Picks to Click: Week 9

Believe it or not, but the final Saturday in October has arrived.

The previous two weeks produced the first major shakeups to the national picture with playoff contenders Georgia and Wisconsin suffering upsets to unranked teams (South Carolina and Illinois, respectively).

Still, there is a logjam of undefeated teams at the top, including Alabama, LSU, Ohio State, Clemson, Oklahoma and Penn State. Hot on their heels are the one-loss teams, led by Florida, Notre Dame, Georgia, Auburn, Oregon, Utah and Wisconsin.

However, let’s not sleep on a few off-the-radar undefeated teams, notably Baylor and Minnesota. Both are from Power 5 conferences and are off to 7-0 starts this season. The Bears are on a bye this week, so they will remain unbeaten heading into next Thursday’s game against West Virginia.

Up north, Minnesota is home this week against Maryland with a good chance to take a perfect record into November when showdowns with ranked Penn State, Iowa and Wisconsin squads loom.

The Big 10 has arguably been the nation’s top conference this year even with Wisconsin losing last week to Illinois. The Badgers have a shot at quick redemption with a trip to Columbus this week against a well-balanced Ohio State team that has yet to be truly challenged this season.

The Wisconsin-Ohio State clash is one of five games this week that sends a top-13 team on the road. The others feature five of the top nine teams, including sixth-ranked Penn State heading to East Lansing to face a disappointing Michigan State squad. Elsewhere, Michigan hosts No. 8 Note Dame in a high-profile non-conference game that would dash the Irish dreams of a run to the playoffs for the second straight year.

In the SEC, battle-tested and ninth-ranked Auburn travels to Baton Rouge to take on No. 2 LSU. Ed Orgeron’s Tigers have been one of the nation’s most dominant teams, but can they hold off Auburn before a showdown two weeks from now against Alabama?

Rounding out the traveling top 10 teams is Oklahoma, which must avoid a sleepwalk in Manhattan, Kan., against Kansas State. The Sooners can’t be caught looking ahead to their bye week and the big games in November against ranked Iowa State and Baylor squads.

Five other nationally ranked programs are hitting the road this week, including No. 15 Texas, No. 16 SMU, No. 20 Iowa, No. 21 Appalachian State and No. 24 Arizona State.

All of this added up, don’t be tricked into a chalky weekend of college football. We could really be in for a treat to close out October, and there are a couple upset picks to see below.

Last week’s Picks to Click went 17-6 overall, 11-12 against the spread and 10-13 against the total. Overall, the Picks to Click are 141-34 this season, with an 81-76-2 mark against the spread and an 86-70-3 record against the total.

Now for the Week 9 Picks to Click…

Week 9 Picks to Click

Arkansas at #1 Alabama
Saturday | 4 p.m. | ESPN
Spread: -32 | O/U: 55.5
Pick: Alabama, 37-13

#9 Auburn at #2 LSU
Saturday | 12:30 p.m. | CBS
Spread: -10.5 | O/U: 59
Pick: LSU, 34-20

#13 Wisconsin at #3 Ohio State
Saturday | 9 a.m. | FOX
Spread: Ohio State, -14 | O/U: 50
Pick: Ohio State, 24-16

Boston College at #4 Clemson
Saturday | 4:30 p.m. | ACCN
Spread: Clemson, -34 | O/U: 59
Pick: Clemson, 49-14

#5 Oklahoma at Kansas State
Saturday | 9 a.m. | ABC
Spread: Oklahoma, -23.5 | O/U: 57
Pick: Oklahoma, 38-18

#6 Penn State at Michigan State
Saturday | 12:30 p.m. | ABC
Spread: Penn State, -5.5 | O/U: 43
Pick: Michigan State, 19-17

#7 Florida – Idle  
Last Week: Won at South Carolina, 38-27
Next Game: Nov. 2 vs. Georgia

#8 Notre Dame at #19 Michigan  
Saturday | 4:30 p.m. | ABC
Spread: Notre Dame, -1 | O/U: 51
Pick: Michigan, 24-20

#10 Georgia – Idle  
Last Week: Won vs. Kentucky, 21-0
Next Game: Nov. 2 vs. Florida

Washington State at #11 Oregon
Saturday | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN
Spread: Oregon, -14 | O/U: 64.5
Pick: Oregon, 38-23

California at #12 Utah  
Saturday | 7 p.m. | FS1
Spread: Utah, -21 | O/U: 36.5
Pick: Utah, 20-6

#14 Baylor – Idle  
Last Week: Won at Oklahoma State, 45-27
Next Game: Oct. 31 vs. West Virginia

#15 Texas at TCU
Saturday | 12:30 p.m. | FOX
Spread: Texas, -1 | O/U: 56.5
Pick: Texas, 34-31

#16 SMU at Houston
Thursday| 4:30 p.m. | ESPN
Spread: SMU, -12 | O/U: 65
Pick: SMU, 31-23

Maryland at #17 Minnesota
Saturday | 12:30 p.m. | ESPN
Spread: Minnesota, -16 | O/U: 58
Pick: Minnesota, 35-17

#18 Cincinnati – Idle  
Last Week: Won vs. Tulsa, 24-13
Next Game: Nov. 2 at East Carolina

#20 Iowa at Northwestern
Saturday | 9 a.m. | ESPN2
Spread: Iowa, -10.5 | O/U: 37.5
Pick: Iowa, 20-15

#21 Appalachian State at South Alabama
Saturday | 9 a.m. | ESPNU
Spread: Appalachian State, -26 | O/U: 52.5
Pick: Appalachian State, 38-17

#22 Boise State – Idle
Last Week: Lost at BYU, 28-25
Next Game: Nov. 2 at San Jose State

Oklahoma State at #23 Iowa State
Saturday | 12:30 p.m. | FS1
Spread: Iowa State, -10.5 | O/U: 63.5
Pick: Iowa State, 34-24

#24 Arizona State at UCLA
Saturday | 4:30 p.m. | P12N
Spread: Arizona State, -3.5 | O/U: 55.5
Pick: Arizona State, 27-23

#25 Wake Forest – Idle  
Last Week: Won vs. Florida State, 22-20
Next Game: Nov. 2 vs. North Carolina State

Other Pac-12 Games

USC at Colorado
Friday | 6 p.m. | ESPN2
Spread: USC, -13.5 | O/U: 64
Pick: Colorado, 30-28

Notes:

• All times listed are PT
• Rankings from the Associated Press Top 25
• Point spread/game totals from http://www.sportsbetting.ag as of Thursday at 10 a.m.
• Pac-12 games shaded above in gray

2019 Record (Last Week)

All Games Straight Up: 141-34 (17-6)
All Games ATS: 81-76-2 (11-12)
All Games O/U: 86-70-3 (10-13)

Pac-12 Straight Up: 35-18 (3-2)
Pac-12 ATS: 23-22-1 (3-2)
Pac-12 O/U: 27-17-2 (3-2)

Note: Arizona games not included

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