We’re still days away from another Saturday in college football, but here are some point spreads that jumped out at me in this weekend’s slate of action.
No. 7 Florida vs. No. 1 Alabama, 8:00PM ET
This is the second of three games the Crimson Tide will play against top 25 teams (assuming South Carolina stays in the top 25 after this week) and their second big SEC challenge. They escaped disaster last weekend in Fayetteville with a come-from-behind win over Arkansas and now take on a Florida team that crushed Kentucky last Saturday. Pundits have noted that the Gators’ offense hasn’t been as explosive as it has in years past and that may be the case. But they’ve scored at least 31 points in each of their first four games, including 48 last week against Kentucky and 31 against Tennessee two weekends ago. Nine points seems a tad high for a game of this magnitude.
THE LEAN: FLORIDA +9
No. 21 Texas vs. No. 8 Oklahoma, 3:30PM ET
Whether they were caught looking ahead or just had an off day, the Longhorns’ loss to UCLA last Saturday was devastating. The good thing is that they can’t dwell on the defeat for too long with the “Red River Rivalry” set to renew this weekend. The Sooners’ have only won by a touchdown or less in three of their four games to start the season, but they could be catching the Longhorns at an opportune time. Texas actually matches up pretty well with OU, but 4.5 points isn’t much to lay with the favorite here and the spread could go down closer to game time.
THE LEAN: OKLAHOMA –4.5
No. 11 Wisconsin vs. No. 24 Michigan State, 3:30PM ET
The Badgers are off to a perfect start on the new year, but have failed to cover against the three FBS teams they’ve faced thus far. The Spartans play tough at home and should get a huge lift with the return of head coach Mark Dantonio, who is expected to coach from the press box after he suffered a heart attack two weeks ago. Wisconsin looks awfully tempting at –1, but I fear this game could be a trap. I like MSU.
THE LEAN: MICHIGAN STATE +1
No. 22 Penn State vs. No. 17 Iowa, 8:05PM ET
I think Penn State is playing exactly how everyone should have expected them to play. They’re a young team overall and while they’ve managed to win three of their first four games, they’ve suffered plenty of ups and downs. They needed a strong second half to knock off Temple last weekend and now they have to go into hostile environment to take on the Hawkeyes team that has looked great at home (albeit against Eastern Illinois, Iowa State and Ball State) thus far. The only time the Nittany Lions played on the road this year they looked completely helpless against Alabama. It shouldn’t be total domination like it was in Tuscaloosa that day, but Iowa should wear PSU down in the fourth quarter and pull away.
THE LEAN: IOWA -7
Below is a complete list of point spreads for Week 5 in college football.
