This weekend, several teams will be playing for their College Football Playoff lives after the committee released their first rankings earlier this week. A Washington loss to USC would likely doom Washington, and Notre Dame would see their faint playoff hopes come crashing down if they lose to a struggling and unranked Clemson team. As we watch the drama unfold, there will also be plenty of opportunities for bettors to place successful wagers this weekend. Keep reading for my favorite college football picks!

Stay tuned to our college football odds series for more on betting around the NCAA. 

All college football odds courtesy of FanDuel.

College Football Odds: Notre Dame at Clemson

Notre Dame: -3.5 (-104)

Clemson: +3.5 (-118)

The Clemson Tigers will be fighting to prevent negative history this weekend for their program, as the Tigers haven’t lost three consecutive games in nearly 15 years. 

Notre Dame, meanwhile, cannot afford to lose this game if the Fighting Irish want to have keep any hopes of competing in the College Football Playoff this winter.

Notre Dame brings with them an elite pass defense and a stingy defense overall that allows just a shade over 15 points per game. The fighting Irish are a very well-rounded team as they can also move the ball with relative ease on the ground and through the air.

Cade Klubnik has struggled recently, and his struggles could get even worse if the Tigers can’t move the ball on the ground against a strong Irish run defense.

The Tigers are rebuilding this season, and they clearly aren’t even as good as their team last year which was crushed by Notre Dame. Take the Irish to win and cover in this matchup.

College Football Pick: Notre Dame -3.5 (-104)

College Football Odds: Oklahoma at Oklahoma State

Oklahoma: -5.5 (-118)

Oklahoma State: +5.5 (-104)

The Sooners' defense overall is decidedly average, but their strengths and weaknesses tell a story and put them in an excellent position to control the game against Oklahoma State. The Sooners boast an excellent run defense that is offset by a fairly weak pass defense. On the ground, the Sooners are holding opponents to just over 130 yards per game. 

This is not a good matchup for the Cowboys, who rely heavily on their ground attack to move the ball and put up points offensively. If the Sooners slow down the Cowboys' rushing attack, that will also impact Oklahoma State’s ability to throw the ball off of play action, which is one of the keys to Oklahoma State’s ability to take shots down the field for splash plays.

Given the offensive talent Oklahoma features on their roster if the Cowboys struggle to establish the run and parlay that into downfield play-action success, they’ll likely be in for a long afternoon against their in-state rivals. 

College Football Pick: Oklahoma -5.5 (-118)

College Football Odds: Washington at USC

Washington: -3 (-110)

USC: +3 (-110)

While USC has likely already been all but eliminated from College Football Playoff contention, they have a chance to play spoiler to Washington’s hopes of competing for a championship. There is even a slim chance that, if USC wins in dominating fashion, runs the table the rest of the way, and other top teams stumble, that USC could even possibly find themselves with a chance to make the playoff at the end of the season.

This game features two of the best quarterbacks in the country in Michael Penix Jr. and Caleb Williams, arguably the presumptive number one overall pick in the 2024 draft. Penix Jr. is likely going to be a first-round pick himself, and if the southpaw can showcase his talents tonight under the bright lights with the whole country watching, his draft stock could soar.

This is likely to be a high-scoring shootout type of game. I wouldn’t be surprised to see these two high-powered offenses taking turns marching down the field, and the game’s projected total of 76.5 points is well-deserved in this writer’s opinion. 

Still, I wouldn’t be shocked to see both teams score more than 40 points. Washington’s offense is in an excellent position, extremely talented in their own right, and going up against a relatively weak pass defense that Penix Jr. and company should be able to carve up. 

I like Washington to win this game by more than a field goal. I think that USC keeps it fairly close, especially playing at home, but in the fourth quarter Washington’s offense is too much for a questionable Trojans defense to handle, and the Huskies step on the gas in crunch time and win by a touchdown.

I also love the over for this matchup: Two of the best offenses in all of college football going at it, with USC having a defense that will likely struggle to contain Penix Jr and the Washington offense.

College Football Pick: Washington -3 (-110) Over 76.5 (-110)