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CBS Sports Network is broadcasting multiple college football games during Week 5 of the 2026 season, featuring teams from Conference USA, ACC, Mountain West, and Pac-12 conferences.
Week 5 of the college football season brings five games across three days to CBS Sports Network, which will carry action on Thursday and Friday nights before a triple-header on Saturday.
Thursday will feature a battle between 1-3 Conference USA teams trying to keep their bowl-bid dreams alive, as Western Kentucky travels to Las Cruces to face New Mexico State. Friday night will feature more Conference USA action as 3-1 Liberty travels north to face 2-2 Delaware, with the winner getting a leg up in the race for the conference title game.
Saturday's triple-header begins in Storrs, Connecticut, at noon, where Syracuse travels east to face UConn in a rematch of a highly entertaining battle from a year ago, which the Orange pulled out in overtime at home. The action shifts west for the second game of the day at 3:30 p.m., as UNLV hosts Cal in a matchup of two teams that haven't lived up to preseason expectations and are in desperate need of a victory.
Boise State, fresh off a dominant win over Western Michigan, will look to make another statement as the top team in the Group of 6 in the nightcap as they host Utah State in their first-ever Pac-12 conference game.
CBS Sports Network will carry all four games, with full viewing info, betting lines and key storylines to follow as Week 5 unfolds.
All times Eastern | Odds via SportsLine consensus
Liberty at Delaware
Date: Friday, Oct. 2 | Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Tubby Raymond Field at Delaware Stadium -- Newark, Delaware
TV: CBS Sports Network [Channel finder]
Live stream: CBSSports.com | Mobile: CBS Sports App
Spread: Liberty -7
Liberty comes into its CUSA opener on a roll, having won three straight, including an impressive victory on the road at Coastal Carolina last week. The Blue Hens, meanwhile, are licking their wounds after taking a beating on the road at Virginia, but will hope to turn the page at the start of conference play. Delaware also has a win over Coastal Carolina this year as a common opponent with the Flames, and the winner of this game will throw their hat in the ring as a threat in Conference USA alongside Jacksonville State.
Syracuse at UConn
Date: Saturday, Oct. 3 | Time: 12 p.m.
Location: Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field -- East Hartford, Connecticut
TV: CBS Sports Network [Channel finder]
Live stream: CBSSports.com | Mobile: CBS Sports App
Spread: Syracuse -6.5
The Orange have gotten off to a rough start to 2026, with losses to Cal and Pitt, opening their season 0-2 in the ACC. A road trip to Connecticut will tell us a lot about where the Orange are both physically and mentally, as they are road favorites of just under a touchdown, but will need to be careful against a live Huskies squad. UConn comes in at 2-2 but is coming off a bye week after blowing out Southern Miss and will have plenty of belief they can hang with Syracuse after last year's OT thriller.
Cal at UNLV
Date: Saturday, Oct. 3 | Time: 3:30 p.m.
Location: Allegiant Stadium -- Paradise, Nevada
TV: CBS Sports Network [Channel finder]
Live stream: CBSSports.com | Mobile: CBS Sports App
Spread: UNLV -2.5
The Tosh Lupoi era has not gotten off to an ideal start, as Cal is 2-2 with a couple of lopsided losses to UCLA and Clemson. The most surprising part of Cal's early-season swoon has been how pedestrian the offense has looked in quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele's sophomore campaign. JKS was one of college football's top freshmen a year ago, but the Golden Bears' new coaching staff has yet to unlock his best in 2026. Now they have to travel to Las Vegas to face a UNLV squad that finally got rolling with a comfortable win over Akron last week, but has already seen their playoff dreams likely die with a pair of early losses to Memphis and North Texas. The Runnin' Rebels can still accomplish their goals in the Mountain West this season, and will be looking at a home game against a struggling Cal team as an opportunity to jumpstart a run heading into their full conference slate.
Utah State at Boise State
Date: Saturday, Oct. 3 | Time: 3:30 p.m.
Location: Albertsons Stadium -- Boise, Idaho
TV: CBS Sports Network [Channel finder]
Live stream: CBSSports.com | Mobile: CBS Sports App
Spread: Boise State -21

Penn State hosts Northwestern in a Week 5 Big Ten football matchup at Ryan Field with an 8 p.m. ET kickoff. Penn State is a -2.5 favorite with an over/under of 45.5 points. Both teams enter with one loss each, and betting odds, spreads, and expert picks are analyzed using the SportsLine Projection Model.

Northwestern Wildcats open their new $875 million Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois, hosting Penn State Nittany Lions on Friday night. Both teams enter with first-year coaches and coordinators, coming off close losses in Big Ten openers. SportsLine's projection model favors the over 46.5 points, predicting 52 total points with the over hitting 65% of the time in simulations.

A Kentucky Court of Appeals dissolved a temporary injunction that had granted eligibility for a fifth season to college basketball players including Missouri's Mark Mitchell, Louisville's Seth Trimble, and LSU's Skyy Clark, complicating their legal efforts to play in 2026-27 under the NCAA's new age-based eligibility model.

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SportsLine experts recommend Pittsburgh (+3.5) vs. Virginia Tech, Penn State vs. Northwestern Over 45.5 total points, and Bills (-6.5) vs. Patriots as Friday best bets, with a parlay offering +445 odds. New DraftKings users can claim $150 in bonus bets after a $5 wager.

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