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UCF vs. West Virginia: College Football Week 9 Odds & Picks (2023)

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Gear up for another awesome weekend of college football action with BettingPros! We’ll have you covered with all of our top picks for the week along with our projected spreads and totals to help guide your college football bets. Below are our top picks and predictions for Saturday’s game: UCF vs. West Virginia.

Top College Football Odds & Picks: UCF vs. West Virginia

UCF (-6.5) vs. West Virginia

ATL: UCF -10.7

West Virginia couldn’t get off the mat following its devastating Hail Mary loss to Houston in Week 7, coughing up 282 yards and four TD to Oklahoma State RB Ollie Gordon in a 48-34 loss last week.

This week, the Mountaineers take on a UCF team that should be at full strength for the first time since early September.

Last week, we backed the Knights +18.5 at Oklahoma, a sweat-free cover. A failed two-point conversion attempt in the final minute prevented UCF from taking that game to overtime with a chance for the outright win.

Now, West Virginia must travel down to the Bounce House and take on a UCF team that is one of the nation’s best running outfits.

UCF got QB John Rhys Plumlee back last week, the first full game he had played since Week 2. But in that game, several contributors for the Knights were battling the flu. Coming off injury, Plumlee got caught in the virus outbreak spreading throughout the roster and needed four intravenous fluid treatments during the game after sleeping the night before hooked up to an IV bag.

With the Knights returning to full health, this profiles as the perfect opportunity to secure the school’s first Big 12 win coming off the near-miss. UCF is much better than their record indicates (+1.2 second order wins; ie 4-3 quality). And West Virginia is not as good as their own indicates (-0.8; ie 3-4 quality). We’re going to get a market correction on Saturday.

The pick: UCF -6.5 (play to -8)

Best Ways to Bet College Football for Beginners

Game Total

Bettors new to the hobby can be confused by spreads, but game totals are simple. Every football game has a total posted for the combined final score between the two teams. Bettors have the option to choose the OVER or UNDER, generally at -110 odds (risk: $110; win: $100). So if the total is 42 and you take the OVER, you need 43 points to win the bet. If you put a bet down on the over to win $100 and it goes over, you get back the money you initially risked, plus $100. If it stayed under, you would have lost your $110 and that’s it. If by chance the game ended with 42 total points, it’s called a push; when a game pushes, you get the money you risked back but nothing more.

ie: California vs. Illinois, Over 42 or Under 42

tip: Over bets can be a really fun social event with your buddies. Have everyone throw in a few bucks, then take the over together. Instead of getting pumped when one side scores, everyone is pumped for ANY score, all game.

Moneyline

The moneyline is the easiest way to test your college football knowledge: who will win the game? That’s it. The moneyline doesn’t use favorites or underdogs, it’s totally straight up. That said, the risk-reward can be challenging because they’re weighted. Instead of every game being around -110, like game totals and spreads, moneylines vary depending on the matchup.

For our example, California was favored by seven points over Illinois, meaning oddsmakers think the Golden Bears are a touchdown better than the Fighting Illini. If you took Cal on the moneyline, points don’t matter, they just need to win the game. But because it’s safer to take them straight-up without points, you’ll have to risk more when you make the bet — remember, they’re seven points better than Illinois in the eyes of the oddsmakers. In this case, Cal is -280 on the moneyline, so if you want to win $100, you have to risk $280. On the flip side, moneyline bets can be valuable when taking the underdog because it’s a riskier bet — they’re seven points worse than their opponent. In this case, Illinois is the underdog — +220 on the moneyline. You’d win $220 on a $100 bet if you picked Illinois on the moneyline and they pulled off the upset.

ie: California (ML -280) vs. Illinois (ML +220)

tip: Check their history against one another. Keep an eye on the injury report and the weather.

Player Props

Player props are some of the most exhilarating bets you can place during a college football game, but they’re also easy to understand. For major conferences, you’ll have a wide array of options to choose from. Quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, and sometimes tight ends will have props to choose from. It’s simple, fun and easy to follow, and odds on player props don’t vary as much as moneylines. Generally, prop bets are in the -110 range like generic spread and total bets.

ie: How many passing yards will Brandon Peters have against California?  Over 250 or Under 250 

tip: Check how players have performed in the situation they’re going to be in. Use split stats on any reliable site to see their numbers at home, on a neutral-site, in December, etc.


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