Last weekend in the NFL, we saw 11 of the 12 favorites win outright. 

That’s not going to stop us from wagering on at least one underdog on the pro side this week.

But first, let’s step foot on campus to see which ‘dog I’m backing in college football before taking a look ahead to NFL Sunday.

This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports.

No. 20 USC @ No. 13 Notre Dame

I’m not sure that we’ll see any upsets as stunning as the two that Penn State suffered the last two weeks. But perhaps Notre Dame, the team it lost to in last year’s College Football Playoff, has cause for concern Saturday. 

In a game that will have massive Playoff implications, USC visits Notre Dame in the latest version of this storied rivalry. 

The Irish have brushed aside an 0-2 start and strung together four straight wins. A win on Saturday would make them clear favorites to return to the CFP, while a loss would all but end those hopes for the defending national title runner-up.  

USC is coming off an impressive win over Michigan, and a win here would give the Trojans a realistic path to being one of the 12 Playoff teams. 

I like the Trojans here. They have an elite offense, maybe the best in the country. And that’s highlighted by two potential first-round picks in quarterback Jayden Maiava and wide receiver Makai Lemon. The Notre Dame defense appears to be hitting its stride, but it’s still a unit that allowed 41 points to Texas A&M and 30 points to Purdue, before getting back on track the last couple of weeks. 

That defense, however, will be tested this week, as the Irish face a USC offense that is No. 1 in the country in yards per play and points per game. In what is a huge matchup, expect plenty of scoring from an elite USC offense and enough stops from an improved USC defense. 

That all adds up to what should be a very competitive game. I believe USC covers and has a chance to pull off the upset.

PICK: USC (+7.5) to lose by fewer than 7.5 points or win outright

Giants @ Broncos

The Broncos just defeated one New York team, winning a 13-11 scrum over the Jets. Now, they look to beat the suddenly resurgent Giants, who have now won two out of their last three and seem to be showing some signs of hope with the rookie duo of quarterback Jaxson Dart and running back Cam Skatebo. 

After a 17-point upset win over the Eagles last week, the Giants now head to Denver to take on the Broncos and will do so having the benefit of extra rest. They haven’t played since last Thursday night. 

Meanwhile, the Broncos will be traveling back from London and are coming off a game where they registered just 12 first downs and only slightly over four yards per play. 

We saw last week a similar rest-travel discrepancy, where the Browns were coming back from overseas to play a Steelers team with extra rest. The Steelers won and covered comfortably. Granted, the Steelers are much better than the Browns and the same can’t be said here for the Giants and their opponent. But I’ll take the extra rest and prep time with a team that’s getting seven points. 

Expect the Giants to continue to improve and look for this game to be close.

PICK: Giants (+7) to lose by fewer than 7 points or win outright

Will Hill, a contributor on the Bear Bets Podcast, has been betting on sports for over a decade. He is a betting analyst who has been a host on VSiN, as well as the Goldboys Network.

Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!

DENVER — A Denver shelter that serves people experiencing homelessness is set to close and be rebuilt as affordable housing, leaving current residents worried about where they will go.

The Park Avenue Inn shelter initially opened as part of the City of Denver’s COVID-19 homelessness emergency response, with the goal of putting affordable housing on the property eventually. Since then, it’s come to serve dozens as a non-congregate shelter and unofficial transitional housing.

“It’s served as a pathway to people to get other housing options,” said Cathy Alderman, chief communications and public policy officer for the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, which owns the property. “Sometimes that takes a little longer because we’re in a really high-cost housing market here in Denver, and there’s not a lot of housing resources to move people into.”

Denver7 reporter Danielle Kreutter spent some time Monday afternoon listening to residents at Park Ave Inn.

“We were both homeless together for a few years now,” Aaron Dawson said about him and his wife, Michelle Pasco.

A few months ago, they were told the shelter would be closing in January 2026. It’s set to be demolished to make way for an affordable housing project.

“It’s like dire straits around here right now,” Dawson said.

“We’re just hoping to get housed,” Pasco added.

Of the 36 residents currently staying at Park Avenue Inn, six have found other housing. Several others have been referred to Renewal Village, another property owned by Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. The single-occupancy studio apartments are in what used to be a hotel near West 48th Avenue and Bannock Street in Denver.

