NCAA Football Week 5 Odds Overview & Top Picks.

NCAA Football Week 5 Odds Overview & Top Picks

Written by on September 25, 2018

We have two potential College Football Playoff elimination games in Week 5 around the nation as No. 7 Stanford visits No. 8 Notre Dame and No. 4 Ohio State heads to No. 9 Penn State on Saturday. Here’s a look at those two interesting matchups, plus one more, alongside the latest NCAA Footbal Week 5 odds.

NCAA Football Week 5 Odds Overview & Top Picks

No. 7 Stanford at No. 8 Notre Dame (-4.5)

The loser here could be in trouble for the playoff because each team has very tough schedules left so it’s likely that a second loss would be coming. The Irish still visit Virginia Tech, Northwestern, and USC and host Florida State. The Cardinal have to go to Arizona State, Washington and Cal. Stanford got a huge win this past Saturday, rallying for a 38-31 overtime win at No. 20 Oregon. After KJ Costello’s overtime TD pass to Colby Parkinson, Stanford’s Alameen Murphy intercepted Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert’s pass in the end zone for the victory. Bryce Love returned after sitting out last week against UC Davis to rest minor injuries. He ran for 89 yards and a touchdown. Oregon led 30-7 and the game looked over until Stanford linebacker Joey Alfieri scooped up a fumble that he ran back 80 yards for a touchdown to start the rally. Notre Dame crushed Wake Forest 56-27. Ian Book rushed for three touchdowns and threw for two more in his first start of the season. Book replaced Brandon Wimbush in the starting lineup and was 25 of 34 for 325 yards with touchdown passes covering 3 yards to Brock Wright and 7 yards to Chase Claypool, along with three short scoring runs. Presumably, Book has the job for good now as the Irish had a season-high 566 yards and scored more than 24 points for the first time. The Irish will get back suspended RB Dexter Williams this week. Williams averaged 9.2 yards per carry for Notre Dame in a reserve role last season. Of his 39 carries in 2017, 17 went for a first down. The senior has 641 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 99 carries in 29 career games for the Irish.

No. 4 Ohio State at No. 9 Penn State (+4)

The winner of this game probably wins the Big Ten East and then beats Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game. Probably. Penn State does have a tougher schedule the rest of the way than Ohio State. The Buckeyes will again be missing a key player in defensive end Nick Bosa, the potential No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. He’s recovering from abdominal surgery. In three games this season, the junior has four sacks, six tackles for loss, a forced fumble that led to an Ohio State touchdown against TCU and two fumble recoveries. Bosa led Ohio State with eight sacks and 16 tackles for loss in 2017. OSU could use Bosa against a Penn State offense that is No. 1 in the Football Bowl Subdivision in points scored per game (55.5). No road environment has tested the Ohio State football team quite as much in recent years as Penn State’s Beaver Stadium. The Buckeyes were defeated in their last trip to State College in 2016 when Penn State scored 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to upset Ohio State, a win that would ultimately make the difference in the Nittany Lions winning the Big Ten East title. OSU needed double OT to win in Happy Valley two years before that. Penn State is one of the favorites for NCAA Football Week 5. Penn State has not fared well straight up against Urban Meyer’s squad recently, losing five out of the last six meetings. But since 2013, the Nittany Lions have been home underdogs six times overall as they are here. Penn State covered in four of those contests, winning three outright. OSU has covered in seven straight road games. ESPN College GameDay will be on hand. There is no word on who might be this week’s guest picker. Last year — before the Nittany Lions’ night game against Michigan — Penn State legend Ki-Jana Carter joined the set. He and Corso picked the Nittany Lions.

Syracuse at No. 3 Clemson (-22)

Easy win for the Tigers, right? Not so fast. They were ranked No. 2 in the nation last year when they visited unranked Syracuse, and the Orange pulled off a 27-24 stunner. Eric Dungey threw for 278 yards and three touchdowns, and Cole Murphy kicked a tiebreaking field goal in the fourth quarter. Clemson had won 12 consecutive games on the opponent’s home field, the longest streak in Clemson history and tied for the second longest active streak in the nation. It was SU’s first-ever win in 13 tries against the No. 2 team in the nation. This year, SU is unbeaten, although it hasn’t really played anyone. The Orange, who have not trailed this season, have won their first four games for the first time since 1991 and only the fourth time since the end of World War II. Dungey is having a good year. Clemson, meanwhile, will make a QB change this week. Kelly Bryant, who led Clemson to the College Football Playoff last season, has started all four games this season but will sit. True freshman Trevor Lawrence, the No. 2 overall recruit in the nation this year, has been superb coming off the bench, including completing 13 of 18 passes for 176 yards and four touchdowns against the Yellow Jackets on Saturday. He gets the call. Through four games, Bryant has led the offense on 21 full drives, while Lawrence has led 23. Clemson has averaged 4.2 points per drive with Lawrence at the helm, nearly double Bryant’s scoring rate. Bryant will still play.

Expert NCAA Football Week 5 Picks

Stanford wins at Notre Dame, OSU beats Penn State and Syracuse does cover barely at Clemson.