2015 College Football Picks – Playoff Contenders Stock Report: Week 10

2015 College Football Picks – Playoff Contenders Stock Report: Week 10: Week 9 of the 2015 college football season is in the books, and while it wasn’t the most drama-filled week of the season so far, there were still a few teams that grabbed some very important victories. On the flip side, there were also a few teams that suffered major setbacks. With several big games on the horizon as the calendar flips to November, here is a look at the biggest winners and loser on the heels of another weekend of college football. Don’t forget to check out our top college football picks against the spread this week on NSAwins.com.

2015 College Football Picks – Playoff Contenders Stock Report: Week 10

Stock Up

It took 70 points, but the Oklahoma State Cowboys survived a shootout on the road against Texas Tech to improve to 8-0 on the year. The heavy lifting is still to come with TCU, Baylor and Oklahoma all looming, but the Cowboys have at least put themselves in the mix coming down the stretch of the season. They also get all three Big 12 juggernauts at home, which certainly won’t hurt their chances of springing an upset or two.

It wasn’t pretty, but the Notre Dame Fighting Irish survived a road game against a determined Temple team to remain in the College Football Playoff conversation. The defense of the Owls was as good as advertised, and if not for a few big running plays by Notre Dame quarterback DeShone Kizer, the Fighting Irish would have been in trouble. Even with Kizer’s 143 rushing yards, Notre Dame needed a late touchdown drive and then a diving interception to escape with a 24-20 win. With Temple playing its first big game in what seems like forever, Notre Dame deserves credit for finding a way to win.

While Vanderbilt certainly isn’t a good SEC team, the Commodores are still an SEC team, which makes the 34-0 beatdown the Houston Cougars put on them mean a little something to a Houston team trying to put itself in position to play in a major bowl. Big games against Cincinnati and Memphis in the coming weeks will likely decided whether the 8-0 Cougars can remain undefeated and establish themselves as the best team outside of the Power 5 conferences, but in the meantime, the win over Vanderbilt could move them to the top of the list.

Stock Down

They didn’t even play, but the Ohio State Buckeyes suffered what may have been the biggest loss of any top team. Fresh off an impressive performance, quarterback J.T. Barrett was arrested and suspended for at least the next game. With Barrett under center, Ohio State’s offense appeared to finally be clicking, but now the team will be forced to go back to Cardale Jones, possibly for the biggest games of the season. The quarterback controversy that seemed to have ended is suddenly back in the picture, and it could cost the Buckeyes.

After grabbing the lead late against Miami, it appeared the Duke Blue Devils were poised to remain undefeated in conference play. Instead, the Hurricanes used an eight-lateral kickoff return to steal the win on the final play of the game. The Blue Devils can still win their division, but any margin for error is gone, along with their spot in the top 25. Games against North Carolina and Pittsburgh the next two weeks will likely decide whether they have any chance of playing in the ACC title game, but the way they lost this game has to sting.

Get more 2015 College Football betting odds for the 2015 season updated daily on NSAwins.com including updated odds to win the 2016 National Championship.