This weekend’s college football schedule will be one of the best of the season, with six different top-25 matchups on deck. It should be yet another epic weekend of online sports betting.
NFL
Bills at Commanders
Sunday, Sept. 24 | 1 p.m. ET | CBS
Commanders fans have got to be feeling pretty good right now. New owner Josh Harris has ushered in a new era of good vibes, and Washington is 2-0 for the first time since 2011. Just like everyone thought, right?
The Commanders are coming home to what’s likely to be an unusually energized crowd, fresh off of erasing an early 18-point deficit in Denver and beating the Broncos at altitude.
The Bills will bring a new kind of challenge for Washington, though, as Buffalo remains one of the top favorites in the Super Bowl odds market. Josh Allen’s Bills rank fifth in the NFL with 382 yards per game. Washington’s first two opponents are a combined 0-4.
Washington’s pass rush is currently graded as the fifth-best in the league, according to Pro Football Focus, but Allen’s mobility and ability to make off-script plays may defuse some of Washington’s advantage along the defensive front.
The NFL betting odds have listed the Bills as a 6.5-point road favorite for most of the week.
College Football
Colorado at Oregon
Saturday, Sept. 23 | 3:30 p.m. ET | ABC
This college football weekend will be a memorable one, and not just because it’s absolutely loaded with great games. After rushing out to a 3-0 record, Deion Sanders’ much-hyped Colorado team gets a big Pac-12 test at No. 10 Oregon.
Despite the flood of Colorado support and public appetite to bet the Buffs, Oregon is a huge 20.5-point favorite. Expect offense on both sides of this game, as the total at BetMGM is currently 70.5.
Colorado will be without its best player, Travis Hunter, in this game. Hunter suffered a lacerated liver after a particularly nasty collision during last week’s game against Colorado State and is expected to miss several weeks.
Much of the pregame focus will be on whether or not Deion Sanders, AKA Coach Prime, can deliver on the insane, nonstop hype that has built up around Boulder over the last several weeks. But a much more interesting angle on the game is that this is a battle of two unexpected contenders in the Heisman Trophy odds market.
One-time Auburn quarterback Bo Nix (+2200) is thriving as the centerpiece of Dan Lanning’s Oregon offense. So far, he’s thrown eight touchdowns to zero interceptions, and his QBR (83.2) ranks 17th in FBS college football.
Shadeur Sanders, Colorado’s quarterback and Deion’s son, has thrown 10 touchdowns (one INT) and jumped all the way to +1800 in the Heisman table. He trails only five players, all of whom are veteran, established quarterbacks who came into this year with Heisman hype.
College Football
Ohio State at Notre Dame
Saturday, Sept. 23 | 7:30 p.m. ET | NBC
A top-10 game with major College Football Playoff implications is set for Saturday night, when Notre Dame hosts Ohio State. The BetMGM college football betting odds peg this game at Ohio State -3.
Ohio State hasn’t gone to South Bend for a game since 1996, when it won 29-16.
The more relevant comparison might be last season’s game. Notre Dame led 10-7 at halftime, but Ohio State’s defense shut out the Irish after the break and escaped with a 21-10 victory. Ultimately, it might have been the decisive data point that got Ohio State into the CFP as a second Big Ten team.
Last year, it was Ohio State that had the major advantage at quarterback. C.J. Stroud was a top pick in the NFL draft; Notre Dame quarterback Tyler Buchner was more of a game manager who ultimately transferred out of the program. He’s now sitting on the bench at Alabama.
This year, Notre Dame seems to have a clear edge at the post important spot on the field. The Irish brought in former Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman via the transfer portal, and he’s primed to compete against Sanders and Nix for the Heisman Trophy.
In Columbus, Kyle McCord was eventually named the Ohio State starter near the end of camp, but McCord just hasn’t looked as crisp as the last decade of excellent Ohio State signal-callers. He struggled against Indiana’s defense in Week 1; how he plays against Notre Dame will likely determine the outcome of this game.