In Week 11 college football odds, the major players are once again SEC teams. But if you want the closest thing to a sure thing this season, then you should look to the Big Ten.

And I don’t mean Oregon or Ohio State or Penn State. Indiana is a perfect 9-0 straight up (SU) and a nation-leading 8-1 against the spread (ATS).

“I compare this Indiana team to TCU from two years ago. Every week, we see sharp action going against the Hoosiers, and they keep covering,” Caesars Sports head of football trading Joey Feazel said.

Bookmakers and sharp bettors serve up their insights on Michigan vs. Indiana odds and more, in this week’s college football betting nuggets.

Hoosier Favorite?

Indiana is battering opponents on the field and beating up bookmakers off it. The closest games for the Hoosiers this season were two 14-point home victories: 42-28 vs. Maryland and 31-17 vs. Washington.

Last weekend, the Hoosiers were 7.5-point favorites at Michigan State and spotted the Spartans a 10-0 lead. Then Indiana scored the game’s final 47 points to win 47-10.

In college football Week 11 odds, Caesars opened the Hoosiers as 14-point home favorites vs. defending national champion Michigan. How odd does that sound? Yet as of Wednesday night, bettors had pushed Indiana up to -15 for Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff.

“They’re a public darling now. They just get stuff done. Really impressive,” Feazel said of the Hoosiers. “To no one’s surprise, we’re taking more Indiana money this week.

“I would not be surprised if we see Michigan money come game day, from the sharp crowd. They’re gonna bet against Indiana until they get it right. But we’ll bet a lot of Indiana money on game day, too. Indiana is a big public side.” 

College Football Rocks On FOX

Perhaps surprisingly, Colorado is on a run and in contention for the Big 12 title. Which means Coach Prime & Co. are in the conversation to make the 12-team College Football Playoff.

This week’s Big Noon Kickoff travels to Lubbock, Texas, for a key clash between Colorado and Texas Tech. The pregame team will do its thing from 9 a.m.-noon ET, followed by a cushion before a 4 p.m. ET kickoff (while you’re waiting for that kickoff, take in Purdue vs. Ohio State at noon ET on FOX).

DraftKings Sportsbook opened Colorado (6-2 SU and ATS) as a 3.5-point favorite vs. Texas Tech (6-3 SU/5-3-1 ATS). The Buffaloes spent some time at -3 on Sunday and Monday before returning to -3.5.

Colorado is getting the majority of point-spread play at DraftKings, landing 78% of bets and 57% of money. Plenty of customers are bypassing the point spread and just taking Colorado to win the game on the moneyline, where the Buffs are taking a hefty 87% of bets and 60% of money.

And that’s as of Wednesday night. By kickoff Saturday, DK and likely most other sportsbooks will be big Red Raiders fans.

Is Shedeur Sanders ready for the NFL?

On-Campus Sharp Side

Last week, college football betting expert Paul Stone took Vanderbilt as a 7-point underdog at Auburn. And the Commodores (6-3 SU/7-2 ATS), having a season for the ages, won outright 17-7.

In college football Week 11 odds, Stone is looking for a bounce-back effort from Iowa State. In Week 10, the Cyclones were 14-point home favorites vs. aforementioned Texas Tech and lost outright 23-22.

Next up for Iowa State (7-1 SU/5-3 ATS) is a semi-neutral-site game vs. Kansas at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. Even though the Jayhawks are just 2-6 SU and ATS, Iowa State is only a 3-point favorite. As Stone pointed out, that’s because Kansas has five losses this season by six or fewer points.

But Stone expects a solid effort from the Cyclones, who are in the thick of the Big 12 title chase and an automatic CFP berth.

“Coach Matt Campbell’s teams have responded well off a loss since he took over back in 2016,” Stone said. “In fact, the Cyclones are 27-14-1 ATS off a straight-up loss during Campbell’s time in Ames. With its back firmly against the wall, I expect Iowa State to fire its best shot Saturday against Kansas.”

Stone also expects plenty of Cyclones fans on hand to offset the Jayhawks crowd, which has a much shorter trip to the game.

“Iowa State fans love to travel to Kansas City, so I believe Iowa State will have at least an equal number of fans as Kansas,” Stone added. “I believe the Cyclones will cover the 3-point spread and keep their playoff hopes alive.”

