College football Week 5 odds, picks against the spread: ND-Duke, USC-Colorado and more (2024)

The Athletic has live coverage of Deion Sanders and Colorado vs. USC and Texas vs. Kansas in Week 5 college football action.

After last week’s must-see matchups delivered, depending on which team you root for, college football fans are hoping for more in Week 5. There are a total of four top-25 contests lined up as well as some other intriguing conference games.

The first ranked tilt takes place on Friday night when the Utah Utes head to Corvallis to face the Oregon State Beavers. Even though quarterback Cam Rising (recovering from torn ACL) has yet to take a snap this season, the two-time defending Pac-12 champion Utes have not missed a beat thanks in large part to their stingy defense. But the game out west that everyone will be paying close attention to will go down in Boulder when the Colorado Buffaloes host the USC Trojans to help kick off Saturday’s action.

Deion Sanders’ team will try and regroup after last weekend’s 42-6 woodshed beating courtesy of the Oregon Ducks, but it won’t be easy going up against reigning Heisman Trophy recipient Caleb Williams and the Trojans’ No. 1-ranked scoring offense. The Buffaloes got pushed around on both sides of the line of scrimmage by the Ducks and everyone is eager to see how they respond against another conference opponent.

Elsewhere, Saturday will be special in Durham with ESPN’s “College GameDay” in town as the Duke Blue Devils host the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in prime time. The Blue Devils are undefeated whereas the Fighting Irish look to rebound after last weekend’s heartbreaking last-second home loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes.

The other top-25 matchups in Week 5 find the undefeated Texas Longhorns and Kansas Jayhawks squaring off in Austin for early control of the Big 12 while the LSU Tigers and Ole Miss Rebels tangle in Oxford in a key SEC West matchup.

There also are a handful of long-standing rivalry games on the docket, including the latest chapter in the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry between the Georgia Bulldogs and Auburn Tigers. The two-time defending national champion Bulldogs are ranked No. 1 once again and are heavy favorites to extend their winning streak in this series to seven in a row.

All games listed are on Saturday unless otherwise indicated. Kickoff times are Eastern. Rankings are from the AP poll. All odds are from BetMGM.

No. 10 Utah at No. 19 Oregon State — Friday, 9 p.m. on FS1

Two top-25 teams in a loaded Pac-12 meet this week in Corvallis when Oregon State hosts undefeated Utah. Coming off its first loss of the season, Oregon State is a small favorite.

Cam Rising still has not played a snap as he recovers from a torn ACL suffered in January, though his return is looming. The Utes’ star signal caller participated in warmups ahead of Utah’s game against UCLA this past weekend but was in street clothes come game time. He shared first-team practice reps with Nate Johnson this week.

As the Utes await Rising’s return, they have been winning games in spite of their offense. Half of Utah’s points in its 14-7 win over UCLA last week came from its defense — a pick six on the first play from scrimmage. Johnson completed 9 of 17 passes for 117 yards and a touchdown. Utah managed just 219 total yards.

Come Friday, the Utes will be hoping for better offensive success against an Oregon State defense that gave up 38 points and 528 total yards last week in its conference opener at Washington State. Utah could also be without tight end Brant Kuithe, who has not yet played this season, and leading rusher Ja’Quinden Jackson, who exited the Utes’ game against UCLA early.

The Beavers’ defense is just one of its question marks coming into Friday’s game. Over the past two games, quarterback DJ Uiagalelei has thrown for two touchdowns and three interceptions while completing fewer than half of his passes. Uiagalelei now draws a Utah defense that ranks sixth in all of FBS in points allowed per game (9.5) and is tied for ninth in yards allowed per game (263.8). Utah has put up those numbers while playing three Power 5 opponents (Florida, Baylor, UCLA).

Oregon State’s rushing attack, which has averaged 224.8 yards per game, will also be tested by Utah, which leads the Pac-12 with 51 rushing yards allowed per game.

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No. 8 USC at Colorado — Noon on FOX

Colorado will try to bounce back from its first defeat when the Buffaloes host USC on Saturday. The Trojans enter this game undefeated and around a three-touchdown favorite with everyone eager to see how Deion Sanders’ Buffaloes respond after last weekend’s 42-6 beatdown from the Oregon Ducks.

