College Football Odds and Picks October 22nd – Memphis vs UCF, Colorado State vs Utah State and Washington vs Arizona
- A trio of intriguing games are on the slate Friday, Oct. 22, with Memphis visiting UCF, Colorado State traveling to Utah State and Washington at Arizona
- The Knights are slight favorites at home, while the Huskies and Rams are favored on the road
- Check out the odds for the games and key information about each matchup in the article below
Three Friday night games – one from the American Athletic Conference, another in the Mountain West and another in the Pac-12 – provide bettors with plenty of options ahead of Saturday’s Week 8 slate.
Memphis visits UCF at 7:00 pm ET as a one-point favorite. The game will be be on ESPN2. Then, it’s Colorado State at Utah State at 9:30 pm ET on CBS Sports Network, with the Rams as 3.5-point favorites. Washington kicks it off at Arizona at 10:30 pm ET to close things out on ESPN2. The Huskies are installed as 17.5-point favorites.
Memphis vs UCF Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Spread | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Memphis | -105 | +1 (-110) | Over 63 (-110) |
| UCF | -115 | -1 (-110) | Under 63 (-110) |
All odds taken Oct. 19 at DraftKings
Henigan Showing Out
When the Memphis Tigers (4-3, 1-2 AAC) visit the UCF Knights (3-2, 1-2 AAC) on Friday night in Orlando, it could come down to which true freshman quarterback outplays the other one. Oddsmakers have the home team favored by a point.
The Tigers will have Dallas-area native Seth Henigan under center, while the Knights counter with Mikey Keene, who won a pair of Arizona state playing for Chandler High School.
Henigan is tearing it up, averaging 307.6 passing yards per game while throwing 16 touchdown passes.
Nice play fake as Seth Henigan finds Eddie Lewis over the middle for a score. Memphis is hitting explosive play after explosive play.
NAVY 10
MEMPHIS 21— CFB Blitz (@BlitzCfb) October 15, 2021
He left Memphis’ last game, a victory over Navy, early as a precautionary measure with a hand injury. He should be good to go for Friday’s critical conference tilt.
As for Keene, he’s averaging 142 yards passing per game and has thrown four touchdowns and four picks in the three outings he has started and finished this season in place of injured starter Dillon Gabriel.
But he has plenty of help. UCF’s top offensive players are running backs Johnny Richardson (6.1 yards per carry) and Isaiah Bowser (six touchdowns) and wideouts Ryan O’Keefe (375 receiving yards) and Tennessee transfer Brandon Johnson. The Knights are coming off a 56-21 shellacking at Cincinnati last week.
It was only three years ago College GameDay was in Orlando for Cincinnati-UCF in one of the best home environments ever at the Bounce House. Today, the Bearcats are beating the brakes off the Knights. Wild times
— Andrea Adelson (@aadelsonESPN) October 16, 2021
UCF had beaten Memphis 13 straight times before last year, when the Tigers rallied to beat the Knights 50-49. I’m giving the Knights a slight edge in this spot because of their well-rounded offense and desire to put last week behind them.
- The pick: UCF -1 (-110)
Colorado State vs Utah State Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Point Spread | Over/Under Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado State | -155 | -3.5 (+100) | Over 58 (-120) |
| Utah State | +135 | +3.5 (-120) | Under 58 (+100) |
Mountain Men
When the Colorado State Rams (3-3, 2-0 Mountain West) enter Maverick Stadium in Logan Friday to face the Utah State Aggies (4-2, 2-1 Mountain West), they will be a confident bunch. Steve Addazio’s club allowed just 69 yards of total offense to New Mexico in last week’s 36-7 win over the Lobos in Albuquerque – the second-best performance in program history.
That’s likely a big reason why the Rams are road favorites in this spot.
𝟳𝟵 𝘆𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗱
𝘍𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 1948𝟭.𝟰 𝘆𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆
𝘚𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘙𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥That's #RamClash 🤜🤛. pic.twitter.com/Ev1uSIPP5x
— Colorado State Football (@CSUFootball) October 17, 2021
If Colorado State’s special teams can pitch a shutout – something the Rams weren’t able to do against New Mexico giving up a 63-yard punt return TD, they should be in good shape. But with Savon Scarver returning kicks, that’s easier said than done. Scarver is averaging 27.3 yards per return this year and tied the NCAA record with his seventh kickoff return this season for a score. He is one of only five players in FBS history to do that.
SAVON SCARVER!
The Vegas kid just tied the NCAA record for kickoff return touchdowns in a career with 7️⃣‼️#AggiesAllTheWay | @SavonScarver pic.twitter.com/OfwklsaXaa
— USU Football (@USUFootball) October 16, 2021
Plus, the Aggies are never out of any game. Utah State has trailed by double digits in all four of its wins this season, including coming from behind in the fourth quarter in all three of its road wins. USU scored the winning touchdown at Washington State with 13 seconds to play and the winning touchdown at UNLV with 35 seconds remaining in the game.
CSU won’t replicate the defensive effort put forth in its last game. But the Rams will do enough to cover and beat the Aggies on the road.
The pick: Colorado State -3.5 (+100)
Washington vs Arizona Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Point Spread | Over/Under Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | -850 | -17 (-110) | Over 45 (-110) |
| Arizona | +575 | +17 (-110) | Under 45 (-110) |
Will Arizona Ever Win?
It’ll be a battle of two struggling teams when the Washington Huskies (2-4, 1-2 Pac-12) travel to Tucson to face the winless Arizona Wildcats (0-6, 0-3 Pac-12). Not surprisingly, UW is a large favorite in this spot.
Huskies redshirt freshman quarterback Dylan Morris has a 5-5 record in the 10 games of the Jimmy Lake era and a conference-high eight interceptions in 2021. He simply hasn’t been able to generate offense this season, with UW ranked 100th in scoring (23.5 points per game) in the FBS. The running game, hasn’t helped much – ranking 112th nationally at 111 yards per game.
“We have to make sure we come home with a victory. Right now Dylan Morris gives us our best shot.” -Jimmy Lake with us just now
— Dave “Softy” Mahler (@Softykjr) October 20, 2021
If you think Washington is anemic on offense, Arizona is even worse. The Wildcats are tied for last nationally in scoring at 14 points per game and have failed to put up at least 20 points in nine straight outings.
Will Plummer, who started this season in a 21-19 home loss to FCS opponent Northern Arizona, will get the start Friday with the team’s top two quarterbacks — Jordan McCloud and Gunner Cruz — lost to season-ending injuries in the past two games.
Arizona QB Will Plummer called Sept. 18 – when he started against NAU and the Wildcats lost 21-19 – "one of the worst nights of my life." Plummer threw two picks and hurt his shoulder in the third quarter. He's back in the starting role now and determined to improve – and win.
— Michael Lev (@MichaelJLev) October 19, 2021
Plummer has a penchant for trying to make big play, not unlike another Plummer did up the road in Tempe 25 years ago. But Will (no relation to Jake) is also inexperienced. Hoping to make him capitalize on mistakes is UW’s standout outside linebacker Zion Tupuola-Fetui – who made his season debut last week after returning from an Achilles’ injury.
While it’s tempting to go with UW in this spot (Arizona has lost 18 in a row, the longest active streak in the FBS), the under is the clear play for this one.
The pick: Under 45 (-110)
Blair Johnson is a veteran journalist and seasoned sports content creator. He has been writing and producing content as long as he can remember, with such familiar names as CNN, NFL Media and Yahoo. Blair currently lives and works in the greater Los Angeles area.
