10 Biggest Questions Facing Top 25 Teams Heading into Week 5
Just like that, the final weekend of college football in September is upon us.
Hopefully it passes quickly, because this week's slate looks unappetizing.
There's an argument to be made that the week's most compelling game, at least on paper, happened Thursday night between Arizona State and UCLA—and the Bruins won 62-27.
Then again, it's the games you least expect that sometimes turn out to be the best.
In any case, here's a list of the 10 biggest storylines heading into Saturday, which features zero matchups between top-25 teams.
10. Will Baylor Get Revenge Against Iowa State in Ames?
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Yes, this is a real thing.
It seems so long ago now, but in 2012, the last time Baylor visited Iowa State, the Bears fell 35-21 and dropped to 0-4 in Big 12 play.
Since then, Baylor has been on a terrorizing tour of offensive revenge to make up for years of being a doormat.
Now, Art Briles' team returns to the scene of the two-year-old crime. As David Ubben of Fox Sports Southwest points out, a Briles-led Baylor team has never defeated Iowa State in Ames.
Briles also has less-than-flattering record on—wait for it—natural grass:
"The Bears, of course, play their home games on turf, but the intrepid folks at Reddit's College Football subreddit unearthed a fascinating stat about Baylor's history under Art Briles on natural grass.
Baylor is just 3-11 in games played on natural grass, including a 3-6 record since 2010, when the program became a real threat to beat anybody in the Big 12.
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This ranks up there among the most fascinating and probably meaningless of stats. But in a weekend that features few marquee games, it's worth pointing out. So, you know, keep an eye on that.
9. Can Nebraska Running Back Ameer Abdullah Get 200 Yards Again?
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Nebraska running back Ameer Abdullah has a pair of 200-yard ground games on the season. Not even Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon can say that (though Gordon can say he's played in one fewer game).
Can Abdullah, who is making the case as the most explosive running back in the country, do it for a third time in five games against Illinois?
The Illini's rush defense is statistically much-improved from a season ago, though Washington averaged four yards a carry on Illinois a couple of weeks ago. Still, Miami had a solid run defense (statistically speaking) heading into Week 4's game in Lincoln and Abdullah racked up 229 yards and a pair of scores.
When it's this early in the season, everyone is basically a Heisman candidate if they have so much as one good game. But if Abdullah reaches 200 yards for a third game, his name is going to have some weight to it heading into the heart of Big Ten conference play.
8. Can Kansas State Get Back to Its Bread and Butter?
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There's no shame in losing 20-14 to Auburn in a key nonconference game, but Kansas State is probably still wondering what could have been after all the unforced errors it committed against the Tigers.
But there's another thing the Wildcats have to focus on: getting back to its basic offense. K-State couldn't run the ball against Auburn, gaining just 40 yards on 30 carries including sacks. If K-State had any success at all, it was in attacking the middle of the Tigers defensive line; going sideline to sideline usually went nowhere.
Auburn also did a good job of keying in on receiver Tyler Lockett, who did most of his damage in the first half.
K-State is best when it's running the ball well and hitting Lockett in the vertical passing game. Generally speaking, Auburn took most of that away.
Thankfully for the Snydercats, UTEP's rush defense is bad, as in "giving up the most yards per attempt in the country" bad. Getting back on track in the ground game would help Kansas State as it gets into the meat of conference play.
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7. Can USC's Defense Rebound Against Oregon State?
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To put it simply, USC wasn't prepared for Boston College's rushing attack in a Week 3 loss to the Eagles, according to Ian Boyd of SB Nation. Blame travel, blame depth but USC had no answer for BC quarterback Tyler Murphy.
Now that the Trojans have had a bye week to heal up and think about things, it must prove it's ready for a different kind of offensive attack from Oregon State.
The Beavers like to throw the ball and veteran quarterback Sean Mannion is one of the best in the Pac-12 at slinging it. However, Oregon State will be without leading wide receiver Victor Bolden, who has a dislocated finger.
As Gina Mizell of The Oregonian notes, that could mean Oregon State turns to some younger receivers to fill the void:
"As a result, OSU coaches are considering burning true freshman Xavier Hawkins' redshirt. Hawkins got a heavy does of reps at flanker during fall camp — many with the first team — while Bolden and Dockery nursed minor injuries.
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That's a potential break for USC, so to speak, but can it capitalize?
6. Will South Carolina's Defense Slow Missouri QB Maty Mauk?
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South Carolina has won three straight games since a Week 1 loss to Texas A&M, but the Gamecocks are still giving up 36 points a game. Missouri, on the other hand, is scoring 38 points a game.
The Tigers are coming off a surprising home loss to Indiana, so nothing would get the program on the right track quite like a road victory against a divisional opponent. Quarterback Maty Mauk is accounting for 273 yards a game and has totaled 15 touchdowns.
Of course, Missouri hasn't been facing stellar defenses and South Carolina has gone against some of the best offenses in college football.
The Gamecocks were able to keep Mauk generally under control in last year's overtime win over Mizzou. Can South Carolina do the same again this year? A new-look Missouri offense is finding its playmakers and showing no drop-off from a year ago.
If South Carolina wants to really surge ahead in the SEC East race, it has to beat Missouri.
