Biggest NCAA Football Odds Winners and Losers from Week 10

Biggest NCAA Football Odds Winners and Losers from Week 10

Written by on November 12, 2015

Among the most revered reputations to hold in the college football lines is the state of being undefeated half-way past the season. Pushing for a playoff spot is just as good, but when you do it as an undefeated team; your credentials hold more weight and garner more respect from the CFP committee and the football fraternity, at large. Perhaps the best teams to understand this statement are TCU, Memphis, Michigan State and LSU who, until Week 9, were all unbeaten. But come Week 10 and its surprise package in the online sports betting College Football betting odds, none of the four teams stood unbeaten. Details about all that, and much more, are provided below in our summative look at Week 10’s biggest winners and losers.

Looking back at the Biggest NCAA Football Odds Winners and Losers from Week 10

Alabama Crimson Tide

The Crimson Tide have ensured that their path to the playoffs is now clearer than ever before. After the Tide convincingly beat LSU last week, and Mississippi fell to Arkansas, Alabama is almost certain of winning the SEC. All they need to do is to win out their remaining fixtures (against Mississippi State, Charleston Southern, Auburn and Florida) and they’ll have the SEC West crown, along with a berth in the conference championship game. For the big win over LSU, due credit must be given to the Alabama defense that shouldered the heaviest burden to ensure the win. Entering the game, LSU’s star running back and Heisman front-runner Leonard Fournette was averaging a little under 200 rushing yards per game. Come the end of the game, Fournette was limited to a measly 31 yards, helping him to set a new season low that was previously at 150. With the kind of momentum we are witnessing from Nick Saban’s team, other playoff contenders better be warned in advance that Bama means real business this season.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

After delivering an impressive display against Pittsburgh in the 42-30 win last weekend, one thing is for sure about the Fighting Irish—they are now firmly in contention for a playoff spot and it will take a hellish effort to stop them. Despite an injury setback to their star running back C.J. Prosise in the first quarter, the team exhibited character once for the umpteenth time this season. The offense was dancing to its own tune, as Josh Adams had 147 yards on the ground and DeShone Kizer (a backup to starter Malik Zaire who got injured at the start of season) continued to impress, throwing for five touchdowns. No doubt, the Irish are on the right path for a regular-season finale against Stanford, a game that will ultimately determine their fate. It’s probably too early to start saying they Irish will beat Stanford, but if they continue to play like they’ve doing so far in the season, the Cardinal will need all they prayers in the world to get a win.

Georgia Bulldogs

After a loss to Florida and a week full of speculation about Mark Richt’s job, the Bulldogs needed a win so badly, and a big win they got against Kentucky. The return of Greyson Lambert ensured that the offense was up to the task, leading the team to 27 points against Kentucky’s vaunted defense. Meanwhile, the defense was also impressive, as they restricted the Wildcats to just 3 points and 180 yards, along with forced three turnovers for a final glossy score of 27-3. After that win, they can focus on their game against rivals Auburn with little speculation in the air and more confidence about their abilities on both ends of the field.

Biggest NCAA Football Odds Losers of Week 10

TCU Horned Frogs

Besides the injuries they have had, inexperience was a major contributing factor to the Horned Frogs’ 29-49 loss to OSU, a defeat that could easily ruin their playoff ambitions, given the fierce competition in the Big 12. Oklahoma State quarterback Mason Rudolph ran riot over the Horned Frogs defense like he owned them. Conversely, TCU’s Trevone Boykin could not save the team, seemingly missing his magical partnership with his No. 1 wide receiver, Josh Doctson. The fact that he was particularly humiliated by OSU’s defense to the tune of four interceptions against one TD is a big concern for the Frogs, who still have a stretch of tough tests against the likes of the Oklahoma Sooners and the Baylor Bears.

Ole Miss Rebels

The Rebels were exterminated before their OT plan was hatched, suffering a gut-wrenching 53-52 loss to the Razorbacks. The plan was to beat Arkansas and continue to have control of their destiny in the SEC. And to their credit, the offense was impressive, moving the ball well against the Razorbacks defense. They did their job dutifully and, on another day, they would have won the game, given the points they scored. Unfortunately, their usually reliable defense let the team down, playing as if they were reserving some energy for the game against Leonard Fournette and LSU in their next game. And that proved to be their biggest undoing, as the game dragged into overtime where the Razorbacks proved sharper and took all the glory at the costly expense of the Rebels. Following that loss, it is safe to say that Ole Miss’ ambitions are all but gone, unless an astronomical mistake happens to Alabama and LSU, who are in the top running for the SEC West crown.

Memphis Tigers

If there is a team that underestimated its opposition in Week 10, it was the Tigers. They played against Navy as if they had already won and were just preparing for Houston in week 11. The result? They embarrassingly lost 45-20, as Midshipmen torched them for a massive 374 rushing yards. And thanks to the win, the Midshipmen are now in a position to win the American’s West division. On the flipside, the Tigers threw away their chance of playing in a Major Bowl game. It’s now back to the drawing board for the Tigers, who will be hosting an energized Houston team that will be looking to pile more misery on them.

Other Noteworthy NCAAF Odds Winners and Losers

The Oklahoma State Cowboys were definitely big winners in their blowout victory over TCU. If they can continue to surprise us with such big results, we could easily see them contending for the Big 12 title, if they aren’t doing that already. Still on big winners, the Utah Utes survived the test against the pesky Huskies in Washington to keep their Pac-12 title hopes alive, and the Clemson Tigers took a huge step forward by beating FSU, a stubborn opponent that has proved to be a stumbling block in their championship ambitions over the recent years. Nebraska also had a controversial win, but it was huge for Coach Mike Riley whose first season has been rough. Meanwhile, Penn State was among our other big losers, as it started the game by falling 20 points behind. The Lions eventually recovered, but later gave up the lead in the last quarter to lose the game. The Duke Blue Devils were expected to bounce back from their controversial Week 9 loss, but also disappointed by losing and messing their title hopes.