College Football Predictions & Best Bets for Week 9

Now that’s more like it. A 2-0 showing in Week 8 has my bankroll looking much healthier than it was a week ago. But there’s still work to do. For my college football predictions and best bets for Week 9, we’re off to Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa, and DKR-Texas Stadium in Austin, Texas. Let’s hit the gridiron!

College Football Predictions & Best Bets for Week 9

#25 Wisconsin Badgers vs Iowa Hawkeyes

Start Time: Noon EDT

We’ll kick things off this week with some Big Ten action, with the 5-2 (3-1 Big Ten) #25 Wisconsin Badgers visiting Iowa City to take on the 5-2 (2-2 Big Ten) Iowa Hawkeyes. While these teams have identical win-loss records, they appear to be heading in opposite directions.

The Hawkeyes are out of the national rankings for the first time this season after dropping two of their last three games, most recently losing to Minnesota. Their offense has been the issue, ranking 75th nationally in scoring, while their defense ranks eighth in points allowed. Things won’t get better with starting running back Kamari Moulton suffering a season-ending injury last week and the team switching up their starting quarterback this week to Hank Brown (in theory, that could improve things, I guess).

The Badgers have no such worries, drubbing #16 USC last week 24-7, propelling them into the rankings for the first time this season. Yet, we’re getting Wisconsin as a dog this weekend. My line is Wisconsin -5, so go Badgers, go!

Best Bet: Wisconsin +3.5 (-115)

Mississippi State Bulldogs vs #11 Texas Longhorns

Start Time: 7:30 PM EST

My second play comes from the SEC, where two struggling teams, the 4-3 (2-3 SEC) Mississippi State Bulldogs and the #11-ranked 5-2 (2-2 SEC) Texas Longhorns, hook up in Austin. Struggling might be in the past tense in the Longhorns’ case, as after dropping back-to-back games, they got past #7 Ole Miss last week. The Bulldogs are still in the midst of it, however, losing three straight heading into this weekend, which has ended their four-week run of being nationally ranked.

And a couple of those Mississippi State losses were ugly, losing by 33 at home to Alabama in Week 5, and getting shut out 31-0 in Week 6 at LSU. And now starting quarterback Kamario Taylor has been ruled out for the season with a foot injury that needs surgery. Ouch, literally and figuratively.

And yet…. I hesitate to do this, but I think the spread for Saturday’s game is a bit too wide. The Longhorns have struggled with turnovers (Arch Manning gave the ball up three times last week) and penalties. And they are not exactly blowing out teams.

After crunching the numbers, my line is Texas -12.5, so I think the value is on the Mississippi State end of the spread. Fingers crossed.

Best Bet: Mississippi State +20.5 (-108)

2025/6 College Football Overall Record: 8-8 (50%)
Profit (based on $100/bet): -($89.52)
Return on Investment: -6%