It’s the last weekend of October, and conference races are heating up as postseason spots get both closer and further away. Three games make up the slate on Friday, two of which we're highlighting with intriguing potential.
Friday night’s schedule is a mix of conference action, which includes a game in the American, Big 12, and MAC.
Below, we’ll break down our college football picks and predictions for Friday, October 30, including Baylor vs. UCF and Tulane vs. Charlotte.
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Best Week 9 College Football Picks Against the Spread – Friday, October 30
Two games stand out as our favorite college football picks on Friday, October 30.
UCF, fresh off its huge upset win over #2 BYU, hosts Baylor Friday at 7 p.m. on ESPN, and Tulane and Charlotte clash in an American Conference battle at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
The payouts listed below indicate real-money earnings if a prediction is correct; for example, a 2x on a $100 entry pays out $200. The lower the payout multiplier, the higher the chance of the outcome occurring, according to user picks.
Baylor vs. UCF Prediction on Spread for Friday
Start Time: 7:30 p.m. ET | TV: ESPN
We have seen this story a bunch this season — a team wins its “Super Bowl” and then crashes out the next week with a loss.
Ole Miss beat former coach Lane Kiffin and LSU and lost at Florida the next week. Last week, we saw Tennessee lose to South Carolina a week after knocking off Alabama and BYU lose at UCF a week after knocking off Notre Dame.
Now that same UCF team is hosting a Baylor team that just fired its coach, Dave Aranda, after nearly seven seasons. You’ll have an interim coach, Joe Klanderman, trying to impress a new athletic director and make a bowl game. Players are looking to put good film out, too.
As for the contest itself, Baylor has one of the fastest, highest-volume offenses in the country, averaging 80.9 plays per game (second in the nation). The issue all season has been finishing drives, as the club sits 121st in red-zone TD percentage and 126th in overall success rate.
Florida transfer QB DJ Lagway, while struggling at times, has shown improvement from his Gators days. The Bears have the 24th-best passing offense in the country at 278.9 yards per game. They go up against a UCF defense that's 118th in passing yards allowed and will be without S Demari Henderson and LB Lewis Carter.
UCF just pulled off one of the biggest wins in program history with the double-OT win over #2 BYU. However, that came off losses to Oklahoma State and Houston. In those three games, the Knights gave up 33.3 PPG.
The Bears’ defense, sitting 19th with a per-game allowance of 18.1 points, just allowed more than 20 points for the first time when Kansas scored 25 last weekend.
Outside of the BYU upset, UCF's wins have come against FCS Bethune-Cookman, Georgia State, and TCU. Now the Knights face a Baylor team with an explosive passing attack, a new voice leading the program, and plenty of motivation to finish the season strong.
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Tulane vs. Charlotte Prediction on Spread for Friday
Start Time: 7 p.m. ET | TV: ESPN2
It’s not often you are interested in picking a one-win team in any condition, but the Charlotte 49ers just recorded their first win of the season and are at home in a good spot vs. the Tulane Green Wave.
After being held to 10 or fewer points in three straight games, the 49ers put up 38 in a win at Temple. Charlotte entered that contest averaging just 15.9 PPG and gained 455 yards in a balanced attack, with QB Conner Harrell accounting for 2 TDs in the air and 2 more on the ground.
The 49ers were also on a bye last week and host a 3-4 Tulane team that lost by 23 at home to UTSA last week.
The Green Wave committed 6 turnovers in the contest and allowed the Roadrunners to rush for 223 yards and keep the ball for over 35 minutes. On the season, they rank 118th nationally at just 20.3 PPG and 116th in total offense at 332.0 YPG.
Tulane allows opponents to convert half of their third-down opportunities and is 132nd in the nation against the run (214.0 YPG), potentially giving Charlotte a chance to sustain drives and keep this game close.
Tulane may have two more wins, but that’s not enough to justify being favored by 9.5 points on the road vs. a 49ers team coming off its best offensive performance of the season.
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Will Baylor rebound with a new coach and take advantage of UCF’s letdown spot? Can Charlotte pull off a second straight win after starting the season with six losses?
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