College football Week 5 odds: Betting lines for biggest matchups

The season is still young, but Week 5 features several critical games that will have big playoff implications. Stanford and Clemson are among the underdogs in an early look at the week’s odds.

The Stanford Cardinal are 7–0 straight up and 6–1 against the spread in their last seven road games against Pac-12 opponents. The Cardinal will try to pick up another road win this Friday night against the Washington Huskies.

Stanford is a 2.5-point underdog on the road at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. Both of these teams have jumped out to strong starts, with Stanford going 3–0 SU and ATS and Washington going 4–0 SU and 2–2 ATS thus far in the season.

The winner will be in the driver’s seat in the Pac-12 North, though both teams have to go on the road to face Oregon this season in games that could have major significance in the conference race.

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On Saturday, the Louisville Cardinals visit the Clemson Tigers in another extremely important early-season matchup. After defeating Florida State this season, Louisville would put itself in commanding position in the ACC with a win on the road this Saturday.

The Cardinals are 10–2 SU in their last 12 games after losing the previous game in a matchup, and will be trying to avenge a 20–17 loss to Clemson last year. Clemson is a 1-point home underdog in Saturday’s showdown.

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In what looks to be a fairly down year for the SEC, Tennessee and Alabama have emerged as the early favorites to meet in the SEC title game down the road. But first, Tennessee must survive a brutal stretch over the next three weeks, visiting Georgia this Saturday and Texas A&M the following Saturday, and then hosting Alabama.

The Volunteers are 3-point favorites this Saturday against the Bulldogs. Georgia is 0–4 ATS in its last four games against Tennessee per the OddsShark College Football Database.

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Points will likely be hard to come by when two of the best defenses in the nation clash on Saturday in a matchup between the Wisconsin Badgers and Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor.

Wisconsin has allowed just 11.8 points per game en route to a 4–0 SU and 3–1 ATS start, and Michigan isn’t far behind, allowing 13.8 points per game in a 4–0 SU and 3–1 ATS start of its own. The Wolverines are going off as 10.5-point favorites at home.