We haven’t seen too many significant line moves among the Power 5 schools, meaning the oddsmakers got it right or the betting public has been hesitant to throw down coin early in the week. There are a number of crucial games in Week 5 with conference play in full swing. We also have two top-10 matchups with a Big Ten East tilt between No. 4 Ohio State and No. 9 Penn State. OSU opened at -4 and the number has bounced around between that and 3.5. No. 7 Stanford was gifted a win last week and takes its perfect 4-0 SU and ATS record into a matchup with No. 9 Notre Dame as a 5.5-point pup.
We don’t often see spreads as high as the total, but it came close when the numbers hit the board for Alabama’s game against Louisiana. The No. 1 ranked Crimson Tide opened as a 51.5-point favorite over the Ragin Cajuns with a total of 65.5. However, the gap between the two increased with sharps taking the half a hundy to drop the line to Bama -48. The total, meanwhile, spiked to 67.5. Here are some of the biggest movers in early Week 5 betting action at BookMaker.eu.
Week 5 Major Line Moves
Syracuse at Clemson
Opening Line: Clemson -19.5
Current Line: Clemson -24
Both teams are 4-0 with a win in ACC play, but the gap between them is wide and the line reflects that. Clemson opened as a 19.5-point favorite and with plenty of early support the spread continually rose to its current line of -24. The Tigers will be breaking in a new starting quarterback with Trevor Lawrence getting the nod over Kelly Bryant, so there is that dynamic. But Lawrence has proven he deserves the opportunity and the Tigers could be even better offensively. Cuse enters with a ton of confidence from their unbeaten start and their defeat of Clemson last season, when they won 27-24 at home as a 23.5-point dog.
Arkansas at Texas AM
Opening Line: Texas AM -16.5
Current Line: Texas AM -21
If Jimbo Fisher’s Aggies fail to put a major beatdown on the hapless Hogs he’s going to be run out of College Station. AM gave Bama a fight last week, but self-inflicted wounds put them behind the 8-ball and they couldn’t recover against the top-ranked team in the land. There are no moral victories in football, but if there were the Aggies would be 1-0 after nearly beating Clemson a few weeks ago in a game where they outplayed the Tigers for most of the contest. Losing to the best teams in college football isn’t all that bad, but more is expected of Fisher. And the Aggies should take out their frustrations against Arkansas. AM opened as 16.5-point chalk and that wasn’t nearly enough according to the betting public. With close to 90 percent of the action favoring the Aggies, the line jumped to -21 and will likely go higher.
Michigan at Northwestern
Opening Line: Michigan -11
Current Line: Michigan -14
It’s tough to say if Michigan is getting better or the competition got worse. After losing their opener with a dud against Notre Dame, the Wolverines spent the last three weeks annihilating inferior foes and finding something that resembles an offense behind Shea Patterson. Last week’s 56-10 thrashing of Nebraska was impressive and Big Blue is getting respect at the betting window with over three-quarters of the betting public backing them. The Wildcats have pulled off a few major upsets over the years and they will have quarterback Clayton Thorson behind center full-time following a bye week. UM has found an offense to go with one of the top D’s in the country and people are taking notice. The opened line was wagered to UM -14 shortly after hitting the board.
Hawai’i at San Jose State
Opening Line: Hawai’i -8.5
Current Line: Hawai’i -11.5
The Rainbow Warriors hit the mainland with a 4-1 record and one of the top offenses in the country with their run and shoot style putting up lofty numbers. Led by Cole McDonald, who’s thrown for nearly 1,800 yards, the Warriors have the ninth-best passing attack in the FBS and average over 500 yards per game. This one isn’t getting a lot of action, but it will be interesting to see how many yards Hawai’i can compile against San Jose State’s FBS-worst pass defense. It isn’t a surprise to see the line spike a full three-points in favor of the visitors, who are backed by 65 percent of the public.
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