College Football

'Bear Bets': The Group Chat discusses Heisman odds, USC-Colorado

Published Sep. 28, 2023 7:35 p.m. ET

Week 5 of the college football season is upon us, which means it's time to get your wagers ready for another weekend of football.

To help with that, the Group Chat reconvened again on the latest episode of the "Bear Bets" digital show. In this week's edition, Chris "The Bear" Fallica and Geoff Schwartz discussed the Heisman Trophy following the recent shakeup at the top of the leader board with FOX Sports contributor Sam Panayotovich and Will Hill.

In addition, the "Group Chat" shared their favorite plays in the "Big Noon Kickoff" matchup between No. 8 USC and Colorado before hitting on some of their other favorite plays in Week 5.

Let's get to it!

Michael Penix Jr. became the co-favorite with Caleb Williams to win the Heisman after Week 4. Sammy P, would you bet on Penix to win the Heisman now at +350 after you wagered on him at the start of the season? Are there any other Heisman candidates the rest of the gang would wager on?

Sammy P: "I don't know about that. … But I've been in this Washington bucket for a couple of weeks now. Penix was about 7-to-1 about two weeks ago. You could find it at 4-to-1 in Vegas if you shopped around or if you have a buddy in Vegas, you get it done that way. He's the best player on what could be the most exciting team in college football. … Washington is still sort of underrated as a team and he's almost throwing for 400 yards per game!"

Hill: "Geoff and I liked Jordan Travis before the year. He's down to 12-to-1, 13-to-1. He hasn't looked great, but no team has a more impressive resume than Florida State with their two wins against LSU and on the road against Clemson. … But I don't know if I see a great bet on the board right now."

Caleb Williams or Michael Penix Jr? Heisman Trophy betting odds broken down in Gambling Group Chat

The Bear: "I don't know if I do. I'm looking down the board. If Sam Hartman had beaten Ohio State last week, he might've been a play. J.J. McCarthy, Michigan's offense hasn't been great. Tyler Van Dyke, Miami's still undefeated. Cam Ward, I don't think anyone thinks Wazzu's going to go undefeated. It might be Quinn Ewers or Dillon Gabriel, whoever wins that Red River game next week."

Schwartz: "For any of the Pac-12 quarterbacks, all of their schedules are back-loaded. They've all played well so far, but they haven't played anyone. … If you're looking to bet on a Pac-12 quarterback [to win the Heisman], this isn't the worst price, but you might want to wait to take Penix until after they play Oregon, because they might lose that game and get a better price. Washington's playing the best they're going to play all season. They've yet to play a team with a Power 5 win this season."

Coach Prime's exciting start at Colorado came to a halt in Week 4 with a blowout loss. The Buffs are a 21.5-point underdog again this weekend when they host No. 8 USC (12 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app). Are some of you hopping onto the Colorado train this week as some other might be hopping off? What other plays do you like in this game?

Hill: Colorado +21.5 or stay away

"You just can't lay that many points with USC. Last week, they were a five-touchdown favorite against Arizona State and they could never get control of the game with that defense. They're always going to give up 17, 21-plus points. That's asking a lot for them to cover these big numbers when they're that bad on defense"

Sammy P: Over 73.5

"Let's remember where the number opened. In Vegas, the number opened at 27, and that lasted for about 3.5 seconds. Now we're down to 21, 21.5. I can tell you that this is the first week we've seen sharp money on Colorado. The sharps have been betting against Colorado for the last month because bookmakers haven't been high on this team. I look at this total at 73.5, after Colorado barely scored last week, that number tells me that Colorado's going to move the ball this game. … I think this is a game where USC could score 50, but Colorado's going to move the ball."

Deion Sanders' Colorado vs. USC Trojans best bets in CFB Week 5

Schwartz: USC team total Over 48.5

"I just don't see a world where Colorado stops them unless USC comes out a little sluggish. They're playing with a 9 a.m. PT body clock and they're in the altitude. Maybe there's an issue there with a slow start. … They also didn't play a crisp game against Arizona State, so I don't think USC can be stopped in this game."

The Bear: USC team total Over 48.5

"The USC team total is probably going to be the way that I wager on this one. That's probably going to be the safest thing, that USC's going to score points."