National College Football Preview – Week 5

Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

The first few weeks felt like college football “light”. There were some games on and it was enjoyable but something was certainly missing. Last Saturday, at least to me, things really felt like the true return of a college football Saturday. Oklahoma lost as a large favorite (again) to Kansas State (again). Mike Leach welcomed himself to the SEC by throwing all over the field against LSU and the Mississippi State Bulldogs won in Baton Rouge. Miami continued to look impressive as they stomped a mud-hole in Florida State. It was a fun day. While the Big Ten is not playing yet so the party is not truly in full swing, it should be another nice slate of games.

Games Starting at Noon

The Florida Gators announced themselves as playoff contenders with an extremely impressive performance at Ole Miss. Kyle Trask and tight end/offensive weapon Kyle Pitts were a terrific duo that derailed the Lane Train’s debut in Oxford. Florida needs that type of offense but they also need to show the ability to tighten up a bit on defense. Keep an eye on whether or not the Gators can do a better job of preventing big plays against the Gamecocks of South Carolina offense than they did against the Rebels. TCU plays at Texas as the Longhorns look to try and take advantage of OU’s stumble. Baylor throttled Kansas last week in their first game and they’ll try and establish themselves as a legit threat in the Big 12 with a tricky game at West Virginia. 

Games Starting at 3:30

The best game in this window is undoubtedly Texas A&M traveling to Tuscaloosa to play #2 Alabama. The Aggies struggled last week against Vanderbilt but it was their first game so it’s fair to assume they have much room for growth. Jimbo Fisher needs to start competing for SEC West titles to satisfy the fans in College Station but so far, he has not been able to mount a challenge to the heavyweights. Alabama was extremely impressive in the early going against Missouri last week before throttling down and coasting to the finish line. I love the Tide’s offense and young defensive end Will Anderson is a breakout star. North Carolina at Boston College is a fun game on ABC. Given the emergence of Miami and how good Virginia Tech looked last weekend, the ACC is potentially pretty deep at the top. Memphis is at SMU on ESPN2 and Texas Tech is at Kanas State.

Primetime Games

#7 Auburn is at #4 Georgia in one of the oldest rivalry games in college football (ESPN, 7:30). Auburn beat Kentucky last week while Georgia failed to impress but still managed to pull away easily against Arkansas. The Bulldogs are hoping to be able to play JT Daniels at quarterback. The USC transfer has been medically cleared and the UGA offense definitely needs a shot in the arm at the position. I have no idea what is going to happen in this contest but it will be highly consequential in the playoff picture. Tulsa should have beaten UCF last season and they’ll be an interesting test this Saturday. Central Florida is asserting itself as the top Group of Five team in the country. Oklahoma is at Iowa State in a battle of two teams with no more wiggle room this season and Virginia travels to Clemson at 8:00 on the ACC Network.