We’re now at Week 5 of the college football season which means we have hit the one-third mark of the season. There are 15 weeks – 16 if you count the handful of games in Week 0 – in a college football season. Week 15 is, of course, set aside for the conference championship games.

Once you hit Week 4, you typically have teams playing conference games. This week, we are right in the thick of each conference race. There are a number of great matchups in the Power 4 conferences and our experts at ScoresandStats have a few to preview for this weekend.

It’s not every year you get a Week 5 game featuring two of the best college football programs of the last decade. We get exactly that with a Saturday game between the hedges in Sanford Stadium when Alabama travels to take on SEC rival Georgia.

Stay with ScoresandStats throughout the entire 2025 college football season. Our team of NCAAF experts will keep you updated on all the latest news, analysis, and picks and predictions. Each week through the season from Week 0 through the College Football Playoffs, make ScoresandStats your go-to spot for all things college football betting.

College Football Week 5 Schedule

College Football Week 5 Odds

Keep an eye on the latest College Football odds from the top online betting sites and monitor how the lines change throughout the week.

Make sure you check ScoresandStats top handicappers each week of the college football season. They can help you understand how to approach some of these big point spreads and game totals.

College Football Week 5 Predictions

Let’s take a look at the featured College Football Week 5 games and make our NCAAF picks for each game.

LSU Tigers @ Ole Miss Rebels Odds

It’s one of several key SEC matchups in Week 5. LSU travels to Ole Miss for this old SEC West matchup also known as the Magnolia Bowl. The magnolia is the state flower of both Louisiana and Mississippi. The home team has won each of the past four meetings in this series. LSU leads the series 64-42-4.

Both programs were among those in the preseason Top 25 polls. Most had LSU, fresh off a 9-4 season, in the top 10. Ole Miss was ranked in most preseason Top 20 polls. Both teams replaced a ton of talent and are working to stay in the SEC title mix.

LSU Tigers @ Ole Miss Rebels Predictions

Ole Miss had just two starters returning on offense and had to replace QB Jaxson Dart. The defense was in the same boat, but transfers have played a big role for the Rebels.

LSU had the luxury of returning Garrett Nussmeier at quarterback. As always, the Tigers have a number of talented wide receivers. Last year, Nussmeier threw a late TD pass to WR Aaron Anderson to force the game to overtime where the Tigers prevailed 29-26.

Early lines have the Rebels favored at home where they went 7-1 SU and 5-3 ATS last season. LSU lost two true road games and one neutral location game last season. It’s tough to win on the road in the SEC, but the Tigers have the better quarterback and an offense that is loaded.

Bet: LSU Tigers +1.5 (-110)

Kentucky Wildcats @ South Carolina Gamecocks Odds

South Carolina has won three straight in this SEC rivalry. The Gamecocks won last year in Lexington 31-6. The Kentucky offense was awful as it was much of the 2024 season.

Kentucky’s last win over South Carolina came at home in 2021. The Wildcats prevailed in a low-scoring 16-10 game. That’s been the bread and butter for Kentucky under head coach Mark Stoops. Play great defense and special teams and do just enough on offense to win games. The problem, of course, is the Wildcats offense hasn’t been very good recently.

The Gamecocks had a great season last year and are on the rise under head coach Shane Beamer. They finished 9-4 last season and went 5-2 at home. South Carolina won its final six games of the season before losing to Illinois in the Citrus Bowl.

Kentucky Wildcats @ South Carolina Gamecocks Predictions

Early lines are not out on this game yet, but the Gamecocks entered the season among the top five or six teams in the SEC. The Wildcats, on the other hand, were picked to finish 15th by many experts in the 16-team SEC.

Bet: South Carolina Gamecocks (NA)

Auburn Tigers @ Texas A&M Aggies Odds

It’s the make or break year for Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze. In Week 5, it’s another tough task for the Tigers. These teams played each other only twice prior to 2012. This annual series began when the Aggies joined the SEC in 2012. The two teams have played each other every year since.

Texas A&M won a game way back in 1911 and then beat the Tigers in the 1986 Cotton Bowl. The Aggies now hold an 8-7 advantage in the series. The home team has won each of the last two in the series. Auburn won last year 43-41 in four overtimes.

