With one week left until the first College Football Playoff rankings of the season, no team is safe from the chaos. That is reflected in the spreads for some of Week 9's biggest matchups. One of the bigger spreads in top-25 matchups is Georgia going to Atlanta as a two-score favorite against Florida.
The Bulldogs entered their open date on a low note with a devastating loss to Auburn, but the Gators were riding high on the heels of a top-10 win over Texas in Austin. With Julian Sayin sidlined by an injury, Ohio State goes into Los Angeles to take on a mentally wounded USC team, which just fell to unranked Wisconsin. In spite of their big question at quarterback, the Buckeyes opened as favorites against the Trojans.
There are just three unbeaten teams remaining in college football -- Miami, Utah and UCLA. The Hurricanes and Bruins are massive favorites in Week 9, but the Utes face a tricky road trip to Cincinnati. Let's take a look at the schedule and early lines.
Georgia (-10.5): This is technically a neutral-site game, although the crowd at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta will probably lean red-and-black. Both teams are coming off an open date, but the way each entered the off week couldn't be more different. Florida went into Austin with its backup quarterback and rallied for a comeback win over No. 7 Texas.
Georgia suffered a stunning upset at the hands of rival Auburn, knocking the Bulldogs from their spot atop atop the rankings. Despite that, the oddsmakers see the Dawgs as an obvious favorite. Ohio State (-7) at USC: It doesn't necessarily reflect well upon Lincoln Riley that Ohio State is a touchdown favorite in Los Angeles despite starting a backup quarterback.
It's not hard to see why this line is what it is after watching the Trojans struggle to move the ball against Wisconsin in a 24-7 loss to the Badgers on Saturday night. Star quarterback Jayden Maiava looked pedestrian, and while the USC defense played well enough to win, Wisconsin doesn't have anyone remotely like Heisman Trophy favorite Jeremiah Smith on their roster. Arizona at Texas Tech (-4.5): The Wildcats have very quietly rolled to a 6-1 start, and their lone loss was an 11-point defeat in Provo.
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