College Football Results Against The Spread Week 5 2017

AUSTIN, TX – SEPTEMBER 02: The Maryland Terrapins defensive unit huddles after Antwaine Richardson #20 of the Maryland Terrapins was injured in the third quarter against the Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on September 2, 2017 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /

College Football Results Against The Spread Week 5 2017

We had 53 FBS vs. FBS games over our college football weekend. That is a few less than last weekend, but there were a lot of good games here. A few went as I expected. Some didn’t. My pick em picks weren’t great, so I am a bit nervous.

More from College Football Odds

I only ended up with 41 points in Pick Em last week, mostly thanks to Minnesota choking on Maryland at home.

Our leading scorer only had 54 points in pick em this week, so I only fell fell back towards the rest of the pack a bit.

Here we will recap my picks against the spread. The winner against the spread will be in BOLD. My result will follow. Let’s get to it!

In case you want to follow along:
Thursday-Friday
Early Saturday
Saturday Afternoon
Late Saturday

HADLEY, MA – SEPTEMBER 30: Nathan Rourke #12 of the Ohio Bobcats throws a pass during the first half against the Massachusetts Minutemen at Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium on September 30, 2017 in Hadley, Massachusetts. (Photo by Tim Bradbury/Getty Images) /

Texas(-3.5) at Iowa State: HIT! The under on 62 hit as well. Chris Warren was held in check by the Iowa State defense after the first quarter. The Texas defense made the difference the rest of the way.

Miami(FL)(-6.5) at Duke: MISS! I underestimated Miami. Malik Rosier isn’t making them miss Brad Kaaya at all.

Nebraska(-5.5) at Illinois: MISS! You know, for a team whose strength is supposed to be defense, this was a lackluster showing by he Illini. Northern Illinois played a better game on each of the lines than Illinois did. Tanner Lee didn’t even throw an interception!

BYU(-1.5) at Utah State: HIT! BYU is in a whole mess of trouble right now. It isn’t just the absence of Tanner Mangum. The Cougars aren’t playing well on either side of the ball right now.

USC(-2.5) at Washington State: HIT! This could be the year that Mike Leach finally delivers on the promise that he has shown at Washington State and Texas Tech before this. Leach never had a defense with this king of playmakers on it in Lubbock. He has something special going on in Pullman. This was a huge win for the program.

Northwestern at Wisconsin(-16.5): MISS! Northwestern has a pretty good defense of their own. They held Jonathan Taylor to just 80 yards and Clayton Thorson well outplayed Alex Hornibrook. Can Wisconsin really struggle in Lincoln? This game wasn’t exactly a vote of confidence for them. The Big Ten West is still theirs to lose, but this was a sloppy game.

South Florida(-21.5) at East Carolina: HIT! I don’t know that the Bulls suddenly figured out how to play defense – the Pirates still had 31 points – but that offense sure puts on one hell of a show!

Vanderbilt at Florida(-8.5): MISS! Great things happen when Florida can run the ball. The question I have is whether Feliepe Franks can regain his confidence after losing his job to the now injured Luke Del Rio.

Houston(-13.5) at Temple: MISS! Houston was well on their way to covering this until their offense came to a screeching halt after the first quarter.

New Mexico State at Arkansas(-16.5): MISS! Someone finally covered the Aggies, but it was really close. Tyler Rogers did everything he could to keep them in the game.

Maryland at Minnesota(-12.5): MISS! So much for that Minnesota defense. They were eaten up by a third string quarterback…..

Rice at Pittsburgh(-20.5): MISS! Pitt finally woke up for this one.

North Carolina at Georgia Tech(-9.5): HIT! I can’t say this one surprised me at all. The ACC is good enough that North Carolina is going to have problems even making it to a bowl game.

Syracuse at North Carolina State(-12.5): MISS! This was another one that was looking good at halftime. Then Syracuse turned it on in the second half.

Central Michigan at Boston College(-10.5): HIT! The Chippewas are going to be hard to pick heading into the MAC season. They haven’t looked all that good so far, and the MAC doesn’t seem as strong as last year.

Indiana at Penn State(-18.5): HIT! The Nittany Lions certainly look like a team that is ready for the big time. They still have their work cut out for them in the Big Ten East, which is starting to look like the SEC West.

