College Football Recap — October 31, 2026
by Jack Chambers for Wannamakeabet.com
Halloween delivered plenty of scares for college football’s elite. No. 2 Ohio State went down, No. 1 Miami barely escaped, and several big favorites survived without rewarding anyone laying the points. For WANNA league players, Saturday reinforced a familiar lesson: picking the winner and beating the spread are two different challenges.
USC Delivers the Biggest Upset
USC knocked off No. 2 Ohio State, 30–18, winning outright as a 6.5-point underdog. The Trojans kept Ohio State out of the end zone for the first 57 minutes. Freshman quarterback Luke Fahey, starting in place of injured Julian Sayin, finished with 260 passing yards and a touchdown, but the Buckeyes never found enough offense. It was Saturday’s biggest statement win—and a painful result for anyone trusting Ohio State away from home. USC Athletics
Miami and Indiana Survive the Scares
No. 1 Miami escaped North Carolina, 38–35, preserving its unbeaten record while leaving spread backers disappointed. UNC covered +13.5, making the Tar Heels a comfortable winner with the points despite the narrow defeat.
No. 4 Indiana needed overtime to beat Minnesota, 23–16. The Hoosiers survived; Minnesota covered +20.5 with room to spare. Both games illustrated how expensive it can be to pay a premium for a lofty ranking. Miami Hurricanes
Georgia, Utah and UCLA Cash
No. 3 Georgia beat No. 17 Florida, 27–8, covering -11.5 in the rivalry showdown. The Bulldogs provided a much steadier afternoon than several other highly ranked favorites.
No. 6 Utah handled Cincinnati, 49–25, comfortably covering -7.5, while No. 7 UCLA shut out Nevada, 27–0, getting past -22.5. Both delivered the combination bettors want: a convincing win and enough separation to cash the spread. BetSharp
More Top 20 Winners—and Losing Tickets
No. 5 Notre Dame defeated Navy, 35–13, but Navy covered +31.5. No. 8 BYU beat Arizona State, 27–20, with the Sun Devils covering +17.5. Neither favorite came particularly close to the required margin. BetSharp
The results were stronger elsewhere: No. 11 Texas beat Mississippi State, 31–3, covering -19.5; No. 12 Ole Miss crushed Auburn, 45–15, covering -10.5; No. 13 Texas Tech defeated Arizona, 34–26, covering -4; and No. 14 Wake Forest demolished Virginia, 51–7, covering -13.5. uxscoreboard
SMU Stumbles; Both No. 20 Teams Sweat
No. 19 SMU lost at Syracuse, 30–27, handing Syracuse +8.5 an outright upset. No. 20 Northwestern fell at Oregon, 34–26, with Oregon covering -4.
Boise State, tied with Northwestern at No. 20, survived Texas State, 46–45. The Broncos escaped, but Texas State covered +10. uxscoreboard
For WANNA players, Saturday offered a reminder to judge the matchup and the number together. Miami, Indiana, Notre Dame, BYU and Boise State all won while failing to cover—a frustrating afternoon if your league picks leaned too heavily on big favorites.
ATS results use the listed reference spreads; lines vary by sportsbook and timing.