Florida State vs. Virginia prediction, odds, time: 2025 college football Week 5 picks from expert on 16-7 roll

In a key ACC matchup, the eighth-ranked Florida State Seminoles will look to run their winning streak to four when they take on the Virginia Cavaliers on Friday night. Florida State downed Kent State 66-10 in Week 4, while Virginia topped Stanford 48-20. The Seminoles (3-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who look to flip the script on last year’s last-place finish in the conference, are 2-0 against unranked opponents in 2025. The Cavaliers (3-1, 1-0 ACC), who tied for 10th in the conference and were 5-7 overall in 2024, are 3-0 on their home field this season.

Kickoff from Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Va., is set for 7 p.m. ET. Florida State leads the all-time series 15-4, but Virginia has won two of the last three meetings. The Seminoles are 7-point favorites in the latest Florida State vs. Virginia odds from SportsLine consensus, while the over-under for total points scored is 60.5 Before making any Virginia vs. FSU picks, make sure you check out what SportsLine expert, Emory Hunt, has to say. 

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Hunt is the founder and CEO of Football Gameplan, which has been supplying analysis of all levels of football since 2007, and a former running back at Louisiana-Lafayette. He knows the game from a player’s perspective. Hunt’s dedication to analysis of all levels of college and professional football helped go 224-198 (+605) on all college football picks over the past two years. He is also 16-7 (+825) on his last 23 against-the-spread picks in Florida State games. Anyone who has followed him could be way up.

Now, Hunt has zoned in on Florida State vs. Virginia. You can head to SportsLine now to see his picks. Here are several CFB odds and college football betting lines for Virginia vs. FSU:

Why Florida State can cover

Dual-threat senior quarterback Tommy Castellanos is off to a fast start to his Seminoles’ career after spending the past two years at Boston College. In three games, he has completed 27 of 38 passes for 594 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing 27 times for 139 yards and three scores. In last week’s win over Kent State, he completed 10 of 13 passes for 205 yards with one interception, while carrying seven times for 54 yards and two touchdowns. He was 8 of 11 (72.7%) for 237 yards and three touchdowns in the 77-3 win over East Texas A&M on Sept. 6.

Junior running back Gavin Sawchuk is among Florida State’s top rushers. He is in his first season with the program after spending the past three years at Oklahoma. In three games, he has carried 25 times for 160 yards (6.4 average) and five touchdowns. He also has two receptions for 56 yards and one touchdown. In the win over Kent State, he carried 11 times for 97 yards (8.8 average) and two touchdowns. See which team to back at SportsLine. 

Why Virginia can cover

Senior quarterback Chandler Morris has taken over as the Cavaliers’ signal caller. He started his collegiate career at Oklahoma in 2020, played three seasons at TCU and last year at North Texas. In parts of six seasons, he has completed 64.9% of his passes for 7,235 yards and 55 touchdowns with 18 interceptions. In last week’s win over Stanford, Morris completed 23 of 31 passes (74.2%) for 380 yards and four touchdowns. He also carried five times for 19 yards and a score.

Senior transfer running back J’Mari Taylor has taken over as the Cavaliers’ top rusher, after spending the past four seasons at North Carolina Central. So far this season, he has carried 48 times for 298 yards (6.2 average) and six touchdowns. In a 35-31 loss at North Carolina State on Sept. 6, he rushed 17 times for 150 yards (8.8 average) and three touchdowns. He also caught two passes for 13 yards. See which team to back at SportsLine.

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How to make Florida State vs. Virginia picks

For Friday’s Florida State vs. Virginia matchup, Hunt is leaning under the total, but he also says a critical X-factor makes one side of the spread a must-back. See what it is at SportsLine.

Who covers in Florida State vs. Virginia and what critical x-factor do you need to know about? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Florida State vs. Virginia spread you need to jump, all from the expert who returned $825 to $100 players over his last 23 Florida State picks, and find out.