Despite the loss, Boulder figures to be rocking for this Pac-12 contest. Nothing went right for Sanders’ Buffaloes last Saturday in Autzen Stadium. The Ducks dominated the anticipated matchup from the opening kick. Oregon’s advantage was apparent up front, not only piling up 240 rushing yards but holding Colorado to just 40 while sacking quarterback Shedeur Sanders seven times.

Things don’t get any easier for the Buffaloes with the Trojans and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams coming to town. Lincoln Riley’s offense is humming once again, leading the country in scoring (55 points per game) and averaging 569.3 yards per contest. Williams is second nationally with 15 touchdown passes and has yet to throw an interception. He’s also scored three times on the ground as part of a running attack that’s averaging nearly seven yards per carry through four games.

The Buffaloes will have to score if they want to keep this one close and that starts with Sanders, who had no time to throw against Oregon. The nation’s leading passer entering Week 4, Sanders managed just 159 yards through the air against the Ducks with his lone touchdown pass coming late in the fourth quarter. The lopsided loss to the Ducks also reinforced the need for more production out of the backfield. Although Colorado is averaging more than 400 yards of total offense per game, the team ranks second to last in FBS (out of 133 teams) in rushing (55.8 yards per game). A one-dimensional attack will not cut it against USC’s high-octane offense.

If there’s a silver lining to this matchup for the Buffaloes, it’s that the Trojans haven’t been near as stingy on defense compared to Oregon. USC gave up 28 points and 353 total yards on the road against Arizona State last weekend, but still won by 14.

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No. 1 Georgia at Auburn — 3:30 p.m. on CBS

The defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs look to extend their win streak to 22 games this Saturday as they close out the first month of the football season with an SEC showdown against Auburn. Kirby Smart’s team enters as heavy favorites.

It’s been a while since a Georgia-Auburn game was competitive, and it’s been even longer since the Tigers have come out victorious in any of these matchups. Georgia has won the last six meetings with Auburn comfortably (five of those by 17 points or more).

The Tigers have been hovering around .500 the last few years. Saturday’s game is a good marker to see if Auburn is in a better spot now under Hugh Freeze. Freeze has established a run-first identity, partially because of the struggles of the passing game. Michigan State transfer quarterback Payton Thorne was just 6-for-12 for 44 yards in last week’s loss to Texas A&M.

Georgia hasn’t looked as dominant as the last couple years yet, but the Bulldogs’ defense is still elite. That alone goes a long way to justifying a lopsided spread.

Auburn’s defense has been decent itself. Both defenses enter allowing fewer than 300 yards per game. The Tigers should provide a decent test for first-year starting quarterback Carson Beck, who’ll be playing away from Sanford Stadium for the first time this season.

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No. 2 Michigan at Nebraska — 3:30 p.m. on FOX

The Michigan Wolverines will put their undefeated record on the line this Saturday when they take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers in Lincoln. The Wolverines welcomed Jim Harbaugh back from his three-game suspension with a convincing 31-7 home victory over Rutgers and are considerable favorites on the road against a Cornhuskers team that has won two in a row.

Michigan has faced little resistance in its first four games, winning each by at least 24 points. The Wolverines’ ground game has yet to really get going, averaging 168 yards per game, but quarterback J.J. McCarthy has been efficient as a passer. The junior is completing 80 percent of his attempts with eight touchdowns and three interceptions.

Michigan also has been the stingiest defense in the country so far, yielding a total of two touchdowns and just 5.8 points per game. That will be Nebraska’s primary concern, although the Cornhuskers are coming off their best offensive performance of the season.

Nebraska put up 419 total yards in a 28-14 home win over Louisiana Tech. Most of the damage was done on the ground with quarterback Heinrich Haarberg and running back Anthony Grant combining for 292 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Haarberg got his second straight start in place of Georgia Tech transfer Jeff Sims, who missed the win over Northern Illinois two weeks ago due to an ankle injury. Sims was cleared prior to last weekend’s game but Matt Rhule made the decision to stick with Haarberg. However, Haarberg is now reportedly dealing with an injury so Saturday’s starter may not be known until prior to kickoff.

Either way, the Cornhuskers will have their work cut out for them against a Wolverines defense that has allowed a single rushing touchdown through four games and is holding opponents to 2.8 yards per carry. Nebraska will need to put together its best all-around effort yet if it wants to even its Big Ten record and earn Matt Rhule’s first signature win at the helm.

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No. 24 Kansas at No. 3 Texas — 3:30 p.m. on ABC

Three unbeaten teams remain in the Big 12. Two of them face off this week when Kansas travels south to take on Texas. Despite the top-25 matchup, Texas still enters the game favored by more than two touchdowns at home.

