Caleb Wilfinger
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While this week doesn’t have a lot of depth to it, the top-end matchups should all be fantastic games. As a whole, the week still offers plenty of compelling matchups that will play a part in bowl qualification and conference title races. For this week, we’ll be targeting a trio of underdogs, including a pair of important games in the Pac-12. These games might not be on everyone’s radar, but winning bets all pay out the same!
You can read all our college football predictions here, but without any further ado, here’s my 3-leg parlay with a mega payout of +1187 odds. Let’s take a look at each of the legs.
Arizona ML (+132)
Arizona State ML (+172)
Purdue ML (+104)
NCAAF parlay odds: +1187
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at the time of publishing
Arizona Wildcats ML over Oregon State Beavers (+132)
Oregon State is a team that I’ve backed on multiple occasions this season, and I’m still high on the Beavers’ chances of making the Pac-12 title game in December. However, the Beavers are typically a much different team away from Corvallis. That hasn’t changed in 2023, as Oregon State’s only loss came to Washington State in Pullman back in September. The Beavers struggled mightily on offense for the majority of that contest, and I expect DJ Uiagalelei and company to run into some hiccups here against a Wildcats defense that absolutely gave that same Washington State team fits in a 43-6 win on October 14.
Arizona’s defense has been one of the most surprising units in the Pac-12 this season, ranking 23rd in EPA per play and 15th in EPA per rush per College Football Data. This will come in handy against an Oregon State offense that is extremely run-dominant, as they sit inside the top 10 in rushing success rate and EPA per rush. On the other side, the Beavers pass defense has been strong, but they struggled against Cam Ward and Washington State in their only game against a competent quarterback this season. In steps Arizona QB Noah Fifita, who has been playing at an All-Conference level over the last couple of weeks to seize the starting job. Arizona would likely be ranked if it had beaten Mississippi State in overtime back in Week 2, or if it knocked off USC in overtime back on October 7. Regardless, the Wildcats have been excellent as an underdog this season, and I won’t stop riding that gravy train this week.
Check out our full Oregon State vs Arizona predictions
Arizona State Sun Devils ML over Washington State Cougars (+172)
Arizona State is a team that is still undervalued in the betting market, despite the fact that the Sun Devils have covered 4 straight games with plenty of margin to spare. However, I still think they’re being overlooked due to a disastrous start to the season that was plagued by turnovers and bad quarterback play. Since that point, the Sun Devils have gotten competent QB play from Trenton Bourguet, along with great efforts from a defense that is clearly on the rise under defensive coordinator Brian Ward. On the other side, Cam Ward has started to be plagued by his old turnover habits once again over the last few weeks, and the Washington State offense has suffered as a result. In a game that should come down to the wire, I’ll gladly take the home team to pull the upset.
Lock in our expert’s NCAAF Week 9 best bets
Purdue Boilermakers ML over Nebraska Cornhuskers (+104)
The Big Ten West often doesn’t make much sense, and I believe that even the oddsmakers don’t know how to line the games in this wacky division on occasion. That is very much the case in this matchup between Purdue and Nebraska on Saturday, where I can’t get there with an uninspiring Nebraska team as the favorite, even at home. However, Purdue has played a brutal schedule to this point, which has included six Power 5 opponents with the only Group of 5 opponent coming in the form of Fresno State. On the other side, Nebraska has played an extremely soft schedule and is now dealing with a ton of injuries on both sides of the ball, including a ton of key offensive lineman and players at the skill positions. Purdue should be favored here and I expect the Boilermakers to win outright.
Read our full Purdue vs Nebraska predictions
