Week 5, 2026 college football picks
Every game we have a call on this week — the side we pick to win and our probability. The games we ran and decided not to call are here too, marked, so you can see what we left alone and why. Kickoffs run Thursday, October 1 through Saturday, October 3.
43
games we call
13
we ran and left alone
43
settled so far
309-90
record, all season
77%
picks correct
Thursday, October 1
Friday, October 2
- Penn State Nittany Lions at Northwestern WildcatsLost ✗
Penn State Nittany Lions, 68% to win
Projected total 46.1
- Liberty Flames at Delaware Blue HensToo close to call
We ran it and landed too near a coin flip to publish.
- Pittsburgh Panthers at Virginia Tech HokiesNo call
We ran it and decided not to publish a call.
Saturday, October 3
- Michigan Wolverines at Minnesota Golden GophersLost ✗
Michigan Wolverines, 60% to win
Projected total 45.4
- Stanford Cardinal at Wake Forest Demon DeaconsWon ✓
Wake Forest Demon Deacons, 80% to win
Projected total 53.3
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish at North Carolina Tar HeelsWon ✓
Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 92% to win
Projected total 48.4
- Boston College Eagles at SMU MustangsWon ✓
SMU Mustangs, 88% to win
Projected total 52.4
- West Virginia Mountaineers at Iowa State CyclonesWon ✓
Iowa State Cyclones, 80% to win
Projected total 52.8
- UCF Knights at Houston CougarsWon ✓
Houston Cougars, 62% to win
Projected total 52.5
- Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at Kansas JayhawksWon ✓
Kansas Jayhawks, 91% to win
Projected total 51.8
- Alabama Crimson Tide at Mississippi State BulldogsWon ✓
Alabama Crimson Tide, 70% to win
Projected total 61.9
- Michigan State Spartans at Wisconsin BadgersWon ✓
Wisconsin Badgers, 67% to win
Projected total 42.9
- Vanderbilt Commodores at Georgia BulldogsWon ✓
Georgia Bulldogs, 88% to win
Projected total 56.4
- Western Michigan Broncos at Buffalo BullsWon ✓
Western Michigan Broncos, 68% to win
Projected total 47
- Toledo Rockets at Ball State CardinalsWon ✓
Toledo Rockets, 90% to win
Projected total 55
- Old Dominion Monarchs at Georgia State PanthersLost ✗
Old Dominion Monarchs, 56% to win
Projected total 55.4
- Bowling Green Falcons at Miami (OH) RedHawksLost ✗
Miami (OH) RedHawks, 83% to win
Projected total 44.9
- Ohio Bobcats at Kent State Golden FlashesWon ✓
Ohio Bobcats, 79% to win
Projected total 55.6
- Eastern Michigan Eagles at Massachusetts MinutemenLost ✗
Massachusetts Minutemen, 62% to win
Projected total 51.3
- Akron Zips at Central Michigan ChippewasWon ✓
Central Michigan Chippewas, 64% to win
Projected total 46.2
- Wyoming Cowboys at North Dakota State BisonWon ✓
North Dakota State Bison, 83% to win
Projected total 39.9
- Memphis Tigers at Charlotte 49ersWon ✓
Memphis Tigers, 88% to win
Projected total 55.5
- Ohio State Buckeyes at Iowa HawkeyesWon ✓
Ohio State Buckeyes, 69% to win
Projected total 44.1
- Louisville Cardinals at NC State WolfpackLost ✗
Louisville Cardinals, 57% to win
Projected total 61
- California Golden Bears at UNLV RebelsWon ✓
UNLV Rebels, 61% to win
Projected total 51.4
- Auburn Tigers at Tennessee VolunteersWon ✓
Tennessee Volunteers, 73% to win
Projected total 54.6
- Marshall Thundering Herd at James Madison DukesWon ✓
James Madison Dukes, 90% to win
Projected total 56
- UTEP Miners at New Mexico LobosWon ✓
New Mexico Lobos, 92% to win
Projected total 55.1
- Maryland Terrapins at Nebraska CornhuskersWon ✓
Nebraska Cornhuskers, 80% to win
Projected total 52.5
- Purdue Boilermakers at Illinois Fighting IlliniLost ✗
Illinois Fighting Illini, 85% to win
