Essential Betting Tidbits for Week 5 of College Football
By Covers.com
We dug up these vital betting tidbits for some of Saturday's college football action that will help you make the right call before kickoff.
- The South Florida Bulls are have just a 20 percent conversion rate on third downs. Only Florida International and Miami (OH) are worse. The Bulls are 19-point home dogs with the Miami Hurricanes in town.
- The West Virginia Mountaineers had six turnovers last week versus Maryland and are averaging 3.7 giveaways per game. Only Hawaii, Southern Mississippi and Western Kentucky are worse.
- Oklahoma State is tied for 10th in the nation in scoring with 45.3 ppg. The Cowboys are 19-point road faves at West Virginia Saturday.
- The worst offensive unit in the country? That would be the Miami (OH) Red Hawks who have just 448 total net yards through three games. Florida International is next-to-last with 603 total yards. The Red Hawks are 25-point road dogs at Illinois.
- Central Florida is a 7-point home dog with South Carolina visiting. The Knights will have to put their unblemished 3-0 ATS mark on the line without starting LB Willie Mitchell who will miss his second straight game following his DUI arrest on Sept. 7.
- The SMU Mustangs are 4-0 ATS in their last four meetings with TCU. The Horned Frogs are 19.5-point home faves Saturday.
- Northern Illinois and Purdue have met once before. NIU won 28-21 and covered as 9.5-point dogs back in 2009. The Huskies are 3.5-point road faves Saturday.
- The Tennessee Volunteers host the South Alabama Jaguars Saturday. Tennessee is 8-0 all time against teams from the Sun Belt Conference and is an 18.5-point fave.
- Pitt is a 5.5-point home fave with the Virginia Cavaliers visiting on Saturday.
- Virginia is ranked No. 2 nationally in pass efficiency defense, which could bode well against pass-happy Pitt this weekend
- The UNC Tar Heels are 12-point home faves versus East Carolina. The Heels are 6-0 ATS in the past six meetings with the Pirates.
- Navy is the No. 1 rushing team in the nation with 398 yards per game. Western Kentucky's defense allows 200 rushing yards per game which ranks them 89th in the country. The Midshipmen are 3-point road faves.
- The favorite is 4-0 ATS in the last four meetings between Bowling Green and Akron. The Falcons are 14-point favorites at home.
- The Colorado Buffaloes have not played a game since Sept. 7. Their game versus Fresno State was postponed due to weather. The Buffaloes are 11-point dogs at Oregon State.
- The Duke Blue Devils are coming off a 58-55 loss to Pitt in the second-highest scoring game in ACC history. The host the Troy Trojans with a total of 68.5.
- The road team is 5-0 ATS in the last five meetings between Toledo and Ball State. The Cardinals are 2-point home faves Saturday.
- Buffalo hosts UConn with the game currently a pick. The Huskies are 7-1 ATS in the last eight meetings with the Bulls.
- Clemson hosts Wake Forest with the total currently sitting at 58.5. The Under is 5-0 in the last five meetings between these two teams.
- The Colorado State Rams lead the all-time series with UTEP 24-10. The Rams are favored by two touchdowns at home Saturday.
- The Oklahoma Sooners haven't lost a regular season game since losing to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 30-13 in Week 9 last season. The Sooners are 3.5-road dogs at South Bend.
- The Iowa Hawkeyes are one of four teams with an Over/Under record of 4-0 (LSU, New Mexico State, Troy). The Hawkeyes are on the road to face Minnesota with a total of 46 Saturday.
- The North Carolina State Wolpack have played under the total in eight straight home games. They've allowed an average of 16.6 points in those eight home games. The Wolfpack host Central Michigan and the total is currently 52.
- Florida State QB Jameis Winston leads the nation with a 78.1 completion percentage and is second with a 210.5 QB rating. Winston will look to build on those numbers in Boston as the Noles are 23-point road faves at Boston College.
- A pair of SEC heavyweights face off as Georgia hosts LSU Saturday. The over is 5-1 in the last six meetings and Saturday's total is currently 62.
- Army and Louisiana Tech play in Dallas Saturday. The Under is 4-0 in Army's last four neutral site games. Total is 52.5.
- The UTSA Road Runners are one of five teams to start the season 4-0 ATS. Dating back to last season, the Road Runners are 8-0 ATS in their last eight games overall. UTSA is a 2.5-point home dog with the Houston Cougars in town Saturday.
- The Temple Owls are one of 10 squads that have failed to successfully kick a field goal. They are 0-4 this season. Temple is a 7-point road fave against Idaho with a total of 55.5.
- One of the most anticipated matchups of the weekend is Ole Miss at Bama. The Rebels are 14-point dogs, but are 4-0 ATS in their last four games at Alabama.
- The Over is 6-0 in the last six meetings between Arizona and Washington. Saturday's total is currently 61.
- A pair of anemic offenses take the field as Kent State visit Western Michigan. The Golden Flashes are ranked 120 on offense and the Broncos are ranked 115 on offense. The Broncos are 2.5-point home faves with a total of 49.5.
