The biggest games of the college football weekend take place in the Big Ten.
However, the Michigan-Michigan State and Penn State-Ohio State games are hard for us to read from a betting perspective.
The Michigan-Michigan State clash can go either way and Ohio State is favored by close to three touchdowns after Penn State lost to Illinois.
Even though we do not like those two games, we found plenty of other gems across the Week 9 board to take advantage,
In fact, the two of us are on two of the same plays, so hopefully that means great minds think alike.
Joe Tansey
Overall Record: 49-38
Bowling Green at Buffalo (-13.5) (Saturday, Noon ET, CBS Sports Network)
Buffalo and Bowling Green are trending in opposite directions.
Buffalo experienced some early-season struggles against Power Five opponents while dealing with the loss of head coach Lance Leipold to Kansas and star running back Jaret Patterson to the NFL.
The Bulls have gotten better in the last few weeks with wins over Ohio and Akron.
Bowling Green has trended downward since it defeated Minnesota back on September 25.
The Falcons are coming off a 55-24 loss to Eastern Michigan. They have allowed over 30 points in three of their last four games.
Buffalo’s offense averages 13 more points per game than Bowling Green and it has all the advantages on paper in this matchup.
Virginia Tech at Georgia Tech (Over 55.5) (Saturday, Noon ET, ESPN3)
Virginia Tech needs a win to keep Justin Fuente off the very hot seat.
For that to happen, the Hokies need to score a good amount of points on the road at Georgia Tech.
The Yellow Jackets are 3-1 to the over in their last four games. Each of those three overs hit with totals higher than 55.5
Virginia Tech just gave up 41 points in a shootout loss to Syracuse. It allowed over 25 points to each of its last four opponents.
Iowa State at West Virginia (+7.5) (Saturday, 2 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
Hello, Iowa State letdown spot.
The Cyclones are coming off a huge win over previously undefeated Oklahoma State and now face a tough test in Morgantown.
West Virginia is coming off a 29-17 road win over TCU and it has been a better home team in the last two years.
The Mountaineers beat Virginia Tech and lost to Texas Tech by three points at home this season. They went 5-0 with four Big 12 victories in Morgantown last season.
Iowa State could still win the game, but it may start slow on the road after a massive win. Do not be surprised if West Virginia is up for this game after picking up a nice road win last week.
North Texas at Rice (-2.5) (Saturday, 2 p.m. ET, ESPN3)
Rice has quietly put together a nice string of results in the last month.
The Owls won three of their last four games and beat UAB on the road last week after they were smoked by UTSA.
Rice is back home after two weeks on the road and it plays a North Texas team that has struggled to get in the right direction this season.
North Texas is 1-6 overall and it has not won a Conference USA game. The Mean Green gave up 132 points in the last three weeks and they are only 3-3 against the spread this season.
Missouri at Vanderbilt (Over 62.5) (Saturday, 3 p.m. ET, SEC Network)
Missouri has played in a handful of high-scoring games this season.
The Tigers have been on the wrong side in most of those contests, but they have still put up some impressive numbers. They average 447.1 total yards and 34.4 points per game.
Missouri's problem is that it can't stop a lot of teams. It concedes 37.1 points per game and it gave up 35 points to a lowly North Texas team at the start of October.
Missouri will win this game, but Vanderbilt has the potential to put up a few touchdowns against the Mizzou defense that could aid the over.
Minnesota (-7.5) at Northwestern (Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, BTN)
Minnesota rebounded from one of the worst defeats suffered by a Power Five team this season with three consecutive victories.
The Golden Gophers beat Purdue, Nebraska and Maryland to build a three-game winning streak after their loss to Bowling Green.
P.J. Fleck's team is facing a low-scoring Northwestern team that produced 35 points in the last three weeks. The Wildcats scored one touchdown in losses to Michigan and Nebraska.
Minnesota averages seven more points and gives up 5.5 fewer points per game compared to Northwestern. The Gophers should pull away through their defense.
Boston College (+6.5) at Syracuse (Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN3)
I can't quit fading Syracuse.
I've lost my bets the last two weeks betting the Clemson-Syracuse over and on Virginia Tech against the Orange.
Even though Boston College is 0-3 in the ACC, the 6.5-point spread in favor of Syracuse is too big in my eyes.
Syracuse has played in five straight one-score games. The Orange covered the spread in each of those games, but they were the underdog in every contest.
