College Football Week 5 Odds, Picks & Predictions (Friday)

by BettingPros Staff |
Sep 29, 2023

Gear up for another awesome weekend of college football action with BettingPros! We’ll have you covered with all of our top picks for the week along with our projected spreads and totals to help guide your college football bets. Below are our top picks and predictions for Friday’s games.

Top College Football Odds & Picks: Friday

Louisville vs. NC State

Louisville has looked really impressive so far under 1st-year HC Jeff Brohm, who has the Cardinals off to a 4-0 start including wins over a Georgia Tech team that looks much improved, a Boston College team that gave Florida State a scare, and an Indiana team that actually has a really stingy defense. Their offense has absolutely been clicking so far, putting up 43 PPG and leading the ACC in both passing yards per game and rushing yards per game, which is pretty impressive considering Drake Maye and Jordan Travis are also in the conference. NC State, on the other hand, has had a rougher go of it to start. The Wolfpack have narrow victories over UConn and Virginia, which both don't figure to be any good, and got run out of their own building at home against Notre Dame. NC State's defense has been middling for ACC standards, and they rank in the bottom half of the conference in most offensive statistics, including 2nd to last in passing yards per game, which actually figures to be the weak point in Louisville's defense. It's never fun to lay points on the road in conference, but I'll take the Cardinals and their explosive offense to outpace NC State in this one.

Pick: Louisville -3.5 (-110)

-Austin MacMillan

Utah vs. Oregon State

Utah is rolling as they try to defend their Pac-12 championship by winning their first four games, and last week, they got their first victory in the conference. The question that still looms is the status of quarterback with Cam Rising. He once again split practice reps with Nate Johnson, hoping he can get the green light to return soon. DJ Uiagalelei started the season tremendously, but the last couple of games have not gone well. Turnover issues that plagued him at Clemson have resurfaced, and he's thrown three picks in the last two games. The Beavers have been relying more on their ground game with Damien Martinez and Deshaun Fenwick, and they've run the ball on 52.8% of offensive plays. I think we will see a non-traditional, smash-mouth Pac-12 game. Both team's success is going through the defense, and that's what we'll see.

Pick: Under 44.5 (-110)

-John Supowitz

Cincinnati vs. BYU

Big 12 newcomers face off on late Friday night, as Cincinnati travels to Provo to take on BYU. The Bearcats have had an interesting start to the season, picking up an impressive road win at Pitt (who may just not be very good this year) before dropping a home contest to Miami (OH) and then playing really well against the Sooners but failing miserably to convert on scoring chances inside the red zone. Led by former Florida QB Emory Jones, Cincinnati boasts one of the best rushing attacks in the Big 12 at nearly 215 YPG. The Cougars have struggled to get things clicking on the offensive side of the ball, ranking in the middle of the Big 12 in passing efficiency but dead last in rushing, at a mere 61 YPG. Their defense has been pretty stout though, ranking in the top half of the Big 12 in most categories, and they've shown the ability to beat quality opponents, with a road win against Arkansas already on their resume. Traveling to altitude on a short week is no easy task, and I expect Provo to be rocking on Friday night. I'll take BYU to win this game outright.

Pick: BYU ML (-105)

-Austin MacMillan

Best Ways to Bet College Football for Beginners

Game Total

Bettors new to the hobby can be confused by spreads, but game totals are simple. Every football game has a total posted for the combined final score between the two teams. Bettors have the option to choose the OVER or UNDER, generally at -110 odds (risk: $110; win: $100). So if the total is 42 and you take the OVER, you need 43 points to win the bet. If you put a bet down on the over to win $100 and it goes over, you get back the money you initially risked, plus $100. If it stayed under, you would have lost your $110 and that's it. If by chance the game ended with 42 total points, it's called a push; when a game pushes, you get the money you risked back but nothing more.

ie: California vs. Illinois, Over 42 or Under 42

tip: Over bets can be a really fun social event with your buddies. Have everyone throw in a few bucks, then take the over together. Instead of getting pumped when one side scores, everyone is pumped for ANY score, all game.

Moneyline

The moneyline is the easiest way to test your college football knowledge: who will win the game? That's it. The moneyline doesn't use favorites or underdogs, it's totally straight up. That said, the risk-reward can be challenging because they're weighted. Instead of every game being around -110, like game totals and spreads, moneylines vary depending on the matchup.

For our example, California was favored by seven points over Illinois, meaning oddsmakers think the Golden Bears are a touchdown better than the Fighting Illini. If you took Cal on the moneyline, points don't matter, they just need to win the game. But because it's safer to take them straight-up without points, you'll have to risk more when you make the bet - remember, they're seven points better than Illinois in the eyes of the oddsmakers. In this case, Cal is -280 on the moneyline, so if you want to win $100, you have to risk $280. On the flip side, moneyline bets can be valuable when taking the underdog because it's a riskier bet - they're seven points worse than their opponent. In this case, Illinois is the underdog - +220 on the moneyline. You'd win $220 on a $100 bet if you picked Illinois on the moneyline and they pulled off the upset.

ie: California (ML -280) vs. Illinois (ML +220)

tip: Check their history against one another. Keep an eye on the injury report and the weather.

Player Props

Player props are some of the most exhilarating bets you can place during a college football game, but they're also easy to understand. For major conferences, you'll have a wide array of options to choose from. Quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, and sometimes tight ends will have props to choose from. It's simple, fun and easy to follow, and odds on player props don't vary as much as moneylines. Generally, prop bets are in the -110 range like generic spread and total bets.

ie: How many passing yards will Brandon Peters have against California? Over 250 or Under 250

tip: Check how players have performed in the situation they're going to be in. Use split stats on any reliable site to see their numbers at home, on a neutral-site, in December, etc.

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