In 2020, the home field advantage was muted for many teams. The normal raucous crowds at stadiums such as Alberton’s, LaVell Edwards, Kidd Brewer, Michie, Falcon, Legion Field, Bulldog, Nippert, Aztec, Bounce House, Dowdy-Ficklen, Joan C. Edwards, and the Liberty Bowl hosted only a small fraction of normal crowds for home games.
However, betting lines didn’t account for this and as a result, large home covers were down from 2019. The biggest upset in G5 was Rice’s 20-0 victory over Marshall as a 24.5 point underdog. In all 68 games (24% of games played with at least one G5 team) were won by underdogs. There were 20 total double digit underdog winners in 2020. Three teams accomplished this feat twice: Liberty, Ball State, and New Mexico.
The tables show various lines and performances against the spread for the year for the G5. The last table shows the performance against the spread for all G5 Teams.
| Largest Home Favorites |
| Team | Games | Avg. Line | Covers |
| Brigham Young * | 8 | -26.1 | 4.5 |
| Ohio | 2 | -25.0 | 1.0 |
| Liberty | 6 | -24.3 | 4.0 |
| Marshall | 7 | -19.4 | 3.0 |
| Appalachian State * | 7 | -17.2 | 3.0 |
| Central Florida | 4 | -16.5 | 1.0 |
| Cincinnati * | 8 | -15.7 | 5.0 |
| Kent State | 2 | -14.8 | 1.0 |
| Toledo | 3 | -14.7 | 1.0 |
| Army * | 9 | -13.6 | 7.0 |
| * – includes neutral site |
| Largest Visitor Favorites |
| Team | Games | Avg. Line | Covers |
| Buffalo ** | 2 | -23.0 | 1.0 |
| Southern Methodist | 6 | -12.4 | 2.0 |
| Appalachian State | 5 | -12.3 | 0.0 |
| Boise State * | 3 | -12.0 | 1.0 |
| Central Florida * | 6 | -10.3 | 2.0 |
| Wyoming | 4 | -9.4 | 1.0 |
| Louisiana | 6 | -8.0 | 4.0 |
| Fresno State | 4 | -8.0 | 2.0 |
| Nevada | 3 | -7.8 | 1.0 |
| Western Michigan | 3 | -7.7 | 2.0 |
| * – includes neutral site, ** – includes two neutral sites |
| Overall Largest Favorites (All Games) |
| Team | Games | Avg. Line | Covers |
| Brigham Young | 12 | -19.0 | 7.5 |
| Ohio | 3 | -17.5 | 1.0 |
| Buffalo | 7 | -15.6 | 5.0 |
| Appalachian State | 12 | -15.2 | 3.0 |
| Marshall | 10 | -15.1 | 5.0 |
| Cincinnati | 10 | -12.9 | 6.0 |
| Central Florida | 10 | -12.8 | 3.0 |
| Southern Methodist | 10 | -12.8 | 5.0 |
| Kent State | 4 | -10.6 | 2.0 |
| Louisiana | 11 | -10.0 | 5.0 |
| G5 Best Records Against the Spread (ATS) |
| Team | Record | Pct | Avg. Line |
| Liberty | 9-2 | 0.818 | -9.8 |
| San Jose State | 6-1-1 | 0.813 | -1.8 |
| Tulsa | 7-2 | 0.778 | 0.9 |
| Buffalo | 5-2 | 0.714 | -15.6 |
| Coastal Carolina | 8-3-1 | 0.708 | -4.9 |
| Georgia State | 7-3 | 0.700 | 1.7 |
| Army | 8-4 | 0.667 | -9.7 |
| Central Michigan | 4-2 | 0.667 | 0.7 |
| Eastern Michigan | 4-2 | 0.667 | 5.4 |
| Miami (OH) | 2-1 | 0.667 | -2.0 |
| Largest Home Underdogs |
| Team | Games | Avg. Line | Covers |
| Bowling Green State | 2 | 26.0 | 1.0 |
| New Mexico | 2 | 15.5 | 2.0 |
| Louisiana-Monroe | 5 | 14.1 | 2.0 |
| Nevada-Las Vegas | 3 | 14.0 | 0.0 |
| Texas State | 6 | 12.9 | 4.0 |
| East Carolina | 4 | 12.0 | 2.0 |
| Akron | 3 | 10.2 | 1.0 |
| Utah State | 4 | 9.8 | 1.0 |
| Northern Illinois | 3 | 9.7 | 0.0 |
| Navy | 5 | 8.8 | 2.0 |
| Largest Visitor Underdogs |
| Team | Games | Avg. Line | Covers |
| Akron | 3 | 28.5 | 1.0 |
| Louisiana-Monroe | 5 | 18.7 | 1.0 |
| South Florida | 5 | 18.5 | 3.0 |
| Texas-El Paso | 5 | 18.5 | 3.0 |
| Utah State | 2 | 17.0 | 0.0 |
| Bowling Green State | 3 | 16.5 | 0.0 |
| Nevada-Las Vegas | 3 | 16.5 | 1.5 |
| Northern Illinois | 3 | 13.2 | 2.0 |
| Texas State | 6 | 12.0 | 3.0 |
| Texas-San Antonio | 6 | 11.7 | 4.0 |
| Overall Largest Underdogs |
