The 2026 college football season reaches Week 9 with a packed Saturday slate on October 31, featuring several top-25 matchups and over $3,000 in sign-up bonuses available across major sportsbooks. No. 1 Miami travels to North Carolina as a 14.5-point favorite with an over/under of 52.5, while No. 2 Ohio State visits USC as a 7-point favorite (over/under 51.5). Other notable lines include No. 11 Texas (-20.5, 50.5) vs. Mississippi State, Nebraska (-8.5, 49.5) vs. Washington, and No. 20 Boise State (-11, 63.5) vs. Texas State.
Key Matchups
Bill Belichick's North Carolina Tar Heels host the top-ranked Miami Hurricanes at 7:30 p.m. ET in a game that highlights the week. The Florida-Georgia rivalry moves to Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium with Georgia favored by 11.5 points (over/under 55.5). No. 17 Florida and No. 3 Georgia both enter off bye weeks. In the Big Ten, No. 4 Indiana is a 20.5-point favorite over Minnesota (over/under 42.5), while No. 6 Utah visits Cincinnati as a 6.5-point favorite (over/under 56.5). The Clemson-Florida State game sees Florida State favored by 6 points (over/under 49.5) despite both teams having disappointing seasons.
Betting Trends
Several trends stand out: the over is 7-0 in Georgia's last seven games as a favorite, and 4-0 in Miami's last four as a favorite. Iowa is 6-1 against the spread in its last seven meetings with Wisconsin, while the under is 9-0 in Wisconsin's last nine October games. Ohio State is 9-1 ATS in its last 10 games as a road favorite, and USC is 8-0 over in its last eight as a home underdog. Northwestern is 5-0-1 ATS against teams with winning records, and Utah is 6-0 ATS in the same situation.
Promo Offers
Major sportsbooks are offering substantial sign-up bonuses: DraftKings provides $200 in bonus bets plus three months of NBA League Pass after a $5 wager; FanDuel offers $150 in bonus bets for a $5 bet; Caesars gives up to $250 in bet reset tokens; BetMGM offers up to $1,500 in bonus bets if the first bet loses; Fanatics provides $350 in FanCash after a $20 bet; bet365 gives $200 in bonus bets with a $10 wager; and Hard Rock Bet offers up to $500 in No Sweat Bets after a $5 bet.
Betting Types Explained
The guide defines common wager types: money line (picking the winner), spread (points the favorite must win by), over/under (total points scored), team totals, race to X points, first-half lines, parlays, season win totals, conference winners, College Football Playoff winner, Heisman Trophy winner, and make/miss playoff bets. Heisman odds at DraftKings list Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith at +122, Miami's Darian Mensah at +270, and Miami's Malachi Toney at +360 as the top three contenders.
