College Football Upset Picks, Predictions: 3 Teams on Disaster Watch for Week 9
When it comes to the Big 12 Conference, pretty much the only betting lock is to expect the unexpected. Read on for our top college football upset picks, including why the TCU Horned Frogs could go down this weekend.
Week 9 of the college football season is already upon us. This week’s card is somewhat lacking as far as big-game appeal, though these types of slates tend to produce the most surprising results. Thus, as far as college football upset picks are concerned, this week’s slate actually has plenty to offer.
There are a pair of AP Top-25 teams being put on upset alert. We also have several large underdogs playing at home to choose from. No matter the records or where a team may be ranked in the polls, winning conference games on the road hardly ever comes easily.
Check out all of our top Week 9 college football picks.
Here are our top college football upset picks for Week 9 (odds via Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings Sportsbook, and FanDuel Sportsbook).
College Football Upset Picks for Week 9
Week 9 College Football Upset Predictions
West Virginia (+235)
West Virginia has won four straight head-to-head matchups against TCU and five of the last six. The last two meetings in Morgantown have seen the Mountaineers outscore TCU by a combined margin of 71-16! With the Over/Under for Saturday’s contest currently sitting at 69.5, it’s clear that offensive fireworks are expected.
The Mountaineers have been truly wretched defensively. Out of 131 FBS teams in scoring defense, WVU ranks 125th in both scoring defense and passing yards allowed per game. Featuring West Virginia among our college football upset picks is predicated on quarterback J.T. Daniels and the offense bouncing back from last week’s poor performance on the road against Texas Tech.
The good news is that Daniels and the Mountaineers’ offense have thrived in front of the home fans in Morgantown. West Virginia has tallied 42 and 43 points in two previous home games against Big 12 opponents. The second of those tallies came against a Baylor defense that, while down from a year ago, is still considered to be better than what TCU brings to the table.
Speaking of the Horned Frogs, only three FBS-level opponents have failed to score at least 31 points against them this season. Two of those teams, Oklahoma and Kansas State, had to play portions or all of their games against TCU without their starting QBs. The third was Colorado, which doesn’t exactly mean much.
Check out our TCU vs. West Virginia picks.
Nebraska (+245)
Remember back before the college football season began when Nebraska was a trendy pick to win the Big Ten West? Yeah, so do we. This year has hardly gone according to plan in Lincoln. The low point was undoubtedly losing outright to Georgia Southern as a 21-point home favorite. Scott Frost was fired after that game, and Nebraska has gone 2-2 since then.
Clearly, the Cornhuskers at their worst don’t figure to be capable of upsetting a ranked Illinois team. However, there have been some positive signs in the last few weeks. The last time Nebraska was at home, the defense shut out Indiana in the second half of a 14-point win four weeks ago. That result was succeeded by a road win over Rutgers and a narrow loss at Purdue.
Basically, no matter who the Cornhuskers are up against, they seem to play to the level of their opponent. At 2-2 in conference play, Nebraska still isn’t out of the running when it comes to winning the West Division. As such, there is certainly plenty of incentive to give No. 17 Illinois all it can handle on Saturday.
Arkansas State (+300)
Coming into Saturday’s home game against South Alabama, Arkansas State has only one win against FBS-level competition on the season. While the results may not be visible on the field just yet, head coach Butch Jones is well on his way to turning the trajectory of the program around.
The Red Wolves inked one of the top recruiting classes in the Sun Belt Conference last year. With several talented young players in the fold, the future is bright in Jonesboro. Despite the team’s current lack of experience, Arkansas State has held its own in a number of games.
Road losses to Memphis and Old Dominion earlier this year came by eight and three points, respectively. Two weeks ago, the Red Wolves led going into the fourth quarter on the road against Southern Mississippi before ultimately losing by a single point.
As for this week’s matchup, the health of senior quarterback James Blackman looms large. He missed last week’s contest, and the Arkansas State offense was a shell of itself against Louisiana. The outlook is positive for Week 9, as Blackman returned to practice on Monday and Jones has indicated that he will be ready to go on Saturday.
With a tough road trip to Georgia Southern looming next week, could South Alabama be caught looking past the Red Wolves?
Where to Bet on College Football Upset Picks
Here are our top-rated sportsbooks:
College football upset picks made 10/26/2022 at 5:30 p.m. ET.
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