“There’s like 25 people still here that don’t know what they’re doing,” Dawson said. “Some of them never got offered Renewal Village, even.”

CCH acknowledged that some Park Avenue Inn residents may not have been offered housing at Renewal Village due to new tenant eligibility requirements.

“Renewal Village has certain referral pathways that we are obligated to, in terms of accepting people from certain programs or who’ve gone through certain assessments,” Alderman explained. “We will move some people from Park Avenue Inn into Renewal Village, but not everybody. But we will work with everybody at Park Avenue Inn to make sure that they have a safe place to exit to.”

CCH said it is optimistic that it will be able to place the rest of the residents into housing before the shelter closes.

“I think we have more time than we’ve seen with some shutdowns of spaces before,” Alderman said.

Denver7

Park Avenue Inn is set to close in January 2026, around when the City of Denver plans to close a large homeless shelter and a tiny home community.

Alderman called the timing an unfortunate coincidence, as the plan was to always transform the property into affordable housing.

“I think we’re always concerned when we lose resources in the homelessness response system because we know that we have a growing population of people experiencing homelessness, and we need more, not less, resources,” Alderman said. “But I think from our perspective, we also need more housing, and so this is really a critical step for us to provide that lasting solution.”

CCH has stopped referring people to Park Avenue Inn in order to minimize the impact of the closure.

The building will be demolished in January or February 2026.

“We’ll be breaking ground sometime next year on our first 60 units of affordable housing,” Alderman explained. “Some of those units will be supportive housing, and then probably a year or two after that, we’ll be able to break ground on our second phase, which could bring up to 160 potential new units of housing to the city of Denver, which is so needed and is the long-term solution to homelessness.”

Residents told Denver7 they hope their neighbors find a safe place to land.

“You don’t just pop this on them real quick and say, ‘Oh by the way, you have 120 days to figure out your whole entire rest of your life,’” said Dawson.

---

Denver7 | Your Voice: Get in touch with Danielle Kreutter

Denver7’s Danielle Kreutter covers stories that have an impact in all of Colorado’s communities, but specializes in reporting on affordable housing and issues surrounding the unhoused community. If you’d like to get in touch with Danielle, fill out the form below to send her an email.

The Denver Broncos will return to Denver in Week 7 following a sloppy victory over the New York Jets on Sunday. 

Next Sunday, they will face the other New York team, the Giants, who are surging after a win over the Philadelphia Eagles this week. Though the Giants will be the visiting team with a record of 2-4 (two games worse than the Broncos), they will have a lot in their favor in this game. 

Following the win over the Jets, Broncos head coach Sean Payton confirmed that the team asked the league not to give it a bye week following the trip to London. Though it is often standard practice in the NFL for a team to be on bye following an international game, the Broncos declined, with Payton saying their research showed that teams that have bye weeks after playing overseas have fared worse than those that don’t. 

#Broncos coach Sean Payton said they fell into their normal week’s schedule after they got here. Payton reiterated that the Broncos asked to have no bye after this game and said teams with no bye after such games have a better game than those with byes.

— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) October 12, 2025

Advertisement

With this being the case, the Broncos will become the first team in NFL history to host a game in the Mountain or Pacific time zone after playing a game in London the week before. Combine that with the fact that the Giants will come in on 10 days of rest after having their game against the Eagles on Thursday Night Football and suddenly, the home-field advantage doesn’t seem as strong as it normally is. 

The Giants have begun to turn their season around at the same time. This is one of those games where Broncos fans were likely licking their chops over when they looked at the schedule upon its release, counting it as an easy win. That likely won’t be the case as the Giants are a different football team with Jaxson Dart at quarterback and Cam Skattebo getting the rushing attack going. 

READ: Broncos get tough news on heels of big win over Eagles

Add in these schedule factors and this becomes a very interesting game for the Broncos, one where they can’t overlook the opponent. 

More Broncos Content

Denver Broncos should keep tabs on these 4 players prior to NFL trade deadline

Denver Broncos predicted to make questionable first-round pick in 2026 mock draft

Denver Broncos likely to debut exciting rookie in Week 6 with Jonah Elliss ruled out

Denver Broncos vs. New York Jets Series History: Which team holds the edge heading to London?

Denver Broncos still mum on who will start in place of Ben Powers, here are the options