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There's something special about college football being played under the lights, and that's exactly what we have tonight with a five-game slate.
Our staff came through with four best bets for Louisville vs. Florida State, Washington vs. Iowa, San Jose State vs. Wyoming and BYU vs. Iowa State.
With so much action to get to, let's dive into our college football picks and NCAAF best bets for the games on Friday, October 9.
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College Football Picks, Best Bets
The team logos in the table below represent each of the matchups that our college football betting staff is targeting from Friday's slate of games. Click on the team logos for any of the matchups below to navigate to a specific bet discussed in this article.
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 7 p.m. | |
  | 9 p.m. | |
  | 9 p.m. | |
  | 10:15 p.m. | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our NCAAF Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | ||
Louisville vs. Florida State
By Bet Labs
Friday's Louisville vs. Florida State college football game fits a historically profitable betting system from out Bet Labs database.
Named "Night Conference Unders," this is a college football system that takes advantage of slower-paced conference games played in evening windows where scoring expectations are often too high.
These matchups occur in the Central or Eastern Time Zones with kickoffs between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. ET, a setting that historically produces tighter play and more conservative game plans as teams adjust under the lights.
By focusing on conference contests, the system isolates games with built in familiarity where defenses are better prepared for opponent schemes.
The totals targeted are 61.5 or lower, which represent lines high enough to tempt public action on the over yet still leave room for the under to hit when execution stalls.
With betting percentages spread across both sides and temperatures sitting in a playable range above 60 degrees, the environment remains steady without extremes.
The result is a reliable profile where unders cash more often than expected in conference night games.
This system boasts an all-time record of 577-435-10, good for a win percentage of 57% and an ROI of 10.3%.
Pick: Under 59.5
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Washington vs. Iowa
Iowa could be at a disadvantage in the passing game with an injury to Hank Brown under center.
However, the first handicap comes with the offense's run concepts. The Hawkeyes generally lean toward outside zone, led by running back Kamari Moulton.
Washington has been fantastic on defense against the rush, ranking top-five in Stuff Rate and top-25 in Success Rate allowed.
The Huskies have seen outside zone more than any other run concept, producing a high 58% Success Rate while giving opponents a negative EPA.
The Hawkeyes' pass rush has the advantage against a Huskies offensive line that's mid-FBS when it comes to protecting quarterback Demond Williams Jr. The junior has already faced 78 pressures in 205 dropbacks, the highest rate of his career.
The issue for Iowa is Washington's ability to create explosives thanks to busted plays. Williams has posted four turnover-worthy plays to just a single mistake when blitzed this season.
The results have been hit and miss when Parker calls a blitz. Iowa has created a negative play on 17% of attempts compared to a 14% big-play conversion by the opposing offense.
Action Network's Betting Power Ratings call for Washington to be favored by a field goal, giving no edge to the current market.
However, the Huskies have all the checkmarks outside of the projection thanks to Brown's injury, Washington's defensive dominance against outside zone, and Williams' ability to create outside the pocket.
Check out Wilson's full Week 6 betting card below:
Pick: Washington -3.5 (+104 or Better)
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San Jose State vs Wyoming Pick
By Joshua Nunn
Expect an exceptionally slow pace here. Wyoming ran just 49 plays last week and averaged only three yards per play. Its recent games have been low-scoring affairs, with the totals coming in at 34, 34, 37, and 28 points.
San Jose State has been leaning on the run more, and it ran only 62 plays against Hawaii, marking its lowest play count since the opener against USC.
That game was a late one in Hawaii and a sweaty win, and now the Spartans have a short week. With the compressed schedule and travel, I don’t think we’ll see the same pace from SJSU. In fact, it really loses two days on a short week like that.
Both teams should be able to run the ball somewhat effectively, but the passing-down picture is ugly.
SJSU ranks 107th in passing explosives, and Wyoming is 123rd. Defensively, though, SJSU sits 27th in preventing explosive pass plays, and Wyoming ranks 19th.
The Pokes' quarterback situation pretty much tells the rest of the story. Tyler Hughes has completed 59% of his passes with two touchdowns and six interceptions. He’s not a passing threat, and I don’t expect the aerial attack to show up here.
Situationally, on third down and in the red zone, these defenses should have the edge. Expect a grind-it-out, low-scoring game.
Check out the full "Big Bets on Campus Sixth Gear" podcast below:
Pick: Under 42.5
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BYU vs Iowa State Pick
By Doug Ziefel
Raynor’s season rushing floor supports this well on paper. With 152 net rushing yards on 42 carries across five games, a 30.4-yard-per-game average and three rushing touchdowns, he’s a real factor in Iowa State’s ground attack, not just as a scrambler.
He’s also shown some big-spike games, including a 60-yard rushing performance against Iowa.
The swing factor is recency and matchup difficulty. In his last two games, he managed just 15 yards (11 carries) against West Virginia and 27 yards (10 carries) against Utah, both below or barely clearing this number.
In a high-scoring West Virginia shootout, running back Aiden Flora, not Raynor, carried the bulk of the rushing workload and even threw two touchdown passes, which cut into Raynor’s own rushing usage.
BYU presents the toughest run-defense matchup Iowa State has faced all season. The Cougars rank inside the top 10-20 nationally in run defense, allowing just 73-75 rushing yards per game as a team entering this matchup, and they’re 4-0 off the back of that identity.
That said, 25 yards is a low bar relative to his season average, and even a defense this stingy against the run as a whole has shown some give to a mobile quarterback specifically.
BYU’s defense is built more to contain backs between the tackles than to spy a dual-threat QB extending plays.
If Iowa State’s offensive line can create even modest room, Raynor’s season-long rate comfortably clears this number; the risk is a complete defensive game plan built specifically around containing him, similar to what we saw from West Virginia.
Pick: Jaylen Raynor 25+ Rushing Yards (+100)
