Week 5 Preview

Week 5 will see 6 of the 7 ranked SEC teams play each other. It will also feature a big matchup of Notre Dame and Clemson. There were some close games last week, but not too many upsets. Will week 5 tell a different story?

Notable Games
3Ole Miss at 25Florida Both of these teams are improved from last season. Ole Miss didn’t light up the scoreboard that much against Vanderbilt last week, but that probably has more to do with Vandy’s defense than the Rebel offense. Florida got a close win over Tennessee last week and will be at the Swamp for this game as well. I think Ole Miss will win the game because they are better on both sides of the ball. It might be close for a while, but I don’t think it will end up that way. I am picking Ole Miss.

Texas Tech at 5Baylor Texas Tech came so close to upsetting TCU last week. A miracle TD catch by TCU put the Horned Frogs ahead, but the Red Raiders still almost got to the end zone with their lateral play. Baylor cruised against Rice. This game being in Waco give Baylor the edge, but I still believe it will be a close one. It probably won’t be as close as the TTU vs TCU game, but I think the final margin will be a TD or less. This has a high possibility of being another shootout. I am picking Baylor.

6Notre Dame at 12Clemson Despite losing some key players early in the season, Notre Dame has stayed strong. The Irish won big last weekend against UMass, but had two close games with Virginia and Georgia Tech. This will be their biggest test so far. Clemson is coming off a bye week, but their last game (@Louisville) was a close one. This will be Clemson’s first real test of the season. I have been impressed with Notre Dame even though their wins over Virginia and Georgia Tech don’t look as good after last week’s games. I think this will be a very close game. I am picking Notre Dame.

13Alabama at 8Georgia I don’t remember the last time I picked against Alabama. I do know that the last 3 times I picked Alabama to win their game, they have won once. Georgia hasn’t played any top tier talent yet, but they have looked very good in their first 4 games. Alabama doesn’t look bad, but they don’t look like the Alabama team we are so used to seeing. Their lack of experience at the QB position has been tough on them even with Derrick Henry and Kenyan Drake running the ball. I don’t know if the Tide will be able to score enough points in this game to get a win. I expect the majority of yards in this game will come on the ground thanks to the talent in the backfields of both teams. I am picking Georgia.

21Mississippi State at 14Texas A&M Having been at the Arkansas vs Texas A&M game last weekend, I was able to get a good look at this Aggie team. After watching them play Arizona State, I thought their defense was a little bit better than what they showed. Texas A&M’s biggest threat is their quick scoring ability. They move the ball down the field in a hurry and in big chunks at a time. Mississippi State seems to have a pretty strong defense and might give the Aggies some trouble. I don’t think the Bulldogs have enough weapons to outscore Texas A&M, but I would be surprised if it was a blowout. I am picking Texas A&M.

23West Virginia at 15Oklahoma I haven’t had the chance to watch West Virginia play this season and I have only seen Oklahoma in their game against Tennessee. I was really impressed by the way OU fought when they were down against the Vols. West Virginia hasn’t played a tough team this season, so it will be interesting to see if their success carries over to their Big 12 games. Both of these teams have the ability to score, so I think this game will come down to the better defense. I don’t expect this game to be in the 50s, but I do expect each team to score between 20 and 35 points. This is a big game for both teams. I am picking Oklahoma.

Arkansas at Tennessee If you had said that the combined record for these two teams going into this game was 3-5, I would’ve said you were crazy. Whoever wins this game will get a much-needed boost going into the rest of their season. Arkansas needs a win or their chances of bowl eligibility drop to almost 0. Tennessee needs this win to right their SEC course. Both teams faced heartbreaking losses last weekend in SEC games and need a little morale. This might be an ugly game. I will be going to this game. I’m making the 10+ hour drive from Fayetteville to Knoxville to attend what is supposed to be a cold and rainy game in Neyland Stadium. Hopefully the atmosphere won’t be too dampened because of the weather.

Top 25
1Ohio State at Indiana
Purdue at 2Michigan State
Texas at 4TCU
Arizona State at 7UCLA (Fri)
Eastern Michigan at 9LSU
11Florida State at Wake Forest
Minnesota at 16Northwestern
Arizona at 18Stanford (Fri)
Iowa at 19Wisconsin
Kansas State at 20Oklahoma State
22Michigan at Maryland
Washington State at 24California

Other Games
South Carolina at Missouri
Boston College at Duke
North Carolina at Georgia Tech
UNLV at Nevada
Oregon at Colorado