Week 5 Preview

Week 5, here we come! This season is flying by! There are a couple great upset chances this weekend. Six SEC West teams are ranked in the top 20 and for the second time this year, Arkansas has to play a 6th ranked division foe. There is a major Thursday night showdown in the Pac 12 between UCLA and Arizona State. Tennessee and Missouri will look to come out with major upsets at Georgia and SCAR respectively. This could shape up to be a crazy week of college football.

Notable Games
11UCLA at 15Arizona State (Thurs) This might be the battle of the backups. Arizona State QB Taylor Kelly is out for this game meaning junior Mike Bercovici will get his first career start. UCLA has not said whether QB Brett Hundley will play after hurting his left arm against Texas. Even with a backup QB, I think AUS has too many weapons for UCLA. The Bruins have barely won two of their games with a healthy Hundley. This game should come down to the last quarter and be an exciting one. Hopefully I’ll be able to stay awake for the 10 pm ET start of this Thursday night game. I am picking Arizona State by between a FG and TD.

Tennessee at 12Georgia Tennessee looked good against ok competition, but was shut down by Oklahoma. I don’t think Georgia is as good as Oklahoma, but I think they are better than Tennessee. I think the Vols are going to give the Dawgs a run for their money, but not for 60 minutes. Todd Gurley will need to have good game to ensure the win. This is a very important game for Georgia. A loss in this game and a SCAR win against Mizzou almost gives South Carolina the SEC East title. Tennessee has the chance to really shake up the SEC East. I am picking Georgia by a TD.

Missouri at 13South Carolina Missouri made the SEC look bad last weekend when they lost at home to Indiana. South Carolina had a tough time at Vanderbilt. Both of these teams need a win to stay in the hunt for the SEC East title. The Gamecocks showed they are not going to lose another game at home this year after being routed by A&M in the first game of the year. I don’t think game will be an exception. Last year SCAR overcame a 17-point 4th quarter deficit and won in double OT so Missouri will be looking for revenge. I don’t think they have the players to do it and South Carolina should win without too much of a scare. I am picking South Carolina by 10 points.

North Carolina at Clemson Clemson is coming off a near upset of top-ranked Florida State in Tallahassee. North Carolina, on the other hand is coming off a 41-70 loss to a very good East Carolina team. I don’t think this game is going to be very close at all, but if the Tigers have the same issues in the red zone that they had last week, they could be on upset alert. To win this game like they should, they need to convert red zone trips into points and hold on to the ball. I don’t think the Tar Heels have much of a chance in this game and that Clemson is going to come out looking to prove themselves. I am picking Clemson by 2TDs.

Minnesota at Michigan Michigan has looked bad this year. The Wolverines were shut out by Notre Dame and were held to just 10 points last week, at home, by Utah. This will be their first Big 10 game of the season and I think they will get the win. Barely. Michigan needs a good home win to stop their skid. Minnesota is not a bad team and has the chance to come into Ann Arbor and upset the home team. That being said, I would be surprised if Michigan lost this game. I am picking Michigan by a FG.

Washington State at Utah Both of these teams are coming off of big games. Utah went to the Big House and came out with a 16-point win. Washington State hosted the Ducks and lost 31-38. I think this will be a good game and will come down to the end. The Cougars are going to throw the ball and will have a chance to get this conference win. If they can play the way they did last week, I think they will win this game. But Utah will probably still be riding high from last week’s win and I think they will get this win at home. I am picking Utah by a TD.

Arkansas vs 6Texas A&M (Arlington) So, A&M is coming off a few cupcake games while Arkansas is coming off two big time wins at Texas Tech and against Northern Illinois. If the Hogs can come up with an upset or a competitive game, it is possible we might see all 7 SEC West teams ranked in the top 25 next week. The key to an upset will be controlling the time of possession. The dynamic Aggie air raid offense can’t score 50+ points if they only have the ball for 20 minutes. The Razorback backfield needs to have another game like they did at Texas Tech. The defense needs to play like they did against Northern Illinois. Texas A&M hasn’t beaten Arkansas in Cowboy’s Stadium, but this might be their best chance to do it. But if I have learned anything about this Arkansas team, it’s that they aren’t going to go down without a fight.

Top 25
1Florida State at North Carolina State
Louisiana Tech at 5Auburn
7Baylor at Iowa State
8Notre Dame at Syracuse
Wyoming at 9Michigan State
Memphis at 10Ole Miss
16Stanford at Washington
New Mexico State at 17LSU
Oregon State at 18USC
South Florida at 19Wisconsin
Illinois at 21Nebraska
Cincinnati at 22Ohio State
Texas Tech at 24Oklahoma State (Thurs)
UTEP at 25Kansas State

Other Games
Duke at Miami (FL)
Tulane at Rutgers
Texas at Kansas
Northwestern at Penn State
Maryland at Indiana
Rice at Southern Miss
UNLV at San Diego State
Boise State at Air Force
Vanderbilt at Kentucky