We're quickly into Week 5 of the college football season, and the board is wide open.

If you watched our betting podcast, Sharpening The Edge, you got a sneak peek of my bet slip for this week and my thoughts on Michigan football vs. Iowa from a betting perspective.

Let's dive in and roll out the board for this week's college football action.

After U-M opened as 7.5-point favorites against Iowa, it immediately shot up to 10.5 by Sunday night, and while bouncing up to 11.5 and down to 9.5, the line looks set at 10.5 nearing kickoff.

Smart money is buying anything over 10.5 back to that number, while anything below 10 is bought back up to the 10.5 number.

The takeaway here is Vegas clearly sees this as a 10-to-11 point differential, and the power of the hook (half-point) is driving books to stay at 10.5, offering no leeway for bettors to push on 10 or cover at 9.5 or 11.

As for the total, it was bet all the way down to 42, which I think covers due to Michigan's aggressive offense style it showed against the HAwkeeys in the Big Ten Championship and the firepower they have on this team, offensively, outweighs last year's roster, because it's essentially the same team with the addition of J.J. McCarthy.

I projected the score at 24-13, but the line being bet all the way down to 42 tells me there's value in taking a low total -- from a betting perspective.

Pick: Total over 42

Here are my favorite bets for Saturday.

Noon slate:

TCU +5.5 vs. Oklahoma: Love the QB play for Max Duggan, and TCU gets OU at home after losing Kansas State in Norman. I got it at 5.5, but the line is down to 5 now, and it's gone TCU's way all week. Give me the Horned Frogs.

Illinois ML: Brett Bielema gets his shot to go into Wisconsin and beat the Badgers. After Ohio State ran through U-W last week, the turnaround to play an Illinois team with some of the best run designs in the nation coupled with ball control and a long-possession offensive approach that should counter Wisconsin and force it to make plays with the ball. Illini RB Chase Brown leads the nation in rushing yards, and I foresee a big day for the back. Think of it like Illinois giving the Badgers a taste of their own medicine.

3:30 PM slate:

MSU -7.5: I don't see a world where Taulia Tagovailoa and the Maryland offense attack don't go for broke against a miserable MSU secondary. The line stayed with the Terps all week, as high as 9.5, settling at 7.5 nearing kickoff. There's value in betting on Maryland, which the smart money loves.

NW/PSU u51: This line is down to 50.5 nearing kick, but I got it at 51 and like it there. Sean Clifford is banged up, per usual, and Penn State's defense is arguably the most under-appreciated unit in the conference. PSU should have no problem limiting Northwestern's offense, and at 51, the Nittany Lions will need to score a ton to get the total near that mark.

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