College Football Week 5 Predictions: Geo/Bama, Illini/Penn.St, Wash/Rutgers, Lville/ND and More

Week 4 saw Tennessee, Utah, Michigan, Illinois, and BYU shine with big wins. Week 5 features the SEC, Big Ten, ACC-ish, and Big-12 matchups. Georgia vs. Alabama stands out from the pack. After a month of the regular season, college football turns into a sprint, and week after week, it becomes filled with upsets and drama, and the genuine contenders separate from the fake.

Marquee Matchups

#2 Georgia vs. #4 Alabama: Kirby Smart’s Georgia program is just 1-5 in its last 6 meetings with the Crimson Tide. To his credit, the one victory came when it counts the most for a chip. As we all know, the greatest modern-day coach, Nick Saban, no longer captains this ship in Tuscaloosa. Both teams are coming off a bye, but the Bulldogs may be missing more players.

In recent years, Georgia’s issues versus Kentucky have been kind of head-scratching, but let’s not forget Alabama was in a razor-close game heading into the 4th quarter against USF. Bama must be able to run the ball to set up deep shots, which is something QB Jalen Milroe has in his bag. Which receiver target or targets will step up and produce for Carson Beck? This dual will be on the table in the 4th quarter, and limiting the major mistakes overall will be the difference in winning and losing.

The Pick: Georgia -1

DraftKings

4.5/5

Tip: Bet Georgia -1

• Great Value betting on Georgia
• Carson Beck to play well
• Georgia will cover

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#9 Penn State vs. #19 Illinois: Under head coach James Franklin the Nittany Lions cover the spread at a very high rate. That said, Illinois head coach Bret Bielema’s bread and butter is to run the ball and play sound defense. Illinois had 5 turnovers in a 30-13 loss to Penn State in 2023.  Of course, the ability for Penn State to create explosive plays on offense this year may be what gets them over the hump in this game. This one will be part of the against the spread section, but I am still going back and forth on how confident this College Football podcaster is in Illinois.

The Pick: Illinois +17

DraftKings

4.5/5

Tip: Bet the Illini +17

• The Illini are undervalued
• Nittanu Lions are Overvalued
• Illini will cover

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Under The Radar

#15 Louisville vs. #16 Notre Dame: In this mandated ACC matchup for Notre Dame we may find out who is the real contender. Was the Irish’s loss to Northern Illinois a fluke? Just how good are the Cardinals? Come to think about we may realize neither of these teams have to goods to make the 12-team playoffs? This contest will come down to Notre Dame’s defense vs. Louisville’s offense. The biggest factor is the playing calling by ace offensive mind Jeff Brohm.

The Pick: Louisville +6.5 and over the 46 point total.

DraftKings

4.5/5

Tip: Bet the Cardinals +6.5

• Louisville’s offense to be the difference
• Irish to struggle through the air
• Cardinals will cover

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#20 Oklahoma State vs. #23 Kansas State: This game is flying way under the radar after both teams lost last week. The added pressure is the fact that neither team can afford to drop back to back conference games. The quarterbacks have not really lived up to expectations but even more troubling is lack of productivity from Cowboys RB Ollie Gordon II. The BYU loss was a bit fluky so look for the Wildcats to settle back in at home and handle their business.

The Pick: Kansas State -4.5

Saturday Upset Special

#22 BYU, as a +3 road dog to Baylor, pulls the minor upset.

Hardcore Barnburners

USF vs. Tulane: Battle of the pretty good teams who’ve lost to big conference foes. USF pushed Miami in the first half and it wasn’t until the 4th when Bama put it in high gear. The home field along with Tulane pushing K-State to the max is enough to pick Tulane.

The Pick: Tulane -5.5 and over the 55 point total.

Washington vs. Rutgers: Not many folks thought the Huskies would be the underdog heading into this game versus Rutgers at the beginning of the season. Washington will need to run the ball which is a weakness for the Scarlet Knights on defense. A grind it out low scoring league matchup fits perfect for the hardcore’s to enjoy.

The Pick: Washington +1.5 and/or +104 money line Huskies. 

Against The Spread

#22 BYU +3 versus Baylor.

Arkansas +5.5 versus #24 Texas A&M

Honorable Mentions

South Alabama +20.5 versus #14 LSU

#19 Illinois +17.5 versus #9 Penn State

Colorado +14 versus UCF

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Quick Hits Recap

-Tennessee delivered a victory over a Top-15 foe on the road for the first time since 2006.

-Utah got their highest ranked road win over Oklahoma State since 2018 under head coach Kyle Willingham.

-Pigging back off that victory Utes RB Micah Bernard rushed for 182 yards.

-In the losing effort Oklahoma State had won 7 straight times at home facing a ranked opponent heading into Saturday’s matchup.

-Michigan RB Kalel Mullings scored the go ahead TD with 37 seconds left to defeat USC 27-24. Mullings piled 159 rushing up yards and 2 TD’s.

-BYU’s 38-9 win over K-State was their largest win over a Top-15 opponent in school history.

-JMU QB Alonza Barnett III passed for 388 yards and 5 TD’s along with 99 rushing yards adding 2 TD’s on the ground in a 70-50 blow away of UNC.

Written by Chris Carlson Host of The College Ball Show Podcast available at blogtalkradio.com/ropeadoperadio &

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