This Friday evening in the college football season is set to feature two epic clashes between some near top 25 teams. In Houston, the Cougars are preparing for a contest with the 3-1 Tulane Green Wave. Later that evening, the 4-0 and No. 15th ranked Washington Huskies traveled to the Rose Bowl for a Pac-12 battle with undefeated UCLA on the road. For all four teams, conference points are on the line as the NCAA football season gets closer to October.
For this article, SBS will go over what to look for from each squad, who will win in each contest, and also some more thoughts and notes about NCAA football wagering.
| NCAA Football Week Five Games | The Pick |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tulane at Houston | Houston -1.5 | -115 | -115 | -115 |
| Washington at UCLA | Washington -2.5 | -120 | -120 | -120 |
Team Spotlight: Tulane
The Green Wave is coming off a disappointing loss to Southern Miss, 27-24 at home. Before that though, the squad from Tulane was cooking to the tune of three wins in a row, including a 17-10 win over Power Five opponent Kansas State on the road. For this season, the Green Wave has relied heavily on their offense which has been averaging 33.8 points per game. Quarterback Michael Pratt has done a sensational job of limiting mistakes (seven touchdowns to three interceptions) and has been able to get yards in bunches with nearly 1,000 passing yards on the season with 905 thus far. Running back Tyjae Spears has been great at finding the end zone for the Green Wave with six scores so far on the year.
Team Spotlight: Houston
Houston will be making its conference debut this season and the Cougars have had nominal thus far in 2022. While quarterback Clayton Tune has nearly identical stats to his Tulane counterpart at 993 passing yards and seven scores, the Cougars have had an interesting start to their season. Following back-to-back nail-biting contests against UTSA (a three-overtime 37-35 win on the road) and Texas Tech (a double-overtime loss 33-30), the Cougars have already gotten some gray hairs. Nonetheless, Houston is coming off a solid 34-27 win against a frisky Rice team at home last week and has the luxury of staying home again. While the Cougars went 11-2 last season, they might have regressed a bit in 2022.
Prediction: This should be a solid contest between American Conference foes, but look for Houston (who beat Tulane 40-22 on the road last season) to outlast the Green Wave at home.
Team Spotlight: Washington
Washington has been one of the hottest teams to start 2022 and their offense is the key reason why. Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. has been sensational thus far with 1,388 passing yards, 12 touchdowns to only one interception. The Huskies have also been able to outlast all comers including a resounding 39-28 win over then No. 11 ranked Michigan State in mid-September. In addition to their victory over the Spartans, Washington is coming off a smooth 18-point win over Stanford just last week. With a strong passing offense (nearly 369 yards per game), the Huskies have been able to overwhelm most foes and should have a strong chance of doing the same in Pasadena.
Team Spotlight: UCLA
Opposing the Huskies will be a familiar Pac-12 foe in UCLA who are also the owners of a 4-0 and undefeated record. Coming off a 45-17 thrashing of Colorado on the road, the Bruins return home to the Rose Bowl where they won earlier this month in a thrilling two-point win over South Alabama. While that contest was much closer than anticipated for UCLA, the Bruins were able to rebound in a big way this past weekend in Boulder. In a balanced offense, UCLA running back Zach Charbonnet will be one to watch in this one as the Bruins have been averaging 220.5 yards on the ground per contest. The senior from Camarillo, Calif. has amassed 293 rushing yards on the season and is coming off a thousand-yard and double-digit score campaign in 2021 (1,137 yards and 13 touchdowns).
Prediction: This will be a close contest and maybe the Pac-12 game of the weekend, but Washington has looked more impressive overall than the Bruins so take them to win in Pasadena.
After you have done your homework on the latest slate of NCAA football action, make sure to check out all the other great resources SBS has to offer. The best page to start with for football fans is our NCAAF betting sites rundown which offers the latest betting markets related to college football. In addition to that page, the SBS best bonus betting sites overview is another fantastic resource that allows players to get the most out of their bets with the latest welcome bonuses out there. This page has a catalog of different bonus offers to allow you to maximize all of your upcoming NCAA football bets. Finally, if you are maybe uncertain about how you would like to place your bets moving forward, do not worry as our payment methods guide has a ton of great info. Here you can find all kinds of ways from traditional banking routes to crypto to make deposits and withdrawals for your wagers.
About the Author
As a devout aficionado of sports, Chris Boline has carved a career within the athletic realm. A skilled scribe, he boasts a decade-long portfolio that encompasses coverage of the NBA G League, the Los Angeles Chargers, football and basketball across the country. Beyond his professional pursuits, Chris is deeply invested in his community and dedicates his leisure hours to serving on boards, collaborating with community organizations, and cherishing the company of loved ones. CURRENTLY Business Development and freelance sports writing RESIDES IN Reno, NV EDUCATION University of Nevada BS and MBA EXPERTISE -Sports writing proficiency in: NFL, NBA, UFC, boxing, golf, and some motor sports -Topical news -Promotional and marketing ideas/updates -Business development Summary Chris Boline serves in a business development sales capacity as his day job. He has previously held sales/marketing positions with The Applied Companies (TAC), KTVN 2 News and the NBA G League’s Reno Bighorns, affiliate of the Sacramento Kings. He is a Reno native and is a member of various community boards including the Nevada Sagebrush Alumni Chapter, NCET and the College of Business Alumni Association (COBAA). Chris graduated from the University of Nevada in 2015 with a bachelors in management and economics and also earned his MBA from Nevada in 2023. More about Chris: Past president of the College of Business Alumni Association (COBAA) 2022-23 Two-time honoree for University of Nevada Alumni Chapter of the Year (Nevada Sagebrush Alumni Chapter, 2017 & COBAA, 2021) 2021 NCET award for Professional Services Organization of the Year with TAC Northern Nevada Human Resources Association 2020 Best Places to Work-Northern Nevada, Second Place with TAC 2016-17 Reno Bighorns MVP from the Sacramento Kings The Nevada Sagebrush editor-in-chief 2013-15 Associated Collegiate Press 2015 Four-year Non-daily Newspaper Pacemaker honoree University of Nevada, Reno College of Business Dean's List honoree (5x) from 2011-2015 Nevada Press Association award for Best Sports Column – Community in 2015 Education
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