- The Florida Gators are 6-0 ATS in their last six games versus the Kentucky Wildcats. The Gators are 12-point road faves Saturday.
- Texas A&M, a 14-point road fave at Arkansas Saturday, has scored 40 points in its first four games of the season for the first time in school history.
- Florida Atlantic are 14-point underdogs at Rice Saturday, but are 9-0 ATS in their last nine road games.
- Wyoming is currently the top consensus pick (75%) as a 12-point road fave at Texas State Saturday.
- Louisiana-Monroe was a 63-10 winner at Tulane in Week 5 last year. The Warhawks are 12.5-point home faves in this weekend's matchup.
- The Missouri Tigers are 2-0 against Arkansas State, winning in 2004 and 2005 by a combined score of 96-37. Mizzou is favored by 21.5 at home against the Red Wolves.
- Vanderbilt WR Jordan Matthews needs one TD reception to become the school's all-time leader. He'll look get that against UAB who come in as a 19.5-point road dog at Vandy.
- Air Force will begin life without starting QB Jeleel Awini versus Nevada Saturday. The sophomore is "no longer a cadet in good standing and not eligible to represent the academy in any outside activities." Awini replaced No. 1 QB Kale Pearson who is out for the season with a knee injury. The Falcons have just two QBs left on the roster and are 11.5-point road dogs at Nevada.
- A pair of winless programs go face-to-face as San Diego state plays New Mexico State. The Aggies are 17.5-point home dogs and are 0-8 in their last eight games overall.
- UNLV and New Mexico have played under in the last four meetings in New Mexico. The total for Saturday is currently 54.
- An interesting Big Ten matchup has Wisconsin at Ohio State. The underdog is 10-3 ATS in the last 13 meetings and the Badgers are 6.5-point road dogs.
- The Stanford Cardinal are 7-1 ATS in their last eight games at Washington State. Stanford is a 9.5-point road fave Saturday night.
- Southern Miss has played Over in nine of its last 11 road games. The Golden Eagles are on the road at Boise State with a total of 49.5.
- The total for the Cal versus Oregon game currently sits at 82. Since 1985, there have been 11 games with totals of at least 80 points. Six of them have gone under.
- USC and Arizona State square off in a Pac-12 battle Saturday Night at Sun Devil Stadium. The Trojans are 3.5-point road dogs and are 0-8 ATS in their last eight games overall.
- Fresno State is 4-0 ATS in the last four games in Hawaii. The Bulldogs are big 17.5-point road dogs in the Aloha State.
Line Moves - Week 5
By Chris David
VegasInsider.com
Week 4 Recap
Favorites: 3-0 ATS (3-0 SU)
Underdogs: 1-2 ATS (0-3 SU)
Totals: 3-3
For the third consecutive week, bettors riding the ‘chalk’ were able to find themselves a few easy tickets. At the same time, the underdogs failed to show up again in Week 4. Massachusetts was the only ‘dog to keep it close in its home matchup against Vanderbilt while both Hawaii and Idaho were pasted on the road. The early action on the totals resulted in a stalemate. Through three weeks of monitoring the total moves have resulted in a 7-9 record.
Week 5 Line Moves
CRIS, one of the biggest offshore sportsbooks, opened up their college football lines around 12:00 p.m. ET last Sunday. Normally, we inform you of major moves of “Four Points” or more but this week’s installment will feature moves of at least “Three Points” or more off the opening line from CRIS.
Favorites
North Carolina vs. East Carolina
Open: Tar Heels -10
Friday: Tar Heels -13
Iowa at Minnesota
Open: Hawkeyes +3½
Friday: Hawkeyes -2½
Oregon vs. California
Open: Ducks -31
Friday: Ducks -37
Nevada vs. Air Force
Open: Wolf Pack -7
Friday: Wolf Pack -11
UNLV at New Mexico
Open: PK
Friday: Rebels -2
Underdogs
UAB at Vanderbilt
Open: Blazers +23
Friday: Blazers +19½
South Alabama at Tennessee
Open: Jaguars +21
Friday: Jaguars +17½
South Florida vs. Miami, Fl.
Open: Bulls +20
Friday: Bulls +16
Idaho vs. Temple
Open: Vandals +10½
Friday: Vandals +7½
Week 5 Total Moves
CRIS opened their ‘over/under’ numbers on Monday evening. Similar to the sides, there hasn’t been a lot of movement this week with the college football totals so we’re listing all of the moves of just “2 ½ Points” or more off the opening line. As mentioned above in the Recap, the total results have been hovering a tad under .500 through three weeks of monitoring.
East Carolina at North Carolina
Open: 58½
Friday: 61
UAB at Vanderbilt
Open: 55
Friday: 58
Iowa at Minnesota
Open: 48
Friday: 45½
Temple at Idaho
Open: 52½
Friday: 55
Stanford at Washington State
Open: 50
Friday: 47½