College Football 2012: Week 5 Against the Spread Picks

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College football is a unique animal. Unlike the NFL, the majority of teams simply aren't evenly matched.  The result are point spreads that range from pick 'ems all the way through a record 69 points... that was covered!

Each week, if you take the time to mull through the seemingly endless choices of games, you'll always find a few diamonds in the rough.

Whether you legally gamble in a regulated environment or you just pick spreads as a friendly competition amongst friends, these are the games definitely worth adding to your list this week.

Last week we got off to a decent start with a 3-2 record (Florida, UTEP, and Colorado winners with LSU and UConn the losers).

On to this week shall we...

Hawaii at BYU -28

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BYU likely wins this game, but 28 points is way too much to cover for an offense that has struggled to move the ball against decent competition creating a quarterback controversy. 

Throw in the fact that Hawaii is averaging almost 30 points a game and the 28-point win just isn’t going to happen.

Pick: Take the points, BYU 28, Hawaii 17

Baylor at West Virginia -11

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Baylor has been an interesting story to follow this season as it's played admirably in the post-RG3 era. 

Unfortunately the schedule starts getting intense as the Bears enter Big 12 play by visiting the Mountaineers. The Bears stay close early, but West Virginia pulls away late with another big day by Geno Smith.

Pick: Eat the points, West Virginia 48, Baylor 24

UL Monroe at Tulane +17.5

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UL Monroe is a pretty darn good football team. In three games against quality opponents, the Warhawks are 1-2 with a close loss to Baylor and an overtime loss against Auburn. 

Finally they get a break against weaker competition. 

Expect them to capitalize.

Pick: Eat the points, UL Monroe 35, Tulane 10

North Texas at Florida Atlantic +6.5

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North Texas hasn’t played bad football this year by keeping it respectable against K-State and to a lesser degree LSU. 

Florida Atlantic, on the other hand, continues to dwell near the bottom of the Sun Belt. 

Last year’s game ended 31-17 in favor of the Mean Green. That sounds about right.

Pick: Eat the Points, North Texas 31, Florida Atlantic 17

South Carolina at Kentucky +21

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Kentucky is just god awful and South Carolina is probably a little bit better than Florida. 

At least Kentucky’s at home this week.

Pick: Eat the Points, South Carolina 41, Kentucky 7

TCU at SMU +16

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SMU is giving up an FBS-high 388 passing yards per game. TCU quarterback Casey Pachall is leading the nation with a 209.9 passer rating. 

Throw in the fact that TCU has a very solid defense, and this one gets out of hand quickly.

Pick: Eat the Points TCU 42, SMU 10

Texas at Oklahoma State +1.5

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Of all of the lines this week, I found this one the most interesting. 

The game is almost a pick ‘em. Texas probably should be closer to a 7-8-point road favorite. 

OSU is capable of pulling off the upset, but I doubt it.

Pick: Eat the Points, Texas 28, Oklahoma State 21