Week 9 College Football Predictions: Picks for Five Best College Football Games This Weekend, including Florida vs Georgia

The 2026 college football season has delivered plenty of chaos, as evidenced once more this past week with undefeated Texas Tech and BYU going down against unranked opponents. While the Week 9 college football schedule is a bit short on marquee ranked-versus-ranked matchups to enjoy on Saturday, we’re still making some college football predictions for the best games on the slate.

Let’s dive into our college football picks this weekend for the top ranked games.

Arizona Wildcats 27, Texas Tech Red Raiders 21

We’d been skeptical of the Texas Tech Red Raiders for most of the fall, and their issues finally proved costly last Saturday at Cincinnati. Red Raiders quarterback Will Hammond (7.6 yards per attempt, 6–6 TD-INT, and 11 sacks taken) simply hasn’t been a very good starter in 2026, with 5 of his interceptions actually coming at home this year. In Week 9, he faces an Arizona Wildcats defense that ranks 25th in average passer rating allowed (119.0), 25th in sack rate (8.06 percent), and 35th in yards per attempt allowed (6.5). We honestly have more confidence right now in Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita (18–4 TD-INT, 9.2 ypa, and 82.0 ESPN QBR), and it’s not as if the Red Raiders defense can single-handedly carry this team anymore. We’re predicting a second straight loss for Texas Tech, with Hammond turning it over twice.

Wisconsin Badgers 17, Iowa Hawkeyes 13

The Iowa Hawkeyes have lost two of their last three games, with a victory over the Washington Huskies sandwiched in between the two defeats. Set to host the Wisconsin Badgers on Saturday afternoon, the key for Kirk Ferentz’s team will be avoiding the issues on third down (36.71 percent conversion rate, 88th in FBS) that have resulted in an offense that’s averaged just 2.8 red-zone trips per game (106th in FBS). Here’s the problem for Iowa: The Badgers defense is playing great football as of late, coming off a three-game stretch in which it allowed just 292.3 total yards and 9 points per game with four takeaways. In that span, Badgers opponents have averaged just 2.7 red-zone trips per game with 2.7 sacks taken per game. We’re certainly not expecting Wisconsin’s offense to fare well in this one, especially on the ground against a Hawkeyes defense that has allowed just a 2.5 yards-per-carry average (5th in FBS) on the season. It’s going to be a defensive battle and home-field advantage tips the scales a bit more in Iowa’s favor, but we’ll side with the Badgers defense coming out on top as long as quarterback Colton Joseph protects the football.

Georgia Bulldogs 31, Florida Gators 21

We’re not going to pick against a Kirby Smart-coached team coming off a loss to an unranked opponent. There is a bit more intrigue right now with the Florida Gators, primarily because of the hope in Gainesville and from us that Jon Sumrall names Tramell Jones Jr. as his starting quarterback for Week 9. It would certainly be the best path for this Gators offense to try to take advantage of a Georgia defense that just allowed 115 rushing yards to Byrum Brown the last time we saw it on the field. We don’t, however, have any confidence in a Florida defense that has allowed 7.9 yards per pass attempt (96th in FBS) and a 148.8 passer rating (104th). Jones’ playmaking ability will give Florida a chance in this one, especially with wide receiver Vernell Brown III back out there. With this game being played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, though, we’ll take the Bulldogs to rebound with a 10-point victory.

Utah Utes 35, Cincinnati Bearcats 27

Even after the Utah Utes beat Houston thanks to a 14-point fourth quarter, there are still plenty around the country who are skeptical about this being a top-10 team. The Utes are facing a Cincinnati Bearcats program that just took out Texas Tech, and Scott Satterfield’s offense is averaging 35.4 points per game. Keep in mind, however, that the Bearcats defense allowed 522 total yards and 34 points in a loss to Arizona a few weeks ago and then lost a 45-42 shootout in West Virginia. Utah quarterback Devon Dampier (1,616 passing yards, 348 rushing yards, and 20 total touchdowns) is more than capable of taking advantage of Cincinnati defensively. So, as long as Morgan Scalley’s defense does its job, the Utes should go into Nippert Stadium on Saturday afternoon and come out of Week 9 with an 8-0 record.

Ohio State Buckeyes 28, USC Trojans 17

If Julian Sayin were available or this game was played at Ohio Stadium, we’d have a lot more confidence in the Ohio State Buckeyes easily dismantling the USC Trojans. After all, Lincoln Riley’s abysmal track record on the road speaks for itself. At the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday night, there’s at least a bit more intrigue with this matchup. That’s primarily because Buckeyes quarterback Luke Fahey is completely untested, and the limited looks we saw from him against Indiana didn’t inspire much confidence. He did, however, get two weeks to prepare for a Trojans defense that has allowed 12 passing touchdowns and 216.4 passing yards per game this season with a 148.6 passer rating. In short, Jeremiah Smith will get open versus USC’s secondary. Plus, we have a high degree of confidence in Buckeyes defensive coordinator Matt Patricia beating Riley in a chess match.