Week 9 of the college football season is already here, which means we are well past the halfway point of the regular season. It’s been a wild year with a ton of upsets, meaning there are still a ton of teams in the hunt for the College Football Playoff, so pretty much every game will have some sort of playoff implications.

This week will go a long way towards determining who makes the 12-team playoff, so I went through Saturday’s early slate and predicted who will come out on top.

Arizona State at (8) BYU

Odds: BYU -16.5

After knocking off Notre Dame and jumping up to No. 2 in the AP Poll, the BYU Cougars fell victim to the No. 2 trap, losing to UCF in double overtime. It was the third straight week that the No. 2 team in the country fell, and now the Cougars find themselves ranked No. 8.

This is a good bounce-back spot for BYU, who gets an Arizona State team that has really struggled against ranked opponents. In their two games against ranked teams (ranked when ASU played them) this season (Texas A&M and Texas Tech), they’ve lost by a combined 56 points. Now they have to hit the road to face a BYU team looking for redemption after last week. It’s not going to be pretty.

Final Score: BYU 36, ASU 20

(17) Florida at (3) Georgia

Odds: UGA -11.5

The Florida Gators are the upset kings of college football this year. They’ve knocked off No. 4 Ole Miss after their big win against LSU, and they took down No. 7 Texas. They have two of the best wins in the country right now, but they’ve also struggled against some lesser teams, losing to South Carolina and Missouri. Now, they have to go to Georgia and have the chance to pull off another massive upset.

Their last time out, Georgia suffered an embarrassing loss to Auburn, but followed it up with a bye week, giving them extra time to prepare for this Florida team. Add on the fact that they’re at home, and I don’t see the Gators pulling off the upset this time around.

Final Score: Georgia 29, Florida 21

Minnesota at (4) Indiana

Odds: IU -20.5

College Gameday is heading to Bloomington, Indiana for this game, and it should be a good one. Minnesota is playing really well right now. Outside of an embarrassing loss to Purdue, they’ve knocked off Michigan and No. 15 Iowa in October, and now they have a chance to upset the reigning national champions.

Indiana hasn’t looked like a dominant team the last few weeks, hardly toppling Nebraska, losing to Ohio State, and barely knocking off Michigan in their last three games. Their defense has been fantastic, but their offense has really struggled to move the football.

The spread for this game is way too big, but Indiana still wins it.

Final Score: Indiana 17, Minnesota 9

(20) Northwestern at Oregon

Odds: ORE -3.5

Why is a 6-1 ranked team an underdog against unranked Oregon? Well, Northwestern hasn’t played anybody all year, and the one time they did, they lost to Indiana. Outside of that, their toughest test has been unranked Penn State, and now they have to travel to Autzen Stadium to play in front of a very hostile crowd.

Oregon hasn’t looked great this year, losing games to Oklahoma State, UCLA, and now Illinois, and with Dante Moore out for the year, there isn’t a ton of hope for this offense. Dylan Raiola hasn’t played well and has averaged just 13.5 points per game in his last two starts.

This is a tough one. Northwestern hasn’t beaten anybody all year, and while Oregon has been battle-tested, they haven’t pulled off a big win outside of beating USC (which isn’t that big of a flex). But Oregon’s at home, and when Vegas has an unranked opponent favored over a ranked one, they usually know what they’re doing.

Final Score: Oregon 23, Northwestern 21

South Carolina at Oklahoma

Odds: OU -3.5

If the Florida Gators aren’t the upset kings of college football this year, it’s the South Carolina Gamecocks. They’re 4-3, but over their last two games they’ve taken down No. 16 Florida and No. 11 Tennessee. So why are they underdogs against unranked Oklahoma?

Well, the Sooners haven’t been all that bad. They had a slow start to the season, but knocked off No. 1 Texas, lost a one-score game to No. 15 Kentucky, and then beat Mississippi State last week. While South Carolina relies on their offense to pull off these upsets, Oklahoma relies on its defense.

The Gamecocks have to go on the road to face an Oklahoma team that still believes there’s an outside chance they can make the playoffs if they win out. The crowd will be roaring when SC’s offense is on the field, and with the defense the Sooners have, they should be able to lock them up.

Final Score: Oklahoma 20, South Carolina 16

(6) Utah at Cincinnati

Odds: UTAH -7

The Utah Utes have been fraudulent all year. Their only big win of the season was against No. 14 Houston, who were quite fraudulent themselves. I’m not saying Utah is a bad team, but are they the sixth-best team in the country? Heck no.

After their first ranked win of the season, Utah has to hit the road to face Cincinnati, who is probably a better team than Houston. The Bearcats are 5-2 and just upset No. 8 Texas Tech in front of their home crowd. Do you think Cincinnati’s fans won’t be rocking in this game looking for another top-25 upset? They will be, and this offense is finding its stride at the right time.

Utah’s downfall is coming, and Cincinnati is going to get its second-ranked win in a row.

Final Score: Cincinnati 31, Utah 24

Virginia at (14) Wake Forest

Odds: WAKE -12.5

At the start of the year, everyone had high hopes for Virginia and no hopes for Wake Forest. That has changed drastically since Week 1 with Wake sitting at No. 14 and UVA sitting at 4-4.

The Demon Deacons’ offense has been fantastic, scoring 30+ points in six of their seven games this season. They’re 6-1 with their only loss coming to Miami, and they should be able to keep the good times rolling with a win over UVA at home.

Final Score: Wake Forest 41, UVA 22

Purdue at Penn State

Odds: PSU -10.5

Purdue and Penn State have been two of the worst teams in the Big 10 this season. Penn State is 0-4 in conference play, and while Purdue has been able to pull off a couple of upsets, they beat Illinois and Minnesota, which isn’t all that impressive. Penn State’s Big 10 schedule has been objectively harder, with games against Wisconsin, Northwestern, USC, and Michigan, but they still aren’t a good team.

This is a bottom-of-the-barrel battle in the Big 10, but the Nittany Lions should get their first conference win this season.

Final Score: PSU 24, Purdue 20