The first week of November is approaching, and this is where the rubber meets the road in the race for conference titles and subsequent College Football Playoff berths. The biggest game of the weekend takes place Saturday in primetime when LSU and Alabama tee it up to cap a tripleheader of action on CBS in Week 10. The Tigers will be looking to make it two in a row over their SEC West rivals after last year’s thrilling overtime win in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. If Alabama is able to gain a measure of revenge and defend its home turf, it’ll be very hard for another team to take the SEC West title.
The final installment of Bedlam (for now) also headlines this week when Oklahoma squares off with Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The Cowboys have slowly but surely snuck into the Big 12 title race, while the Sooners will be looking to avoid a two-game losing streak after surging back into national prominence.
Washington hasn’t been crisp lately, but the Huskies have the chance to get back on track against reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams and a USC team that is seemingly allergic to defense.
Let’s take a look at how the oddsmakers view what should be an electric Week 10 in college football. Odds via SportsLine consensus.
The best games
No. 14 Missouri at No. 1 Georgia (-16.5): The Tigers can make a massive statement and take the lead in the SEC East race with an upset win over the two-time reigning national champion Bulldogs. The Dawgs’ offense seemed just fine without tight end Brock Bowers in the blowout win over Florida, so oddsmakers believe this one will get sideways.
No. 5 Washington (-3) at No. 24 USC: The Huskies escaped the clutches of lowly Stanford in Week 9 while the Trojans won a thriller over California. The quarterback matchup will be fascinating. Huskies signal-caller Michael Penix Jr is squarely in the Heisman Trophy mix this year, while Caleb Williams already has the hardware sitting on his bookshelf. If the Trojans win this one, which oddsmakers seem to think is possible, it would be a massive shakeup in the CFP race.
No. 25 Kansas State at No. 7 Texas (-5.5): Longhorns quarterback Maalik Murphy was solid in the Week 9 win over BYU, but he’ll likely have to be more than solid against the Wildcats assuming Quinn Ewers doesn’t come back from his shoulder sprain. In a perfect world, the Wildcats want to turn this one into a rock fight. Can Murphy hold up against the pressure in a must-win game?
No. 13 LSU at No. 8 Alabama (-4.5): The Crimson Tide haven’t lived up to the standard set by previous teams, yet they still have the inside track to the SEC West title as we flip months on the calendar. However, LSU’s defense has improved and quarterback Jayden Daniels leads an offense that is one of the best in the nation. This rivalry rarely disappoints, and the odds tell us that we should expect more of the same this season.
No. 10 Oklahoma (-6) at Oklahoma State: The Sooners will be off to the SEC next year, and Cowboys coach Mike Gundy would love nothing more than to send them off with a loss in what is the last scheduled game in the Bedlam rivalry. Plus, there is plenty on the line in the race for the Big 12 title. The Sooners suffered a heartbreaking loss to Kansas last week and the Pokes dropped a game to Iowa State earlier this season. Consider this a Big 12 championship elimination game.
Best of the rest
- Purdue at No. 2 Michigan (-31)
- No. 3 Ohio State (-18.5) at Rutgers
- No. 4 Florida State (-23.5) at Pittsburgh
- California at No. 6 Oregon (-24.5)
- No. 9 Penn State (-11.5) at Maryland
- Texas A&M at No. 11 Ole Miss (-4)
- No. 12 Notre Dame (-3.5) at Clemson
- Virginia Tech at No. 15 Louisville (-10.5)
- No. 16 Oregon State (-12.5) at Colorado
- Army at No. 17 Air Force (-18.5)
- Arizona State at No. 18 Utah (-12.5)
- UConn at No. 19 Tennessee (-34)
- No. 20 UCLA (-1.5) at Arizona
- No. 21 Tulane (-16.5) at East Carolina
- No. 22 Kansas PK at Iowa State
- No. 23 James Madison (-5.5) at Georgia State
