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Welcome to the latest edition of the Newsweek Sports Betting newsletter, which you can start receiving by signing up below: Subscribe now to Newsweek Sports Betting 📩 Right now, here’s what your free subscription entails: *Weekly look at college basketball (every Monday evening) Weekly look at the NBA (every Tuesday evening) College football weekend preview (every Thursday evening) NFL weekend preview (every Friday morning) College Football ATS picks (every Saturday morning at 10 a.m. ET) NFL ATS picks (every Sunday morning at 10 a.m. ET) *Starting Monday, November 3. This morning’s edition is available below, to subscribers only. Week 10 of the 2025 college football season lost a lot of its luster sometime in September, when Penn State’s season went up in smoke. At this point, Saturday’s clash between the Nittany Lions and the Buckeyes hardly screams “blockbuster,” as OSU is laying three touchdowns. But there’s still plenty of big-time college football to check out, starting with a couple of high-stakes Thursday and Friday night matchups for Athletic Conference title (and College Football Playoff) contenders Tulane and Memphis. On Saturday, your top-25 contests include No. 9 Vanderbilt at No. 20 Texas (12 p.m., ESPN), No. 18 Oklahoma at No. 14 Tennessee (7:30 p.m., ABC) and No. 17 Cincinnati at No. 24 Utah (10:15 p.m., ESPN). In addition to those highlights, the artist formerly known as the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party (Georgia vs. Florida) kicks off at 3:30 p.m. in Jacksonville. Our deepest dive tonight is reserved for Oklahoma-Tennessee in Knoxville. NCAAF Odds, Best Bets For Friday, 10/31 Friday, October 31, College Football Schedule, Odds – No. 25 Memphis (-14) at Rice — 7 p.m., ESPN2 – North Carolina at Syracuse (-2.5) — 7:30 p.m., ESPN – Sam Houston at Louisiana Tech (-16.5) — 8 p.m., CBSSN Game Of The Night: North Carolina at Syracuse (-2.5) Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. (ESPN) Playing in primetime for the first time since a humiliating Week 1 loss to TCU, will Bill Belichick’s Tar Heels get their elusive first ACC win? North Carolina (2-5, 0-3 ACC) lost by inches, literally, on the road at Cal in Week 8. UNC also came up just short of an upset over No. 15 Virginia at home last Saturday. Syracuse (3-5, 1-4 ACC) is on a four-game losing streak since it upset Clemson 34-21 back in Week 4. Starting QB Steve Angeli tore his Achilles during that massive win. Cuse has not been the same without him, as sophomore Rickie Collins has thrown eight picks and just six TDs on the year, with a completion percentage of just 54.5. Amid Collins’ struggles, Syracuse coach Fran Brown announced this week that true freshman QB Luke Carney — who has three career pass attempts — will get at least a few reps vs. the Heels. The Orange allowed at least 30 points in each of those losses, with their defeats in this stretch coming by 35, 13, 17 and 25 points. Betting on Belichick’s Heels has hardly been a winning strategy, but to me, they’re playing better than Syracuse right now, and there’s a lot to like about the UNC defense’s matchup vs. the duo of Collins and Carney. Though QB Gio Lopez and the Carolina offense leave plenty to be desired, holding both Cal QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele and Virginia QB Chandler Morris under 6 yards per passing attempt the last two weeks was notable. Depending on how you feel about backing a 2-5 football team, the way the UNC defense has played against good competition the last two weeks makes Carolina worth either A) a flier on the moneyline (at as long as +114 at DK), or B) a small play to cover at +2.5, Best bet: UNC +2.5 (best odds: -110 at DK) No. 18 Oklahoma at No. 14 Tennessee Odds, Best Bets Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. (ABC) Oklahoma vs. Tennessee Betting Odds (from FanDuel, as of Thursday evening): – Spread: Oklahoma +2.5 (EVEN); Tennessee -2.5 (-122) – Moneyline: Oklahoma +124; Tennessee -146 – Total: 55.5 (o-102; u-120) In a rematch of Oklahoma’s SEC debut back in September of 2024, oddsmakers expect a tight one between one of the top defensive teams in the country (the Sooners) and one of the highest-scoring squads in the nation (the Vols). The loser of this game, whether it’s OU (6-2, 2-2 SEC) or Tennessee (6-2, 3-2 SEC), will be all but eliminated from SEC title and CFP contention. The winner will remain squarely in the hunt for a CFP berth. Entering this weekend, DK lists the Volunteers at 3-to-1 and the Sooners at 5-to-1 to secure a coveted Playoff spot. The question is whether Tennessee can get enough stops and/or remain potent offensively against one of the toughest defenses it has faced. I wrote last week that as good as Oklah...