Auburn Tigers @ Texas A&M Predictions

Auburn’s defense was one of the better units in the SEC and in the country. They were top-35 in both scoring defense (21.3 ppg) and total defense (330.7 ypg). The Tigers return elite pass rusher Keldric Faulk and the secondary returns starter Kaleb Harris, three others that played substantially and transfer Raion Strader, the best corner in the MAC last season at Miami (OH).

Aggies head coach Mike Elko has earned a reputation for having strong defenses and, like Auburn, Texas A&M was a top-35 scoring defense allowing 22.2 points per game last year. Eight starters return to that defense.

The difference will likely be how much Auburn improves on offense. Oklahoma transfer Jackson Arnold takes over at quarterback. He’s got talented WR Cam Coleman back as well as three starters on the offensive line.

The top scoring team in SEC games last season? That would be Texas A&M. The Aggies averaged 29.4 points in SEC play last season, going over 30 in five of their eight conference games.

Bet: Auburn Tigers (NA)

Ohio State Buckeyes @ Washington Huskies Odds

The defending national champions are trying to get back to the College Football Playoff. Head coach Ryan Day would also like to win the Big Ten Conference title in 2025. After the season opener with Texas, the Buckeyes played FCS Grambling and the MAC’s Ohio. Plus, they had a bye week last week to prepare for this one.

The Buckeyes have not played Washington since 2019. Ohio State beat the Huskies in the 2019 Rose Bowl in a game that was not as close as the score indicates. The Buckeyes were up 28-3 until Washington finally scored a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. They added two late touchdowns to set the final score at 28-23.

Ohio State holds a 9-3 advantage over Washington in 12 games. The two teams have only played four times since 1995. The Buckeyes won all four games. In the three games prior to teh 2019 Rose Bowl, Ohio State beat Washington by 19, 19, and 10 points.

Ohio State Buckeyes @ Washington Huskies Predictions

The Buckeyes enter this Week 5 game as an early two-touchdown favorite. The Huskies are coming off a 6-7 season in head coach Jedd Fisch’s first season. They will start sophomore Demond Williams at quarterback. He started the Sun Bowl and threw for 374 yards and four touchdowns.

The problem for Williams and the Huskies is they only returned one starter on the offensive line and only one defensive starter. Day has to replace his quarterback, but he has a ton of talent back on offense, including WR Jeremiah Smith and three starters on the offensive line.

Expect the Huskies to be better than 2024, but Washington may still be a year away. When Fisch turned around Arizona, it was Year 3 when the double-digit wins came. That said, a double-digit spread on the road in the Big Ten is a difficult number to cover. In true road games in Big Ten play last year, Ohio State was 2-2 ATS, failing to cover lines of -3.5 and -28.

Bet: Washington Huskies +14 (-110)

Notre Dame Fighting Irish @ Arkansas Razorbacks Odds

It’s the first-ever game between two programs that share a Hall of Fame head coach – Lou Holtz. The two storied CFB programs meet for the first time in Fayetteville. The Razorbacks enter this after having gone on the road to face Ole Miss and Memphis in Weeks 3 and 4. Arkansas also travels to Tennessee next week.

The Irish opened the season at Miami with one goal in mind – get back to the national championship game. The Irish went 14-2 last season and lost to Ohio State in the CFP national championship game. Notre Dame also had to face preseason top 25 Texas A&M in Week 3.

The Irish were one of the best defensive teams in the country a year ago. That defense helped the Irish go 13-3 ATS for the season. Notre Dame covered 11 of their final 12 games of the 2024 season.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish @ Arkansas Razorbacks Predictions

The Irish are the early double-digit favorite because of their defense. They lose All-American Xavier Watts, but they return five starters and a wealth of talent. On offense, C.J. Carr takes over at quarterback and RB Jeremiyah Love and his 1,000-plus rushing yards is back as well.

Arkansas will have QB Taylen Green, the former Boise State transfer, back at quarterback. Unfortunately for Arkansas, he will be the only offensive starter to return to his 2024 position. A couple offensive line starters will move from tackle to guard as the unit gets overhauled by transfers.

