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Best Football Games to Bet On This Weekend

There are some huge games in college football and the NFL this weekend. We have a preview of two of the top matchups, which you can use your sportsbook bonuses on this weekend.

Saturday | 12:00 PM ET | Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Michigan Wolverines (+9.5, O/U 43.5)

It is called “The Game” for a reason, as Ohio State vs. Michigan is a longstanding rivalry that is among the best in all college sports and certainly the top one in college football. The 2025 version of this Big Ten matchup is also one of the biggest on record, given the juicy storylines and championship implications tied into this matchup on Saturday afternoon in Michigan.

First, you have to consider the stakes here for No. 1 Ohio State. The Buckeyes are 11-0 and can finish undefeated, boasting statistics on par with last year's championship team (albeit with a slightly easier schedule in 2025). But the Buckeyes must end a 4-year losing streak against their hated rival from Michigan, and they must do it on the road. A reason to think the Wolverines have the goods to get this done is that they already did it last year with a lesser team, winning 13-10 in Ohio State to upset the Buckeyes.

But Ohio State once again has the nation's No. 1 scoring defense, which allows just 7.6 points per game. The Buckeyes have held every team to 16 or fewer points this year. Ohio State also hasn't won a game by fewer than 18 points since the Week 1 opener, a 14-7 win over Texas. Part of that success is thanks to a potent offense, with young quarterback Julian Sayin having a great, Heisman Trophy-type of year, boasting a 79.4% completion rate as he has thrown for 27 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate may be the best wide receiver duo in the country, and the running game with Bo Jackson is no slouch.

The Buckeyes are a very complete team that will be favored to win the national championship. But Michigan coach Sherrone Moore pulled off this upset last year, and we'll see if he can rally the troops in front of the home crowd again to get it done with freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood at the helm. He doesn't throw many interceptions, and it will be crucial to protect the ball against that great defense and try to get this one into the fourth quarter with a chance to win, thanks to that dominant running game. Michigan has yet to allow more than 17 points at home this year, but obviously, the Buckeyes are a whole different beast.

But with four years of beating the Buckeyes, all eyes will be on Michigan to see if they can do it again and deny the champs a 12-0 regular season.

Sunday| 1:00 PM ET | Houston Texans vs. Indianapolis Colts (-3.5, O/U 44.5)

This Sunday showdown could be the game people look back on as the day the Colts won the AFC South, or the day the Houston Texans reclaimed it for the third year in a row. The Colts once had a huge lead on the Texans, but a 3-0 run behind backup quarterback Davis Mills and the league's best defense has the Texans (6-5) right back in the race. It also helps that the Colts have lost two of their last three games.

This is technically a matchup of the Colts' No. 1 offense vs. Houston's No. 1 defense in points per drive this year. But the Colts didn't look so hot in Kansas City last week, going three-and-out on their final four drives and blowing a 20-9 lead in an overtime loss. It turns out quarterback Daniel Jones is playing with a fractured fibula, a painful injury that may be limiting his mobility. That's a big problem when you have to face Will Anderson Jr. and that pass rush that sacked Buffalo's Josh Allen a career-high eight times last week. The Texans swept the Colts last year in games that were decided by a couple of points combined, so these teams know each other well, and DeMeco Ryans might have a better read than most on Shane Steichen's offense.

The Texans are getting C.J. Stroud back after the concussion kept him out for these games. Stroud has had an inconsistent season, but he was playing some of his best ball before the injury, and his return could be a real boost. We've seen him win a big game in Indianapolis to end the 2023 season, where the winner was granted a playoff berth and the loser's season was over. Stroud delivered big that night, but he'll need to be sharp here as the Colts have added Sauce Gardner to the secondary, and he should guard Nico Collins and make Stroud go elsewhere with the ball.

But between Jones nursing the fibula injury and Stroud coming back with the best defense behind him, the Texans have some real upset value and could go on a run here to storm back in the AFC South. We'll see if the Colts can maintain that high-level efficiency from the first half of the season, or if they'll continue to falter down the stretch now that teams have solid tape on them with “Indiana Jones” at the helm.