The Daily Sweat: The 5 most interesting Week 5 college football betting lines
There's no football on the schedule for a couple days, but that doesn't mean we can't look ahead to the coming week.
While the NFL season is starting to get into a groove, we've got a really strong college football slate on deck for Week 5. These are the point spreads that really jumped out upon first look at the board at BetMGM.
Iowa is ranked No. 5 in the country but is only a four-point favorite over an unranked team? What gives? Well for one, Iowa’s offense has not been good at all this season. The Hawkeyes are No. 119 in the country in yards per play at just 4.61. The defense, though, has allowed only 3.94 yards per play — the third-best mark in the country.
Maryland is 4-0 and has a really talented quarterback in Taulia Tagovailoa and one of the top receiver rooms in the Big Ten. It’s a prime-time Friday night game in College Park and one of the biggest home games for Maryland in the Mike Locksley era. Is there an upset in the air?
No. 8 Arkansas at No. 2 Georgia (-18.5)
On the heels of a big upset over Texas A&M, Arkansas now has to travel to Athens to face No. 2 Georgia. The oddsmakers clearly aren’t big believers in the Razorbacks as they are 18.5-point underdogs. Arkansas was able to run the ball and hit some big plays in the passing game against A&M, but Georgia’s defense brings another level of disruption. Still, 18.5 feels like a big number, doesn’t it?
No. 7 Cincinnati (-2) at No. 9 Notre Dame
Notre Dame is not a home underdog very often. In fact, it has happened just seven times in Brian Kelly’s 12 seasons in South Bend and only twice since 2014. Barring some late line movement, add this one to the list.
Notre Dame is 4-0 but has not played at a particularly high level. The Irish needed OT to beat Florida State and a last-minute TD to beat Toledo. They were also outgained by Purdue and had just 248 yards against Wisconsin. Cincinnati is coming off a bye and most recently beat Indiana on the road. The Bearcats have a huge opportunity to move even further up the rankings as they try to become the first Group of Five team to reach the CFP.
No. 12 Ole Miss at No. 1 Alabama (-14.5)
Alabama was brought to the brink in its last SEC game, edging Florida 31-29. Bama was a 14-point road favorite in that one. It’s currently a 14.5-point spread with Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss coming to Tuscaloosa on Saturday in a battle of two unbeatens.
Ole Miss has a high-powered offense with the Heisman Trophy favorite Matt Corral at quarterback, but double-digit SEC underdogs have not fared well at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Alabama has covered eight of its last 10 home games when favored by at least 10 points against conference foes.
No. 6 Oklahoma (-10.5) at Kansas State
Oklahoma’s offense has been struggling and Kansas State has been a thorn in OU’s side in recent years. Kansas State upset the Sooners last year in Norman as a 27.5-point underdog and in Manhattan in 2019 as a 23.5-point underdog. K-State also covered the spread against the Sooners in 2017 when the spread was 14.5.
Kansas State is down to its backup quarterback, but is just a 10.5-point underdog this time around. Under Chris Klieman, Kansas State is 6-2 against the spread as a home underdog.
Updated World Series odds
The Major League Baseball regular season is coming down to the home stretch.
Three teams — the Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago White Sox and Milwaukee Brewers — have already clinched division titles. Two others, the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers, have locked up playoff spots but are duking it out for the NL West crown.
Those teams, plus the AL West-leading Houston Astros (whose magic number is 2) are atop the updated World Series odds from BetMGM.
Five American League teams are within 4.5 games of one another for the two wild-card spots. The New York Yankees are especially hot. They have won six straight and are coming off a sweep of the Boston Red Sox to sit atop the wild-card standings.
Another hot team is the St. Louis Cardinals, who have won a remarkable 16 straight games and are 5.5 games ahead of the Cincinnati Reds for the second wild-card spot in the NL.
Here are the full World Series odds via BetMGM:
Los Angeles Dodgers: +300
Houston Astros: +500
Tampa Bay Rays: +700
San Francisco Giants: +700
Chicago White Sox: +750
Milwaukee Brewers: +750
New York Yankees: +1500
Atlanta Braves: +1700
St. Louis Cardinals: +2000
Boston Red Sox: +2000
Toronto Blue Jays: +3000
Philadelphia Phillies: +4000
Seattle Mariners: +20000
Oakland Athletics: +50000
Cincinnati Reds: +50000
What’s there to bet on Tuesday?
The Yankees and Blue Jays open a huge series in Toronto. The Yankees are one game up on the Red Sox for the top wild-card spot, and the Blue Jays are just a game behind the Red Sox for the second wild-card spot. While the Red Sox face the MLB-worst Baltimore Orioles, the Yankees and Blue Jays will duke it out with their playoff lives on the line.
The Blue Jays, with Korean lefty Hyun Jin Ryu on the mound, are -135 favorites at BetMGM with the total set at 9.5 runs. The Yankees will counter with Jameson Taillon, who is fresh off the IL. Taillon last pitched on Sept. 6, also against the Blue Jays. He allowed three earned runs in seven innings and took the loss.
Over in the NL East, the Braves have a 2.5-game lead over the Phillies. Those two open a pivotal three-game set in Atlanta. The Phillies have ace Zach Wheeler on the mound while the Braves are going with Charlie Morton. The Braves are slight favorites (-120) at BetMGM with the total set at 7.5 runs.
In the late window, it’s always worth keeping an eye on the Giants and Dodgers, the teams with the two best records in baseball. The Giants have a two-game lead in the NL West and are -300 favorites at home against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Dodgers host the San Diego Padres and are -190.
Monday Night Football betting recap
The Dallas Cowboys were three-point home favorites over the NFC East rival Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football. A game that was expected to be close instead turned into a blowout.
The Cowboys surged into first place in the division with a 41-21 victory at AT&T Stadium. It was a dominant performance from the Cowboys, who jumped out to a 20-7 halftime lead and never looked back. Dak Prescott led the way with 238 yards and three touchdowns while Ezekiel Elliott pitched in 95 yards and two scores on the ground.
The Cowboys covered the spread easily and the game went over the total with a Prescott touchdown pass to Dalton Schultz with 6:56 to play. Dallas is now 3-0 against the spread this season. The Eagles are 1-2.
For Week 3, underdogs went 9-7 and the under went 11-5.
