College Football Best Bets – Week 5
NCAA Football ‘Best Bets’- Week 5
For a number of college teams, this week marks the start of conference play. In turn, this offers an excellent opportunity to capitalize on a few head-to-head conference matchups that literally jump of the page with value given their current lines.
Last week we cashed-in on Oklahoma State’s 30-29 victory over Texas A&M as a three-point road underdog and Clemson’s 35-30 victory over Florida State as a 2.5-point home favorite. This week, Bang the Book has once again done its homework to bring you a few more ‘best bets’ for this week’s action.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Syracuse Orange (-2.5)
Rutgers kicks-off its Big East schedule at 2-1 straight-up (3-0 against the spread) in non-conference play. Its only setback of the season was a 24-22 loss to North Carolina as a 10-point road underdog. The Scarlet Knights are averaging 33 points a game on offense, while giving up just 16.7 points a game on defense.
Syracuse’s only loss this season was a 38-17 rout at the hands of USC as a 17-point road underdog. The Orange open play in the Big East at 3-1 SU and 2-2 ATS in their non-conference games. Two of their wins came in overtime with a 36-29 victory over Wake Forest as six-point home favorites and a 33-30 win over Toledo as two-point home favorites.
Head-to-head in this series, Syracuse is 6-2 ATS in the last eight meetings. The home team is 10-3 ATS in the last 13 games and the favorite is 4-1 ATS in the last five games.
The Pick: Syracuse 24 Rutgers 21
Auburn Tigers at South Carolina Gamecocks (-10.5)
The defending national champions are 3-1 SU, but just 1-3 ATS. The Tigers lost to Clemson 38-24 as 3.5-point road underdogs two weeks ago and got by Florida International 30-14 as 31-point home favorites this past Saturday.
South Carolina is a perfect 4-0 SU and 2-2 ATS. The Gamecocks are 2-0 in the conference with a 45-42 win over Georgia as 2.5-point road favorites and a 21-3 rout of Vanderbilt as 14.5-point home favorites. They are averaging 36.5 points a game behind an offense that is averaging 214.5 yards a game on the ground.
Auburn is 10-1 ATS in its last 11 conference games and 4-1 ATS in its last five games as an underdog. South Carolina is 2-6 ATS in its last eight games as a home favorite. The Tigers have won four of the last five meetings ATS.
The Pick: South Carolina 34 Auburn 28
UCLA Bruins at Stanford Cardinal (-20.5)
UCLA knocked-off Oregon State 27-19 as a 4.5-point road underdog in its PAC-12 opener last week. Overall the Bruins are 2-2 SU on the year and 1-3 ATS. They feature a powerful run game that is averaging 214 yards a game, but have had trouble finding the end zone with an average of 27 points a game.
Stanford’s quest for a shot at a national title behind quarterback Andrew Luck is right on schedule with a 3-0 start both SU and ATS including a 37-10 romp over Arizona in its conference opener as a 9.5-point road favorite. The Cardinal is ranked ninth in the nation in scoring and fourth in points allowed.
The Bruins have been outscored 59-16 in their last two games against Stanford and are just 1-5 ATS in their last six trips to Palo Alto. The home team is 6-2 ATS in the last eight meetings and the favorite is 4-1 ATS in the last five.
The Pick: Stanford 42 UCLA 17
Dave Schwab
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