College Football Week 9 Picks: Best Bets (2026)

Saturday’s Week 9 college football slate is roughly 24 hours away from opening kickoff. Top-ranked programs at 12 p.m. ET include No. 5 Notre Dame vs. Navy, No. 22 Arizona vs. Texas Tech, and No. 25 Wisconsin vs. Iowa.

At 3:30 p.m. ET, No. 17 Florida takes on No. 3 Georgia at a neutral site venue in Atlanta. No. 6 Utah goes to Cincinnati to avoid being upset by a scrappy Bearcats offense. Then, in prime time, Darian Mensah and No. 1 Miami hit the road to take on North Carolina.

My previous edition of College Football Week 8 Picks: Best Bets (2026) swept the board with a 3-0 result. A sweat-free winner on Under 42.5 between Indiana and Michigan cashed early, while UCF +7.0 hit due to the Knights’ upset over BYU in 20T. Wisconsin +3.0 looked good from the jump, as the Badgers bottled up USC for a 24-7 win as a home underdog.

Let’s try to go 3-0 again in Week 9. I’ve found my 3 favorite Week 9 picks to bet on Saturday.

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College Football Week 9 Picks: Best Bets

(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)

Wisconsin (25) vs. Iowa

Big Noon Kickoff features a Big 10 tilt between two of the nation’s best defenses on Saturday. Wisconsin is coming off a season-defining win over USC, but now, the Badgers head into Iowa City to take on a motivated Hawkeyes team that just lost to Minnesota.

In this game, we’ve got two top-20 defenses on the field. Wisconsin leans on its run game to produce on offense. Iowa’s run defense is built to stop the Badgers in this game, ranked 8th in scoring defense, allowing only 2 rushing touchdowns and 2 total rushing touchdowns.

Wisconsin has allowed 4 total touchdowns to 4 Big 10 opponents. There’s a reason why the point total sits so low at 36.5.

This feels like a 17-14 or 21-14 type of game. With 2 offenses sitting 75th and 80th in the FBS, let’s bet Under 36.5 to open our Week 9 college football picks.

Pick: Under 36.5 (-112)

Northwestern (20) vs. Oregon

Northwestern is facing an Oregon team that is a shell of its former self. Of course, it helps to have your primary QB1, which has left the Ducks searching for answers on offense.

Oregon QB Dylan Raiola has struggled in place of an injured Dante Moore. The Ducks have been held to 17 points or less in 3 straight starts by Raiola.

Now, Oregon hosts a Northwestern defense ranked 22nd in the nation, holding opponents under 17 points per game. The Wildcats have held opponents under 400 total yards of offense in 5 of 7 games, while allowing less than 20 points against 3 of 4 conference opponents.

Northwestern QB Aidan Chiles is having a resurgent year with the Wildcats. He’s only thrown 1 interception and leads the team in rushing touchdowns.

The Wildcats play complementary football, committing few turnovers, while forcing at least 1 turnover in nearly every matchup. Oregon has struggled with turnovers during Raiola’s starting tenure, while the Ducks’ defense just gave up 5.8 YPC in a bad 21-10 road loss to Illinois in Week 8.

Let’s take the points and bet on the better team in this game. I expect Northwestern to win outright, but let’s play it conservatively and grab a field goal with the Wildcats at +3.5.

Pick: Northwestern +3.5 (-110)

Oklahoma State (24) vs. Iowa State

The best offense in the Big 12 will look to continue its rampage following its second 50-point outing in 2026. QB Drew Mestemaker has thrown for over 2,300 yards and has 20 touchdowns during his first season in Stillwater, logging over 300 passing yards in 5 straight starts, including 7 passing touchdowns and just 1 interception in his previous 2 outings.

Iowa State is having a down year without former head coach Matt Campbell. The Cyclones rank 12th out of 16 Big 12 teams in points allowed per game (24.1) and are even worse on offense, scoring 25.9 points per game (14th) in 2026.

Iowa State’s lone conference win was 45-42 over West Virginia, who rank dead last (16th) in Big 12 scoring defense. Oklahoma State’s defense is average, although they just held Colorado without a point in the 2nd half to win it 34-0 after a half-time deficit.

Mestemaker is a stud, and Iowa State’s porous defense is not going to have any solutions, even on their own home field. Lay -9.5 with the Cowboys for the final bet on the Week 9 college football slate.

Pick: Oklahoma State -9.5 (-118)

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