CFB Week 11: Georgia vs. Ole Miss best bets, predictions & odds

SEC Showdowns

Feazel also chimed in on arguably the two biggest games in Week 11 college football odds: No. 11 Alabama vs. No. 15 LSU, and No. 3 Georgia vs. No. 16 Ole Miss.

Both Alabama (6-2 SU/4-4 ATS) and LSU (6-2 SU/3-5 ATS) need wins to stay in the 12-team CFP conversation.

“Whoever loses will have three losses and will have to rely on the spin cycle to get into the CFP,” Feazel said. “We opened Alabama -2.5 and quickly went to -3. The number is probably gonna stick around here.”

While early Alabama action helped push the point spread up, Feazel is prepared to see plenty of LSU money by Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff.

“I expect two-way action by game time, because we have a big customer base in Louisiana,” he said. “It’s a night game in Death Valley. I’ll expect to see some angle shooters coming in on the Tigers.”

At 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Georgia (7-1 SU/2-6 ATS) visits Ole Miss (7-2 SU/6-3 ATS). The Bulldogs opened -2.5 and stood at -3 (-105) on Wednesday night. The underdog Rebels also can ill afford another loss.

“This game is their season,” Feazel said of the Rebels. “Money-wise, there’s a little bit more on Georgia, and that’s probably what we’ll continue to see.”

Kansas vs. Iowa State, UCLA vs. Iowa: CFB Week 11 Best Bets

I Like Big Bets And I Cannot Lie

By late Wednesday night, there wasn’t much to report in the way of major wagers on college football Week 10 odds. In fact, the only five-figure play that Caesars noted was for $12,273 on James Madison -16.5 vs. Georgia State.

If the host Dukes cover, then the bettor wins $11,157, for a total payout of $23,430.

Patrick Everson is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and senior reporter for VegasInsider.com. He is a distinguished journalist in the national sports betting space. He’s based in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golfing in 110-degree heat. Follow him on Twitter: @PatrickE_Vegas

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Things to watch this week in the Big Ten Conference:

Game of the week

Michigan (5-4, 3-3 Big Ten) at No. 8 Indiana (9-0, 6-0, No. 8 CFP), Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (CBS)

Indiana is 9-0 for the first time ever and already has matched the school record for wins in a single season. All nine of Indiana’s wins have been decided by at least 14 points.

The Hoosiers attempt to continue their surprising playoff push when they host defending national champion Michigan, which has lost three of its last four games. Michigan has won 27 of the last 29 meetings between these teams, but BetMGM Sportsbook has Indiana as a 14 ½-point favorite.

The undercard

Washington (5-4, 3-3) at No. 6 Penn State (7-1, 4-1, No. 6 CFP), Saturday, 8 p.m. ET (Peacock)

Even after losing 20-13 at home to No. 3 Ohio State last week, Penn State still seems to have a direct path to the playoff if it avoid stumbling in any of its final four regular-season games.

But the Nittany Lions likely can’t afford another loss. That makes Saturday’s game critical.

Washington snapped a two-game skid last week by beating Southern California, 26-21. Points should be at a premium Saturday, as Penn State is ranked seventh and Washington 10th in total defense. BetMGM has Penn State as a 13 ½-point favorite.

Impact players

Washington LB Carson Bruener intercepted two passes and delivered 12 tackles in the victory over USC.

Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel has been responsible for 177 touchdowns (144 passing, 32 rushing, 1 receiving) in his career. That puts him one away from the FBS record owned by Case Keenum, who was responsible for 178 touchdowns (155 passing, 23 rushing) at Houston from 2007-11.

Indiana DL Mikail Kamara’s 4 ½ tackles for loss in a 47-10 blowout of Michigan State matched the second-highest individual total for any player in a Bowl Subdivision game this season. Kamara also had 2 ½ sacks.

UCLA LB Carson Schwesinger leads the Big Ten with 10.6 tackles per game. His 13 tackles in a 27-20 triumph at Nebraska marked his sixth straight game with at least 10 stops. He’s the first Bruin to have double-digit tackles in six consecutive games since Eric Kendricks did it in his Butkus Award-winning season of 2014.

Ohio State DT JT Tuimoloau has recorded at least one tackle for loss in six straight games.

Inside the numbers

Iowa’s 329 yards rushing in a 42-10 victory over Wisconsin represented its highest single-game total since 2019. The Hawkeyes had four players rush for 50-plus yards, the first time that’s happened in coach Kirk Ferentz’s 26 seasons. … Minnesota’s 25-17 win over Illinois marked the first time the Gophers had beaten a Bret Bielema-coached team in 11 tries. Bielema coached at Wisconsin from 2006-12 and took over at Illinois in 2021. … Gabriel has completed 74.8% of his passes to lead all FBS players. … Michigan State had minus-36 yards rushing in its loss to Indiana, a Hoosiers school record.

