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Week 9 Staff Picks and Games to Watch

The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party
The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party (during the Gators' game against the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday, November 7, 2020 at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Fla. / UAA Communications photo by Courtney Culbreath)

Week 9 isn't one of the weeks that college football fans circled when looking at the schedule last summer, however, fans of the game know that sometimes weeks like this one produce the most chaos. Can Florida catch Georgia looking ahead of the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party? Which Big 12 school is likely to earn a rematch with TCU? Can James Franklin beat anyone worth a damn?

Closer to home, can the Gamecocks avoid the letdown? South Carolina could be on the verge of a special season in year two of the Shane Beamer, but a loss to Missouri would no doubt have Gamecock Scoop members back on the Insiders Forum to discuss the usual post-loss topics. No one wants to mention it, but 8-2 is now a possibility when Tennessee comes to town. If that is the case, it would be the biggest game at Williams-Brice since 2013.

Note: We lock the lines in on Sunday night so they will likely be different on the publishing date.

#2 Ohio State -15.5 @ Penn State 12:00 on FOX

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Ohio State vs Penn State
Ohio State vs Penn State

Buckeye quarterback C.J. Stroud is the current Heisman frontrunner. He is completing 70 percent of his passes and has 28 touchdown passes to four interceptions. Gamecocks fans will get a chance to watch Stroud as his only previous "big" game this season was against Notre Dame. That game was being played at the same time as the Georgia State matchup in week 1. Stroud has a receiving corp that might be better than the Cleveland Brown current crop. Ryan Day is a ridiculous 41-4 as Ohio State's head coach. Make it win number 42.

Notre Dame +2.5 @ #16 Syracuse 12:00 on ABC

The Orange
The Orange (AP)

Let's call this game the battle of the teams that Clemson fans will overhype their win over the most. Neither of these teams are in the top 25 of the Vegas Power Poll. Cuse comes in at 47 and Notre Dame at 27. Wake is 17 and NC State is 39. Don't let your Clemson fans brag about "ranked" wins. The AP Poll is totally useless. Wake Forest is the only true quality win the Tigers have.

If you were wondering, Vegas ranks Kentucky at 23 and Texas A&M at 18. Rant aside, this should be a pretty fun ballgame. Syracuse has been tough at home and Notre Dame has shown flashes of being the team they were supposed to be.

Florida +22.5 vs. #1 Georgia 3:30 on CBS

Dawgs v. Gators
Dawgs v. Gators (Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports)

The news came down on Friday night that legendary Bulldog Coach Vince Dooley passed away at the age of 90, so we are going to use our small corner of the internet to commemorate the SEC great. Dooley led Georgia for 25 years and compiled a 201–77–10 record. His teams won six Southeastern Conference titles and the 1980 national championship. Dooley went 17-4-1 against the Gamecocks.

#9 Oklahoma State +1.5 @ #22 Kansas State 3:30 on FOX

K-State
K-State (Grant Flanders)

Marcus Satterfield and staff likely spent a good bit of time this week watching Kansas State's offense, as the Wildcats are the only team that has scored over 26 points against the Tigers. One of the better stories in college football has been the redemption of Adrian Martinez after Scott Frost essentially said he wasn't good enough to be the Nebraska quarterback. Well, Martinez has K-State in the Top 20 and in the thick of the Big 12 race, Frost is unemployed and watching his bank account swoon after his 7.5 million dollar buyout. (That doesn't sound too bad actually). Martinez got banged up last week in the loss to TCU and may not be available for Kansas State this week.

If Mike Gundy and the Pokes escape Manhattan, they finish their conference schedule with the bottom four teams in the Big 12 standings and they'll hold tie-breakers over K-State and Texas. If the Cowboys win this weekend, a rematch with TCU is likely.

#10 Wake Forest -4 @ Louisville 3:30 on ACCN

Scott Satterfield
Scott Satterfield (Darrell Russell)

Our friend Gavin at EliteHeat likes Wake in this potential trap game. Who are we to argue? Gavin has gone 13-8 in the free picks that he's given exclusively to GamecockScoop subscribers. Well here is our counterargument, Louisville is a different team when signal-caller Malik Cunningham is healthy. The Cardinals have won three of four and are playing their best football of the season.

#20 Cincinnati pick @ UCF 3:30 on ESPN

The Bounce House
The Bounce House (UCF Athletics)

Cincinnati is still in the catbird position to represent the Group of 5 in a New Year Six Bowl, but they are going to need to get out of Orlando with a win. This is precisely the type of game that Gus Malzahn seemed to always find a way to win at Auburn. His team loses a game they should win on the road only to return home and beat a highly-ranked team. The line is a curious one which leads us to believe that maybe Vegas knows something we don't.

New Mexico State -2.5 @ UMass 3:30 on ESPN3

UMass
UMass

It’s a battle of 2022 new head coaches. Neither coach is new to being a head coach but is new(ish) to their team.