The Razorbacks offense was very good in 2024 and it may have to be again. The defense will have a ton of newcomers. In three non-conference home games last season, Arkansas went 3-0 SU, but they were 1-2 ATS. Notre Dame covered all four of its true regular season road games last year.

Bet: Notre Dame Fighting Irish -12.5 (-110)

Alabama Crimson Tide @ Georgia Bulldogs Odds

It has become one of the biggest rivalries in college football. Alabama and Georgia have played each other 74 times. The Crimson Tide holds a 44-26-4 advantage in the series. Alabama has actually won nine of the last ten meetings. Two of those occurred in the national championship game.

Alabama beat the Bulldogs in the 2018 national title game in overtime. Georgia recorded its only win over the Tide in the last 15 years in the 2022 national championship game. Both teams must replace starting quarterbacks, but both will simply reload.

Both defenses should be outstanding again. Alabama, in its first year under head coach Kaleb DeBoer, was 10th in the nation in scoring defense holding opponents to 17.4 points per game. Georgia was 23rd (20.6 ppg).

Alabama Crimson Tide @ Georgia Bulldogs Predictions

Georgia is the early 4-point favorite. Some of that has to do with playing at home between the hedges at Sanford Stadium. Over the last four seasons under head coach Kirby Smart, the Bulldogs are 53-5 with two national championships to boot.

Both Georgia and Alabama had a bye week prior to this Week 5 clash. Both teams have their eyes set on the CFP playoffs. The Tide missed the playoffs for the first time since 2013. The loser of this game will still be alive in the playoff race.

Only one of the last six games in the series has been decided by less than a touchdown. With two talented defenses, this game could come down to a field goal. That said, four of the last six games in the series have featured a combined final score of 60 points or more.

Bet: Alabama Crimson Tide +4 (-110), Over 52.5 (-110)

Oregon Ducks @ Penn State Nittany Lions Odds

These two teams were projected to contend once again for the Big Ten title. Remember, the two met last year in the Big Ten championship game. The Ducks prevailed 45-37, holding off a late Penn State comeback to win and earn the No. 1 seed in last season’s playoffs.

The two programs have met five times total and Penn State owns a 3-2 advantage. They will likely meet more often now that Oregon is a member of the Big Ten. The Ducks were one of a few schools that were ranked in the top 25 in total offense and defense as well as scoring offense and defense.

Oregon replaced starting QB Dillon Gabriel with Dante Moore. The offense reloads and should help the Ducks continue to cover spreads. Oregon covered six of its last nine games in 2024. The defense should be solid too as head coach Dan Lanning prides his teams on defensive play. The Ducks covered the spread in the game against Penn State last year.

Oregon Ducks @ Penn State Nittany Lions Predictions

Most college football experts picked Penn State to win the Big Ten in 2025. Much of the preseason hype was related to the return of QB Drew Allar and a pair of future NFL running backs in Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen. The Nittany Lions also brought in former Syracuse WR Trebor Pena and the offense should continue to shine under offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki.

Penn State finished in the top 30 in scoring offense and defense and total offense and defense. The Nittany Lions defense was even better than Oregon’s last season and five starters return but coordinator Tom Allen left for Clemson. Enter former Ohio State DC Jim Knowles.

Oregon played four true road conference games in 2024. They went 4-0 SU but just 2-2 ATS. Beaver Stadium is one of the toughest places in the country to play. As good as these defenses are, don’t be surprised when the two offenses go off in the first half as they did last year.

Bet: Penn State Nittany Lions -4.5 (-110), Over 52.5 (-110)

Best College Football Week 5 Bets

Here are our favorite bets this week:

• LSU +1.5 (-110)
• Notre Dame -12.5 (-110)
• Alabama-Georgia Over 52.5 (-110)
• Penn State -166

We’re really high on Penn State and Notre Dame this week. Additionally, with those offenses in the SEC, that Alabama vs. Georgia game should easily go over 52.5 total points. LSU as an underdog is sneaky, but offers plenty of upside for our bets.

If you want to place all three of these Week 5 picks into an NCAAF parlay, then you would win a staggering $1,051 on a $100 wager. That’s a 10x on your investment.