Georgia(-8.5) at Tennessee: HIT! I told you this was easy money. This was one of those games where I didn’t even feel nervous about betting it.

Florida State(-7.5) at Wake Forest: HIT! I really didn’t expect Wake to lose this, but we saw a lot of growth from James Blackman here. That will really help against Miami.

Ohio(-5.5) at Massachusetts: HIT! I certainly had to sweat this one! Andrew Ford is making his way to the head of the class of UMass quarterbacks. It was another strong game for Ford. UMass may finally be a sleeper team in the MAC if they can get that defense in order.

Baylor at Kansas State(-14.5): MISS! Is Baylor really better? Letting a trudging K-State offense beat them makes me reconsider. The offense is improving, but that defense is a sore spot.

UTEP at Army(-23.5): HIT! It’s not like UTEP played that impressive of a game. Army dominated the second half and still didn’t cover. That is the hallmark of an option offense. The battle for the Commander-In-Chief trophy is going to be a fun one this year!

Navy(-7.5) at Tulsa: HIT! Does it mean that Tulsa’s defense is better if they were able to hold Navy to 31? The Golden Hurricane allowed in the last two games what they normally did in one. Now if they could only get the offense on board…..

Buffalo(-7.5) at Kent State: HIT! Don’t look now, but the Bulls are 3-2. They have a solid shot at a bowl for the first time since the Turner Gill era.

BATON ROUGE, LA – SEPTEMBER 30: Members of the Troy Trojans celebrate after defeating the LSU Tigers 24-21 at Tiger Stadium on September 30, 2017 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /

Texas State at Wyoming(-16.5): HIT! Lost in Josh Allen’s three touchdown day is the fact that he was still only 14-24 passing. How is he still the top rated passer again? He is starting to look like Christian Hackenberg….

Connecticut at SMU(-16.5) HIT! Connecticut finally got worn out by the SMU offense in the fourth quarter, allowing them to cover this. I had given up on this game as a loss…..

Arizona State at Stanford(-17.5): HIT! Bryce Love is for real. The real thing I took away from this though is Stanford’s defense. I never thought I would see them give up that many big plays.

Eastern Michigan at Kentucky(-14.5): MISS! I knew better. Kentucky still isn’t any different from the last five years.

Iowa at Michigan State(-3.5): MISS! Iowa played their one good game of the year against Penn State. Well, at least until they play Nebraska…..

Miami(OH) at Notre Dame(-20.5): HIT! It’s hard to tell if the Irish are really that much better since they have only played against lackluster teams. However, Michigan State could be a little better than I thought.

Mississippi State at Auburn(-8.5): HIT! I honestly expected a closer game. Auburn’s offense has a quarterback that has found his rhythm and two good running backs. Their receivers are capable and this defense is pretty stout. Auburn is going to beat at least one team they aren’t favored to.

Akron(-2.5) at Bowling Green: HIT! I should have put more on this one. I don’t always trust myself with MAC lines, but this should have been the exception.

Troy at LSU(-20.5): MISS! I picked LSU? What in the hell was I thinking? I thought for sure I picked Troy! Oh well, it’s not like I would have bet this one anyway.

Charlotte at Florida International(-10.5): MISS! This was one of the better games Charlotte has played at the FBS level. I will say that.

Middle Tennessee State at Florida Atlantic: MISS! There was a reason I didn’t put much on this. Urzua played well enough, but the MTSU defense was gouged by the Owls.

South Alabama at Louisiana Tech(-12.5): HIT! J’Mar Smith is pretty fun to watch. He is starting to get this quarterback thing figured out.

Marshall at Cincinnati(-3.5): MISS! Where did that come from? Not only did Marshall’s offense mostly have their way with the Bearcat defense, Marshall’s D played very well against Hayden Moore.

North Texas at Southern Mississippi(-7.5): HIT! I am not at all surprised that the Mean Green won outright. This is a good team, especially on offense.

Ball State at Western Michigan(-14.5): HIT! Wow, where was this Bronco team a couple of weeks ago? If you would have told me that Jamauri Bogan would have less than 70 yards rushing, I would have said there was no way WMU covered. Truth be told, they didn’t even need Bogan.