5. Will There Be a Duel in Columbus?
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Ohio State already has one loss on the year to a Virginia Tech team that has since gone belly up. The Buckeyes can ill afford to lose another game if it's going to salvage any playoff chance.
But Cincinnati presents an interesting challenge. Bearcats quarterback Gunner Kiel is averaging about 345 passing yards in his team's two games. And Ohio State is currently without defensive end Noah Spence, who is out indefinitely after another failed drug test.
"You know, we're doing the best we can," said head coach Urban Meyer said via Austin Ward of ESPN.com. "... What the future holds for Noah, I have no idea. But to throw him to the street, I didn't feel that was appropriate just yet."
Then there's the issue with the offensive line that has plagued Ohio State. For what it's worth, the Bearcats defense leads the nation in sacks per game, though Toledo and Miami (OH) probably have something to do with that ranking.
Still, if Cincinnati can keep it close, it's only going to get more confident as the game goes on. Ohio State would like to take care of business here, but this game could get interesting.
4. Can Georgia's Secondary Stop Tennessee's Passing Attack?
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Let's ignore Georgia's 66-0 win against Troy in Week 4. That game was over before it kicked off, and there's only so much you can take away from it in terms of gauging how good the Bulldogs are right now.
(On a related note, what has happened to the Trojans? That used to be a solid program.)
Instead, the question is how the Bulldogs' pass defense will look against Tennessee, two weeks after Georgia's secondary was picked apart by South Carolina.
Tennessee doesn't have the most prolific pass offense in college football, not even close, but the Vols do call around 40 pass plays a game. Not to mention Tennessee has great size at the wide receiver position, with guys like 6'4" Marquez North. However, Volunteer receivers Josh Smith and Von Pearson are out with ankle injuries.
It's still a tough matchup for the Bulldogs, and it's fair to wonder if Tennessee can get chunk yards. The Vols had all kinds of trouble protecting quarterback Justin Worley against Oklahoma, but few teams have a defensive front seven like the Sooners have.
If Georgia doesn't want to fall behind in the SEC East race, it can't afford to lose this game. One step in the right direction would be limiting Tennessee's passing attack, even if the Vols themselves are limited.
3. Will Stanford's Offense Move the Ball vs. Washington?
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There's an underrated game in Week 5 in the Pac-12: Stanford at Washington.
The Huskies are 4-0, but they've been a perplexing team thus far. A Week 1 trip to Hawaii proved to be worthy of an episode of The Twilight Zone, as games away from the mainland tend to be. Then, there was the shootout in Week 2 against Eastern Washington and the 14-0 halftime deficit against Georgia State in Week 4.
If there's a sure thing about Washington, it's that it likes to rush the passer. The Huskies lead the nation with 19 sacks, 13 of which have come from defensive lineman Danny Shelton and linebacker Hau'oli Kikaha.
In terms of plays called, Stanford remains a balanced offense with a tendency to run first. That said, the passing game has been effective, too—certainly more so than in the past couple of years.
Stanford can thrive in a grind-it-out type of game, but how successful will its offense be in avoiding 3rd-and-long situations against the Huskies' aggressive defensive front?
2. How Does Florida State Quarterback Jameis Winston Look?
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Survive and advance. Every team has to do it at some point and Florida State did it in Week 4 against Clemson.
Looking ahead, as the Seminoles are absolutely doing, how will quarterback Jameis Winston play against North Carolina State following a one-game suspension? Basically, no one outside Tallahassee has seen the reigning Heisman winner play since Week 1 against Oklahoma State.
And while Winston had a highlight hurdle for the ages, he was otherwise a tad rusty with a pair of interceptions.
The Wolfpack's defense is statistically good in terms of points allowed, but it hasn't played anyone noteworthy. Conversely, Florida State's offensive line has been exposed and hasn't provided a lot of room for Seminole backs to run the ball.
The Noles are a 18.5-point favorite, according to OddsShark.com, so we may not gather a ton from this game. Therefore, the key thing to watch may be how good/bad Winston looks—or how good/bad Winston's offensive line allows him to look.
1. Will Texas A&M's Run Defense Rise to the Occasion?
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Everything you need to know about this weekend can be summed up by the fact that the top storyline involves a ranked team playing an unranked team.
That said, the Texas A&M-Arkansas game in Jerry World is rather intriguing. You couldn't have said that before the season started.
The Razorbacks tore through Texas Tech's defense for 438 rushing yards in Week 3 win over the Red Raiders. As far as games between Power Five teams are concerned, it might have been the biggest mismatch we've seen this season. Tech's defense is porous and Arkansas runs it downhill as well as anyone and doesn't try to hide it.
So Texas A&M should know what to expect. Is its defensive front up to the challenge?
The Aggies have talent there, that's for sure. Defensive end Myles Garrett is on his way to breaking Jadeveon Clowney's SEC sack record for a freshman. But how will Garrett and Co. fare against a brutal running attack? Texas A&M allows just 3.1 yards per carry, but it has also jumped out to big leads and forced teams to abandon any attempt at a running game.
Making some stops and forcing Arkansas to get away from its strengths would go a long way in helping A&M win a game against what right now looks like a much-improved Razorbacks club.
Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All stats courtesy of cfbstats.com.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
