Big Ten and biggest college football game picks and predictions for Week 5

It's tradition now. Every year (and every week of the season) we have a little friendly competition among our writers for world domination when it comes to picking the Big Ten football games and some of the bigger college football contests throughout the season once conference play gets into full swing.

Though we never really know, Ohio State, Oregon, and Penn State, are getting a lot of national notoriety and were picked by media members to be the three teams contending for league superiority. You can't count out Michigan despite the loss to Oklahoma, and teams like USC, Washington, Iowa, Illinois, and Nebraska hope to also be upstarts and surprise folks.

So, just how will Week 5 play out in the Big Ten? Our writers take turns picking all the games in the Big Ten straight up and against the spread for your wagering and reading consumption — do with it as you wish.

As a reminder, if there’s an asterisk next to the pick, that means the team will win, but not cover. If there is a tie, rather than have a cage match or old-fashioned duel, we’ll settle it with less violence and go with the tried, yet true, coin flip, where George Washington has the say.

EXAMPLE: If Ohio State is favored -3.5 over Michigan:

If you think Ohio State will win outright and cover: OSU

If you think Ohio State will win, but NOT cover: OSU*

If you think Ohio State will lose: Michigan

Here are our expert picks for Week 2 as we see if what we saw during opening weekend holds true this week. But first, here are the standings so far from our writers.

Standings so far

Follow Phil Harrison: 55-4 SU, 35-24 ATS

Follow MarkRussell: 52-7 SU, 32-27 ATS

Follow Yesh Ginsburg: 49-10 SU, 37-22 ATS

Follow Griffin Dreifeldt: 55-4 SU, 38-21 ATS

CONSENSUS PICK: 53-6 SU, 39-20 ATS

USC at Illinois

Saturday, Sept. 27

Noon ET | Fox (Stream fuboTV (watch here))

Betting Line | USC -6.5

The Picks:

Phil Harrison (@PhilHarrisonBW) | USC

Mark Russell (@MarkRussell1975) | USC

Griffin Dreifaldt (@griffin_drei) | USC

Yesh Ginsburg (@yesh222) | USC

CONSENSUS PICK | USC

Rutgers at Minnesota

Saturday, Sept. 27

Noon ET | Big Ten Network (Stream fuboTV (watch here))

Betting Line | Minnesota -5.5

The Picks:

Phil Harrison (@PhilHarrisonBW) | Minnesota*

Mark Russell (@MarkRussell1975) | Minnesota

Griffin Dreifaldt (@griffin_drei) | Rutgers

Yesh Ginsburg (@yesh222) | Rutgers

CONSENSUS PICK | Rutgers

Ohio State at Washington

Saturday, Sept. 27

3:30 p.m. ET | CBS/Paramount+ (Stream fuboTV (watch here))

Betting Line | Ohio State -8

The Picks:

Phil Harrison (@PhilHarrisonBW) | Ohio State*

Mark Russell (@MarkRussell1975) | Ohio State

Griffin Dreifaldt (@griffin_drei) | Ohio State*

Yesh Ginsburg (@yesh222) | Ohio State

CONSENSUS PICK: Ohio State

Indiana at Iowa

Saturday, Sept. 27

3:30 p.m. ET | Peacock

Betting Line | Indiana -7.5

The Picks:

Phil Harrison (@PhilHarrisonBW) | Indiana

Mark Russell (@MarkRussell1975) | Indiana

Griffin Dreifaldt (@griffin_drei) | Indiana

Yesh Ginsburg (@yesh222) | Indiana

CONSENSUS PICK | Indiana

UCLA at Northwestern

Saturday, Sept. 27

3:30 p.m. ET | Big Ten Network (Stream fuboTV (watch here))

Betting Line | Northwestern -6.5

The Picks:

Phil Harrison (@PhilHarrisonBW) | Northwestern

Mark Russell (@MarkRussell1975) | Northwestern*

Griffin Dreifaldt (@griffin_drei) | Northwestern

Yesh Ginsburg (@yesh222) | Northwestern

CONSENSUS PICK | Northwestern

Oregon at Penn State

Saturday, Sept. 27

7:30 p.m. ET | NBC/Peacock (Stream fuboTV (watch here))

Betting Line | Penn State -3.5

The Picks:

Phil Harrison (@PhilHarrisonBW) | Penn State

Mark Russell (@MarkRussell1975) | Oregon

Griffin Dreifaldt (@griffin_drei) | Oregon

Yesh Ginsburg (@yesh222) | Oregon

CONSENSUS PICK | Oregon

Next ... Five biggest national games

Notre Dame at Arkansas

Saturday, Sept. 27

Noon ET | ABC (Stream fuboTV (watch here))

Betting Line | Notre Dame -4.5

The Picks:

Phil Harrison (@PhilHarrisonBW) | Notre Dame

Mark Russell (@MarkRussell1975) | Notre Dame

Griffin Dreifaldt (@griffin_drei) | Notre Dame*

Yesh Ginsburg (@yesh222) | Notre Dame

CONSENSUS PICK | Notre Dame

LSU at Ole Miss

Saturday, Sept. 27

3:30 p.m. ET | ABC (Stream fuboTV (watch here))

Betting Line | Ole Miss -1.5

The Picks:

Phil Harrison (@PhilHarrisonBW) | Ole Miss

Mark Russell (@MarkRussell1975) | LSU

Griffin Dreifaldt (@griffin_drei) | Ole Miss

Yesh Ginsburg (@yesh222) | LSU

CONSENSUS PICK | Ole Miss

Auburn at Texas A&M

Saturday, Sept. 27

3:30 p.m. ET | ESPN (Stream fuboTV (watch here))

Betting Line | Texas A&M -6.5

The Picks:

Phil Harrison (@PhilHarrisonBW) | Texas A&M

Mark Russell (@MarkRussell1975) | Texas A&M

Griffin Dreifaldt (@griffin_drei) | Texas A&M*

Yesh Ginsburg (@yesh222) | Texas A&M

CONSENSUS PICK | Texas A&M

Tennessee at Mississippi State

Saturday, Sept. 27

4:15 p.m. ET | SEC Network (Stream fuboTV (watch here))

Betting Line | Tennessee -8.5

The Picks:

Phil Harrison (@PhilHarrisonBW) | Tennessee*

Mark Russell (@MarkRussell1975) | Tennessee

Griffin Dreifaldt (@griffin_drei) | Tennessee

Yesh Ginsburg (@yesh222) | Tennessee

CONSENSUS PICK | Tennessee

Alabama at Georgia

Saturday, Sept. 27

7:30 p.m. ET | ABC (Stream fuboTV (watch here))

Betting Line | Georgia -3

The Picks:

Phil Harrison (@PhilHarrisonBW) | Georgia

Mark Russell (@MarkRussell1975) | Georgia

Griffin Dreifaldt (@griffin_drei) | Alabama

Yesh Ginsburg (@yesh222) | Georgia

CONSENSUS PICK | Georgia

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This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Big Ten and big game college football picks and predictions for Week 5