College football Week 5 model projections: Predicted point differentials and totals for every game

26 September 2024Last Update :
College football Week 5 model projections: Predicted point differentials and totals for every game

The biggest game of the college football regular season to date, and perhaps the biggest game of the regular season in general, is this week in Georgia at Alabama, but there are a number of big games this weekend. My projection model has predicted point spreads and totals for all four top-25 matchups as well as every FBS vs. FBS Week 5 game.

My model likes Georgia by half a point at Bama so buckle. Among the other notable games, it has Penn State by 22 points against Illinois, Kansas State by five points against Oklahoma State and Notre Dame by four points against Louisville. There are even a pair of games my model has a complete toss-up: Duke vs. North Carolina and Central Michigan vs. San Diego State.

The model takes in past performance, returning talent and recruiting rankings. We then compare the model’s projections to the BetMGM lines for extra context.

For more on Week 5 of the college football season, check out my updated CFP projections and my Week 5 best bets, which are based on my model’s projections.

Below are the projected margins of victory and totals for every FBS vs. FBS game this week.

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College football Week 5 score projections

XMOV is the model’s projected margin of victory for the game with the BetMGM spread as of publish time listed to the right of it. As with betting, favorites are listed with a minus before the predicted spread (i.e. -6.5 or -10), while underdogs are not (8 or 13.5). XTOTAL is the projected combined point total with the BetMGM total (over/under) listed as of publish time to the right of that number.

Team xMOV BETMGM Line xTOTAL BETMGM TOTAL
Army
47
46.5
Temple
13
12.5
Virginia Tech
51.5
54.5
Miami
-14.5
-17.5
Washington
46
44.5
Rutgers
2
-2.5
W. Kentucky
53.5
54.5
Boston Coll.
-16.5
-12.5
Kentucky
50
53.5
Ole Miss
-20
-17.5
Maryland
54
53.5
Indiana
-5.5
-7
Minnesota
38.5
35.5
Michigan
-10.5
-9.5
Oklahoma St.
54.5
55.5
Kansas State
-5
-4.5
BYU
48.5
45.5
Baylor
-5.5
-3.5
Nebraska
50
46.5
Purdue
9
10
Buffalo
46.5
44.5
UConn
-4
-5.5
No. Illinois
48.5
46.5
NC State
-8.5
-6.5
Navy
55.5
57.5
UAB
1.5
3.5
South Florida
59
64.5
Tulane
-6.5
-5.5
Ball State
52
56.5
James Madison
-21.5
-21.5
Texas State
55
55.5
Sam Houston
10
8.5
Wisconsin
49.5
51.5
USC
-17.5
-15.5
Louisville
49
45.5
Notre Dame
-4
-6.5
Oklahoma
46.5
45.5
Auburn
1
2.5
Arkansas
50
52.5
Texas A&M
-6
-4
UMass
45.5
45.5
Miami (OH)
-14
-17.5
TCU
61
59.5
Kansas
-1
-2.5
Louisiana
59.5
60.5
Wake Forest
-5
-3.5
Colorado
60.5
63.5
UCF
-14
-14
Liberty
65.5
62.5
App. State
5
3.5
Fresno State
51
48.5
UNLV
-3
-1.5
San Diego St.
49
53.5
Central Mich.
0
-2.5
Georgia So.
60.5
58.5
Georgia State
-1
-3.5
Western Mich.
58
54.5
Marshall
-4
-3.5
Akron
49.5
47
Ohio
-14
-12.5
Eastern Mich.
46.5
46.5
Kent State
11.5
14.5
UNC
58.5
56
Duke
0
-2.5
UTSA
50.5
55.5
East Carolina
-1.5
-4
Miss. State
62.5
61.5
Texas
-33.5
-38.5
Old Dominion
51
51.5
Bowling Green
-7.5
-9.5
La. Tech
50.5
51.5
FIU
3.5
2.5
Stanford
56
57.5
Clemson
-19.5
-21.5
Iowa State
45.5
43.5
Houston
11.5
14.5
ULM
48.5
45.5
Troy
-5
-7
Charlotte
49
46.5
Rice
-7
-6.5
Tulsa
68.5
68.5
North Texas
-5
-6.5
Georgia
53
48.5
Alabama
0.5
1.5
Ohio State
46.5
48.5
Michigan St.
22.5
23.5
Illinois
50.5
47.5
Penn State
-22
-17.5
Middle Tenn.
60.5
61.5
Memphis
-27
-25.5
S. Alabama
66.5
65.5
LSU
-23.5
-21.5
Florida State
44
48
SMU
-2.5
-6.5
Cincinnati
60.5
58.5
Texas Tech
-6.5
-2.5
New Mexico
54
54.5
New Mexico St.
7.5
9.5
Air Force
36.5
33.5
Wyoming
3
4
Wash. State
68.5
63.5
Boise State
-3.5
-7.5
Arizona
52
47.5
Utah
-9.5
-10.5
Oregon
59
55
UCLA
24
25.5

(Photo of Dominic Lovett: Todd Kirkland / Getty Images)