Aggies should be able to move the ball on the ground against a mediocre Rebels front.
This will open up the passing game and allow true freshman Conner Weigman some time to find open receivers. I don’t really expect any drop off from Haynes King to Weigman, and I actually think the offense has more upside with the youngster taking over.
On the other side of the ball, A&M is still very sound defensively and should be able to make life difficult for Jaxson Dart and the Ole Miss offense.
As mediocre of a season as it has been for Texas A&M, expect Kyle Field to be rocking for this one, especially after Lane Kiffin fired off some controversial comments in his weekly presser.
The Aggies get it done on Saturday night behind the 12th man. Gig ‘Em.
Pick: Texas A&M +2 (Play to PK) |
Michigan State vs. Michigan
Saturday, Oct. 29 7:30 p.m. ET ABC |
Michigan State +23 |
I’m not one who puts much stock in historical matchup data, given the roster turnover between programs each season. But one trend that has withstood the test of time is Michigan State giving Michigan problems.
The narrative each season is that “this is the year Michigan rolls over State,” but it just never seems to happen.
Dating back to 2003, these two programs have matched up 19 times. Michigan State has kept 18 of those matchups within 23 points. The Spartans have won 10 of the 19 games outright and the average margin of victory is only 10 points per game.
The Spartans are coming off of their best game of the season — an overtime victory over Wisconsin.
The way opponents can expose Michigan State’s defense is through the air. And that’s not Michigan’s strength, as it wants to overpower its opponent on the ground, owning a Rush Rate of 61%.
Last week, Wisconsin rushed the ball 39 times for 152 yards for an average of just 3.9 yards per carry. I anticipate the Spartans’ defensive front to put up a similar effort this week.
Let’s not forget: Mel Tucker is 2-0 against Jim Harbaugh straight up since taking over the Michigan State program. He won last season at home as a four-point underdog and in 2020 on the road as 21.5-point dogs.
I’m trusting history to repeat itself, as Michigan State keeps this rivalry game within reach late in the second half.
Pick: Michigan State +23 (Play to +21.5) |
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