Projected total 58.9
- Kentucky Wildcats at South Carolina GamecocksLost ✗
South Carolina Gamecocks, 62% to win
Projected total 50.6
- UL Monroe Warhawks at South Alabama JaguarsWon ✓
South Alabama Jaguars, 88% to win
Projected total 57.1
- UTSA Roadrunners at Rice OwlsWon ✓
UTSA Roadrunners, 77% to win
Projected total 56.4
- Arkansas Razorbacks at Texas A&M AggiesWon ✓
Texas A&M Aggies, 83% to win
Projected total 55.7
- Temple Owls at South Florida BullsLost ✗
South Florida Bulls, 83% to win
Projected total 56.9
- Utah State Aggies at Boise State BroncosWon ✓
Boise State Broncos, 83% to win
Projected total 52.8
- Washington Huskies at USC TrojansWon ✓
USC Trojans, 70% to win
Projected total 57.2
- Texas Tech Red Raiders at Colorado BuffaloesWon ✓
Texas Tech Red Raiders, 80% to win
Projected total 52
- Arkansas State Red Wolves at Louisiana Ragin' CajunsWon ✓
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns, 66% to win
Projected total 50.7
- Indiana Hoosiers at Rutgers Scarlet KnightsWon ✓
Indiana Hoosiers, 94% to win
Projected total 56.6
- Fresno State Bulldogs at Washington State CougarsLost ✗
Washington State Cougars, 60% to win
Projected total 44.9
- Baylor Bears at Arizona State Sun DevilsLost ✗
Arizona State Sun Devils, 60% to win
Projected total 54.1
- Cincinnati Bearcats at Arizona WildcatsWon ✓
Arizona Wildcats, 62% to win
Projected total 55
- San José State Spartans at Hawai'i Rainbow WarriorsLost ✗
Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors, 64% to win
Projected total 51.2
- Navy Midshipmen at Air Force FalconsToo close to call
We ran it and landed too near a coin flip to publish.
- Syracuse Orange at UConn HuskiesNo call
We ran it and decided not to publish a call.
- Florida Gators at Missouri TigersToo close to call
We ran it and landed too near a coin flip to publish.
- Virginia Cavaliers at Florida State SeminolesToo close to call
We ran it and landed too near a coin flip to publish.
- Oregon State Beavers at Colorado State RamsToo close to call
We ran it and landed too near a coin flip to publish.
- BYU Cougars at TCU Horned FrogsToo close to call
We ran it and landed too near a coin flip to publish.
- Georgia Southern Eagles at Coastal Carolina ChanticleersToo close to call
We ran it and landed too near a coin flip to publish.
- Army Black Knights at Louisiana Tech BulldogsToo close to call
We ran it and landed too near a coin flip to publish.
- Miami Hurricanes at Clemson TigersNo call
We ran it and decided not to publish a call.
- Texas State Bobcats at San Diego State AztecsToo close to call
We ran it and landed too near a coin flip to publish.
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How to read this board
North Texas Mean Green, 75% to win. Each row is one call: the team we pick to win and how likely we think that is. The probability is the pick — it is what gets graded, and a 68% call that loses is a 68% call that lost, not a bad model.
One number per row, and it is the probability. We do project a margin for each game, and it is on the game page where there is room to label it — but it is context, not a call, and nobody is graded on it. No sportsbook line appears anywhere on this page, and neither does anyone else’s number.
A short board is the honest one. We publish only where our model clears its gates, so a week with a lot of close games has fewer picks on it — the games we leave out are the ones we would be guessing at. Those games are still listed, greyed out, and each one has a page saying which gate stopped it. A pick we did not make is part of the record too.