Boston College needs to cut down on its turnovers to keep Syracuse's one-score game streak alive. I think the Eagles turn things around and compete with a team on level pegging in the ACC.
Duke at Wake Forest (-16.5) (Saturday, 4 p.m. ET, ACC Network)
The Wake Forest pick is very simple.
The Demon Deacons are one of the best teams in the country and Duke, well Duke, is on the other end of the FBS.
Wake Forest averages 16 more points per game than the Blue Devils and it is coming off a much better three-game stretch than its in-state rival.
The Demon Deacons scored 177 points in their last three games. Duke was blanked by Virginia two weeks ago and scored seven points against North Carolina four weeks ago.
Wyoming at San Jose State (-2.5) (Saturday, 4 p.m. ET, FS2)
Wyoming has one of the worst offenses in the FBS right now.
The Cowboys scored 17 points in the last three weeks, 14 of them came against Air Force on October 9.
San Jose State is starting to turn things around after a slow start. The Spartans took San Diego State to double overtime and survived a tough game against UNLV last week.
I'm trusting the team in the better form on its home turf in this matchup.
UTEP (+10.5) at Florida Atlantic (Saturday, 6 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
UTEP is one of the best unknown teams in the FBS.
The Miners are 6-1, but they come into Saturday without a win on the east coast in program history.
UTEP held three of its last four opponents under 20 points. The defense should be the reason why the Miners stay within the number against Florida Atlantic.
I may even sprinkle on UTEP to win outright, but I feel much more comfortable about it covering the spread.
Oregon State at California (+1.5) (Saturday, 7 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network)
Cal head coach Justin Wilcox loves being in the underdog role.
The Golden Bears are 3-0 ATS as an underdog this season. Cal covered in its last six contests as an underdog under Wilcox.
Cal is coming off a big win over Colorado, while Oregon State enters Berkeley off a hard-fought win over Utah.
Oregon State lost outright in its last game as a road favorite against Washington State and this could be a letdown spot after the big win over the Utes.
Ole Miss (+2.5) at Auburn (Saturday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Ole Miss has run through a gauntlet in the SEC lately and that continues with a road trip to Auburn.
Auburn appears to be in good shape after a win over Arkansas, but that result should be taken with some context since Arkansas is in a decline after its fantastic start.
Auburn lost its other two games against ranked opponents. The Tigers fell by double digits to Georgia and fell on the road to Penn State by eight points.
Ole Miss has dealt well with most of its challenges with the exception of its loss to Alabama.
Matt Corral is the better quarterback than Bo Nix and Ole Miss is more than battle tested at this point of the season.
SMU at Houston (Over 61.5) (Saturday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
SMU and Houston are playing for second place in the American Athletic Conference behind Cincinnati.
In fact, SMU could be the team that trips up Cincinnati with the way its offense is humming along behind Oklahoma transfer Tanner Mordecai.
SMU cleared a high over against Tulane last week and Houston is 4-1 to the over in its last five games.
Expect a ton of fireworks with SMU's undefeated record and some regional pride on the line.
Jon Jansen
Overall Record: 8-15
Iowa State at West Virginia (+7)
If you haven't figured this out by now, I am not a big fan of Iowa State. To me, they've been one of the most overrated teams for the past two seasons. The Cyclones are coming off a big win at home against Oklahoma State.
Now Iowa State hits the road to take on West Virginia. I'm picking the Mountaineers solely because I think we're in for a big dud of a game from the Cyclones. West Virginia does play similarly to the Cyclones by keeping games low-scoring and running the ball. Also, West Virginia already has a win over a top-25 team.
Bowling Green at Buffalo (-13.5)
This number seems a bit too low. Bowling Green looks like an absolute mess as of late, even giving up over 50 points to Eastern Michigan in their last game. Meanwhile, Buffalo, even without stud running back Jaret Patterson, has been able to maintain a very good ground game. Buffalo averages over 200 yards per game while Bowling Green allows just under 200 yards per game. This one seems like a rout.
Florida State (+9.5) at Clemson (Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Maybe whatever curse I have this season (check the record above) can finally get this Clemson offense going!
If Clemson's offense can't get going this game, I don't know when they will and obviously I'm not expecting it to happen.
Clemson at this point just looks done. The offense continues to look stagnant and is probably due for a quarterback change soon. Florida State is a team Clemson SHOULD beat by double digits, but Clemson hasn't done that to an opponent since South Carolina State in Week 2. Clemson hasn't earned the right to be close to a double-digit favorite, even against a miserable Florida State team.