By John Sarianides

There are some initriguing games on the schedule for week five of the college football season. Here are my picks for this week.

No. 14 Miami (-5.5) at Duke: Duke is 4-0 and playing at home so you know they’ll be feeling it tonight. It won’t matter. The Canes are better and they have weapons all over the place. I like the Canes as a road dog in this one. 
No. 5 USC (-4) at No. 16 Washington State: I want to pick Washington State in the upset because I think they are better than people think and are flying under the radar. But alas, I don’t have the stones. I am putting my money on the Trojans. It’s hard to pick against Sam Darnold and company. 
Northwestern at No. 10 Wisconsin (-14.5): Northwestern is sneaky in games like this. Pat Fitzgerald’s team has had a tendency to win games like this in the past. I don’t think they win this one but they might make it close. 
No. 18 South Florida (-25.5) at East Carolina: The Bulls high octane offense should have no problem scoring against a bad defense like East Carolina’s. South Florida covers easily. 
Vanderbilt at No. 21 Florida (-12): Florida hasn’t made it look easy but they find ways to win games. I don’t think Vandy recovers from the 59-0 drubbing they got at the hands of Alabama last week. The Gators cover easy at home. 
Indiana at No. 4 Penn State (-18): Happy Valley has been a nightmare for opposing teams this season. Unfortunately for Hoosiers coach Tom Allen, his team will be the next team to experience the nightmare. I like the Lions in this one big time. 
No. 7 Georgia (-3.5) at Tennessee: Georgia is not getting much love as they should in the SEC. I think they are the best team in the SEC East. Now, they have to beat Tennessee and Florida to prove it. I think it starts today with a big road win at Tennessee. The Vols barely beat UMass last week and they are not good enough to keep up with Jake Fromm and the Bulldogs rushing attack. Put the cash on the Dawgs. 
Murray State at No. 17 Louisville (-47.5): Lamar Jackson pads the stats and the Cardinals cover with ease. 
Miami (OH) at No. 22 Notre Dame (-21.5): The RedHawks are not bad and they may hang with the Irish for a half. In the end, Brandon Wimbush and the Norte Dane running game will be too much to handle. Irish cover easily. 
No. 24 Mississippi State at No. 13 Auburn (-9): The Bulldogs came back to earth in a big way last week in their loss to Georgia. Mississippi State lacks the big play element in their offense so they struggle to keep up with high octane offenses. Auburn isn’t exactly high octane but they can make big plays and they have a defense that can contain Bulldogs quarterback Nick Fitzgerald. I think Auburn wins this game but Mississippi State covers. I’m taking the Bulldogs as a road dog. 
Troy at No. 25 LSU (-22): The Tigers are still licking their wounds from the Mississippi State loss two weeks ago. They beat Syracuse last week but it wasn’t pretty. This game should be a little easier. Tigers should cover as a home favorite no problem. 
No. 11 Ohio State (-27.5) at Rutgers: Tbis one will be over at the end of the first quarter. Rutgers is better but they are not good enough to hang with the Buckeyes. 
No. 2 Clemson (-5.5) at No. 12 Virginia Tech: I am not getting fooled again. I picked against Kelly Bryant and the Tigers two weeks ago and I got burned. Not going to happen again. Virginia Tech is tough in Blacksburg but Clemson is battle tested and plays great defense. I am taking the Tigers as a road favorite. 
No. 16 Washington (-29) at Oregon State: Washington has flown under the radar thus far but they’ll keep doing what they do. Winning games. They should handle the Beavers no problem. 
No. 11 Oklahoma State (-14.5) at Texas Tech: Another ho hum Big 12 shootout. Oklahoma State will be angry after last week’s home loss to TCU. They will “take it out” on the Raiders but this will be a high scoring affair. Look for a 52-35 kind of score. 
Ole Miss at No. 1 Alabama (-28): The Tide rolled Vandy last week and they are going to do the same to an Ole Miss team that has been a thorn on their side recent years. I like the Tide to cover as a home favorite in this one. 
Northern Illinois at No. 19 San Diego State (-13): You might want to start paying attention to the Aztecs folks. They are this year’s Western Michigan. That being said, they’ll win but I’m taking the Huskies as a road dog.