Finally, the college football season started to return back to normal for me in week 4.

With conference season heating up, now’s the time where teams show their true colors. I’m coming off my first above .500 week, so here’s six ATS games to pick for the week 5 college football picks.

Overall: 9-15 ATS

Indiana (-17) at Rutgers

Rutgers is really bad.

The Scarlet Knights aren’t just bad in one area either. They own two of the worst offenses and defense in the country. Rutgers ranks 124th in yards per play and 103rd in yards per play allowed.

Considering there’s only 130 teams in FBS, those are atrocious. Indiana’s offense hasn’t been good this season, but the defense ranks 39th in yards per play allowed in college football.

The Hoosiers should be able to stymie the Scarlet Knights consistently, allowing the offense plenty of opportunities to score. Sometimes in college you have to give up points for value, and this is one of those cases. — Go Chalk with Indiana

The Purdue Boilermakers should be a solid favorite in the week 5 college football picks. Flickr/http://bit.ly/1f5F5Hd/Jarret Callahan

Purdue (-3.5) at Nebraska

I’m surprised that this isn’t a bigger spread.

Purdue was on the cusp of winning games before it broke open in week 4 against Boston College. The Boilermakers have been in every game, and offensively, the boilermakers have been one of the best offensive units in the country.

Purdue averages 6.8 yards per play on offense, good enough to rank 16th in the nation. Meanwhile, Nebraska is averaging just 4.8 yards per play, ranking 101st in the nation.

Purdue has been competitive in every game and now they’re winning. The Cornhuskers aren’t close to that level. — Go Chalk with Purdue

Northern Illinois (+3.5) at Eastern Michigan

The Huskies have been terrible on the offensive side of the ball. They’ve been so bad, they rank 129th in yards per play.

However, I’m not too down just yet on Northern Illinois. The Huskies have played Utah, Iowa and Florida State in the first few weeks of the season. Now while the Seminoles aren’t well-known for defensive ability, Utah and Iowa are two of the better defenses in the country.

This will be a much different challenge, with Eastern Michigan ranking 109th in yards per play allowed.

Northern Illinois still has a solid defense, so it should win out in this contest. — Go Against The Chalk with Northern Illinois

Iowa State (+10.5) at TCU

We’re overvaluing TCU’s loss to Ohio State.

The Horned Frogs gave it their all, but the talent edge was noticeable between the two teams. TCU was attempting everything in its arsenal in that game and was relying on tricks, rather than execution.

So I’m not going to go crazy about that close loss. And Iowa State has had to play one of the better defenses in the country in Iowa in week 2 and then had to play Oklahoma in week 3. That’s a tough slate right out of the gate.

Iowa State has a good enough defense to slow down the Horned Frogs. Watch for a straight up upset in this one. — Go Against The Chalk with Iowa State

Virginia Tech (+4.5) at Duke

This is what Virginia Tech does.

In one moment, the Hokies look great and a probable top-10 team. In the next moment, they lose as a four-touchdown underdog.

So I’m not going to go too overboard with this game. Virginia Tech looked terrible in week 4, but they’ll bounce back. Duke has been a nice surprise so far this season, but Virginia Tech should challenge that defense more than any other team they’ve faced this season.

The Hokies have enough talent that this shouldn’t be this much of a spread in favor of Duke. — Go Against The Chalk with Virginia Tech

Boise State (-17) at Wyoming

Boise State can score with the best teams in the country. Wyoming can’t.

Boise State averages 7.2 yards per play, while Wyoming averages just 4.5 yards per play. And the defenses are pretty much the same, with Boise State actually giving up fewer yards per play at 5, compared to Wyoming’s 5.1.

This is a mismatch, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Don’t worry about the big spread in this case. Boise State owns a major talent edge, so it deserves a pick. — Go Chalk with Boise State

 

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*