Week 5 Nevada College Pick'em Contest Picks

Listed below are the lines and games you can pick from for Week 5, and the overall standings for through the first four weeks of the season. A season-high four contestants went a perfect 8-0, and plenty of folks finished 7-1. As for the overall standings, the leader is 24-8, and have five are tied for second at 22-9.

Texas (-7.5) vs. Oklahoma

For the first time since 1998, Texas and Oklahoma are facing each other as unranked teams. Oklahoma may lead the all-time series 62-50-5, but unless quarterback Dillon Gabriel can play and the Sooners defense starts keeping opposing teams out of the end zone, they're in for a long day. Gabriel is still in concussion protocol after suffering a concussion in last week's blowout loss to TCU, and the Sooners defense has allowed 40+ points in back-to-back weeks. Meanwhile, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers might just be back for the Red River Showdown after suffering an injury to his non-throwing shoulder a month ago against Alabama. Even with so much uncertainty, take the Longhorns (-7.5). I know rivalry games are usually close, but the Sooners have been awful defensively the past two weeks, and the offense did close to nothing without Gabriel against TCU. 

Ohio State (-26.5) vs. Michigan State

26.5 points is our biggest spread of the week, but we're not taking the points. Instead, we're taking the Buckeyes to cover. Ohio State crushed Michigan State, 56-7, last year, and the Spartans were a significantly better team last season. The Spartans might have the home crowd behind them, but the Buckeyes are simply too much for MSU. Heisman favorite CJ Stroud and the Buckeyes might just be the best team in all of college football, and Michigan State is desperately looking for answers all the way around after dropping back-to-back conference games by double digits. Don't let the big spread scare you, Ohio State should cover the spread with ease. 

Duke (-3.5) vs. Georgia Tech

The hook here really sucks, but still, take the Blue Devils on the spread at -3.5. Duke's only loss this season is to unbeaten Kansas, and they gave the Jayhawks a heck of a tough time. The Blue Devils offense looked much better last week against Virginia, but the backbone of this Duke football team is its defense. Outside of allowing 35 points to Kansas, Duke hasn't allowed more than 23 points in a game, and the Yellow Jackets are far from an elite offensive team. Georgia Tech hasn't scored more than 26 points against an FBS school, and they'll be lucky if they get to 20 against Duke. Georgia Tech rallied last week with a 17-point fourth quarter in an upset win on the road over Pittsburgh, but that's super unlikely to happen for a second straight week. Expect a low-scoring game, but Duke by four or more is the way to go here. 

South Carolina (+10.5) vs. Kentucky 

The line on this game has gone from 10.5 to 6.5 due to the uncertainty of Kentucky quarterback Will Levis' status for Saturday's SEC matchup. Levis suffered a gruesome finger injury on his throwing hand last week against Ole Miss, and is reportedly dealing with additional injuries as well. If Levis was healthy, we'd take the Wildcats -10.5 without hesitation, but with his status up in the air, take the Gamecocks and the points. South Carolina is far from a top 25 team, but +10 against a banged up Levis at best, is more than manageable. Expect a low-scoring game, but for Kentucky to win by at least a field goal. 

BYU vs. Notre Dame (-3.5)

The Irish played their best game two weeks ago on the road against North Carolina, and are coming off a bye. That should pay dividends this week against an underachieving BYU team in Las Vegas. Drew Pyne and the ND offense put up 45 on North Carolina, and tight end Michael Mayer is arguably the best tight end in college football. Notre Dame's defense has been pretty consistent all season, and BYU struggled to pull away from Utah State and Wyoming the last two weeks. No knock on either Utah State or Wyoming, but Notre Dame is significantly better. Don't think twice about it, Notre Dame should win by four pretty comfortably. 

Oregon (-12.5) vs. Arizona

The Ducks look like a completely different team since their Week 1 butt whooping to Georgia, and should have no problem with Arizona. Oregon has scored 40+ points in four straight games, and Arizona has struggled all season on defense. Arizona might score 30 points in this one, but I'd be shocked if Oregon scores less than 45. The Wildcats might be coming off a nice win over Colorado, but the Buffaloes have yet to win a game and might be the worst team in college football amongst the five major conferences. Bo Nix and Oregon might cover this spread after the first quarter, which is why Oregon -12.5 is a no-brainer. 

Fresno State vs Boise State (-7.5)

Jake Haener is still out for Fresno State, and without him, the Bulldogs are a long shot against Boise State. FSU suffered an embarrassing 19-14 loss to UCONN last week, and without Haener, they really struggle to do much on offense. Boise State is far from an above average team, but coming off the bye, expect the Broncos to take care of the Bulldogs with ease. The Broncos fired their offensive coordinator after losing to UTEP, and the offense looked a ton better the following week in the 35-13 win over San Diego State. Neither team will probably score more than 30, but Fresno State will be lucky to score 14 points.

Oregon State (-7.5) vs. Stanford

Stanford looked better last week against Oregon, but they've got a long way to go. Oregon State gave USC everything they could handle and have already won three games, which makes taking the Beavers (-7.5) that much easier. OSU looked bad against Utah, but the Utes have been one of the biggest surprises in all of college football. Stanford hasn't held a PAC-12 team under 40 points, and that probably won't change this week against Oregon State. This game might be close through three quarters, but the Beavers should pull away by at least two scores in the fourth quarter.