| Team | Games | Avg. Line | Covers |
| Bowling Green State | 5 | 20.3 | 1.0 |
| Akron | 6 | 19.3 | 2.0 |
| Louisiana-Monroe | 10 | 16.4 | 3.0 |
| Nevada-Las Vegas | 6 | 15.3 | 1.5 |
| Texas State | 12 | 12.5 | 7.0 |
| Utah State | 6 | 12.2 | 1.0 |
| South Florida | 9 | 11.8 | 5.0 |
| Northern Illinois | 6 | 11.4 | 2.0 |
| Texas-El Paso | 8 | 11.3 | 5.0 |
| New Mexico | 7 | 11.1 | 4.0 |
| G5 Worst Records Against the Spread (ATS) |
| Team | Record | Pct | Avg. Line |
| Utah State | 1-5 | 0.167 | 12.2 |
| Bowling Green State | 1-4 | 0.200 | 20.3 |
| Florida International | 1-4 | 0.200 | 1.9 |
| Appalachian State | 3-9 | 0.250 | -15.2 |
| Colorado State | 1-3 | 0.250 | 5.5 |
| Nevada-Las Vegas | 1-4-1 | 0.250 | 15.3 |
| Temple | 2-5 | 0.286 | 8.0 |
| Central Florida | 3-7 | 0.300 | -12.8 |
| Louisiana-Monroe | 3-7 | 0.300 | 16.4 |
| North Texas | 3-7 | 0.300 | 1.0 |
2020 G5 Performance Against the Spread – All Teams
Click on any column to sort
| Team | Games | Record | Pct | Avg. Line |
| Air Force | 6 | 3-3 | 0.500 | -1.8 |
| Akron | 6 | 2-4 | 0.333 | 19.3 |
| Alabama-Birmingham | 9 | 3-6 | 0.333 | -6.4 |
| Appalachian State | 12 | 3-9 | 0.250 | -15.2 |
| Arkansas State | 11 | 6-5 | 0.545 | 0.4 |
| Army | 12 | 8-4 | 0.667 | -9.7 |
| Ball State | 8 | 5-3 | 0.625 | 0.8 |
| Boise State | 7 | 3-4 | 0.429 | -9.7 |
| Bowling Green State | 5 | 1-4 | 0.200 | 20.3 |
| Brigham Young | 12 | 7-4-1 | 0.625 | -19.0 |
| Buffalo | 7 | 5-2 | 0.714 | -15.6 |
| Central Florida | 10 | 3-7 | 0.300 | -12.8 |
| Central Michigan | 6 | 4-2 | 0.667 | 0.7 |
| Charlotte | 6 | 3-3 | 0.500 | 1.3 |
| Cincinnati | 10 | 6-4 | 0.600 | -12.9 |
| Coastal Carolina | 12 | 8-3-1 | 0.708 | -4.9 |
| Colorado State | 4 | 1-3 | 0.250 | 5.5 |
| East Carolina | 9 | 5-4 | 0.556 | 9.9 |
| Eastern Michigan | 6 | 4-2 | 0.667 | 5.4 |
| Florida Atlantic | 9 | 3-6 | 0.333 | -4.8 |
| Florida International | 5 | 1-4 | 0.200 | 1.9 |
| Fresno State | 6 | 3-3 | 0.500 | -5.3 |
| Georgia Southern | 13 | 8-5 | 0.615 | -5.4 |
| Georgia State | 10 | 7-3 | 0.700 | 1.7 |
| Hawaii | 9 | 4-5 | 0.444 | 1.5 |
| Houston | 8 | 3-5 | 0.375 | -5.0 |
| Kent State | 4 | 2-2 | 0.500 | -10.6 |
| Liberty | 11 | 9-2 | 0.818 | -9.8 |
| Louisiana | 11 | 5-6 | 0.455 | -10.0 |
| Louisiana Tech | 10 | 4-6 | 0.400 | 4.2 |
| Louisiana-Monroe | 10 | 3-7 | 0.300 | 16.4 |
| Marshall | 10 | 5-5 | 0.500 | -15.1 |
| Memphis | 11 | 4-7 | 0.364 | -7.2 |
| Miami (OH) | 3 | 2-1 | 0.667 | -2.0 |
| Middle Tennessee State | 9 | 5-4 | 0.556 | 6.6 |
| Navy | 10 | 4-6 | 0.400 | 6.0 |
| Nevada | 9 | 6-3 | 0.667 | -6.3 |
| Nevada-Las Vegas | 6 | 1-4-1 | 0.250 | 15.3 |
| New Mexico | 7 | 4-3 | 0.571 | 11.1 |
| North Texas | 10 | 3-7 | 0.300 | 1.0 |
| Northern Illinois | 6 | 2-4 | 0.333 | 11.4 |
| Ohio | 3 | 1-2 | 0.333 | -17.5 |
| Rice | 5 | 3-2 | 0.600 | 5.4 |
| San Diego State | 8 | 5-3 | 0.625 | -3.6 |
| San Jose State | 8 | 6-1-1 | 0.813 | -1.8 |
| South Alabama | 11 | 5-5-1 | 0.500 | 5.6 |
| South Florida | 9 | 5-4 | 0.556 | 11.8 |
| Southern Methodist | 10 | 5-5 | 0.500 | -12.8 |
| Southern Mississippi | 10 | 4-6 | 0.400 | 1.2 |
| Temple | 7 | 2-5 | 0.286 | 8.0 |
| Texas State | 12 | 7-5 | 0.583 | 12.5 |
| Texas-El Paso | 8 | 5-3 | 0.625 | 11.3 |
| Texas-San Antonio | 12 | 7-5 | 0.583 | 4.2 |
| Toledo | 6 | 3-3 | 0.500 | -9.7 |
| Troy | 11 | 5-6 | 0.455 | -1.3 |
| Tulane | 12 | 7-5 | 0.583 | -0.3 |
| Tulsa | 9 | 7-2 | 0.778 | 0.9 |
| Utah State | 6 | 1-5 | 0.167 | 12.2 |
| Western Kentucky | 12 | 4-8 | 0.333 | 2.1 |
| Western Michigan | 6 | 3-3 | 0.500 | -9.3 |
| Wyoming | 6 | 3-3 | 0.500 | -4.3 |
