NCAA Football Week 9 Straight Up Picks & Betting Trends

This is the weekend in college football where everything changes. We all know how the rankings look right now, but what will the Playoff Committee do when they get their shot to start putting together rankings? We will find out soon enough, as their first rankings of the season will come out next Tuesday. In fairness, if they were to have started after last weekend’s action, the top 4 would probably look exactly the same, as it certainly does feel as though the 4 teams holding those spots right now are the most deserving. Will that still be the case after this weekend? Only time will tell, but for now, all we are concerned about is making some winning NCAA Football Betting picks, so let’s get to our SU plays for Week 9 of the college football season.

Week 9 SU Picks | 2022 College Football Betting Predictions

Syracuse Orange over Notre Dame Fighting Irish

The mark of a good team is often their ability to bounce back from a disappointing loss. That is what Syracuse will be looking to do this coming weekend after seeing their undefeated streak come to an end last weekend against Clemson. It was a game that the Orange looked to have in hand before making late mistakes that eventually cost them. They will look to bounce back at home against a Notre Dame team that has been disappointing this season, going 4-3 to this point in the season. The Irish have won 5 of their last 6 meetings with Syracuse, but I think we see that tide turn in Week 9, as I like the Orange to win a close one.

Arkansas Razorbacks over Auburn Tigers

Outside of the teams at the top of the National Rankings, we are seeing a lot of teams have what can best be described as rollercoaster seasons. Arkansas came out strong, winning 3 in a row before hitting the skids and losing the next 3. They did get the win last time out, though, to get back above .500 and hopefully on another winning run. Auburn is in the middle of a skid of their own at the moment, coming into this one on a 3-game losing skid, a run where they have surrendered 111 points over the course of those 3 losses. Arkansas has not had a great deal of success on the road against Auburn, but I think they are better equipped this season to go in there and get the win.

Cincinnati Bearcats over UCF Knights

It was always going to be impossible for Cincinnati to match what they delivered last season, as a non-power 5 team getting to the playoffs is unique enough without having it happen in back-to-back seasons. They have, as expected, taken a backward step this season, but they are still 6-1 and in the top 25, albeit well off the pace they set last season. They will hit the road to face a UCF team that is a very respectable 5-2, and who are in as a rather modest 1-point favorite for this one. The Bearcats have won 10 of their last 11 games on the road, but perhaps more impressively, they have won 19 straight conference games. Let’s pick them to make it 20.

We knew it was going to be an interesting 2022 NASCAR season as the Cup Series switched over to the Next Gen car, and that indeed was the case as 19 different drivers won a race this past year. Some people love the parity, while others think that the new setup favors being lucky rather than good.

The 2022 NASCAR postseason was interesting, with the first four races being won by non-playoff drivers. Eventually, the cream did rise to the top, with Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell, Joey Logano, and 2021 Cup Series champion Kyle Larson winning races down the stretch.

Even with all the parity during the regular season, few people could argue that Joey Logano was an undeserving 2022 Cup Series champion. Logano had three wins during the regular NASCAR season and two in the playoffs, but now the question becomes, can he repeat in 2023? Let’s take a look at this analysis for your NASCAR bets.

What to expect in the upcoming 2023 NASCAR season?

2023 Team Changes

There has always been some swapping of teams in the offseason in NASCAR, but it’s almost getting to be like an MLB trade deadline the way drivers are realigned for the 2023 season.

The biggest move is Kyle Gibbs going from Joe Gibbs Racing, where he’s been since 2008, and heading to Richard Childress Racing. This is the equivalent of Tom Brady leaving the Patriots.

Other big team changes for 2023 include Tyler Reddick leaving RCR for 23XI. This isn’t a shock because Busch was coming over, and Reddick had announced his departure in 2024, but Kurt Busch’s retirement from a full-time driver pushed up the timeline.

It’s not just ‘trades’ that are going to make 2023 interesting, but also full-time debuts. The two biggest names moving to the Cup Series full-time are Ty Gibbs, who replaces Busch at his grandfather’s JGR club, and Noah Gragson, coming off one of the more successful Xfinity regular seasons in recent memory to drive full-time for Petty GMS. A.J. Allmendinger is also returning to the Cup Series full-time for the first time since 2018.

Who Will Win the 2023 Cup Series?

It will be interesting to see if the parity of 19 different drivers winning last season calms down in year two of the Next Gen car or if that’s just how NASCAR is going to be moving forward. Logano (+650) showed a mastery of the new racing format, so he’s obviously a favorite to become the first back-to-back winner since Jimmie Johnson in 2009/2010.

The co-favorites to win the 2023 Cup Series are Chase Elliott and his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson at +600. Elliott made the final four this season, and he and Larson won the Cup Series in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

Other contenders for some 2023 NASCAR Cup Series future bets are Christopher Bell (+800), who was a championship four finalist after getting hot with two wins in the playoffs. Ryan Blaney (+850) will be a hot pick as well, even though he failed to pick up a win last season.

Maybe 2023 is the year that some old dogs return to top form, too, as Denny Hamlin (+1000) had two wins in 2022 but another ten top-five finishes. Maybe a change of scenery gets Busch (+2000) back on track.

Buckle up; the Daytona 500 is right around the corner.

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