To all you early-bird bettors out there hoping to get ahead of Saturday's noon action so you can enjoy betting on Friday Night Lights in peace, we tip our proverbial cap.  And to those night owls fumbling through the morning after staying up to sweat Friday night's Hawai'i vs. Wyoming game deep into the late-night hours, we're right there with you — and we're also here to help.

Our staff has broken down the odds and highlighted their favorite betting positions for the Week 9 Saturday college football slate. From the noons to the nightcap, we've got you covered with our favorite bets for each of the major Saturday college football kickoff windows:

• 12:00 p.m. ET | aka "The Noons"
• 3:30 p.m. ET | "The Night Owl's Nightcap"
• 7:00 p.m. ET | "The Evening Set"

In this article, we're focusing on "The Noons," by highlighting our three favorite betting spots for games that tee it up at 12 p.m. ET.

Looking for our Best Bets Recommendations for the Afternoon or Evening kickoffs?

Freely navigate among each of the three kickoff windows via the links below:

Saturday College Football Best Bets for Week 9:

Check our top Saturday picks below, each of which comes from one of the following 10 games. Click any of the afternoon games below to navigate to a specific matchup. Alternatively, click on any of the other seven games among our staff's best bets this week to navigate to our Afternoon or Evening Best Bets columns.

• 12:00 p.m. ET | Wake Forest vs. Syracuse
• 12:00 p.m. ET | Cincinnati vs. Memphis
• 12:00 p.m. ET | Georgia vs. Kentucky
• 3:30 p.m. ET | Rutgers vs. Indiana
• 3:30 p.m. ET | Georgia Tech vs. Notre Dame
• 4:00 p.m. ET | Virginia Tech vs. Louisville
• 4:00 p.m. ET | Texas vs. Oklahoma State
• 7:00 p.m. ET | Charlotte vs. Duke
• 8:00 p.m. ET | North Carolina vs. Virginia
• 9:30 p.m. ET | San Diego State vs. Utah State

All listed odds tables have been updated as of Saturday morning.

Wake Forest -12.5 (-110) vs. Syracuse

by Mike Calabrese

I was surprised to see this line under 17 points, given Syracuse roster upheaval. The Orange, already suffering through a disappointing season (1-5 straight up), are down a staggering amount of players. Most notably, the offense is without starting quarterback Tommy DeVito, running back Abdul Adams — who opted out — and starting guard Patrick Davis.

The Orange defense is also without former All-American Andre Cisco, who was recently lost for the season. When you’re already struggling, personnel losses like this are a death knell.

Conversely, Wake Forest is surging. Ever since Clemson hammered the Demon Deacons in the first half of their opener, Wake has been playing at a top-25 level. Since the first 30 minutes against Clemson, WF has outscored its competition 184-108, including its victory over 19th-ranked Virginia Tech last week in Winston-Salem.

Syracuse’s 3-3-5 defense is going to be powerless to stop Wake’s balanced attack. Against Liberty two weeks ago, the Orange surrendered 520 total yards and 38 points. It could be even worse in this one.

When 'Cuse has the football, it is in an equally tough spot. The offense ranks 111th in SP+ and has been horrific in the red zone (53.8%, 94th). The crazy part is that Syracuse's “success” this season has been tied to one of the country’s best turnover margins.

If Wake protects the football, this game has the makings of a bloodbath. And Wake is absolutely elite at protecting the football, with only one giveaway to their credit in five games.

I’ll be backing Sam Hartman and the Demon Deacons to torch Syracuse in the Carrier Dome.

Cincinnati -6.5 (-110) vs. Memphis

by Ace DeCardano

Coming off a few workmanlike, although not overly impressive, performances against Army and South Florida to begin the season, the Bearcats passed their first real test last week. They buried SMU in the second half and won going away by a score of 42-13.

In doing so, the Bearcats defense held the Mustangs to 229.8 yards under their season average. Not only does the Cincinnati defense stop the run (3.0 yards per carry), but their otherworldly 4.8 yards per pass against leads all of FBS if you take out the teams who have only played one game.

On the other side of the ball, the Memphis defense can’t stop a nosebleed. The Tigers are dead last in FBS in yards per game against (567.8). They will give up too many points to keep this game under a touchdown margin.

Get this game early. You never want to lay more than 7 when the opportunity for 6 was available early in the week. I would buy up to -7.

Georgia -17 (-109) at Kentucky

by Mike Ianniello

No matter who starts at quarterback for Kentucky, its strength has and will continue to be running the football behind one of the best offensive lines in the country. Only five teams that have played more than one game this season average fewer pass attempts per contest than Kentucky, and three of them are service academies.

The problem for the Wildcats is that Georgia has one of the best defensive lines in the country and defends the run better than anybody. Last season’s unit that ranked first against the run surrendered 74.9 rushing yards per game and 2.6 yards per attempt. Well, somehow, that Bulldogs defense got even better this year, conceding a paltry 65.5 yards per game and 2.2 yards per attempt on the ground.

If Georgia is able to take away the run, can Kentucky successfully move the ball down the field through the air? Head coach Mark Stoops announced Thursday that Joey Gatewood will make his first start at quarterback for the Wildcats. Gatewood is just 2-for-5 passing for 18 yards this season, amassing a total of 13 career pass attempts to go along with 40 rushing attempts.

In the past two weeks, the Bulldogs suffered a loss and were idle, while watching Clemson, Alabama, Ohio State and Notre Dame all make big statements. So, look for Georgia to come out motivated to do the same against Kentucky this week.

Georgia had a week off to work out some of the kinks in its offense and has to make sure everything clicks heading into the Cocktail Party with Florida next week. Under head coach Kirby Smart, Georgia is 7-3 ATS after a loss and 5-2 ATS after a bye. The Dawgs have dominated Kentucky as of late, and this one-dimensional Wildcats offense is going to struggle to move the ball.

Take the Dawgs over the Cats.