College Football Predictions & Best Bets for Week 5

Week 4 on the collegiate gridiron was another week of spinning my wheels, going 1-1 on my picks. But I’m bringing in a 19% return on investment, so I can’t complain (yet). For my college football predictions and best bets for Week 5, we’re off to Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina, and SHI Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey. Let’s hit the gridiron!

College Football Predictions & Best Bets for Week 5

#4 Miami Hurricanes vs Clemson Tigers

Start Time: 7:30 PM EST

We’ll start our Week 5 journey down in South Carolina for some Atlantic Coast Conference action, as the #4-ranked, 4-0 (2-0 ACC) Miami Hurricanes meet the 3-1 (2-0 ACC) Clemson Tigers. Going in on the spread on big underdogs has always been a successful strategy for me in college football, and this season is no different. This week I’m doubling down on that plan.

The Tigers are being undervalued in this matchup, and it’s not just because they are playing at home (but that does help, obviously). Clemson’s lone loss this season was in Week 1, getting blown out on the road at LSU, but that can be forgiven. Since then they’ve reeled off three straight W’s, including at California last weekend.

The big difference in the perceptions of these two teams could be due to their respective strength of schedules, with Clemson playing the sixth-hardest nationally thus far, while Miami’s is ranked way down at 123rd. This is also the first time in the Dabo Swinney era at Clemson (back to 2008) that the team is a double-digit dog at home.

Clemson plus the points is my play.

Best Bet: Clemson +16.5 (-104)

#6 Indiana Hoosiers vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Start Time: 8:00 PM EST

Now to the Big Ten we go, the home conference of the reigning national champs, the #6-ranked, 4-0 (1-0 Big Ten) Indiana Hoosiers, who play their first road game this week, heading to Jersey to face the 1-3 (0-1 Big Ten) Rutgers Scarlet Knights. And, as I mentioned previously in this article, you know which side of the spread I’m getting in on in this game.

The champs haven’t missed a beat this season, even with a new man, Josh Hoover, taking the snaps for them, steamrolling their first four opponents. But, like Miami (and most powerhouse teams), they’ve beaten up on a weak string of competition, playing the 105th “hardest” schedule thus far (Rutgers sits at 48th).

While the Scarlet Knights are only 1-2 on their home field this season, they only lost by a touchdown to USC in Week 4, so they are a tough out, at the very least, in front of their fans. And we don’t need them to knock off the champs this weekend; we don’t even need them to keep it close – we just need Rutgers to keep the blowout under four touchdowns, approximately, which they’ve done in all four of their contest this season thus far.

Let’s go with another big home dog for Week 5, and take Rutgers on the spread.

Best Bet: Rutgers -24.5 (-115)

2025/6 College Football Overall Record: 5-3 (63%)
Profit (based on $100/bet): $153.11
Return on Investment: 19%