College Football Week 5 Betting Preview

Week 5 Locks:

Game 1: Arizona State Sun Devils at Cal Bears(-4.5) O/U 40

Date: Friday, September 26th-10:30 ET

Network: ESPN

Weather: Partly Cloudy, 56 Degrees with 11 MPH winds

Pick: Sun Devils +4.5

Rationale: The Bears do come into this game with a surprising 4-0 record, but this comes with a caveat. A 4th quarter review went the bears way last week sealing the win against Ole Miss, and a four hour weather delay in early September gave them a 20-19 win in a bizarre Pac-12 after, after dark game. Everyone is quick to praise this Bears defense, but ASU ranks ahead of them in Yards per play and total defense, thus far. Expect a low scoring, run heavy game. Freshman QB Jayden Daniels has shown a ton of promise this year(QB rating 151.4, 1073 passing yards with just 1 INT). Look for Herm to have his guys ready to play. Take the road dawg and the points Friday night.

Game 2: Stanford Cardnil at Oregon State Beavers(+4.5) O/U 40

Date: Saturday, September 27th-7:00 ET

Network: Pac-12 Network

Weather: Partly cloudy 60 degrees with 6-8 MPH winds

Pick: Beavers +4.5

Rationale: The Stanford fade continues. This team, unlike past teams lead by David Shaw, has no identity. The defense has struggled but the offense is the real concern. Quarterback KJ Costello has struggled this year. With only 2 TD's and 2 INT's, he ranks 101st in the country in QBR.(ESPN). Maybe even more concerning,the defense has struggled. In three games this season(which includes one of the worst offenses in the country in Northwestern), they rank 74th in total defense and are gibing up 6.29 yards per play. As for Oregon State, I expect their offense to put up points on the Stanford defesnse. Lead by Senior Quarterback Jake Luton(8 TD,0 INT, QBR 61.3) and leading WR Isiah Hodgins(347 Yards, 5 TD) can keep up with any team. Take the beavers with the points.

Game 3: Northwestern Wildcats at Wisconsin Badgers(-24.5) O/U 40

Date: Saturday, September 27th-12 ET

Network: ABC

Weather: Partly cloudy 60 degrees with 11 MPH winds

Pick: Badgers -24.5

Rationale: I'm seeing this as a pretty public heavy bet, but don't overthink this this one. Northwestern ranks 121st in total offense and Wisconsin is 1st in the country in total defense. I respect Pat Fitzgerald but I think this is a different team. They are clearly missing Justin Jackson and Clayton Thornson. Their offense is lost with transfer QB Hunter Johnson and they lack playmakers. Everyone is focusing on Johnathon Taylor but the real reason the Badgers have been so successful is because teams can no longer stack the box. Quarterback Jack Coan has been incredibly efficient and has made throws when he needs too. He ranks 6th in QBR at 87.3 and has not thrown a pick all year. I think the defense doesn't allow more than 10 points here to the cats and JT and Coan roll in Madison.