Jerry Kill took over an independent New Mexico State program that only won two games last year. Next year, NMSU have a new home and join Conference USA. Jerry Kill is a coach known for turning programs around after having success at Northern Illinois and Minnesota. If recruiting tells the story, he is clearly on track to do the same at New Mexico State.

Kill’s calling card is defense. Senior linebacker Trevor Brohard is the heart and soul of the team, but it’s senior linebacker Chris Ojoh who is 55th nationally in total tackles on the year. Offensively, dual-threat freshman quarterback Gavin Frakes is inconsistent but can sling the ball. JUCO transfer running back Star Thomas leads the way on the ground.

UMASS used to be a member of the MAC but has not fared well since going independent. UMASS decided to bring in Don Brown, a well-respected defensive coordinator for most of his career, for a second go-round. Brown had success when he was the head coach at UMASS as an FCS school but now has an incredible challenge ahead. The only comparable team with similar roster talent at the end of the 2021 season would have been the Akron Zips. Brown inherited a roster that had many players who should not be playing at the FBS level and is in the process of attempting to rectify that situation.

Brown is an aggressive play-caller defensively and blitzes a heavy amount while playing man-to-man on the backend. The defense is led by senior linebacker and former Dartmouth transfer Jalen Mackie. JUCO transfer quarterback Gino Campiotti makes the offense go and is the Minutemen’s leading rusher and passer.


Missouri +4 @ #25 South Carolina 4:00 SECN

Sold out Williams-Brice Stadium
Sold out Williams-Brice Stadium

By now you know that Gamecock Scoop has the best weekly coverage of South Carolina football in the business. We will have you covered all week leading up to kickoff at 4:00.

#19 Kentucky +12.5 @ #3 Tennessee 7:00 on ESPN

Josh Heupel
Josh Heupel (USA Today Sports Images)

Tennessee does two things really really well, score points and stop the run. Their secondary has been vulnerable all season. The Vols average 2.5 sacks a game, but if they don't get the opposing QB, bad things tend to happen. UT ranks first nationally in points scored and is tied for 8th against the run. Kentucky's offense is predicated on establishing a running game. Thus far, we have seen no evidence that Will Levis, a very questionable potential first-overall pick, can carry the Cats to a win in Knoxville.

We don't want to play the role of conspiracy theorists, but the Tennessee vs. Alabama game drew the highest TV ratings of the college football season, we're guessing the SEC and CBS would like to see Tennessee vs. Georgia challenge that number next week. Translation: Wildcat fans, don't expect many holding calls on the guys in Orange.

Coastal Carolina +2 @ Marshall 7:00 on NFL Network

Marshall
Marshall (Jeff Douglas, Inside ND Sports)

Marshall is coming off a win over James Madison. They also have a win in South Bend under their belt. Coastal has not been impressive this season despite their 6-1 record. The Chants have App State, Southern Miss, Virginia, and James Madison left. They need to win this game to stay in the Sun Belt race.

Pitt +3 @ #21 North Carolina 8:00 on ACCN

The Non-Mayo bathing Mack Brown
The Non-Mayo bathing Mack Brown (AP Photo)

UNC is led by Freshman phenom Drake Maye. You'll read a lot about Maye on GamecockScoop next summer in advance of the 2023 season opener. UNC is currently eighth in the nation in passing yards, 2,283, second in passing touchdowns, 24, and third in passing efficiency. He's thrown only three interceptions in 231 games. Maye is probably the most important Freshman to his team in the nation. Despite Maye's brilliance, UNC is one of the least impressive 6-1 teams you'll see. They could easily be 3-4. UNC still has NC State and Wake left on their schedule.

Pitt is a difficult team to peg. They almost ended Tennessee's special season before it started and yet they have losses to Georgia Tech and Louisville. The total on this game 65.5.

Week 9 Picks (ATS)
Game Caleb Alexander Alan Cole Perry McCarty Stephen Anderson

Ohio St -15.5 @ Penn St

Ohio St*

Ohio St

Ohio St

Ohio St

Notre Dame +2.5 @ Syracuse

Cuse

Syracuse

Syracuse

ND

Florida +22.5 vs. Georgia

UGA*

UGA*

UGA*

UGA*

Ok St +1.5 @ K-State

K-State

K-State

Ok St

K-State

Wake Forest -4 @ Louisville

Wake

Wake

Wake

Louisville

Cincinnati pick @ UCF

Cincy

Cincinnati

UCF

UCF

New Mexico St -2.5 @ UMass

NM State

NM State

NM State

NM State

Missouri +4 @ South Carolina

SC

SC

SC

SC

Kentucky +12.5 @ Tennessee

Tenn*

Tenn

Tenn*

Tenn*

Coastal Car +2 @ Marshall

Coastal

Coastal

Coastal

Marshall

Pitt +3 @ UNC

UNC

UNC

UNC

Pitt

Total (Straight)

60-32

66-26

61-31

58-34

Total (ATS)

41-48-3

48-41-3

44-45-3

42-47-3

* Favorite will not cover
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