Campus Chaos: Best College Football Week 5 Underdog Picks & Predictions with On Tilt

Alright, we’ve got some Campus Chaos in the works for Week 5.

Each and every week, we like to focus on maybe a team or two – or three, four or five – that could cause some chaos this weekend. That’s why we call it Campus Chaos, powered by Hard Rock Bet.

We’ve got some underdogs across the board. We want them to bark.

Let’s get into this week’s Campus Chaos picks.

Ariel: Northwestern +2.5 vs. Penn State

I’m looking at Northwestern +2.5. They’re at home opening their new stadium against my former school, Penn State.

I think it’s a real big eye test for me. The Wildcats smoked Colorado. They nearly upset Indiana in Bloomington. Penn State really hasn’t played anyone except Wisconsin, and they lost to them last weekend.

I haven’t been super impressed with Penn State’s defense. They brought in USC’s defensive coordinator, who’s a big Penn State guy, and Wisconsin was able to move the ball.

Combine that with Chip Kelly being Northwestern’s OC and the always interesting Aidan Chiles at quarterback. They definitely could be a live dog opening that new stadium this weekend at Northwestern.

Kelly: Clemson +16 vs. Miami

I’ve got 16 underdogs still circled. I’ve got a lot of work left to do because there are so many double-digit underdogs that I’m a little bit overwhelmed.

But one of the ones that I immediately was like, this is absurd. This Clemson line is absurd.

Is Clemson going to pull the upset over Miami? Probably not. They are more than a two-and-a-half touchdown underdog. Yes, the Canes are 4-0 and look great outside of that Wake Forest game, but that’s the problem. That was their toughest opponent.

Clemson has not been a home double-digit underdog since 2004. If I am Dabo Swinney, I go in there and I tell them that.

This team is absolutely talented enough to stay within the number. They have finally realized, “Oh, wait. We play a much tougher schedule than Miami.”

This is Miami with the 126th-toughest schedule in college football. You guys haven’t played anybody. Prove it to me.

And that is what I’m asking them to do on Saturday night in Death Valley, one of the toughest places to play. Everybody’s like, “Oh, well, the Clemson fans don’t care.”

Wrong. That place is going to be absolute bananas.

The Tigers are 3-1 now since losing that first game to LSU. And since then, they’ve only given up 37 points on defense. Throw out the Georgia Southern game. We’re talking about North Carolina and Cal, both games that they got bet against on.

This is a better team than we saw Week 1 versus LSU.

I understand. Darian Mensah looks perfect. 14 touchdowns, no interceptions. Stanford, Florida A&M, Wake Forest and Central Michigan. Give me a break.

This is way too many points – way too many for Miami to play this tough road trip here in the middle of the season.

Give me Clemson +16.

Joe: Iowa +14.5 vs. Ohio State

I just watched Ohio State give up 462 yards of offense to Illinois, who is not a very good team as far as I’m concerned. They also didn’t have any takeaways.

Yes, they still won by 23 points, but that wasn’t good enough to cover the spread in that game.

Now Ohio State’s going to go to Kinnick and take on an Iowa team that went to the Big House and pulled off the miracle there.

I’ve got a low total at 45.5. I’ve already seen money come in on the Under at Hard Rock Bet.

You want to spot me over two touchdowns to start this game in what is likely going to be a very low-total game?

If there is one team in the Big Ten that could hang with Ohio State in a lower-scoring game, it’s likely this one, Iowa at home.

I’m sorry. I think there’ll be a little chaos on campus at Iowa, at Kinnick. I think Iowa can keep this game not only close like they did with Michigan, but might have an opportunity to maybe steal one.

Kelly: Iowa +14.5 vs. Ohio State

It’s got 24-14 written all over it. It’s a 10-point game. What are we doing giving them two touchdowns here?

I get it. Ohio State has more talent than any other team. They are the No. 1 power-rated team this year.

Yes, they had a big emotional win there over Michigan, but I don’t understand how you’re going to give Iowa, who’s 4-1 against the spread in their last five games as a home underdog of seven or more, this many points.

This is not an Iowa team that I like. This is an Iowa team that I bet against last week. I said, “Hey, this is a good spot for Michigan.” And guess what? They made me eat my words.

This is a team I bet against with Iowa State. I said the same thing. This is too many points.

Are you thinking that Iowa is not going to defensively give everything they’ve got? The question is, can they give back something offensively?

I think that they can absolutely put up two touchdowns or 10 points. Again, 24-10, 24-14, 24-7. Iowa’s covering this game.