Updated NFL Playoff Picture
November 1, 2021
NFL Week 9 Opening Line Report
November 5, 2021
By Phil Simon
The college football betting week gets started early with games on Tuesday and every night afterwards until Saturday’s epic culmination. With most of the money wagered on high-profile programs and Power Five conferences, there is coin to be won when taking a dip with the G5. The Mid-American Conference takes center stage on Tuesday with a trio of games and all three can be found on the airwaves. That’s a big reason why the MAC elected to play mid-week games with the handle for those matchups increasing viewership and adding to the overall scope of the league.
The Louisiana Ragin Cajuns are the first nationally-ranked team to play in Week 10 hosting the Georgia State Panthers on Thursday. They’ve won seven in a row since a season-opening loss at Texas and allow fewer than 20 points per game. As a result the Cajuns have cashed the UNDER in five straight games and seven times overall. Louisiana hit the board at -11.5 with the total positioned at 53.
The betting schedule is in full swing on Saturday with a full slate of games, but unlike last week there’s only one matchup between ranked squads. And of course it’s an SEC tilt between West Division rivals Auburn and Texas AM. With a home upset of then No. 1 Alabama on their resume, the Aggies hit the board as a 4.5-point favorite.
Week 10 Schedule
Tuesday, November 2
Ball State at Akron
Miami (OH) at Ohio
Eastern Michigan at Toledo
Wednesday, November 3
Central Michigan at Western Michigan
Northern Illinois at Kent State (-5)
Division leaders in the MAC face off in a crucial game with the Golden Flashes positioned as a 5-point favorite on the opening line. NIU has a little more cushion with a two-game bulge atop the West and the Huskies are the hottest team in the conference having won five in a row while going 4-1 ATS. Both teams have allowed a lot of points this season giving value to the OVER, though the total opened at 67.
Thursday, November 4
Georgia State at #24 Louisiana (-11.5)
Friday, November 5
Virginia Tech at Boston College (+3)
Utah at Stanford (+7)
Saturday, November 6
Army vs. Air Force
Missouri at #1 Georgia (-37.5)
The Bulldogs have been relentless this season and there’s no question they are the best team in the country right now. They won their eighth straight routing Florida 34-7 last week, the sixth time they held an opponent to 10 or fewer points. The Dawgs covered the spread in four of their last five games and they are 6-2 ATS overall while facing some big lines. This is currently the largest and the third time this season they’ve been laying more than 30 points. UGA is 1-1 ATS in the previous two.
#6 Ohio State at Nebraska (+14.5)
#10 Wake Forest at North Carolina (-2.5)
Liberty at #15 Ole Miss (-10)
#23 SMU at Memphis (+6.5)
Louisiana Tech at UAB
Pittsburgh at Duke
Illinois at Minnesota
Kansas State at Kansas
Georgia Tech at Miami
Appalachian State at Arkansas State
Idaho State at #17 BYU
North Texas at Southern Miss
Temple at East Carolina
UL Monroe at Texas State
California at Arizona
Tulsa at #2 Cincinnati (-22)
I don’t see Cincinnati being the second-best team in the country but they are the second-highest ranked team. In order for the Bearcats to crash the CFP party they have to win big the rest of the season against a weaker group of opponents than what Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Michigan State play. How UC handles the situation will tell us a lot about them. They are favored by 22-points over Tulsa on the opening line and racking up style points is all they can do from here on out. Needing to win big makes Cincinnati an inviting play however they failed to cover the last two games when laying more than 20 points.
#5 Michigan State at Purdue (+3.5)
Can Sparty keep the train rolling? An impressive comeback win over rival Michigan last week has MSU in a good spot as the only unbeaten team in the Big Ten. And the Spartans have been money for backers going 6-0-2 ATS. This is a prime letdown spot, though, and Purdue has a couple of upset road wins in the last three weeks so getting 3.5-points at home could be a nice bet.
Navy at #8 Notre Dame (-20.5)
#11 Oklahoma State at West Virginia
#12 Auburn at #13 Texas A&M (-4.5)
#14 Baylor at TCU (+6.5)
#22 Penn State at Maryland (+10.5)
Rice at Charlotte
Middle Tennessee at Western Kentucky
Wisconsin at Rutgers
Rhode Island at UMass
South Alabama at Troy
Colorado State at Wyoming
Mississippi State at Arkansas
NC State at Florida State
Tulane at UCF
Utah State at New Mexico State
#21 Coastal Carolina at Georgia Southern
Marshall at Florida Atlantic
LSU at #3 Alabama (-28.5)
Things go from bad to worse for LSU with a matchup against Alabama this week. The Tigers didn’t have enough healthy players to practice last week so the bye came at a good time. Unfortunately the Tide also had an off week and they are in a much better place health-wise. There’s a lot to be said about motivation and LSU should have plenty with Ed Orgeron a lame-duck coach. He won’t return next season but wanted to “finish out” the season rather than exit in the middle of the campaign. We saw LSU play an inspired game a few weeks ago beating Florida outright as a 12.5-point dog and four touchdowns is an awful lot to pass up.
Tennessee at #18 Kentucky (-3)
#19 Iowa at Northwestern (+12.5)
Boise State at #25 Fresno State (-5.5)
Old Dominion at Florida International
Oregon State at Colorado
UNLV at New Mexico
#7 Oregon at Washington (+7)
Indiana at #9 Michigan (-19.5)
#20 Houston at South Florida (+13)
Florida at South Carolina
Clemson at Louisville
Texas at Iowa State
San José State at Nevada
#16 UTSA at UTEP (+12)
USC at Arizona State
San Diego State at Hawai’i
