Washington hosts USC in a Week 5 Pac-12 pairing that features two teams in the midst of significant changes heading into 2019. The Utah Utes will be looking to get the home win against a Washington State team that had one of its best seasons in recent memory a year ago. Last but not least, the Nebraska Cornhuskers will be looking to pull off the big home upset against Ohio State after nearly taking down the Buckeyes on the road last season. Now, let’s take a look at the top three College Football Week 5 betting matchups you must bet on.
2019 College Football Week 5 Must-Bet Games
USC Trojans at Washington Huskies
- When: Saturday, September 28, 2019
- Where: Husky Stadium, Seattle, WA
One year after losing star quarterback Sam Darnold, USC fell apart in going a dismal 5-7 last season with true freshman JT Daniels under center for the vast majority of the season. Now, the Trojans will look to improve an offense that averaged a uninspiring 26.1 points per game (92nd), while finishing a pitiful 107th in rushing.
While Washington didn’t quite live up to its College Football Playoff hopes last season, the Huskies did manage to go 10-4 and 8-2 in the Pac-12 North. The bad news is that Washington lost star quarterback Jake Browning and star running back Myles Gaskin, not to mention the fact that head coach Chris Petersen needs to replace nine starters on the defensive side of the ball from a unit that finished a stupendous fifth in points allowed (16.4 ppg).
Still, this Week 5 Pac-12 pairing looks like an absolute lock for Washington to win outright from where I’m sitting. USC might lead this series 51-29-4 all-time, but these days, Washington clearly has the better gridiron program.
Washington State Cougars at Utah Utes
- When: Saturday, September 28, 2019
- Where: Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, UT
Washington State went a stellar 11-2 last season and 7-2 in the Pac-12 North while finishing an impressive 15th in scoring (37.5 ppg) and solid 23rd in points allowed (23.3 ppg). There’s some change going on with Washington State in 2019, starting with the fact that record-setting quarterback Gardner Minshew is gone and being replaced by former Eastern Washington star Gage Gubrud.
Utah recorded a decent 9-4 mark a year ago that included a 6-4 mark in the Pac-12 South. The Utes put up 28.1 points per game to rank 76t in scoring, but they were outstanding on the defensive side of the ball in limiting the opposition to just 19.4 points per contest to finish 17th in points allowed. Utah has starting quarterback Tyler Huntley back under center and the Utes return three starters on the offensive line. Washington State leads this series 9-7 all-time and the Cougars have won four straight, including a hard-fought 28-24 home win last season.
Ohio State Buckeyes at Nebraska Cornhuskers
- When: Saturday, September 28, 2019
- Where: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, NE
Despite the fact that they were left out of the four-team College Football Playoff, the Buckeyes went a fantastic 13-1 last season and 9-1 in the Big Ten East division while ranking a stellar eighth in scoring (42.4 ppg) and a respectable 52nd in points allowed (25.5 ppg). There’s a bunch of change taking place in Columbus as Ohio State gets set for their first full season under new head coach Ryan Day and without star defensive end Nick Bosa and gifted quarterback Dwayne Haskins.
Nebraska went an uninspiring 4-8 in Year 1 of the Scott Frost era in 2018 while finishing the 2018 campaign ranked a respectable 58th in scoring (30.0 ppg) but an uninspiring 88th in points allowed (31.2 ppg). There’s plenty of hope for the Cornhuskers heading into the 2019 season, seeing as how Nebraska followed up an 0-6 start by going 4-2 over their last half-dozen games. The Cornhuskers are expecting a big season out of now, sophomore signal-caller Adrian Martinez after he passed for 2,617 yards with 17 TD passes and eight interceptions as a true freshman a year ago. If Nebraska can improve on the defensive side of the ball this coming season, they could improve in a big way – and it looks like this Week 5 matchup could be a tight affair seeing as how the Cornhuskers nearly upset the Buckeyes in their 36-31 road loss against Ohio State last season.
