College Football Picks Week 5: Odds and Spread Predictions for Top 25 Teams
Consistency hasn't been in the cards during the first four weeks of the college football season. With some major upsets already occurring, the game's Top 25 polls have taken on different looks all season.
With five of the Top 25 teams going down in Week 4, the Associated Press poll was shaken up yet again heading into Week 5:
| 1 | Ohio State | 4-0 | 1 |
| 2 | Michigan State | 4-0 | 2 |
| 3 | Ole Miss | 4-0 | 3 |
| 4 | TCU | 4-0 | 3 |
| 5 | Baylor | 3-0 | 5 |
| 6 | Notre Dame | 4-0 | 6 |
| 7 | UCLA | 4-0 | 9 |
| 8 | Georgia | 4-0 | 7 |
| 9 | LSU | 3-0 | 8 |
| 10 | Utah | 4-0 | 18 |
| 11 | Florida State | 3-0 | 10 |
| 12 | Clemson | 3-0 | 11 |
| 13 | Alabama | 3-1 | 12 |
| 14 | Texas A&M | 4-0 | 14 |
| 15 | Oklahoma | 3-0 | 15 |
| 16 | Northwestern | 4-0 | 17 |
| 17 | USC | 2-1 | 19 |
| 18 | Stanford | 3-1 | 21 |
| 19 | Wisconsin | 3-1 | 22 |
| 20 | Oklahoma State | 4-0 | 24 |
| 21 | Mississippi State | 3-1 | Unranked |
| 22 | Michigan | 3-1 | Unranked |
| 23 | West Virginia | 3-0 | Unranked |
| 24 | California | 4-0 | Unranked |
| 25 | Florida | 4-0 | Unranked |
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
The five teams that lost last week are out of the rankings, and the new schools taking their place inhabit the last five spots of the poll. Some of those newcomers are going to be given stiff tests upon their arrival, as Week 5 is set to offer some enticing matchups.
Let's take a look at the upcoming schedule for the Top 25, the latest odds and my spread predictions. All odds are courtesy of OddsShark.com.
| Saturday, Oct. 3 | |||
| Texas at No. 4 TCU | 12 p.m. | TCU -18.5 | TCU |
| Purdue at No. 2 Michigan State | 12 p.m. | MSU -24.5 | Michigan State |
| Minnesota at No. 16 Northwestern | 12 p.m. | NW -6.5 | Northwestern |
| Iowa at No. 19 Wisconsin | 12 p.m. | Wisc -8.5 | Wisconsin |
| Texas Tech at No. 5 Baylor | 3:30 p.m. | BU -15.5 | Texas Tech |
| No. 1 Ohio State at Indiana | 3:30 p.m. | OSU -17.5 | Ohio State |
| No. 11 Florida State at Wake Forest | 3:30 p.m. | FSU -18 | Florida State |
| No. 13 Alabama at No. 8 Georgia | 3:30 p.m. | Even | Georgia |
| Kansas State at No. 20 Oklahoma St. | 4 p.m. | OSU -3.5 | Oklahoma State |
| Washington St. at No. 24 California | 4 p.m. | Cal -13.5 | California |
| No. 3 Ole Miss at No. 25 Florida | 7 p.m. | Miss -6.5 | Ole Miss |
| Eastern Michigan at No. 9 LSU | 7 p.m. | LSU -45 | Eastern Michigan |
| No. 21 Mississippi State at No. 14 Texas A&M | 7:30 p.m. | TAMU -6 | Texas A&M |
| Arizona State at No. 7 UCLA | 7:30 p.m. | UCLA -13 | UCLA |
| No. 6 Notre Dame at No. 12 Clemson | 8 p.m. | Even | Clemson |
| No. 22 Michigan at Maryland | 8 p.m. | Mich -12 | Michigan |
| Arizona at No. 18 Stanford | 10:30 p.m. | Stanford -14 | Arizona |
Game of the Week
No. 13 Alabama at No. 8 Georgia
The best team of the Eastern division of the SEC takes on the fourth-place group in the West. It's a bit odd to say that Alabama is fourth in anything, but a loss to Ole Miss saw the Crimson Tide drop 10 spots in the national rankings a few weeks ago.
That loss helped create an even spread heading into Saturday, and a major battle on the ground is set to take place at Sanford Stadium.
Through the first four games of the season, Alabama running back Derrick Henry has recorded eight touchdowns to go with his 422 yards. Georgia head coach Mark Richt is the next man who has to formulate a way to stop him. Richt spoke with UGASports.com's Radi Nabulsi about Henry:
Richt has the perfect answer for Henry in running back Nick Chubb. The Georgia rusher is a yard short of 600 in four games. He's been unstoppable since the middle of last season, recording 12 straight games of over 100 yards rushing, according to SportsCenter.
With two premier running backs, it's up to each team's defense to decide who will come out of Week 5 with a win. Georgia's rushing defense has averaged over 100 yards allowed per game, while Alabama's has averaged less than 60 yards allowed.
For that reason, Alabama will win a close one 28-23.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
