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College Football Week 5 Odds Pick & Prediction: Texas vs. West Virginia (2022)

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Let’s take a look at the College Football Week 5 odds, picks, and predictions for this week’s game: Texas vs. West Virginia.

Check out our other best college football bets for Week 5:

Check out Thor Nystrom’s Week 5 College Football Power Rankings >>

College Football Week 5 Early Odds, Picks & Prediction: Texas vs. West Virginia

Texas vs. West Virginia

It's looking increasingly likely that UT QB Quinn Ewers will return for this game. If he’s behind center, I'll be even more bullish on the Longhorns. But I'm taking Texas in this spot, even if it's Hudson Card behind center. (The pair has been rotating first-team reps in practice).

Ewers was listed as the co-starter on last week's depth chart. Though he didn't enter the game, this clearly indicated that Ewers is ahead of schedule in his recovery from an SC joint sprain. That type of shoulder injury is all about pain threshold.

Last week, Texas suffered the unluckiest loss of the entire season according to postgame win expectancy. The Longhorns lost 37-34 to Texas Tech despite finishing with a 98% postgame win expectancy. That fluky loss is one reason this line isn't closer to two TD where it probably belongs.

That, plus the up-in-the-air statuses of Ewers and WR Xavier Worthy. Worthy is "day-to-day" with a lower leg injury suffered on Saturday. His X-rays came back negative. Indications at publication time are trending positively towards Worthy playing.

Texas is a legitimately good team at full strength, maybe even the best in the Big 12. West Virginia, on the other hand, is arguably the Big 12's worst team.

The Mountaineers finished the opening-week loss to Pitt with a 14% win expectancy, suggesting they didn't play as well in that game as the scoreboard may have indicated. The next week, the Mountaineers lost to Kansas.

West Virginia's No. 59 SP+ defense is decent against the run but terrible against the pass. Last week's opponent, Virginia Tech, wasn't equipped to take advantage. Texas should be, particularly if Ewers and Worthy are active.

Pick: Texas -9

What is Betting Against the Spread?

Betting "against the spread" refers to the act of choosing the winning team based on a numeric handicap placed on the team that oddsmakers believe is superior, rather than picking the outright winner. For example, if the Rams face the Bengals, and oddsmakers set the spread at Rams -3.5, you would need Los Angeles to win by 4 or more points in order to cash your Rams bet.

What is an Over/Under Bet?

Over/Under is a wager based on how many points you think will be scored in a specific game. Oddsmakers set the total, and bettors decide whether the final score will be higher or lower than that number. If an Over/Under is set at 44.5 points and you bet Over, you will need the combined score of both teams to be 45 points or higher to win your bet.

What is a Moneyline Bet?

A moneyline bet involves choosing which team you believe will win a specific matchup. The moneyline favorite carries a minus designation, like -130. This means that you need to wager $130 to earn a $100 profit. Conversely, the underdog carries a plus designation, like +110. This means that you win $110 in profit on a $100 bet.

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