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It feels like just days ago we were watching Florida State upset Alabama and Ohio State take down Texas in Week 1 of the 2025 college football season. Suddenly, it's Week 9 and there are massive games everywhere as teams try and vie for College Football Playoff positioning. Three SEC games that feature ranked teams on both sides are among the top games of the week, and those three contests are part of our top college spread bets for Week 9. All spreads and odds are courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.

Best spread picks for Week 9

Ole Miss +5.5 at Oklahoma

Lane Kiffin's squad couldn't pick up a second straight win over Georgia last week, blowing a late lead and getting outscored 17-0 in the fourth quarter for not only a loss, but a failure to cover. The Rebels stay on the road this week, this time heading to Norman for a date with Oklahoma. Ole Miss is still in great shape when it comes to making the College Football Playoff, but it can really only afford one more loss. The Rebels are underdogs here at Oklahoma in this battle of one-loss CFP hopefuls and they should cover if not win outright, especially if the defense can test John Mateer in his third game back from injury for the Sooners. If not, look for more takes about Kiffin being distracted thanks to the Florida job opening up.

UCLA +25.5 at Indiana

It'll be interesting to see how sportsbooks view UCLA the rest of the way. After losing each of their first four games of the 2025 season, the Bruins have won three in a row and are 3-1 under interim head coach Tim Skipper, blowing out Penn State and Michigan State and winning a close one over Maryland last week. Indiana can put up points and drive up the score under Curt Cignetti but the Bruins have something working here and 25.5 may be a bit high. The biggest factor worth monitoring here is the status of UCLA QB Nico Iamaleava, who injured his knee in the win over the Terrapins. 

Virginia -10.5 at North Carolina

The Bill Belichick experiment isn't working, and his team simply looks overmatched in ACC play. The Tar Heels are 2-4 with wins over Charlotte and Richmond and have been blown out in three of their four losses this season. Now, UNC faces a Virginia team that's ranked and is vying for an ACC title. Clemson beat the Tar Heels by 28 on the road a few weeks ago, and Virginia can certainly do the same as everyone wonders what in the world is going on at Chapel Hill.

Vanderbilt -2.5 vs. Missouri

It's wild to think that if the season ended today, Vanderbilt would be a playoff team. The Commodores, a perennial SEC doormat, have been stellar to open the season with their lone loss at Alabama. They just knocked off a ranked LSU team and put up 31 points on a really good Tigers defense, and Vandy now welcomes a Missouri team to town that has also lost just one game, which was also to Alabama. This is a massive game for both sides as each team aims to establish itself as a prime at-large CFP squad. There's a very real chance the winner of this game makes the CFP and the loser doesn't. Diego Pavia's been one of the top players at the country, and he and the Commodores have done some awesome things at home. Look for a Vandy win and cover on Saturday.

Texas A&M -2.5 at LSU

This is a massive game for LSU, which has already lost twice and still has Alabama and Oklahoma on the schedule. A loss would all but end the Tigers' playoff hopes. The Aggies, meanwhile, are one of the top teams in the nation and survived a shootout scare at Arkansas last week. The Tigers need a big defensive performance, but they just allowed 31 points to Vanderbilt. A&M's offense has been even more dangerous than the Commodores' this year, and the Tigers' once-feared offense has been stuck in neutral this year with Garrett Nussmeier looking far from a first-round pick. If the Aggies can score early, the Tigers may not be in position to keep this close, even at home.