College Football Week 5 Picks: Baylor, Ole Miss and Indiana Among Featured Bets
The short version
- Handicapper enters the week 7-8 on the season after a 2-3 weekend
- Baylor is a 10-point home favorite over Colorado, with an alternate spread of -16.5 recommended
- Ole Miss is a 3.5-point road underdog at Florida and picked to win outright
- Texas is favored by 4.5 at Tennessee; the pick is Tennessee plus the points
- Upset specials include Tulsa against Arkansas and USC against Oregon
A syndicated handicapping column highlights Colorado-Baylor, Ole Miss-Florida, Northwestern-Indiana and Texas-Tennessee, plus parlay and upset selections for Saturday's slate.
A betting column originally published on Forbes and carried by Yahoo Sports laid out picks for the college football weekend of Sept. 26, using odds from Caesars Sportsbook. The writer entered the week at 2-3 on picks the previous weekend and 7-8 on the season after losses involving North Carolina, Miami and Alabama.
The first featured game is Colorado visiting Baylor, where the Bears are listed as 10-point favorites. The column characterized Colorado as struggling, citing a lopsided loss to Northwestern the previous weekend, and rated Baylor as the stronger team. The recommended play was Baylor's alternate spread of -16.5 at plus-150 odds.
The second game is Ole Miss traveling to Florida, with the Gators favored by 3.5 after the line moved from 2.5 during the week. The column noted Ole Miss was coming off an emotional win over LSU and projected a high-scoring game between two offenses it viewed as capable and two average defenses, pointing to Florida's Trinidad Chambliss. The pick was Ole Miss to cover and win outright, with the 58.5 total also flagged as playable toward the over.
Northwestern and Indiana meet Friday night with the Hoosiers installed as 21-point favorites. The writer described Indiana as dominant so far this season and credited the program with advantages in both talent and coaching, while noting Northwestern arrives off its win over Colorado. The selection was Indiana on the first-half spread at -12.5.
Texas is a 4.5-point favorite at Tennessee in a matchup of top-25 teams. The column pointed to the Volunteers' home environment and an 11 a.m. kickoff as factors in their favor, while rating the Texas defense among the best in the country and questioning the Longhorns' offense. The pick was Tennessee plus the 4.5 points, with the writer leaning toward Texas to win a close, low-scoring game.
A four-leg parlay was also offered: Ohio State at -27 against Illinois, Penn State at -10 against Wisconsin, Army at -3 against Temple, and Mississippi State on the moneyline against Missouri.
The upset specials were Tulsa catching 7 points and on the moneyline against Arkansas, and USC getting 3 points and on the moneyline against Oregon, the latter described as the smaller upset of the two.
The column closed by pointing readers toward two additional games to watch for entertainment value: Iowa against Michigan and Texas A&M against LSU.
Games to watch
