Northwestern vs. Oregon College Football Week 9 Picks (Saturday)

No. 20 Northwestern visits Oregon at Autzen Stadium on Saturday, October 31, for a Week 9 Big Ten matchup kicking off at 3:30 p.m. ET on Peacock. Despite Northwestern's ranking, the Ducks are listed as 3.5-point home favorites, with the total set at 47.5. Can the Wildcats earn a road win in Eugene, or will Oregon justify its favorite status? Below, we examine our Northwestern vs. Oregon picks and predictions, including the betting odds and best bets.

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College Football Week 9 Best Bets & Picks: Northwestern vs. Oregon

We’re firmly in the back half of the 2026 college football regular season, and there’s never been more parity in the sport. In Week 8, we saw No. 2 BYU fall to unranked UCF in 20T, No. 8 Texas Tech lost to unranked Cincinnati, No. 11 Tennessee blew a late lead against unranked South Carolina, and No. 15 Iowa and No. 16 USC both lost to unranked Big 10 opponents on the road.

Even without a bunch of head-to-head matchups between top 25-ranked opponents in Week 9, we now know that no opponent can be taken for granted. Let’s take a look at some of my top picks of the week.

Northwestern (20) vs. Oregon

Northwestern has been one of the biggest surprises in college football this year. The Wildcats’ lone loss is a good one, losing 29-23 to No. 4 Indiana.

QB Aidan Chiles has revived his collegiate career, departing from Michigan State to lead Northwestern into No. 20 in the latest AP poll at 6-1. Chiles has thrown for 12 touchdowns and only 1 interception, while leading the Wildcats with 9 rushing touchdowns.

Defensively, Northwestern is a legitimate threat against any opponent. The Wildcats rank 22nd in points allowed per game (16.6), holding quarterbacks to a 58 percent completion rate and allowing only 1 rushing touchdown in 4 conference games.

Oregon’s season is in free-fall. QB Dylan Raiola filled in admirably in a clutch win over USC. Since then, Raiola has struggled, with the Ducks being held under 20 points with a 1-2 record in 3 straight games played.

Oregon hosts Northwestern in Week 9. The betting market has moved from Northwestern +7.5 to +3.5, while the point total has dipped 1 point from 50.5 to 49.5.

Oregon just gave up 5.8 YPC to an unranked Illinois offense in Week 8. Northwestern is averaging 5.2 YPC and has 17 rushing touchdowns, with Chiles throwing for 3 touchdowns in 2 of his last 3 starts.

Bet Northwestern +3.5 before this number moves through a key number of 3.

Pick: Northwestern +3.5 (-110)