CFB Betting: The Group Of Five Underdog Of The Week Is Old Dominion +6 at Coastal Carolina

Good news. If you waited to bet last week’s Group of Five Underdog of the Week, then you likely cashed the bet. 

I selected Northern Illinois as the G5 Underdog of the Week at +7 against North Carolina State. The line moved, and college football betting odds had NIU as an eight-point underdog on Friday and up until kickoff. 

I’m surprised the Huskies covered the spread as they consistently made things difficult on themselves by committing penalties and turning the ball over. This included a scoop and score and another fumble that was spotted at the NIU 1-yard line. The Huskies’ offense gave up more points than their defense.

Instead of a win, we get a push. Things could be worse.

Here’s this week’s selection.

Old Dominion (Spread +6, Moneyline +180) at Coastal Carolina

With 23 G5 teams on a bye this week, there aren’t many great options to choose from for this week’s G5 Underdog. Still, I think ODU will have a great opportunity here to completely change the tide of its season.

Coastal Carolina hasn’t impressed so far. Sure, the Chanticleers are 3-1, but they’ve had a light schedule and escaped with an eight-point win against Temple. They trailed by 27 at home against Virginia two weeks ago before losing by 19.

On the other hand, the Monarchs have faced a tough schedule and almost beat South Carolina, who lost to LSU by a field goal and trumped Kentucky, who just beat Ole Miss. ODU was 0-3 and on the brink of being 0-4 before finding a way to defeat Bowling Green last week, taking the lead on a late fourth-quarter drive.

That win, along with freshman quarterback Colton Joseph, breathed new life into ODU. I think the Monarchs now have the potential to string some wins together in conference play. Joseph replaced starter Grant Wilson — who is battling a wrist injury — in the second half and led the Monarchs on the game-winning drive. It was one of the best possessions for ODU’s offense all season.

While the offense hasn’t been great, ODU’s defense has been solid for the most part. CCU put up a combined 95 points in its first two games, but those were against poor defenses. I like ODU to keep CCU stagnant this week and force quarterback Ethan Vasko into some bad throws, something that we saw a lot of against Virginia.

Since last year, ODU is 6-2 against the spread as a road underdog and went 4-0 ATS in Sun Belt road games last season. 

I don’t like that Coastal is coming off a bye and this is the second consecutive road trip for ODU, but the Monarchs are eager to turn their season around.

Nevada (+6.5, +260) at San Jose State

Both of these squads have performed better than preseason expectations under their first-year head coaches. San Jose State was very close to knocking off Washington State and could easily be 4-0. Nevada is 2-3 with two of its losses coming to Power Four programs. 

Dual-threat quarterback Brendon Lewis should pose some problems for SJSU’s defense here as the Wolf Pack try to keep up with the Spartans’ high-powered attack. I think Nevada head coach Jeff Choate will have some answers to at least limit this SJSU offense.

The Wolf Pack are rejuvenated under Choate and have shown up prepared in each game. I like them to keep this close in their first Mountain West contest.

App State (+3, +125) at Marshall

The Mountaineers are coming off a tough couple of weeks, dealing with a big loss to South Alabama and the impacts of Hurricane Helene. 

I think the Mountaineers will find a way to bounce back and play a close game against Marshall. A win could bring some joy for plenty of fans in the area, and I think that’s who the Mountaineers will be playing for.

Charlotte (+9, +260) vs. East Carolina

The 49ers are used to playing in the underdog role and seemed to have embraced it under second-year head coach Biff Poggi. Including last year, they have been an underdog in all but two games. They’ve gone 8-7 against the spread in those meetings. 

ECU seems to enjoy playing in close games this year and could be in for another close contest on the road.