Eyeing the college football odds for Week 5 to find the five best bets that you can count on hitting this week.
The first four weeks of the 2020 college football season have been anything but predictable; that’s just about the only certainty heading into Week 5. And last week stands as a testament to that. There were the obvious upsets of LSU and Oklahoma but, even beyond that, the college football odds proved to be difficult to decipher, at least from my end.
Alabama had the cover easily in hand against Missouri but took their foot off the gas early and let the Tigers come back in the second half. Meanwhile, Virginia Tech’s COVID-19 issues were overblown as their starters were on the field and took care of NC State. Ironically, Georgia had to replace their starting quarterback at halftime but were the best bet who still ended up covering last week.
The point is, the uncertainty of this season has us in a bit of a cold spell. Let’s try to remedy that as we once again look at the college football odds and highlight the best bets for Week 5. Odds are courtesy of The Action Network.
5 best bets in college football Week 5
5. South Carolina vs. Florida – Over 57.5
Florida’s offense under Kyle Trask looked tremendous against Ole Miss in the season-opener. Though South Carolina has a better defense than the Rebs, they don’t have anyone who can match-up with tight end Kyle Pitts (who does?). So the Gators should be able to keep putting on points.
However, the big reason for the over being the play here is that the Florida defense looked quite suspect last week, giving up 35 points to Lane Kiffin. Mike Bobo’s Gamecocks have some juice with Collin Hill at quarterback and this should be quite a high-scoring matchup.
4. Ole Miss (+6) vs. Kentucky
Speaking of that Ole Miss team, how could you not be impressed with this group after their first game under Kiffin? Matt Corral looked great, as did the weapons at his disposal. Again, their defense is an issue but is that as much of a concern against Kentucky? Not totally. Terry Wilson looked average in his first game back at the helm for the Wildcats and, while Mark Stoops’ defense is quite good, Kiffin will have it dialed up to keep this one at least close.
3. Oklahoma State vs. Kansas – Under 54
There is a chance that Spencer Sanders could return at quarterback for Mike Gundy’s Oklahoma State Cowboys, which does scare me a bit when considering the under. At the same time, however, the Pokes have proved they are going to be the best defense in the Big 12 this season and that will show up big against Kansas.
The Jayhawks have struggled mightily in every facet of the game to start the year and that won’t change against a strong defense. Even if Sanders is back and the Cowboys offense takes a step forward, they will allow few enough points for the under to hit.
2. Abilene Christian vs. Army (-30.5)
Army is coming off of their first loss of the 2020 season last week, falling 24-10 to Cincinnati. However, that was against a Bearcats team that is one of the favorites to win the AAC and that shouldn’t discredit how good the Black Knights have looked against inferior opponents. Abilene Christian qualifies in that regard and the triple-option should run wild while the Army defense delivers a suffocating performance to cover this big spread.
1. Texas A&M vs. Alabama (-17.5)
There are two things at play when it comes to taking Alabama by 17.5 points in this top-15 matchup on Saturday. First is that the Crimson Tide looked phenomenal in the season-opener. Mac Jones and Najee Harris barely broke a sweat to jump out to a big lead and they won’t rest on their laurels against the Aggies.
More importantly than that, Texas A&M looked downright bad in their own season-opening win, beating a lowly Vanderbilt team by just five points. Kellen Mond has struggled in big games and this one qualifies. I expect the Aggies offense to be stagnant and the defense to have no answer for all of Bama’s weapon in an incredibly one-sided affair.
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