Buell's Eye: Week 5's College Football Picks

Now, that was some college football.

In a weekend where I got throttled, 17-7, taking my yearly prediction totals to 73-18, we saw the No. 4, No. 5, and No. 6 teams all lose in the midst of seven total upsets.

Tim Tebow got knocked out of a game with a concussion and will try to recover before taking on the undefeated No. 4 LSU Tigers in two weeks.

Meanwhile, outside of the top three teams, inconsistency and unpredictability reign, as it is anyone's game after the first four weeks of this young college football season.

Week Five has arrived, and there are some key matchups this weekend that will undoubtedly affect the BCS landscape overall.

Week Five: Bye Weeks

No. 1 Florida Gators, No. 2 Texas Longhorns, No. 14 Oklahoma State Cowboys, No. 18 Kansas Jayhawks, No. 23 Nebraska Cornhuskers, and the USA Today poll's No. 23 Missouri Tigers are all taking Week Five off for their bye weeks.

Tim Tebow may need every bit of that time away from the field to recover from his concussion, if not longer.

No. 25 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (3-1) at Mississippi State Bulldogs (2-2)

Mississippi State gave LSU all it could handle last week until the very end.

The Bulldogs seem to be quickly improving, but they welcome in a Georgia Tech team on a mission to climb back into the BCS race after their early season loss to Miami.

The Yellow Jackets find victory against the Bulldogs, 35-31.

No. 22 Michigan Wolverines (4-0) at Michigan State Spartans (1-3)

Hidden upsets seem to lie in matchups like this, but Michigan State has been downright disappointing, as many picked them to impress this season. I just can't pick them to make the upset this Saturday.

On the other hand, Michigan has already surpassed their win total from last season and looks to add to their hot start in 2009 by beating their intrastate rival this weekend.

The Wolverines improve to 5-0 with a 32-29 win over the Spartans.

No. 21 Mississippi Rebels (2-1) at Vanderbilt Commodores (2-2)

Poor Vanderbilt.

They're not a bad team, but they face off against a Mississippi Rebels team that absolutely fumbled their chance to show their national title talk legitimacy in 2009, as they made South Carolina look way too good last Thursday night in their upset loss.

The Rebels get back on track in Week Five against the Commodores, winning this time on the road, 31-14.

No. 20 Brigham Young Cougars (3-1) vs. Utah State Aggies (1-2)

Anyone have this Brigham Young team figured out yet?

Let me know when you do.

In the meantime, I'll just go ahead and pick them to handle Utah State pretty easily this weekend, 45-20.

No. 16 Oregon Ducks (3-1) vs. Washington State Cougars (1-3)

Well hello there, Oregon. Nice of you to show up.

After looking inept in Week One against Boise State, they absolutely demolished an unpredictable California team, 42-3, last Saturday.

These Ducks are obviously too confusing to predict, but I feel confident in picking them to take care of the Cougars from Washington State.

Oregon moves to 4-1 and becomes the highest ranked Pac-10 team heading into Week Six after beating Washington State, 41-20.

No. 15 Penn State Nittany Lions (3-1) at Illinois Fighting Illini (1-2)

I really didn't think they'd do it two years in a row.

Yet sure enough, Penn State is on the outside looking in after an upset loss, once again, at the hands of the Iowa Hawkeyes.

This week, the Nittany Lions look to bounce back as they take on the Fighting Illini in Illinois.

Penn State earns the victory, 30-13.

No. 13 Iowa Hawkeyes (4-0) vs. Arkansas State Red Wolves (1-2)

Speaking of the Hawkeyes, what a difference a win makes, eh?

From unranked to No. 13, this undefeated Iowa team has entered stage left to the discussions of a Big Ten championship, and possibly even more.

The Hawkeyes move to 5-0 after beating the Red Wolves from Arkansas State this weekend, 36-10.

No. 12 Houston Cougars (3-0) @ UTEP Miners (1-3)

Okay, okay.

Houston, apparently I've underestimated you.

You are undefeated, you are ranked in the Top 12 after only three victories, you defeated a talented Texas Tech team that gave the No. 2 team in the country a hard time, and you have already defeated one of the best schools in the country this season when they were ranked in the top 10.

Maybe even more importantly, looking at your remaining schedule, your toughest tests appear to be behind you: the exact recipe of a pretender heading for an epic fall.

However, the Cougars roll again this week against the Miners, 44-21.

No. 11 Texas Christian Horned Frogs (3-0) vs. Southern Methodist Mustangs (2-1)

Texas Christian also controls its own fate in this topsy-turvy season of BCS contenders and pretenders.

In Week Five, the Mustangs from Southern Methodist come to visit.

TCU wins, 39-23.

No. 10 Cincinnati Bearcats (4-0) at Miami (OH) RedHawks (0-4)

No one's overlooking this team anymore, and this one should be ugly.

Cincinnati hasn't lost, Miami (OH) hasn't won, and that pattern will continue this weekend.

The Bearcats devour the Redhawks, 56-9.

No. 9 Ohio State Buckeyes (3-1) at Indiana Hoosiers (3-1)

This one's intriguing.

Indiana almost pulls off the win against Michigan last weekend, which would have been their first win in Ann Arbor since the Johnson administration.

Can they rise to the occasion again this week against the No. 9 team in the land?

No. The Buckeyes double up the Hoosiers, 34-17.

No. 6 Virginia Tech Hokies (3-1) at Duke Blue Devils (2-2)

After rudely welcoming the Miami Hurricanes back to Earth last weekend, the Virginia Tech Hokies get to rest up for their next opponent by playing Duke this weekend.

The Hokies take down the Blue Devils, 42-13.

No. 5 Boise State Broncos (4-0) vs. UC Davis Aggies (1-2)

It's very early to see you in the top five, Boise State. I wonder how long you're planning to stay.

No worries this week as the Broncos take on the Aggies from UC Davis.

Boise State runs all over UC Davis, 63-7.

No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide (4-0) at Kentucky Wildcats (2-1)

The Tide just keeps on rollin'.

So far, they have answered the call for every test and seem to be a true contender to challenge the defending champion Florida Gators.

In the meantime, Alabama travels to Lexington, Kentucky to take on the Wildcats, who hope to bounce back from their subpar performance against the Gators this weekend.

Alabama keeps up its winning ways, 40-21.

Game of the Week No. 1: No. 7 USC Trojans (3-1) at No. 24 California Golden Bears (3-1)

In the first of three excellent matchups this weekend, USC takes on California in a Pac-10 showdown.

Both teams already have stunning conference losses on their 2009 résumés, and a loss this weekend sets one of these teams back to the point of no return.

After not looking their Best last weekend, California pulls the upset in Week Five, taking down the Trojans, 24-20.

Game of the Week No. 2: No. 4 LSU Tigers (4-0) at No. 18 Georgia Bulldogs (3-1)

Now, who doesn't like a Saturday SEC showdown?

Exactly, and this one between LSU and Georgia promises to live up to the expectations.

The Tigers look to remain undefeated as the Bulldogs try to climb back into the race at home.

LSU proves to be too much for Georgia, 31-23.

Game of the Week No. 3: No. 8 Oklahoma Sooners (2-1) at No. 17 Miami Hurricanes (2-1)

Both teams have had very interesting seasons early on in 2009.

Oklahoma is climbing back into the BCS discussions as Miami proved to be mortal after all.

The Sooners need a big win this Saturday to still have life in their 2009 season, while a second consecutive loss for the Hurricanes would stymie the hot start Miami got off to this season.

In a thriller, Oklahoma outlasts Miami 38-31.