College football picks against the spread for Week 9 games

Let's lock in our final picks against the spread for college football's top Week 9 games.

College football Week 9 picks against the spread / USA Today Sports | IMAGN

As we look ahead to another active slate of college football games in Week 9, let’s lock in our final picks against the spread for the most important games coming up.

How are we doing? College Football HQ went 7-2 in our picks against the spread last weekend, bringing our 2024 season record to 34-36 overall.

We correctly picked that Georgia would upset Texas, Illinois would take down Michigan, and that Tennessee would upset rival Alabama.

But were fooled by Nebraska’s defense, which collapsed in the face of an Indiana offense that apparently is the real deal after passing its biggest test of the year by far.

For better or worse, here are the picks we’re making against the spread for college football’s biggest games on the Week 9 schedule.

College football picks against the spread for Week 9 games

Lines are courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook and are subject to change

Boise State at UNLV

Marco Garcia-Imagn Images

ATS pick: Boise State -2.5 | Don’t overlook the Rebels’ run defense, which allows just 104 yards per game and 3.35 yards per carry, and could put a dent in Ashton Jeanty’s production, but the Broncos have the marginally better vertical game that can make up for it and stabilize this offense.

... Boise State by 3

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Oklahoma at Ole Miss

Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

ATS pick: Oklahoma +20 | The Sooners’ offense doesn’t really exist, but it should be a little better with Jackson Arnold in at quarterback, while this defense is playing hard and should keep an Ole Miss offense that’s been inconsistent in check enough to keep this within 3 touchdowns.

... Ole Miss by 17

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Florida State at Miami

Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

ATS pick: Miami -20.5 | Miami is 2nd nationally in EPA per play. Florida State is 103rd. Miami is 1st in explosive plays. Florida State is, again, 103rd. And while the Seminoles’ pass defense has improved somewhat, the Canes average 577 yards per game, and FSU hasn’t scored more than 16 points in a game since Week 0.

... Miami by 28

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Kansas at Kansas State

Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

ATS pick: Kansas State -9.5 | The Wildcats have won 3 conference games by an average of 17 points and if you take out the close Colorado game, that average balloons to 25 points. KU has lost its Big 12 games by an average of 6.3 points, but K-State has the run defense to make the Jayhawks one dimensional and pull away.

... Kansas State by 13

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Missouri at Alabama

William McLelland-Imagn Images

ATS pick: Alabama -16.5 | While the Tigers have the run defense to contain an Alabama ground game that averaged just 2.5 yards per carry over the last 2 games, the Missouri offense looks like it could go without quarterback Brady Cook and tailback Nate Noel as they deal with injuries, absences that will severely curtail its production.

... Alabama by 17

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Washington at Indiana

Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images

ATS pick: Indiana -6.5 | The absence of injured quarterback Kurtis Rourke could cut into the Hoosiers’ offensive production here, but this team is still averaging over 202 rushing yards per game and is going against a Huskies run stop that ranks 14th in the Big Ten and traveling long distance into the Eastern time zone.

... Indiana by 13

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Nebraska at Ohio State

Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

ATS pick: Ohio State -25.5 | Maybe we’re overreacting after picking the Huskers +6.5 against the Hoosiers, but the Buckeyes are even more stacked offensively, should have a decided edge against Nebraska’s secondary, and have won the last 7 games in this series by almost 31 points on average.

... Ohio State by 28

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Notre Dame vs. Navy

Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

ATS pick: Notre Dame -12 | Navy’s offense is uber-productive on the ground and can devour game clock, but there’s a question around its quality of competition up to this point. It can keep this close against an Irish defense dealing with injuries and an offense that, despite its improvements, is still fairly one-dimensional, but Notre Dame has the firepower to pull away late.

... Notre Dame by 14

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Penn State at Wisconsin

Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

ATS pick: Penn State -6.5 | Wisconsin has won 3 straight games and allowed 16 total points in that time, but those wins came against some of the Big Ten’s worst teams and the Badgers are still 83rd nationally in throwing the ball. Penn State’s defense is another animal and its offense is top 10 in FBS in total production.

... Penn State by 10

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LSU at Texas A&M

Scott Kinser-Imagn Images

ATS pick: LSU +2.5 | A&M doesn’t have to blitz a ton to get good production from its front seven alignment, but it may have to in order to generate enough pressure against an LSU pass blocking unit that is among the nation’s best. And while the Tigers’ secondary is still a question, it has made modest coverage improvements and Conner Weigman is still a little rusty throwing the ball.

... LSU by 4

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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