College Football Week 5 Top 25 Picks, Odds, Box Score Predictions, Rankings, Schedule
The sorting out of national championship contenders in the Big Ten and SEC begins in Week 5.
The Oregon Ducks and Penn State Nittany Lions square off at Beaver Stadium to determine which team will be directly underneath the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Big Ten hierarchy.
Two SEC battles will help shape the dynamic of that league. The Alabama Crimson Tide visit the Georgia Bulldogs, while the LSU Tigers take on the Ole Miss Rebels.
All six of those teams could land in the College Football Playoff when the season ends, but in Week 5, they will be sorted out by which teams have the best shots to land in the 12-team field.
Week 5 Top 25 Schedule and Odds
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Friday, September 26
No. 8 Florida State (-7) at Virginia (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
No. 24 TCU at Arizona State (-2.5) (9 p.m. ET, Fox)
Saturday, September 27
No. 16 Georgia Tech (-14.5) at Wake Forest (Noon ET, ESPN)
No. 21 USC (-6.5) at No. 23 Illinois (Noon ET, Fox)
No. 22 Notre Dame (-6) at Arkansas (Noon ET, ABC)
Utah State at No. 18 Vanderbilt (-22.5) (12:45 p.m. ET, SEC Network)
No. 1 Ohio State (-8.5) at Washington (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS)
No. 4 LSU at No. 13 Ole Miss (-2.5) (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
Auburn at No. 9 Texas A&M (-6) (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
No. 11 Indiana (-7) at Iowa (3:30 p.m. ET, Peacock)
No. 15 Tennessee (-7.5) at Mississippi State (4:15 p.m. ET, SEC Network)
Arizona at No.14 Iowa State (-6.5) (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
No. 6 Oregon at No. 3 Penn State (-3.5) (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC)
No. 17 Alabama at No. 5 Georgia (-3) (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
UMass at No. 20 Missouri (-43.5) (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU)
No. 25 BYU (-6.5) at Colorado (10:15 p.m. ET, ESPN)
No. 6 Oregon at No. 3 Penn State (-3.5)
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Oregon and Penn State took different winning paths to their Saturday night clash in Happy Valley.
Oregon's had arguably the best-looking offense among the CFB Playoff contenders. The Ducks put up 203 points across four games. Their most notable win was a 69-3 thumping of the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
Penn State totaled 132 points in its three games against Group of Five and FCS programs, but the overall statistics do not look great.
Drew Allar only has 626 passing yards and four touchdowns. His completion percentage is 64.8.
Penn State made a point to upgrade its wide receivers in the transfer portal, but so far, they haven't totally meshed with Allar, partly because of the quarterback's play.
Oregon's Dante Moore has a far more robust set of stats with 962 yards, 11 touchdown passes and a 74.7 completion percentage.
The Ducks have the better offense on paper, but they haven't faced an environment like the one they will see in State College on Saturday night.
Penn State is 7-1 in its last eight "White Out" games inside Beaver Stadium. Five of those wins came against ranked teams.
If the Nittany Lions can find their footing in the passing game, they can ride the home-field advantage to a win.
Prediction: Penn State (-3.5)
No. 17 Alabama at No. 5 Georgia (-3)
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Georgia must be viewed as the favorite over Alabama for a few reasons.
The Bulldogs are at home, but they are also the more battle-tested team this early in the season compared to the Crimson Tide.
Kirby Smart's team picked up a road win at Tennessee two weeks ago. Alabama fell short by two touchdowns in Tallahassee in Week 1 in a game it wasn't competitive at all in.
Alabama improved since the opening loss, but it still has to prove its game can travel well.
Georgia already looks like a well-oiled machine and it sustained every threat Tennessee posed in Week 3.
Ty Simpson's quarterback play is Alabama's biggest question mark. Simpson was 23-for-43 against Florida State, and while he put up big numbers in Bama's two wins, he's still an unproven commodity.
Gunner Stockton doesn't have a massive archive of big-game play either, but he proved in Knoxville that he can lead UGA to wins in Top 25 battles.
The quarterback edge, home field and UGA's early-season play make it easy to take the Bulldogs and the points.
Prediction: Georgia (-3)
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No. 4 LSU at No. 13 Ole Miss (-2.5)
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The LSU-Ole Miss point spread is indicative of how close the top teams in the SEC are to each other.
LSU is nine spots ahead of Ole Miss in the AP Top 25, but it is a 2.5-point underdog in Oxford on Saturday.
LSU is in that position thanks to some solid play from Garrett Nussmeier and a strong defense.
None of LSU's four opponents scored more than 10 points against it. It might be hard to contain Ole Miss' high-powered offense, but the Tigers' defense is the biggest X-factor in the SEC battle.
Ole Miss allowed its two SEC opponents to score 58 points. That's concerning because the Kentucky Wildcats and Arkansas Razorbacks aren't close to the top half of the SEC.
Unless Ole Miss fixes its defensive issues in one week, it's hard to trust the Rebels, even at home.
LSU's defense is more trustworthy, and in a close game, that is the one unit that can make a big play or two and shift the course of the SEC contest.
Prediction: LSU (+2.5)
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