College football Week 13 has arrived, which means it's time to dive into a couple of underdogs to bet on the moneyline.
Our Group of Five experts from the "Big Bets on Campus" podcast, Mike Calabrese and Joshua Nunn, came through with picks for Hawaii vs. UNLV on Friday night and Tulane vs. Temple on Saturday afternoon.
When parlayed together, these two Group of 5 'dogs pay out at nearly 7-1.
Let's take a look at our NCAAF picks and college football predictions in our Group of 5 moneyline underdog parlay for Week 13.
NCAAF Picks, ML Underdog Parlay
- Hawaii ML +120 vs. UNLV
- Temple ML +255 vs. Tulane
Parlay Odds: +649 (bet365)
Hawaii +120 vs. UNLV
| Hawaii Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+3 -115 | 64.5 -110o / -110u | +120 |
| UNLV Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-3 -105 | 64.5 -110o / -110u | -140 |
Let’s get the Rainbow Warriors at +120 on the moneyline.
To put it bluntly, UNLV’s defense is dogwater, coming in as one of the worst in the country when it comes to giving up big plays. The stronger offenses in the Mountain West have been having their way with the Rebels.
Then you throw Micah Alejado into the mix, and it gets interesting. The Warriors' signal-caller is on fire, with three passing touchdowns in five straight games.
Last week, Hawaii dropped 38 points on San Diego State. That’s wild considering the Aztecs are having one of the best defensive seasons in recent memory and are the clear top defense in the conference by a wide margin.
Health-wise, Hawaii is in much better shape than it has been, especially its wide receiver group. The bye week came at the perfect time, giving it a chance to dial in its travel plans and game prep for this road trip to UNLV.
Speaking of travel, this trip is actually one of the easier ones for Hawaii. It’s a six-hour flight straight into Vegas — no buses, no connecting flights, nothing complicated. That ease of travel matters, especially since head coach Timmy Chang has now figured out how to win on the mainland, snagging two outright road wins this season.
His inability to win away from the island was always hanging over his head; it was basically the difference between bowl eligibility and not playing in the postseason.
The key to this game? Containing UNLV quarterback Anthony Colandrea. He can run for 100-plus yards and multiple touchdowns, but his real danger comes when he breaks out of the pocket and fires those deep balls.
Hawaii’s approach so far this year reminds me of how it handled Utah State’s Bryson Barnes. The Rainbow Warriors held Barnes to a QBR of just 27.7 and limited him to 175 yards passing and 64 yards rushing. He still made some plays in short-yardage situations, but he couldn’t hurt them by throwing outside the pocket.
And keep in mind, Barnes was one of the hottest quarterbacks in the country going into that game. So, Hawaii’s defensive plan can work.
Hawaii’s path to the Mountain West title game might need a couple of upsets, but the fact that it's still alive and kicking is impressive. Around the country, you’ve got so many teams already waving the white flag or resting players who are questionable or probable. Hawaii's still going all-out.
If they win this one, the Rainbow Warriors are looking at a shot at their second 10-win season since 2019. That’s a big deal for this program.
Offensively, they should be able to take advantage of what has been a shaky UNLV secondary that's essentially a group of folding chairs out there. Hawaii gets this done.
Temple +255 vs. Tulane
| Tulane Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-8 -110 | 55.5 -110o / -110u | -315 |
| Temple Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+8 -110 | 55.5 -110o / -110u | +255 |
By Joshua Nunn
I like Temple this week at home against Tulane.
Quarterback Evan Simon has been a surprise in a great way for Temple this season, throwing 22 touchdown passes with just one interception.
The Owls have played solid football most of the year, and at 5-5, you can tell this team is really hungry for a win. Temple’s been tough to beat at home — it beat UTSA and barely lost to Navy in a tight game in Philadelphia.
On the other side, Tulane has been a bit inconsistent on the road. The Green Wave have struggled in matchups against teams that aren’t exactly powerhouse programs.
Their pass defense ranks near the bottom nationally, sitting outside the top 115 in Passing Success Rate allowed. They’ve been gashed through the air pretty badly, which could be a problem against Temple’s offense.
I also like how the Owls hung tough against a physical Army team a couple of weeks back, and now they have a bye week to rest up and prepare for Tulane.
Defensively, Temple looks way better under K.C. Keeler in his first year than it has in recent memory, and I’m impressed by what the Owls have shown so far.
I think they’ll compete hard and give Tulane a run for its money. My official pick is Temple +7.5, but I wouldn’t be shocked if they win this game straight up.
