by Ben Perks
It’s crunch time in Week 10 of college football. This week features games that will help settle division races, conference titles, and bowl bids. Get insights and the latest odds for no. 18 Auburn at no. 14 Texas A&M and other top matchups.
Auburn’s 31-20 victory against Ole Miss on Saturday left the Tigers as one of two teams to have suffered only one loss in the SEC West alongside Alabama Crimson Tide. This week, Auburn hits the road to face Texas A&M – the only team to have beaten the Tide.
Auburn goes into the game knowing that a win over the Aggies could be season-defining. Although Texas A&M leads the all-time series between the two (6-5), the Tigers have not lost a game in this series when playing at Kyle Stadium. Despite this record, top online sportsbooks have made Texas -200 favorites to get the win. Still, because both teams need a victory to keep their SEC Championship title hopes alive, expect this game to be a close battle.
In the last few years, this was one of the biggest college football games. Yet this week, oddsmakers favor Alabama to score at least four touchdowns as LSU trudges on under head coach Ed Orgeron. In fact, nobody thinks LSU will even be able to reach a bowl game. However, as it’s a battle between fierce rivals, don’t pay too much attention to the stats and league rankings if you feel like wagering on this game.
The Michigan State Spartans head to Purdue looking to keep their momentum going after a massive 33-37 victory over the Michigan Wolverines. However, the spread shows that beating Purdue will be no mean feat. Because the Boilermakers have picked up impressive on-the-road wins against Iowa and Nebraska, oddsmakers have them as slight +140 underdogs on the moneyline. The question is, will the Spartans be confident or complacent when lining up at the Ross-Ade Stadium?
Ohio State heads to the Memorial Stadium aiming to crush Nebraska’s hopes of reaching a bowl game. Looking at Nebraska’s 3-6 record, you could think that it’s an awful team, but the Huskers have caused problems for this Ohio State defense before. Also, because the Buckeyes struggled to beat Penn State at home, Nebraska could make it a close one despite being a +525 underdog at online sportsbook Bovada.
After Oregon State lost on Saturday, the Oregon Ducks are now alone atop the Pac-12 North. A win against Washington would relegate one of their biggest competitors to also-ran status. In the Duck’s last game, Anthony Brown threw for 306 yards and three touchdowns in one of the best performances of life. His 80 percent pass completion rate in Week 9 helped the Ducks destroy Colorado 52-29. The scary part is that many expect Brown to get even better.
Although many wrote off the Ducks’ chances of reaching the playoffs after losing to Stanford in early October, a victory against the Washington Huskies would keep them in the playoff race.
After smashing Duke 7-45, Wake Forest finally makes the top 10 of the AP Top 25. Yet, despite being ranked as the 10th best team in the country, the Demon Deacons are underdogs against a 4-4 North Carolina team.
Fun fact about this matchup: although both teams are in the ACC (American Athletic Conference), this is not a conference game. These football rivals scheduled a non-conference home-and-home series because they aren’t in the same division and do not play every season. Therefore, even if Wake Forest loses this game, it’ll still have an undefeated record in the ACC.
Liberty head coach Hugh Freeze takes his team to Oxford, Mississippi, to face his former employer. Ole Miss is coming off a 20-31 loss to Auburn, and Freeze would love to pour more misery on the Mississippi team. Though, as Ole Miss is hunting for a major bowl game, the Rebels will be hyped for this one and should prove too powerful for the Flames. Nevertheless, subplots like these can affect results – so keep this in mind if you want to bet on this matchup.
Other Top NCAAF Games in Week 10
- Missouri at No. 1 Georgia
- Tulsa at No. 2 Cincinnati
- Navy at No. 8 Notre Dame
- Indiana at No. 9 Michigan
- No. 11 Oklahoma State at West Virginia
- No. 14 Baylor at TCU
- No. 16 UTSA at UTEP
- Tennessee at No.18 Kentucky
- No. 19 Iowa at Northwestern
- No. 20 Houston at South Florida
- No. 21 Coastal Carolina at Georgia Southern
- No. 22 Penn State at Maryland
- No. 23 SMU at Memphis
- Boise State at No. 25 Fresno State
View: the latest odds for all NCAAF matchups in Week 10.
Ben is a sports journalist & part-time trader with a passion for finding +EV bets. Ben lives in Madrid, Spain where he enjoys the live poker scene, and sunshine where he covers UFC, MLB, NHL, NBA, as well as tennis betting.
