Last week’s schedule left a lot to be desired, but Week 5 in NCAA football betting offers up a lot more intrigue.
There are four games Saturday that feature battles of Top 25-ranked teams. Let’s take a closer look at them:
Oklahoma at Notre Dame (+3.5, O/U 50)
It’s not often that you see the Irish as an underdog on its home field, but that’s the case Saturday as the Oklahoma Sooners come to South Bend.
A year after reaching the national championship game, Notre Dame has failed to impress this season. The Irish is 0-3-1 against the spread and hasn’t won by more than seven points since Week 1.
Oklahoma is playing some pretty good defence these days, allowing 27 points combined in its first three contests. Offensively, the Sooners are averaging 490.3 yards per game.
Notre Dame held the Sooners to 15 rushing yards last year, earning a 30-13 victory at Oklahoma. It was the Irish’s ninth victory in 10 all-time meetings with the Sooners.
This is the first time Notre Dame is catching points at home since 2010, a 37-14 loss to Andrew Luck and Stanford.
Our pick: Under
LSU at Georgia (-3, O/U 62)
This is the first true road game for the No. 6 Tigers, and it’s a tough one — at SEC rival Georgia, one of the nation’s best offensive teams.
While LSU has cruised to double-digit victories the last three weeks, the Bulldogs are preparing to face their third top-10 opponent in a four-game span. Georgia lost its opener, 38-35 at Clemson, before bouncing back to defeat South Carolina 41-30 in Week 2.
This game marks the return to Georgia for LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger, who originally had a scholarship with the Bulldogs but was dismissed after getting into legal trouble in 2010. Mettenberger’s mother has worked in Georgia’s football department since he was eight years old.
Trends point to a shootout in this one. LSU has gone over the total in all four of its games this season, while Georgia is on a 5-0 run to the over. Five of the last six meetings between the teams have eclipsed the total.
Our pick: LSU
Mississippi at Alabama (-14, O/U 55)
The top-ranked Crimson Tide may be undefeated, but its offence hasn’t bowled anybody over this season.
Alabama has the worst rushing attack in the SEC (132 yards per game) and ranks second-last in total offence (370.7). Those numbers have been masked by the Tide’s five touchdowns already this season from its defensive and special teams units.
Bama’s offence will likely need to score some points against No. 21 Mississippi, which is averaging 38 points per game and running for 250 yards per contest.
Ole Miss is 4-0 against the spread in its last four visits to Alabama, and 6-2 ATS in the last eight meetings overall. The road team has also cashed in the past five meetings in the series. That might be why the Rebels have been bet down to 14-point underdogs after opening as +16.5.
Our pick: Mississippi
Wisconsin at Ohio State (-6, O/U 55.5)
The fourth-ranked Buckeyes have toyed with inferior opponents in their first four games, while No. 23 Wisconsin has already tested itself with a tough loss at Arizona State. We’ll see if that matters Saturday in Columbus, when Ohio State hosts the Badgers in a Big Ten clash.
The Buckeyes will have star QB Braxton Miller back in the lineup after he missed nearly three full games with a sprained knee. If Miller doesn’t last, however, backup Kenny Guiton has proven he is also capable of moving the Ohio State offence.
Wisconsin, coming off a 41-10 win over Purdue last week, ranks third in the FBS with 349.8 rushing yards per game. The Badgers have also given Ohio State all it could handle in recent meetings, taking the Buckeyes to overtime last year and losing by three points in 2011. Three years ago, Wisconsin handed Ohio State its only loss of the season.
The underdog is 10-3 against the spread in the last 13 meetings between the teams, and bettors appear to like the dog again this time. The line opened with the Buckeyes favoured by 7.5 points, but that spread has dropped to six at many sportsbooks.
Our pick: Wisconsin