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By Alex Lauzon from the “Course of Life” podcast
Halloweekend football is here, and there’s some spooky matchups that have frightening levels of appeal to CFB fans across the land. Now that I’ve stretched my juvenile Halloween wordplay out, I’ll get real with you and say that last weekend was scary enough for some of the top teams in the land. Ohio State, Florida State, Washington, Texas and Oklahoma all barely survived formidable tests Saturday, while Michigan and Georgia continue to set themselves apart from the rest as the clear top two teams. We’re just a week away from the first CFP committee top 25 poll release as well, which will turn up the hype around the season to another level.
Week Eight gave some scares, and now it’s (unofficially) Halloween weekend. Is it time for scare to pay up or this week another tease where the top team emerges victorious? Let’s dissect the gory details of the best matchups this weekend has to offer:
Must Watch “Main Screen” Games
#8 Oregon @ #13 Utah (+7) – 3:30 pm ET – Utah has become quite the lovable enigma if there ever was one. Battling a QB situational mess all year, it’s hard to tell who is leading the offense on any given Saturday but they win on grit, toughness and defensive plays and find themselves 6-1. The inclination is to think they have gotten used to winning in the mud, but Oregon’s star power downfield might be too much to contain.
#20 Duke @ #18 Louisville (-4) – 3:30 pm ET – This is more of a coin flip game than the line indicates, as Duke played Florida State pretty tough in defeat. Louisville has floated to a rather unimpressive resume of wins and a 6-1 record, and I think this is a spooky game and line for Louisville fans. They’re not ready for this challenge from Duke on both sides of the ball.
#1 Georgia vs Florida (+14.5) – 3:30 pm ET – The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party descends on Jacksonville, and the Florida/Georgia rivalry is one of the most storied in college football history. As of recently the Bulldogs have owned the Gators in this neutral site matchup, and it should continue that way unless Florida QB Graham Mertz can deliver an all-time performance to knock off the two-time defending champs.
BYU @ #7 Texas (-17.5) – 3:30 pm ET – The Longhorns limped in with a 31-24 victory over Houston off of a loss and a bye, and now they command another large spread as a home favorite in Austin. This isn’t the BYU of old that slays giants, but this could be a scary game for the Texas offense that will have to score without Quinn Ewers at the helm. Maalki Murphy is likely to start and that’s worth a second look for bettors.
#3 Ohio State @ Wisconsin (+14.5) – 7:30 pm ET – The Buckeyes controlled the pace at home and Penn State had no answers on offense. Now the unbeaten Ohio State heads on the road to play what could be another low score stinker against a Wisconsin that’s in the same spot they seemingly always are: slow, boring, mildly efficient but not super scary.
Tier Two “Second Screen” Games
#21 Tennessee @ Kentucky (+3.5) – 7 pm ET – Well, the bubble has begun to burst on Tennessee’s grand hopes that annually get deflated. Now after losing to Bama it’s a reset game against a feisty Kentucky team coming off of tough back-to-back losses. A couple of angry teams should make for some highlights and chaos!
#19 Air Force @ Colorado State (-12) – 7 pm ET – Wake up everybody, Air Force is undefeated! I’ve been shouting from the rooftops about my love for this team, and they once again handled business against the Navy last week. The CSU Rams will pose a bigger offensive threat but I have to ride with the Falcons in blue.
Colorado @ #23 UCLA (-16.5) – 7:30 pm ET – Just as the nation’s Coach prime hysteria has begun to fizzle, I’m buying low and betting on the Buffs to surprise at the Rose Bowl. Big time stadium, big time stage for a big time personality like Coach Prime and his son Shadeur Sanders to provide a heavy scare to UCLA.
The “Tablet Game” Night Capper
#11 Oregon State @ Arizona (+3.5) – 10:30 pm ET – This spread screams like one of Michael Myers’ victims “TRAP GAME!!!” A surprisingly small line for a borderline top 10 team, but Vegas is a fan of Arizona due to recent efforts…they’re exciting losers and could have another epic game under their belts at home.
Midnight Hawaii Snack is BACK for another week as Hawaii hosts San Jose State – let’s hope they can cover this time and not kick a field goal down by 10.
Week Nine Plays To Watch
Oregon -7 – Utah can’t keep this up with a QB carousel can they?
