Ohio State-USC, Miami and Texas Headline Week 9 College Football Slate

Week 9 of the college football season is built around a new conference pairing: Ohio State and USC will meet as Big Ten opponents for the first time, in the 25th all-time game between the programs. The second-ranked Buckeyes are favored by 6.5 points over the Trojans, with the total set at 51.5.

The SEC offers its own marquee game on Saturday, Oct. 31, when Florida visits Georgia. The teams have played each other more than 100 times, and the Bulldogs have won the last five. Both arrive off a bye week, and Georgia is an 11.5-point favorite with a total of 55.5.

Top-ranked Miami travels to North Carolina as a 14.5-point favorite, with a total of 52.5. The game is notable because Bill Belichick, now coaching the Tar Heels, will face a No. 1 team for the first time. Miami is one of three unbeaten teams left among the leaders, along with No. 6 Utah and No. 7 UCLA.

Utah is favored by 6.5 at Cincinnati, a team that has already beaten an unbeaten opponent this month by knocking off Texas Tech last week. UCLA, meanwhile, is a 22.5-point favorite in a non-conference home game against Nevada.

One of the more closely watched spreads involves No. 11 Texas, a 21-point favorite over Mississippi State in a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff. SportsLine, whose computer model simulates every FBS game 10,000 times, likes the Bulldogs to stay within that number in more than 70 percent of its simulations. The model entered the week 68-59 on its top-rated picks.

The case against Texas rests on recent trends. The Longhorns have covered the spread only once in their last six games. Quarterback Arch Manning had three turnovers in the win over Ole Miss and has nine this season, tied for the second most in the country. Texas is 3-9-1 against the spread after wins since Manning took over as starter last year, while Mississippi State is 9-4 against the spread in its last 13 road games. The Bulldogs also pushed Texas to overtime when the teams met last year.

The model also favors Oregon to cover a 3.5-point spread at home against No. 20 Northwestern, doing so nearly 60 percent of the time, with a total of 47.5. Northwestern has lost by double digits in each of its last three trips to the West Coast, including a 20-point defeat at Oregon a year ago. Its FBS wins this season have come against teams with a combined 12-25 record, and it allowed 244 rushing yards last week. The model projects Oregon running backs Jordon Davison and Dierre Hill to combine for more than 160 scrimmage yards, and it expects the Ducks, whose defense ranks in the top 10 nationally in interceptions, to win by a touchdown. It also leans toward the under in well over half of its simulations.

The week begins before the weekend. On Tuesday, Oct. 27, Delaware visits Western Kentucky and Sam Houston plays at Missouri State. Wednesday brings Kennesaw State at Middle Tennessee and Jacksonville State at New Mexico State. Thursday features FAU at North Texas and Troy at James Madison, and Friday includes Tulane at Charlotte, Baylor at UCF and Kent State at Sacramento State.

Other Saturday games include Arizona at Texas Tech, Notre Dame at Navy, Auburn at Ole Miss and South Carolina at Oklahoma. Notre Dame is a 30.5-point favorite over Navy, Ole Miss is favored by 13.5 over Auburn and Oklahoma by 5.5 over South Carolina. All odds are subject to change.