The college football Week 10 best bets cheat sheet is here to provide you with picks and analysis for the slate of games ahead. I’m publishing on Wednesday this week with my first two predictions for the week, but will update with any additional picks throughout the week, so be sure to check back. This could be the top slate of the college football season, loaded with elite games that should have significant impact on the College Football Playoff field.
Let’s breakdown the best bets below.
Penn State at Washington (Saturday – 3:30pm ET)
Penn State finally got on the board in Big Ten play on Saturday afternoon with a home win over Purdue. Prior to the win, the Nittany Lions were 0-4 in conference, and 3-10 in Big Ten play going back to the “White Out” loss last season to Oregon. Matt Campbell’s version of this Penn State roster does not seem to have it, and now has to make the long trip out to Seattle.
It hasn’t exactly been Washington’s season either, but there have been bright spots for the Huskies. Since getting embarrassed by Iowa at home, Washington has consecutive wins as the underdog. A road win at Purdue without its starting quarterback, and then caught lightning in a bottle in the final moments for a miracle at Nebraska.
Trailing 7-3 with under two minutes to go, Washington picked up a 4th and long to keep the game alive. Then with 90 seconds left, Demond Williams threw the go-ahead touchdown. Just 15 seconds later, the Huskies were running a pick-six back into the end zone to go up 17-7.
While Washington has taken a couple of losses at home this season, its still a tough place to play. The Huskies are 28-4 in home games, dating back to the start of the 2022 season. History on the other side isn’t as kind, with Penn State going 1-7 in its last eight as the road underdog, with the last outright win back in 2021.
Neither team has come close to living up to the hype this season, but Washington seems more competent at the moment. Demond Williams, who was injured against Iowa, was the spark that won the game at Nebraska. Elijah Brown played well against Iowa and Purdue, but the offense was nowhere to be found for the first three quarters against the Huskers. Williams came in for the fourth quarter and was electric.
So while it was an improbable win for Washington, I expect the Huskies to be able to turn that into some momentum at home against a soft opponent. Particularly with Williams, who wants to avoid losing his job again.
CFB Best Bet: Washington ML (-122)
Georgia at Ole Miss (Saturday – 7:30pm ET)
Georgia was coming out of the bye last week, following a shocking loss to Auburn, and was completely prepared to demolish Florida. The Bulldogs were up 24-0 at halftime, and that remained the score with seven minutes left in the game — ultimately a 27-8 win. No time to rest for Kirby Smart, though, with arguably the biggest game of the season on deck.
Sure, the Alabama game was a big one, but there’s an added layer to this one. Ole Miss knocked Georgia out of the CFP last season. Now a veteran Georgia group, many of which played in that loss, get their chance at revenge. Fading Trinidad Chambliss at home doesn’t sound like the most fun Saturday night, but the market showing us the same price on UGA as LSU isn’t something I can pass up.
When LSU came to Oxford almost two months ago, the road team was favored by about a field goal. Now Georgia is priced as the same type of favorite, which I disagree with. The Bulldogs are the premier program in the SEC, and will be out to prove that on Saturday night.
Look for the defense to throw some curveballs at Chambliss. I laid -3 here, but if that isn’t available when you’re betting on DraftKings, you can just split two bets on -3.5 at close to even money and then a heavily juiced -2.5.
CFB Best Bet: Georgia -3 (-125)
