College football picks and predictions for all 56 games in Week 9, straight-up and ATS

The Week 9 slate in college football might look a bit lesser than the past couple of weeks and certainly in comparison to next week. However, if the past couple of slates have taught us anything, it should be that we don’t need every game to be Florida vs. Georgia in the Cocktail Party or a ranked matchup in the Big 12 between Arizona and Texas Tech for chaos to erupt. And there are certainly plenty of chances for that the be the case as we get into our college football picks for Week 9.

Our record has been better than I think even we expected this season. We’re reading some of the upsets well and continue to just stay the course. Let’s keep the winning records going our way this week as we make picks for every Week 9 game in college football, with predictions straight-up and against the spread for all 56 matchups on the schedule.

2026 College Football picks record — Straight-up: 428-126 (Last Week: 35-21) | Against the spread: 295-257-1 (Last Week: 32-24)

College football picks for every Week 9 game, straight-up and ATS

As always, we want to be accountable and were sure to have our Tuesday-to-Thursday picks put out on social media before the weekend.

Expert picks and analysis for the biggest Week 9 CFB games

Arizona at Texas Tech (-3.5)

Arizona is one of the hottest teams in the country at the moment, winners of five games in a row by an average of 23.8 points per game — including a 34-7 victory over the same Cincinnati team that just smoked Texas Tech last Saturday. This just has letdown spot written all over it for the Wildcats, though. 

Those five wins have come against some pretty middling competition, mostly at home. The one previous time they went on the road to play a ranked team, they didn’t threaten BYU too much in a 28-17 loss. Texas Tech isn’t nearly as physical as it was last season, but I think they still have enough up front to make Arizona one-dimensional, which is a problem considering how banged up the Wildcats’ receiver corps is. If Will Hammond can simply stay out of his own way (a big if right now, admittedly), I think the Red Raiders can control the line of scrimmage enough on both sides to win this one. — Chris Landers

Auburn (+13.5) at Ole Miss

It seems like the SEC is a completely different league on a week-to-week basis. After stirring wins over Georgia and Missouri, respectively, Auburn and Ole Miss came out and laid a pair of eggs on Saturday against LSU and Texas. Trinidad Chambliss will be the best player on the field, and I don’t think the Rebels will be at serious risk of losing this game. But I have some questions about how Pete Golding’s run defense will hold up against the battering ram that is Byrum Brown. Give me Ole Miss to win, but two touchdowns feels a little bit rich given all the chaos we’ve seen in this conference so far. — Chris Landers

Wisconsin (+3.5) at Iowa

If someone could Photoshop Luke Fickell and Kirk Ferentz into the Spiderman pointing meme, I’d be eternally grateful. Points will be at an extreme premium when the Badgers and Hawkeyes get together in the battle for the Heartland Trophy (yes, it’s a bull made of brass) on Saturday afternoon; neither of these teams can really throw the ball much at all, and these are two of the better defenses in the Big Ten. 

That’s just more reason to take the underdog here, though, especially getting a field goal plus the hook. Wisconsin’s defense is all kinds of legit, and I just don’t think either team will score enough to make this more than a one-possession game in the final minutes. Trying to out-Iowa Iowa is a dangerous proposition, but these Badgers just might be up for it. — Chris Landers

Florida vs. Georgia (-11.5)

Florida has essentially proven what this team is to this point. Their early success got everyone over their skis about the Gators, vaulting them inside the Top 10, but they’ve since settled back into the right range as a Top 20 team in the country. And heading into the Cocktail Party — this time being played in Atlanta at Mercedes Benz Stadium with forthcoming renovations in Jacksonville — they look like they can certainly provide at least a challenge for a Georgia team that got taken down by Auburn before each of these teams went into the bye.

The big difference in this game, though, is the one-dimensionality of Florida’s offense. Now that there’s a bit of tape on Trammell Jones, I don’t think Georgia will be caught off guard by him or Aaron Philo, which makes them a team that largely relies on its ground game. Against an elite Bulldogs defense, I don’t see sustained success coming at any point, and Georgia has a balanced enough offensive attack to consistently move the ball against the Gators. This won’t be a blowout, but it’ll be a decisive victory for the Dawgs. — Cody Williams

Utah at Cincinnati (+6.5)

Wouldn’t it be quintessential Big 12 football for Utah to come off a season-defining and dominant win over Houston only to go on the road to Cincinnati and give the Bearcast their second-straight upset over a Top 10 team? Cincy took down Texas Tech last week, but I think the Utes are a cut above the Red Raiders. Their defense proved its moxie last week by shutting down what had been a prolific Houston offense, and we know how dangerous the Devon Dampier-led offense can be with all the ways that they can knife through a defense.

It’s also worth noting, however, that Cincinnati certainly hit an emotional high last week with the Brendan Sorsby situation looming over that game and Texas Tech’s disparaging comments that came in the offseason. Even still, this is a moment where they can get up, and potentially scare Utah given that this game falls between Houston and Holy War for the Utes. I still think Utah is able to pull out the win, but Cincinnati keeps it a tight one until the very end, so much so that they cover in a loss. — Cody Williams

Ohio State at USC (+6.5)

I wanted so badly to pick USC at home in this game. It’s a game that the Trojans absolutely should win given the situation. Even off the bye week, this will be Ohio State’s first game with Luke Fahey starting for the injured Julian Sayin, and you’d be hard-pressed to find any Buckeyes fan who’s confident in that proposition. This offense has already been heavily reliant upon Jeremiah Smith and that’s going to be more difficult to execute when the quarterback situation is an unknown.

At the same time, I just can’t get past the idea that USC isn’t tough enough for this matchup. Watching what happened against Wisconsin last week was disheartening for anyone harboring any kind of belief in the Trojans. They were out-physicaled in every sense, and Ohio State boasts more athletes that can dominate in that way than the Badgers. Ultimately, I think this ends up being an ugly, low-scoring game and Ohio State finds a way to squeak out a win, but the nature of that game means that USC does still cover. — Cody Williams