Florida +14.5 – Mainly because UGA hasn’t been woefully impressive and could get caught in a tough rivalry game
BYU +17.5 – This should drop as the public realizes Quinn Ewers will not be the QB for Texas come Saturday.
Air Force -12 – Come fly with me on the Air Force jet to success.
Arizona +3.5 – Too stinky of a line to ignore!
CFB FAQs
How are college football bowl games determined?
Only bowl-eligible teams are selected for College Football Bowls. At the NCAA Division I FBS level, the standard by which teams become available for selection in bowl games varies. For example, in 2018-19 season, the team had to have at least as many wins as overall losses. Wins against non-Division I teams do not count toward the number of wins.
How do you play college football pick'em pools?
Simply pick winners from the games each week selected by the Pool Commissioner, either straight up or against the spread. Whichever member has the most points at the end of the season wins
What is a football pool?
"Football Pool" is a broad term for a group of people competitively guessing the outcome of one or more football games. There are many types of formats, each assigning winners differently. They can be played informally between friends or through a more formalized system. They are often considered a great alternative to fantasy football given the ease of playing, although there are fantasy football pools as well.
How to run a football pool?
How you decide to run a football pool varies greatly depending on the game type. In each case, however, you'll want to determine the rules and settings before you begin inviting members to join you. You'll want to clearly establish how score will be kept, how tiebreakers work, and how winners are decided before anything else.
How to play squares football pools?
Football squares are played by creating a grid, in which Team 1 takes the column and Team 2 the rows. In some cases, participants may claim as many squares as they like. In others, commissioners limit them to one. At the quarter times and end of the game, the winner is decided at the point the scores final digit intersect.
How do you setup a college football bowl pool?
To set up a college football bowl pool, you'll need to first choose if you will include all the games or specific ones. Then, you'll need to set the ground rules. As commissioner, you'll implement rules to ensure everything runs smoothly during the bowl games. Many use pool sites like RunYourPool to make the process easier.
What is a college football squares pool?
In a college football squares pool, a commissioner starts with a 10x10 grid of 100 squares (though commissioners decide to use smaller 5x5 pools). Members pick one or more squares in that grid. Winners are determined based on the score of each team after each quarter and at the end of the game.
How many squares in a football pool?
In a traditional football squares pool, a grid is sectioned off into 100 squares with 10 columns and 10 rows. This accounts for a direct relationship between each possible digit from 0 to 9 on both the X and Y axis. For smaller square grids like 5x5, multiple numbers can be assigned to each column and row.
How to read a football squares pool sheet?
In Squares formats, football pool sheets include a grid, where one team is the column and one is the row. Winners are determined at the end of each quarter when the last number in the team’s score (on each side) is matched to the numbers on the grid, and the intersecting square wins.
How do you setup a college football bowl pool?
To set up a college football bowl pool, you'll need to first choose if you will include all the games or specific ones. Then, you'll need to set the ground rules. As commissioner, you'll implement rules to ensure everything runs smoothly during the bowl games. Many use pool sites like RunYourPool to make the process easier.
How do you win college football confidence bowl pool?
The winner of a college bowl confidence pool is the member with the most points after all games have ended. Members rank each game based on how confident they are in their pick (44 points = most confident, 1 point = least confident). For each game picked correctly, members receive the number of points they assigned.
What is a college football bowl confidence pool?
Players try to pick the winner of every bowl game, assigning a point value to each game. Picks are made "straight up," not using a point spread system. Members rank each game based on how confident they are (44 points = most confident, 1 point = least confident). A winner is determined by totalling the point values assigned to correctly picked games.
How do you setup a college football bowl pool?
To set up a college football bowl pool, you'll need to first choose if you will include all the games or specific ones. Then, you'll need to set the ground rules. As commissioner, you'll implement rules to ensure everything runs smoothly during the bowl games. Many use pool sites like RunYourPool to make the process easier.
How do you win college football bowl pick'em pool?
As you might expect, the player who selects the most bowl winners will win their pick'em pool. You can win your college football bowl pick'em pool by choosing winners wisely, based on past performance, player starting status and other "intangibles."
What is a college football bowl pick'em pool?
In a College Bowl Pick'em pool members attempt to pick the winner of every College Bowl game (or a subset of games determined by the Pool Commissioner). Picks are made using the point spread system or "straight up", as assigned by the Pool Commissioner.
