Fantasy Football Devy Spotlight & College Football Picks (2025)

We head to Nashville for this week’s Game of the Week as No. 15 Missouri visits No. 10 Vanderbilt in a matchup with major SEC and College Football Playoff (CFP) implications.

The Commodores, led by dual-threat star Diego Pavia, are enjoying a historic run by reaching their highest ranking since 1947. Mizzou looks to play spoiler behind a balanced offense and one of the nation’s most efficient rushing attacks. With two mobile quarterbacks, physical defenses and postseason stakes rising, this one has all the makings of another SEC thriller.

Devy Fantasy Football Primer

Game of the Week

(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)

#15 Missouri @ #10 Vanderbilt (-2.5) | 52.5 | Saturday at 3:30 ET on ESPN

The Vanderbilt Commodores, led by Diego Pavia, continue to make school history week after week. Last week, against #10 LSU, they were favored for the first time in conference play in 51 games. This week, they reached their highest ranking since 1947 at #10. Both teams in this matchup are fairly evenly matched across the board.

Missouri’s defense does hold the advantage over Vanderbilt’s passing and rushing offense. Missouri ranks outside the top 100 in sacks and quarterback hits allowed, while Vanderbilt’s defense ranks inside the top 30 in both categories. Vanderbilt’s rush defense ranks 12th and will have its toughest matchup yet as Missouri currently ranks seventh in rushing offense, led by the third leading rusher on the season, Ahmad Hardy.

I see a similar game to LSU/Vanderbilt last week, with the Commodores leading for a majority of the game, but points being scored, and Missouri never being out of the game. We saw Alabama was able to slow down Missouri’s rushing attack outside of a couple of long runs and control the game.

We get to see two dual-threat quarterbacks who are both very capable of making plays with their arms, in Beau Pribula and Pavia. The team that can better establish the run and has the better quarterback should walk out of Nashville with a win.

My Picks:

Moneyline: Vanderbilt (-138)
Spread: Vanderbilt -2.5 (-114)
Total: Over 52.5 (-110)

Devy Spotlight

Bryce Underwood (QB – Michigan) | 2028

The freshman phenom has ripped off three straight 200-yard passing games in a row against Wisconsin, USC and Washington. Michigan travels to East Lansing to face “little brother” Michigan State.

While MSU remains winless in the Big Ten, it is still a road rivalry game. MSU’s defense ranks outside of the top 100 at 251 yards allowed per game. I would not be shocked to see Bryce Underwood top his season high of 251 passing yards this Saturday.

Heisman Trophy Race

The top five Heisman Trophy favorites after Week 8:

Ty Simpson (QB – Alabama) | +320
Fernando Mendoza (QB – Indiana) | +340
Julian Sayin (QB – Ohio State) | +400
Marcel Reed (QB Texas A&M) | +750
Gunner Stockton (QB – Georgia)| +1000

Another week, another Alabama win over a ranked SEC opponent led by frontrunner Ty Simpson. Over these four games, Simpson has had no fewer than 200 passing yards and two touchdowns in each game. Indiana followed up their big-time road win over Oregon with a 25-point thumping of Michigan State, led by Fernando Mendoza and his 332 yards and four touchdowns.

Julian Sayin and the Buckeyes rolled Wisconsin 34-0 behind Sayin’s 393 yards on 36-of-42 passing and four touchdowns. Marcel Reed has led Texas A&M to a perfect 7-0 record, with the toughest part of their schedule coming up. He is averaging nearly 300 yards and three touchdowns per game.

Gunner Stockton remaining in the top five to this point seems to be the classic case of the quarterback of one of the best teams in the country. His stats are not eye-popping as he only has 1,553 passing yards to go with 10 passing touchdowns (four came last week versus Ole Miss), but he does have seven rushing touchdowns. Sitting just outside the top five is Vanderbilt signal-caller Diego Pavia at +1400. If Pavia can lead Vanderbilt to a victory over #15 Missouri, I don’t see any way he doesn’t enter the top five and potentially the top three.