Kansas and Texas are two of just three teams to have scored at least 30 points in every game this season in their conference, though Kansas has outgained Texas on average. The Jayhawks rely heavily on their rushing attack, running for 217.8 yards per game (second-highest in the Big 12) while throwing for just 245.3 (10th in the Big 12). Devin Neal and Daniel Hishaw Jr. are the two backs the Jayhawks have primarily relied on, both rushing for over six yards per carry. They’ve scored a combined nine all-purpose touchdowns.

Meanwhile, Texas has used its passing attack led by Quinn Ewers. The former Ohio State transfer has yet to throw an interception and has accounted for 12 all-purpose touchdowns while throwing 258.3 yards per game.

The Kansas defense has been solid so far. The unit has held opposing teams to 296.8 total yards of offense per game (second-best in the Big 12).

The last time the two programs squared off in Austin, Kansas won a 57-56 overtime thriller. Texas then dominated last year’s rematch in Lawrence, 55-14.

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No. 13 LSU at No. 20 Ole Miss — 6 p.m. on ESPN

Saturday’s SEC face-off between LSU and Ole Miss features a pair of conference contenders looking to shore up their spot in the SEC West standings. LSU has dominated the series recently, but lost its last trip to Oxford and is a small road favorite.

Ole Miss was one half away from an upset win in Tuscaloosa over Alabama, and now finds itself creeping toward the bottom portion of the AP Top 25 and in need of a victory to avoid an 0-2 start to conference play. The Rebels led midway through the third quarter, but stalled on offense in a 24-10 loss.

Now, the Rebels face the challenge of getting back on track against the same LSU team that initiated their downfall a season ago. Last year, the Rebels started 7-0, but lost five of their last six games starting with a 45-20 loss in Baton Rouge.

Ole Miss will need better performances from quarterback Jaxson Dart and running back Quinshon Judkins after both struggled against Alabama. Meanwhile, the defense has a tough task in finding a way to slow Jayden Daniels and the talented LSU offense.

Daniels is performing like a player with Heisman Trophy hype entering this season. He has 13 total touchdowns in the three games since the Week 1 loss vs. Florida State. LSU remains a legitimate challenger to win the SEC West, but its defense has not been as dominant as hoped. LSU gave up 31 points to Arkansas at home last week, the second time the Tigers have given up more than 30 points this season. Alabama shut down Ole Miss’ offense, but LSU’s defense hasn’t yet proven to be on that level, which will give Lane Kiffin’s team hope for an upset.

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No. 11 Notre Dame at No. 17 Duke — 7:30 p.m. on ABC

There are a few exciting games on paper this week, but the primetime meeting between Notre Dame and Duke has a chance to be one of the best. The Blue Devils, which enter with a 4-0 record and their highest ranking in the AP Poll in nearly 30 years, will take the field as home underdogs.

On the heels of an emotional, hard-fought football game against Ohio State one week ago that ended in a heartbreaking defeat for Notre Dame, the Fighting Irish find themselves preparing for what should be another tough one. Are they up for the challenge?

The series history says yes — Notre Dame has won five of the seven all-time matchups with Duke, although the Blue Devils did win in South Bend in 2016. This Duke team isn’t like many before it though. Notre Dame will face a rowdy atmosphere that did in Clemson in the season opener.

Notre Dame is more than a brand name this season. The Fighting Irish have an actual on-field product this year, and even one week removed from a disappointing finish, Marcus Freeman’s team is expected to take care of business this Saturday.

Quarterback Sam Hartman is doing an admirable job thus far in his first season in South Bend. He has thrown 14 touchdowns and still doesn’t have an interception. Meanwhile, the nation’s leading rusher, Audric Estime, is as tough to slow down as any back in college football.

However, let’s not make the mistake of writing off this Duke team. It has done nothing but impress all season long, starting with a statement made in the season opener vs. Clemson when the defense held the Tigers in check in a 28-7 victory. That unit hasn’t let up more than 14 points to any opponent yet.

If Duke’s offense finds itself needing to keep up with Notre Dame, they’re well-equipped to do so. Quarterback Riley Leonard has the talent to play at the next level and a strong showing against this opponent and on this stage could be what propels both himself and the Duke program in the national spotlight.

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(Photo of Riley Leonard: Lance King / Getty Images)