The biggest weekend of the college football season on paper is here. The storied Red River Rivalry returns for its inaugural SEC matchup with #1 Texas facing #20 Oklahoma. Meanwhile, a battle of undefeated teams unfolds as #2 Ohio State visits #3 Oregon in a high-stakes Big Ten showdown set in one of the sport’s most electric atmospheres. With each game brimming with implications for rankings and playoff hopes, we’ll break down the key players, strategies and betting odds for this Saturday.
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Games of the Week
(All odds provided by FanDuel Sportsbook)
#1 Texas (-14.5) vs #20 Oklahoma | Total 51.5 | Saturday, 3:30 ET on ABC
New conference, same Red River Rivalry hatred between Texas and Oklahoma. Both teams have dealt with issues in the QB room, Texas with Quinn Ewers being injured and Oklahoma benching Jackson Arnold for true freshman Michael Hawkins. Ewers is set to return to his starting job this game. Texas is the heavy favorite, and rightfully so.
I know this is one of the best rivalry games in the college game and anything can happen but Texas is just too good from top to bottom in all phases of the game and a huge mismatch for Oklahoma. Outside of Texas’ starters not getting off the bus, I don’t see how Oklahoma will be able to keep it close for long.
Texas’ offensive and defensive ranks (Via Outlier.Bet)
- Offense
- 10th in passing yards
- 37th in rushing yards
- 10th in yards per play
- Defense
- 2nd in passing yards allowed
- 30th in rushing yards allowed
- 3rd in yards per play allowed
Oklahoma’s offensive and defensive ranks (Via Outlier.Bet)
- Offense
- 118th in passing yards
- 100th in rushing yards
- 121st in yards per play
- Defense
- 75th in passing yards allowed
- 25th in rushing yards allowed
- 22nd in yards per play allowed
I have Texas winning and covering the two-touchdown spread rather easily. Ewers is back to restart his Heisman Trophy campaign and prove he is the rightful QB1 over Arch Manning.
My Picks:
- Moneyline: Texas
- Spread: Texas -14.5
- Total: Over 51.5
#2 Ohio State (3.5) @ #3 Oregon | Total 52.5 | Saturday, 7:30 ET on NBC
What a matchup this is set to be. Ohio State travels to one of the best environments in college football, the Autzen Zoo. They both come into this one undefeated as expected although Oregon has been tested and struggled in a couple of games. Meanwhile, Ohio State has been on cruise control. Ohio State currently stands as the favorite on the road.
We saw Dillion Gabriel struggle in goal-to-go situations vs. Michigan State with two ugly interceptions. He faces a much tougher pass rush and better coverage defensive backs. The key for Oregon’s offense will be establishing Jordan James on the ground and opening up explosive play opportunities for Tez Johnson and Evan Stewart. It will be interesting to see who potential first-round pick Jabbar Muhammad primarily shadows out of Emeka Egbuka and Jeremiah Smith.
Ohio State’s offensive and defensive ranks (Via Outlier.Bet)
- Offense
- 23rd in passing yards
- 14th in rushing yards
- 5th in yards per play
- Defense
- 4th in passing yards allowed
- 3rd in rushing yards allowed
- 1st in yards per play allowed
Oregon’s offensive and defensive ranks (Via Outlier.Bet)
- Offense
- 19th in passing yards
- 67th in rushing yards
- 34th in yards per play
- Defense
- 18th in passing yards allowed
- 24th in rushing yards allowed
- 15th in yards per play allowed
I have Ohio State winning this one by a close margin. Unless Gabriel’s turnover issues are present again early, I can see Ohio State running away with it. Oregon’s best chance to win will be to limit the big plays from Egbuka and Smith and force Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson to run the ball to sustain drives. This will be one of the games that define the 2024 season.
My Picks:
- Moneyline: Ohio State
- Spread: Ohio State -3.5
- Total: Over 52.5
Devy Spotlight
Jordan James (RB – Oregon) | 2025
Jordan James has had no less than 86 rush yards in each game with three 100-yard games. He now faces a massive challenge against the third-ranked Ohio State rush defense. He has also reached the end zone in four out of five games. James is safely inside my top-10 RBs for the 2025 class and sits at RB7 with room to move up with a big game against Ohio State.
Jordan James is the name. Scoring TDs is his game. ???? @oregonfootball ups the score pic.twitter.com/2BWmmJ4slN
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 5, 2024
Nico Iamaleava (QB – Tennessee) | 2026
Coming off an upset loss and performance vs. Arkansas, Nico Iamaleave gets his first taste of the Florida-Tennessee rivalry as a stater. Florida has a mediocre pass defense but we’ve only seen one QB have a big game against them — Heisman candidate Cameron Ward. Iamaleava started the season hot but has cooled off since entering SEC play with 352 pass yards and one total touchdown in two SEC games. He has taken seven sacks as well.
Currently ranked as my 2026 QB1 by a decent margin, I want to see him step up to the plate in a rivalry game and have a great game to get his season back on track. Tennessee is a very QB-friendly offense that saw Hendon Hooker and Joe Milton put up big numbers. Not seeing a similar level of production from Iamaleava is a little concerning.
Heisman Trophy Race
Per FanDuel Sportsbook, the top five Heisman favorites are:
- Ashton Jeanty (RB – Boise State) | +220
- Travis Hunter (WR/DB – Colorado) | +350
- Cameron Ward (QB – Miami) | +450
- Jalen Milroe (QB – Alabama) | +1000
- Cade Klubnik (QB – Clemson) | +1300
Four of the top-five remain but newcomer Cade Klubnik is a big surprise making an appearance this high. He has led Clemson to a 4-1 record and a top-10 ranking and is fourth overall in ESPN quarterback rating right behind Cameron Ward. Ohio State true freshman Jeremiah Smith is making a surge and currently sits at +3300 ahead of guys like Shedeur Sanders, Will Howard and fellow wide receivers Tre Harris and Tetairoa McMillan. I do have Smith as a dark horse to receive an invite to New York and is fifth in my personal Heisman rankings.
Miami has been extremely lucky to pull out wins the past two weeks but Ward is still putting up monster numbers to the tune of 780 passing yards and eight touchdowns (six passing, two rushing). Jalen Milroe saw a decent drop from being the odds-on favorite at +220 and dropping to +1000 after being upset on the road by Vanderbilt. Travis Hunter has a big opportunity to continue his rise as Colorado takes on #18 Kansas State at home Saturday night.
Here's how Ashton Jeanty stacks up against the last three RB Heisman winners ????????
Is he next?@BroncoSportsFB | @markingramII pic.twitter.com/51qguLS2bs
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 6, 2024
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