2024 college football Week 5 picks against the spread, odds, lines, betting trends: Vegas expert makes picks

Legendary Vegas handicapper Bruce Marshall has studied the trends and found the best betting values during the Week 5 college football schedule

By CBS Sports Staff

Sep 28, 2024 at 8:16 am ET • 4 min read

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Duke vs. North Carolina may not have the same feel on the gridiron as the hardcourt, but both football programs have been on the rise the last few years. It will be near-impossible for either of these schools to shed their basketball-first personas, but both teams have had first-round quarterbacks selected in recent NFL drafts with Daniel Jones starting for the New York Giants and Drake Maye, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, likely to start at some point this season. They are also both coming off back-to-back winning seasons and will go head-to-head on Saturday in the Week 5 college football schedule.

Duke (4-0) is a 2.5-point home favorite over North Carolina (3-1) in the latest Week 5 college football odds, according to the SportsLine consensus, so should you include either of these teams in Week 5 college football bets? The Week 5 college football schedule is filled with elite matchups, highlighted by No. 2 Georgia (-1) at No. 4 Alabama. But with more top games such as No. 23 Kansas State (-5.5) vs. No. 20 Oklahoma State and No. 16 Notre Dame (-6.5) vs. No. 15 Louisville, which sides could be worthy of including in Week 5 college football bets?

Before locking in any Week 5 college football picks on those games or others, be sure to see the college football betting guide from legendary Vegas handicapper Bruce Marshall.

For years Vegas-based Marshall was synonymous with The Gold Sheet, the famed sports betting newsletter. With a background in play-by-play work and sports information while in college, Marshall joined TGS in 1981 when hired by the legendary Mort Olshan and served as executive editor for many years.

An in-demand guest on numerous sports talk radio and TV shows across the country, Bruce's vast array of editorial work has been featured in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the New York Post and many other outlets. He has won various handicapping titles and also is working on several book projects. Bruce also enters the Week 5 college football schedule on a 12-7 roll (+423) on his official SportsLine college football spread picks.

Now, using his Tech Corner technique that evaluates all the trends and the latest college football odds, Marshall has turned his attention to college football betting for Week 5 and revealed picks for each matchup. Head here to see every pick.

Top college football predictions for Week 5

One of the top college football picks Marshall is recommending for Week 5: He's backing No. 12 Michigan to cover as a 10.5-point favorite against Minnesota in the battle for the Little Brown Jug at noon ET on Saturday. Michigan has won four straight games over Minnesota, including taking the last three by double-digits. The Wolverines have won four of their last five games against Minnesota at "The Big House," winning by an average of 33.5 points in those four victories, which all came by double-digits.

Michigan, the defending national champions, was ranked No. 9 in the preseason polls before falling following a 31-12 home loss to Texas in Week 2. But since then, the Wolverines have won back-to-back contests, including a 27-24 win over No. 11 USC last season to climb back to No. 12 in the country in another season with national championship aspirations, despite the departure of Jim Harbaugh.

Minnesota is coming off a 31-14 loss to Iowa and although Iowa has been a winning program in recent seasons, it was the first Big Ten game since Oct. 29, 2022, where Iowa reached 30 points. Michigan is averaging 5.6 yards per rush, which ranks 21st in the country, and Marshall expects the Wolverines to be able to control possession enough to defeat Minnesota by double-digit points for the fifth time in their last six meetings in Ann Arbor. See which other picks to make here.

How to make college football picks for Week 5

Marshall has evaluated every other matchup and he's found an alarming 21-4 betting trend you need to know this week. Get betting analysis for each matchup at SportsLine.

So what college football picks can you make with confidence, and what alarming trend do you need to know about in one of the week's biggest games? Check out the latest college football odds below, then visit SportsLine to see which teams to back, all from the legendary Vegas expert who has won multiple handicapping titles, and find out.