Week 10 of the college football season is in the books, which means the regular season is dangerously close to coming to an end. It was a week filled with upsets and undefeated teams taking their first defeats. Now, as the page turns to Week 11, it’s a good idea to get an early read on the upcoming NCAA football odds with the lines freshly posted before much movement happens.
Let’s take a look at a few intriguing games worth keeping an eye on:
Minnesota (+5½) at Iowa
Iowa bounced back on Saturday with a closer-than-expected win over Northwestern to snap a two-game losing skid, but it wasn’t a particularly impressive performance from the Hawkeyes. Their scoring issues persisted in Evanston and don’t seem to be going away anytime soon, which makes Iowa a tough team to have much confidence in if you’re betting online.
The Golden Gophers are coming off a bad loss, falling 14-6 at home to Illinois to end a four-game winning streak. Minnesota hasn’t exactly beaten top-flight teams but the Golden Gophers have been able to find ways to win games.
These teams are both top-15 nationally in scoring defense and 83rd or worse nationally in scoring offense, so this should be a low-scoring, close game that gets decided on a late score. Minnesota will be able to hang around for a while and should cover a fairly big six-point spread, even on the road. Expect this line to move a little bit in the Gophers’ favor as the week goes on.
TCU at Oklahoma State (-13)
Mike Gundy’s 2021 Oklahoma State team looks a lot different than most of his other Cowboys teams because this one plays defense and it plays defense about as well as any team in the country.
The Cowboys’ strength is usually on offense but, this year, it’s on the opposite side of the ball. Oklahoma State is allowing just 16.3 points per game (ninth-best in the country) to go with great quarterback play from Spencer Sanders and elite production from running back Jaylen Warren, who has already rushed for 928 yards.
As far as college football picks go, Oklahoma State as only a two-touchdown favorite at home against a TCU team coming off an emotional upset win over Baylor is a great bet. The Horned Frogs played hard for interim coach Jerry Kill in their first game after longtime coach Gary Patterson left the program. This is a prime spot for a letdown from a mediocre TCU team, and the Cowboys (ranked No. 10 in the new AP poll) will be right there to take advantage.
N.C. State at Wake Forest (-2)
The Demon Deacons are undefeated no more after they lost a crazy shootout to North Carolina on Saturday. But, Wake Forest still has a great chance at winning the ACC behind one of the nation’s best offenses. It won’t be easy this Saturday against intrastate rival N.C. State, which is quietly 7-2 with a top-10 defense, but Sam Hartman and Co. should be able to score enough to win at home.
Dave Doeren and the Wolf Pack are No. 21 in the current AP poll, mostly thanks to stud sophomore quarterback Devin Leary (25 touchdowns to just three interceptions), a balanced group of skill-position players, and a defense that gives up 16 points per game.
However, the Wolfpack will be stretched thin trying to stop Hartman (on the ground and through the air), as well as Wake’s three-man run game and dual-pass-catching threats Jaquarii Roberson and A.T. Perry. Wake just has too much offensive firepower.
Mississippi State at Auburn (-5½)
The Tigers were nearly blanked by Texas A&M last weekend, falling 20-3 in their ugliest loss of the season. But, prior to that setback, Bryan Harsin’s team had back-to-back wins over ranked teams in Arkansas and Ole Miss, so expect Auburn to bounce back in a big way at home.
Mississippi State’s offense and defense have both been middling in 2021, which isn’t a good sign that the Bulldogs will be able to cover the spread on the road. Mississippi State has some good SEC wins — at Texas A&M and vs. Kentucky — but neither of those teams is as well-rounded as Auburn. The line on the BetUS Sportsbook might move up to seven points or so in favor of the Tigers as the week progresses, so it might be smart to take Auburn now.
Kentucky (-21) at Vanderbilt
The aforementioned Kentucky Wildcats have collapsed a bit after a 6-0 start, with three straight losses to Georgia, Mississippi State and Tennessee. However, Vanderbilt is one of the worst Power Five teams and has the third-worst offense in FBS to go with the 13th-worst defense. Something’s gotta give.
Kentucky will crush the Commodores, who have been blown out by basically every good team they’ve played so far this season. The Wildcats have struggled as of late but this is a perfect get-right game, and Kentucky should win by much more than three scores.
This line could move up a couple of points in the next few days. Will Levis and Chris Rodriguez Jr. should have a field day for Mark Stoops’ team.
