College football game odds, point spreads, betting lines for Week 5 schedule of games
Week 5 of the college football season is set to kick off with more teams opening up their conference schedule and taking that important first step in the jockey for league standings and playoff consideration.
This weekend, that will include five games featuring head-to-head matchups with both teams on the field in the current AP top 25 rankings.
Alabama-Arkansas, NC State-Clemson, Ole Miss-Kentucky, Florida State-Wake Forest, and Oklahoma State-Baylor in a rematch of last year's crazy Big 12 championship game.
Here are some of the more prominent point spreads around the country, courtesy of SI Sportsbook, ahead of Saturday's top games.
College football odds, lines, spreads for Week 5 games
College football odds for Week 5 games
No. 7 Kentucky at No. 14 Ole Miss (-6.5). A battle of undefeateds in the SEC featuring a pair of very promising teams coming off closer-than-expected games a week ago. We'll see an elite quarterback battle between Will Levis and Jaxson Dart, in addition to the Rebels' elite ground attack, and Kentucky finally gets lead rusher Chris Rodriguez back from suspension.
No. 4 Michigan (-10) at Iowa. Everyone knows about the Hawkeyes' comically inept offense, but the unit has put up 27 points in each of the last 2 games and allowed just 20 combined points all season behind another stout defensive effort. Michigan is perfect through 4 games with a run game that can move the chains, but Iowa is 5-1 against AP top 10 teams at home in their last 6 tries.
No. 2 Alabama (-17) at No. 20 Arkansas. This was meant to be a game between perfect SEC West teams until the Hogs lost a heartbreaker to A&M on a very unlucky field goal. That doesn't change the fact that Arkansas has a solid front line behind which is college football's 9th best rushing attack and one of the nation's premier quarterbacks in KJ Jefferson. There could be an upset brewing against a Tide team that won this game by 7 a year ago and struggled at Texas.
No. 22 Wake Forest at No. 23 Florida State (-6.5). Sam Hartman threw a Wake record 6 TD passes last week, but it still wasn't enough to break the school's now 14-game losing streak in that series. He'll test the undefeated Seminoles' secondary while Jordan Travis tries to outflank the Deacons' front seven in an interesting quarterback battle.
No. 10 NC State at No. 5 Clemson (-7). DJ Uiagalelei had his best day passing as the Tigers' offense is slowly but surely finding its way after knocking off Wake in OT, but this back seven looked lost in the process. That could be an issue going against Devin Leary, the Wolfpack's gifted quarterback who engineered an upset win over Clemson last fall. A win here goes a long, long way in the ACC Atlantic race, and the College Football Playoff hunt.
Arizona State at No. 6 USC (-25.5). Lincoln Riley's all-star transfer squad passed an important test by coming from behind to win on the road at Oregon State with a late scoring drive. In come the Sun Devils in the midst of a coaching change and a chance for the Trojans to pick up what should be a dominant win before hosting Washington State next week.
Related: College football scores | College football rankings | College football schedule
Other Week 5 college football lines and odds
No. 18 Oklahoma (-5) at TCU. A chance at redemption for OU after the K-State loss, and for the Frogs to stay perfect with a statement.
Purdue at No. 21 Minnesota (-11.5). The favorites in the Big Ten West, the Gophers have a solid 1-2 punch in Tanner Morgan and Mo Ibrahim coming off a big win over Michigan State.
Texas Tech at No. 25 Kansas State (-7.5). Two Big 12 upstarts coming off upset wins over Texas and OU, respectively.
Oregon State at No. 12 Utah (-11). Another chance for the Utes to make its case as the Pac-12 favorites, but now without target Brant Kuithe.
Rutgers at No. 3 Ohio State (-39). Looks like another chance for the Buckeye Blitzkrieg to tear through an unsuspecting Big Ten defense.
Iowa State (-3.5) at Kansas. No top 25 ranking and no favorite status for the perfect Jayhawks as they host the 1-loss Cyclones.
Northwestern at No. 11 Penn State (-25). An important stepping stone for the Nittany Lions to build momentum going into a tough B1G East slate.
No. 17 Texas A&M at Mississippi State (-4). Favored status for the Bulldogs over the Aggies, coming off that Arkansas win, but losing star receiver Ainias Smith for the year to injury.
LSU (-8) at Auburn. Brian Kelly takes it on the road in the SEC West against a clumsy Auburn team very lucky to not be at 2 losses.
No. 1 Georgia (-29.5) at Missouri. We know who the Bulldogs are, and they're not who we saw against Kent State. Let's hope not if they want to get back to the College Football Playoff.
Stanford at No. 15 Oregon (-17). Two statement wins for the Ducks the last 2 weeks and a shot to build another cornerstone in their Pac-12 title case.