In Week 4 of the 2025 college football season, 16 of the 19 ranked teams in action posted victories. And each of the three clubs that lost was defeated by fellow ranked opponents, as No. 9 Illinois was crushed 63-10 by No. 19 Indiana, No. 16 Utah was trounced 34-10 by No. 17 Texas Tech and No. 22 Auburn was beaten 24-17 by No. 11 Oklahoma. Illinois fell to No. 23, while Utah and Auburn dropped out of the top 25.
Week 5, which begins with one game on Thursday and features three the following day before it kicks into full gear Saturday, features 16 contests involving ranked teams – including four that pit two against each other. Those include a pair of Big Ten matchups, with Illinois hosting No. 21 USC at noon ET and No. 6 Oregon traveling to face No. 3 Penn State at 7:30 p.m. ET. The other two games are SEC showdowns, as No. 4 LSU visits No. 13 Ole Miss at 3:30 p.m. ET and No. 5 Georgia takes on No. 17 Alabama at 7:30 p.m. ET in Athens.
Bet our college football parlay at DraftKings Sportsbook, where new users get $200 in bonus bets and over $200 off NFL Sunday Ticket. Click here:
USC is a 6.5-point favorite against Illinois at FanDuel Sportsbook, while the total is set at 60.5. Oregon is a 3.5-point underdog versus Penn State and the total is 51.5, and Ole Miss is favored by 1.5 points over LSU with an Over/Under of 54.5. Meanwhile, Georgia is a 2.5-point favorite against Alabama, and the total is set at 53.5.
There is an abundance of possibilities for parlays in Week 5, as more than 50 games take place this weekend. SportsLine has revealed its top three-leg parlays, with one involving favorites and another consisting of underdogs.
SportsLine’s top three-leg favorites parlay would bring a return of +349, while the parlay involving three underdogs offers a +1470 return.
Bet college football at Caesars Sportsbook, where new users get 20 100% profit boost tokens. Click here to get started:
Money line favorites parlay for Week 5
The Jayhawks seek their second straight victory in Big 12 play after trouncing West Virginia 41-10 last week. Kansas (3-1, 1-0) is unbeaten at home thus far in 2025, as it opened the season with routs of Fresno State and Wagner at its rebuilt stadium in Lawrence, outscoring its opponents 77-14.
Cincinnati (2-1) was edged 20-17 by Nebraska in its season opener but bounced back with dominant wins against Bowling Green and Northwestern State in which it scored a total of 104 points while allowing just 20. The Bearcats set a school record with seven touchdown passes and matched another with 10 total TDs in their 70-0 destruction of the Demons last weekend.
Kansas improved to 2-1 in the all-time series against Cincinnati with a 49-16 road triumph in its 2023 regular-season finale. The Jayhawks racked up 562 yards of total offense in the victory, and the Bearcats will need to find a way to contain Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels, who is tied for third in the nation with 12 touchdown passes. SportsLine expert Matt Severance doesn’t think it will happen, noting that Daniels is one of seven FBS quarterbacks with three or more TD tosses in at least three games this season.
Penn State vs. Oregon
This is a Big Ten battle between two of the top teams in the nation, as Penn State (3-0) is ranked third and Oregon (4-0, 1-0) is sixth. The Nittany Lions have outscored their opponents 132-17 and are third in the country in scoring defense with an average of 5.7 points allowed.
Oregon has been even more potent offensively, averaging 50.8 points to rank seventh nationally. The Ducks scored over 40 points in three of their first four contests and defeated Northwestern by 20 in their first conference game of the year. Their defense also has been stingy, as Oregon is tied for ninth in the country in points allowed with an average of 9.3 per contest.
The Ducks are just 2-3 all-time against the Nittany Lions but have won two of the last three meetings, including a 45-37 triumph in last year’s Big Ten Championship Game. Oregon is seeking its 23rd consecutive regular-season win, 17th straight conference victory and eighth triumph over a top-three opponent in program history. But SportsLine expert Thomas Casale is siding with Penn State, citing the fact that it is playing at home after a bye while Oregon quarterback Dante Moore is making his first start in a hostile environment against a dominant defense.
Louisiana (1-3) and Marshall (2-2) are both playing their first Sun Belt game of the season. Both teams went 7-1 and finished first in their respective divisions during conference play last year, while the Thundering Herd cruised to a 31-1 victory in the Sun Belt Championship Game.
The Ragin’ Cajuns return home after suffering back-to-back road losses against then-No. 25 Missouri and Eastern Michigan. The club, which registered a season-high 441 yards of total offense versus the Eagles last time out, is looking to avoid its first 1-4 start since 2005.
Marshall began the year with losses to then-No. 5 Georgia and Missouri State but has rebounded nicely, scoring a total of 80 points in victories against Eastern Kentucky and Middle Tennessee. The Thundering Herd are 1-2 all-time against Louisiana, and the SportsLine Projection Model doesn’t see them evening their record, as it has the Ragin’ Cajuns winning in 64% of its simulations.
Money line underdog parlay for Week 5
The Eagles (1-3) visit the Chippewas (2-2) for the first MAC contest for both this season. Neither team fared well in conference play last year, as they finished with identical 2-6 records.
Eastern Michigan is coming off its first win of 2025, ending its season-opening three-game slide with a 34-31 triumph over Louisiana. The Eagles have been involved in high-scoring affairs, with each of their first four contests having 51 or more combined points scored.
Central Michigan bounced back from blowout losses to Pittsburgh and then-No. 23 Michigan to trounce Wagner 49-10 last Saturday. The Chippewas outgained the Seahawks 507-115 as starting quarterback Joe Labas had three touchdown passes while backup Angel Flores ran for two scores and threw for another. Central Michigan is 64-32-6 in the all-time series, but the SportsLine Projection Model is leaning toward Eastern Michigan, which it has winning 62% of the time in its simulations.
The Aztecs (2-1) are riding high after posting the most impressive win against a Power 5 team in program history last week, a 34-0 rout of California. It was the second shutout in as many home games this year for San Diego State, which blanked Stony Brook 42-0 in its season opener.
Northern Illinois (1-2) is happy to be back home after being outscored 58-19 in road losses to Maryland and Mississippi State. The Huskies, who will be moving from the MAC to the Mountain West next season while San Diego State joins the Pac-12, began 2025 with a 19-17 home triumph over Holy Cross.
The Huskies, who have limited opponents to fewer than 200 passing yards per game (189.7) in 2025, are 0-6 all-time against the Aztecs. The SportsLine Projection Model believes the drought will end, however, as it has Northern Illinois winning in 63% of its simulations.
Southern Miss (2-2) will be home for the fourth time in its first five games this season. The Golden Eagles began the campaign with a 34-17 loss to Mississippi State in Hattiesburg but followed with 38-20 and 38-22 triumphs over Jackson State and Appalachian State, respectively.
The Golden Eagles were defeated 30-20 by Louisiana Tech on the road last week but reached the 20-point plateau a third straight time. Jacksonville State (2-2) has been even more dangerous offensively, scoring 34 or more points in each of its last three contests – including a 45-10 rout of Murray State last Saturday.
Southern Miss won the first two meetings between these teams by a combined score of 123-0, but the Gamecocks cruised to a 44-7 home victory against the Golden Eagles last season. The SportsLine Projection Model likes Jacksonville State to even the all-time series on Saturday, as it has the Gamecocks winning in 75% of its simulations.
Read the full article here