Now don’t get upset

Penn State’s likely in a must-win situation the rest of the regular season as it tries to keep its playoff hopes alive, yet the Nittany Lions face a possible trap game as they host Washington a week after their tough loss to Ohio State. A home crowd at night should help but this could be a defensive struggle that enables Washington to cover that 13 ½-point spread.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. On Wednesday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, the new players on Indiana’s roster had an uneven start in the Hoosiers’ season opener against Southern Illinois-Edwardville.

Indiana won 80-61 over the pesky Cougars, but it was a difficult road at times and the new Hoosiers were part of the reason why.

Myles Rice? He got better as the game went along, with seven of his 11 points scored in the second half, but the sophomore had 5 turnovers and sometimes forced the issue on his dribble-drives.

Oumar Ballo? He had an impressive final stat line: 15 points, six rebounds and he was 6 of 10 from the field, but it’s a bit misleading. He scored four of his six buckets in the final 7:22 of the game. By then, Indiana had finally put itself out of SIU-E’s range. Ballo also had four turnovers and he played a part in SIU-Edwardsville’s 16 offensive rebounds.

Kanaan Carlyle? He had a good floor game (6 rebounds, 3 assists), but not a good day on the scoresheet. He was 0 for 4 from the field.

Luke Goode? The designated sharpshooter for the Hoosiers was 0-for-3, including two misses from long range.

Bryson Tucker? He’s a freshman playing his first college game that counts and he looked it on both ends of the floor. No sin in that. Most freshman start the way.

It was all a bit underwhelming from Indiana’s new Hoosiers. Even coach Mike Woodson, without specifically singling out the new players, said the offensive display wasn’t what he expected.

“I do know we can score the basketball. Certain guys haven’t really made shots like I thought they would. They’ll start falling eventually,” said Woodson on the Hoosiers’ offensive identity.

Indiana’s infusion of talent was supposed to carry the Hoosiers to Big Ten dominance. One game against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville isn’t going to determine one way or another whether that will happen or not, but it wasn’t the flashy start for the Indiana newbies that many hoped it would be.

Overreactions are rampant after the first game of the season, but all fans have after one game is a first impression, so if concerns crop up, they’re magnified.

In the end, the newbies’ struggles didn’t matter. That’s because the players that Indiana fans have already familiarized themselves with carried the day.

No one was better than sophomore Mackenzie Mgbako. The man many thought would be a one-and-done for the Hoosiers is back and Indiana is very grateful that he returned.

He scored a career-high 31 points, including 19 in the first half when Indiana struggled to keep SIU-E at bay. He was 8 of 10 from the field before halftime and added five rebounds.

It was a bravado performance – the kind that impatient Hoosiers fans wanted early in the 2023-24 season, but had to wait until the last third of the 2024 season to witness from the New Jersey native.

Junior Malik Reneau also demonstrated that he’s ready to continue his progression. Reneau finished with 15 points, 11 of which were scored in the first half. Between Mgbako and Reneau? The pair provided 71.4% of Indiana’s first-half scoring output.

Reneau didn’t do anything we haven’t seen before. He backed down one or two defenders and used his strength to create scoring chances. He got to the line (all 6 attempts in the first half) and avoided foul trouble until the very end of the game.

Another positive first impression was made by Trey Galloway. Once again, Galloway – who has had almost every conceivable role during his Indiana career – was an energy source off the bench. He spelled Rice and Galloway almost immediately unlocked an Indiana offense that seemed to be stuck in neutral at the time.

His halftime statistics were modest, but Galloway developed a symbiotic bond with Ballo in the second half. Galloway fed Ballo for four easy buckets at the rim. They were part of a 9-assist attack from the Indiana veteran.

Wednesday’s game wasn’t a great first impression for Indiana’s new Hoosiers, but while everyone wants to see how the new shiny toys are going to work, it shouldn’t be forgotten that part of the strength of this team lies in Indiana’s returning veterans.

Not every first impression has to be made by someone new. Indiana’s veteran trio demonstrated that they can be counted on to take the Hoosiers where they want to be this season. It’s the best first impression that they could have given to Indiana fans.