College Football: Underdog Picks & Odds for Week 5 CFB Today
The college football season rolls into Week 5 and we're looking at which teams are best positioned for an upset win with our "Dogs of the Day" article. Each week, we'll highlight three underdogs that our model not only likes to cover the spread, but also to win outright at plus money odds. We've seen strong results through the first two weeks and we're looking to keep that going.
RELATED: Our Week 5 College Football Game by Game Predictions
These picks will come straight from our Dimers Pro College Football Best Bets, a part of our subscription service that grants you access to every single bet on our site for every sport, every single day. You'll also get unlimited access to our player projections, Parlay Picker and Trends tools and of course, an invite to the Dimers Pro VIP Discord where we are cashing tickets like crazy, including one user who turned just $10 into over $13,000 this month and where we went 10-1 with our Dimers Platinum college football picks in Week 3.
College Football Underdog Picks and Week 5 Odds
These three underdogs deserve attention on Saturday, starting with UTSA, who heads to East Carolina. Despite being listed as 3-point underdogs, UTSA has a 51.9% win probability according to the model, while the books' odds of +140 suggest only a 41.7% chance. UTSA's previous 41-27 victory over East Carolina, combined with their momentum and East Carolina’s struggles from back-to-back losses, makes UTSA a strong candidate for an upset.
Florida International (FIU) and UAB also offer value plays. FIU, with a 48% win probability, is a slight underdog against Louisiana Tech. Inconsistencies on the Bulldogs' side and the emergence of FIU’s WR JuJu Lewis tip the scales toward the Panthers. Meanwhile, UAB enters its clash against Navy with a 45.8% win probability, exceeding the 40.7% suggested by the books. Though UAB has a lower probability, they still present a notable 5% edge, making them a worthwhile underdog pick.
Pick 1: UTSA moneyline vs. East Carolina (+140)
The UTSA Roadrunners roll into Greenville, NC to take on the East Carolina Pirates as they bring a 2-2 record into road clash with an East Carolina team that's coming off back-to-back losses. UTSA has comfortably won its two victories while being handled by opposing Texas teams in its losses during Weeks 2 and 3. This will be their AAC opener and UTSA won last season's meeting 41-27 at home.
As 3-point underdogs, our model actually says the wrong team is favored, giving the Roadrunners a 51.9% win probability, as opposed to the 41.7% probability implied by the books' odds of +140.
They're a strong play to cover the spread with an even greater 57% probability, too. With UTSA coming into this game with momentum and East Carolina reeling from two losses, the BOT sees the best play on the Roadrunners to win.
🏈 UTSA vs. East Carolina Full Game Betting Preview
Pick 2: Florida International moneyline vs. Louisiana Tech (+120)
Our next underdog is on the FIU Panthers to pull off the upset when the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs roll into Florida.
FIU are 2.5-point underdogs at home and both teams are looking for just their second win this season. In the Panthers' favor will be emerging WR talent JuJu Lewis and the opportunity to face inconsistent QB play from the LA Tech side.
The Panthers get the nod from DimersBOT with a 48% win probability, translating to fair odds of about +108. While the Bulldogs have the slight moneyline advantage by probability, the value is clearly on the FIU side. The last conference win for the Panthers came in 2022 over LA Tech..
You can also play the Panthers to cover the spread at -105 and a 54% probability as well.
🏈 Florida International vs. Louisiana Tech Full Game Betting Preview
Pick 3: UAB moneyline vs. Navy (+146)
The final dog of the day is our lowest win probability but we still say the books are off on this one.
The UAB Blazers enter this game with a 1-2 record as they host the undefeated Navy Midshipmen. How these teams' offenses click is likely to be critical in this game as neither has a very inspiring defense overall.
UAB draws a 45.8% win probability in this game and with a very strong 58.2% probability cover the 3.5-point spread, suggests this game will be a very close contest. The books' odds of +146 imply only a 40.7% win probability, identifying over a 5% edge.
🏈 UAB vs. Navy Full Game Betting Preview
Odds for the Underdog Parlay (+1199)
If you're feeling really adventurous, you can play these three underdogs into a single parlay that clocks in at +1199 odds.
As a regular college football bettor, I personally recommend playing these as straight bets, and then sprinkling a small amount on the parlay. If you put 1 unit on each Moneyline, I wouldn't go higher than .25U on the parlay as it comes with much more risk.
TEAM | OPPONENT | WIN PROBABILITY | ODDS |
---|---|---|---|
UTSA | @ Eastern Carolina | 51.9% | +140 Caesars |
Florida International | vs. LA Tech | 47.9% | +120 BetMGM |
UAB | vs. Navy | 45.8% | +146 FanDuel |
Dimers' Early-Season College Football Success
As mentioned above, it's been a strong start to the college football season for Dimers, especially if you are a Dimers Platinum subscriber. Platinum is going off, with our AI Betting Picks going at 18-5-1 on College Football Bets over the past two weeks.
Plus, we post our Top 5 CFB bets and props each game day in our Dimers pro VIP Discord, as well as our "Dogs of the Day" on Saturdays.
We post recaps each day and track all our results for complete transparency, so you can see for yourself that we're finding plenty of success in the early days of the season.
Don't miss out the rest of the year - join Dimers Pro for less than $1/day and start cashing with us!
Dimers' College Football Betting Resources for the 2024 Season
- CFB Predictions: Our data-backed previews for every Week 5 matchup
- CFB Best Bets: Our Top Picks for every game, every week
- CFB Best Props: Player edges and projections from our predictive analytics model
- NCAA Championship Odds: Who will win it all this year?
- CFB Betting News: The latest promos, storylines and more around the league
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