Coastal Carolina at Louisiana-Monroe(-7.5): HIT! Saved by the half! This was one of the more entertaining games of the weekend. How about CCU’s Malcolm Williams, who racked up 266 yards receiving in the losing effort. The Chanticleers have some good players out there.

Air Force(-2.5) at New Mexico: HIT! Jordan didn’t disappoint in this one. I wish I hadn’t been so conservative in some of these where the logic was sound.

Memphis at Central Florida(-4.5): MISS! I put too much stock in Memphis beating UCLA. UCF dominated this game from the coin flip…..

TUSCALOOSA, AL – SEPTEMBER 30: Calvin Ridley #3 of the Alabama Crimson Tide fails to pull in this reception against the Mississippi Rebels at Bryant-Denny Stadium on September 30, 2017 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

Ohio State(-29.5) at Rutgers: HIT! Ohio State’s DL was too much for Rutgers. As far as that goes, so was their offensive line, running backs, quarterback, linebackers, safeties, corners, and receivers…..

South Carolina at Texas A&M(-7.5): MISS! I guess that South Carolina’s defense isn’t ready to throw in the towel just yet. They played a solid game here, and the offense is starting to find an identity without Deebo Samuel. The Gamecocks played a solid game on the road even though they didn’t win.

Clemson(-7.5) at Virginia Tech: MISS! I honestly think that Clemson may be better than last year. This looks to be a more complete team. The Tigers don’t have the athletes that they had last year, but the defense is better, and the offense is still a solid unit.

Washington(-26.5) at Oregon State: HIT! The Huskies offense is getting going after a bit of a slow start. Does anyone doubt that they are the best team in the Pac 12 right now?

Oklahoma State(-7.5) at Texas Tech: HIT! Well, the over didn’t hit. It really wasn’t even close. This was a rare display of defense by the Big 12(10). Okay, there wasn’t a lot of defense, but you get what I mean.

Mississippi at Alabama(-28.5): HIT! I knew that Alabama wanted revenge here. This was an absolute stomping and showed what the Tide are capable of.

Nevada at Fresno State(-9.5): MISS! If you hear the name Keyshawn Johnson while watching Fresno, don’t get too excited. It’s spelled KeeSean Johnson. Keyshawn Johnson, Jr. is still on a leave of absence from Nebraska.

Northern Illinois at San Diego State(-9.5): MISS! The Huskies are better than they were early on. San Diego State has made all of their non conference points. Is the Mountain West strong enough for them to crash the party?

San Jose State at UNLV(-14.5): HIT! Wow, this was a beating. The Rebels have come a long way since their embarrassing season opening loss to Howard. Then again, I think that Howard team could beat San Jose State right now. It really makes you appreciate just how good Tyler Ervin was last year.

Colorado at UCLA(-7.5): HIT! This wasn’t as easy of money as I was hoping for. I may have missed the Pick em pick, but I got it where it counts!

California at Oregon(-15.5): MISS! Nice defense in the fourth quarter there, Cal…..

Colorado State(-6.5) at Hawaii: HIT! Hawaii usually doesn’t get smoked at home like this. The Rams just pounded them into the turf at Aloha Stadium.

CINCINNATI, OH – SEPTEMBER 30: Chase Litton #14 of the Marshall Thundering Herd celebrates with fans after defeating the Cincinnati Bearcats at Nippert Stadium on September 30, 2017 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

I had one of my best weeks of the year, finishing at 31-22. That puts my season total at 138-112. My win percentage is up to a 55.2% success rate. That may not seem like much, but my goal was 55% before the season. That tells how difficult this can be. Let’s see if I gained some more points!

This week’s totals follow the number. The season totals are in parentheses.

1. 5-5 (20-20) = 0
2. 9-7 (45-39) = 12
3. 12-4 (47-26) = 63
4. 2-4 (14-19) = -20
5. 3-2 (12-9) = 15

I gained another 25 points this week to put my season winnings at 70. That’s a solid bankroll as conference play gets into full swing. I am 30 points in the black since the beginning of the 2015 season. Hopefully these picks have helped your bankroll out a little bit as well! Make sure to come back for this week’s picks!

Next: ESPN College Pick Em Picks Week 6 2017

Make sure to come back for this week’s picks against the spread, our ESPN College Pick Em Picks, and our DFS picks for the NFL, the PGA tour, and even the EPL! We have all of your needs covered!