With the College Football Playoff expanding to 12 teams this season, there are still dozens of teams that feel like their national championship hopes are alive entering the Week 5 college football schedule. No. 17 Clemson was thoroughly outclassed by Georgia to open the season but has rebounded with dominant wins over Appalachian State and NC State. The Tigers will host new ACC foe Stanford on Saturday and will look to take another step back towards the top 12 with a win.
The latest Week 5 college football odds via SportsLine consensus lists Clemson as the 21.5-point home favorite in that game. So is there any value in betting the Tigers, and what other Week 5 college football lines should you be targeting this weekend? Before locking in any Week 5 college football picks on those games or others, be sure to see the college football betting guide from legendary Vegas handicapper Bruce Marshall.
For years Vegas-based Marshall was synonymous with The Gold Sheet, the famed sports betting newsletter. With a background in play-by-play work and sports information while in college, Marshall joined TGS in 1981 when hired by the legendary Mort Olshan and served as executive editor for many years.
An in-demand guest on numerous sports talk radio and TV shows across the country, Bruce's vast array of editorial work has been featured in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the New York Post and many other outlets. He has won various handicapping titles and also is working on several book projects. Bruce also enters the Week 5 college football schedule on a 12-7 roll (+423) on his official SportsLine college football spread picks.
Now, using his Tech Corner technique that evaluates all the trends and the latest college football odds, Marshall has turned his attention to college football betting for Week 5 and revealed picks for each matchup. Head here to see every pick.
Top college football predictions for Week 5
One of the top college football picks Marshall is recommending for Week 5: He's backing No. 12 Michigan to cover as a 10-point favorite against Minnesota in the battle for the Little Brown Jug at noon ET on Saturday. Michigan starting quarterback Alex Orji only threw the ball for 32 yards last week against USC, but a dominant running game helped the Wolverines put themselves back more seriously into the playoff conversation.
Michigan ran for 290 yards and controlled the line of scrimmage throughout the matchup. Now the Wolverines will take on a Golden Gophers defense that gave up 272 yards and four touchdowns on the ground in a convincing 31-14 loss to Iowa last week. Michigan has won nine of 10 head-to-head meetings with Minnesota and is 8-2 against the spread during that span, including a 42-point romp as 18.5-point favorites last season. See which other picks to make here.
How to make college football picks for Week 5
Marshall has evaluated every other matchup and he's found an alarming 21-4 betting trend you need to know this week. Get betting analysis for each matchup at SportsLine.
So what college football picks can you make with confidence, and what alarming trend do you need to know about in one of the week's biggest games? Check out the latest college football odds below, then visit SportsLine to see which teams to back, all from the legendary Vegas expert who has won multiple handicapping titles, and find out.
Week 5 college football odds
See full Week 5 college football picks, odds and predictions here.
Friday, Sept. 27
Virginia Tech at Miami (-17.5, 54.5)
Washington at Rutgers (-1.5, 44.5)
Saturday, Sept. 28
Oklahoma State at Kansas State (-4.5, 57.5)
Kentucky at Ole Miss (-17.5, 52.5)
Minnesota at Michigan (-10, 35.5)
Louisville at Notre Dame (-6.5, 46)
Mississippi State at Texas (-37.5, 61.5)
Ohio State at Michigan State (+23.5, 48.5)
Stanford at Clemson (-21.5, 57.5)
Illinois at Penn State (-17.5, 47.5)
