Week 9 of the 2025 college football season is here and our VSiN team is attacking it relentlessly. If you haven’t already, make sure you check out the Week 9 CFB Betting Hub for write-ups and picks from all of our talented analysts. However, I’d love for you to keep reading for my college football best bets and predictions for this exciting Week 9 slate. I’ll probably add some picks as lines move and more information comes out later in the week — and on game day. If I do, I’ll put them on the VSiN Pro Picks page. Don’t miss out on those.
MORE: Check out our Pro Picks page for college football best bets from all of our analysts
Northwestern Wildcats at Nebraska Cornhuskers – 12:00 pm ET
While Matt Rhule’s name continues to be brought up for the Penn State head coaching job, the Cornhuskers continue to struggle when it comes to covering against Big Ten opponents. This season, Nebraska is 0-4 against the spread in conference games. The Cornhuskers also happen to be 0-6 ATS when facing teams with winning records since Rhule arrived in Lincoln. Meanwhile, Northwestern is 6-4 straight-up and 7-3 ATS versus teams with winning percentages between 60% and 75% under David Braun.
This is also a pretty tough matchup for Nebraska. While Dylan Raiola has had some really strong performances this year, this Northwestern team does a decent job of limiting big plays through the air. On top of that, the Wildcats are a good running team, plus they’re efficient on third and fourth downs. They can win the possession game.
This just should be a game that the road team can keep close, making 7.5 extremely hard to pass up. Steve Makinen, our VSiN analytics expert, has an estimated line of Nebraska -4.5. That’s a good amount lower than the real number, suggesting some serious value.
Bet: Northwestern +7.5 (-110)
BYU Cougars at Iowa State Cyclones – 3:30 pm ET
It feels borderline criminal that BYU has to go to Ames after winning the Holy War. This Cougars team will likely be physically and emotionally drained after the big home win over Utah. Kalani Sitake is an unbelievable head coach, which is how this team sits at 7-0 despite losing Jake Retzlaff right before the season. But very few teams are immune to rough scheduling spots, and that feels like an understatement when describing a road game against Iowa State directly after your biggest rivalry game. The Cyclones also happen to be coming off a bye week.
When looking at the metrics, BYU stacks up quite well against Iowa State. However, under Matt Campbell, the Cyclones are 36-8 SU as home favorites. They’re also 6-3 SU when returning from a two-game road trip. Meanwhile, for as good as Sitake has been with the Cougars, BYU is just 11-14 SU when taking on opponents that outscore teams by 10+ points per game. The Cougars are also just 10-14 SU when facing teams with winning percentages of 60% to 75% in that time.
It’s also hard not to feel like Rocco Becht will deliver if this game is close late. Bear Bachmeier has been awesome for BYU this season, but this will be the toughest game of his career. Bachmeier won at Colorado and Arizona, but this will be a whole different beast. Iowa State has a rock-solid defense, a true home-field advantage, and the extra week of rest and preparation.
Bet: Iowa State ML (-140 – 1.5 units)
Added Plays
PARLAY: Virginia Tech ML vs. California & Texas ML vs. Mississippi State (+100 – 1.5 units)
Check the Pro Picks page for any additional plays, or come back here right before kick-off to see if I added something on the game you’re interested in.
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2025 Record: 43-46 (-4.29 units)
