College Football Predictions Week 5: 4 Bold Predictions for Saturday's Action

Week 5 of the college football season is shaping to be one of the most competitive weeks yet as four games pit ranked teams against each other.

No. 3 Alabama travels to Gainesville to take on Florida, eighth-ranked Nebraska's first Big Ten game is a Top-10 matchup with Wisconsin and Clemson and Virginia Tech battle it out in an underrated 13 versus 11 matchup. 

All the excitement won't necessarily fall in those games, however, as a lot of talented, unranked teams will be looking for upsets.

Iowa State has looked good this year and could challenge Texas, SMU takes on TCU for (one of) the battle(s) of Texas and Kentucky will look to upend newly crowned No. 1 LSU.

Here's a look at four bold predictions for the upcoming crazy week of college football. 

Washington State Will Win by Two Touchdowns

When a team has been the laughing stock for the past few years it is a bold prediction to have them winning by a large amount, no matter the opponent.

That's why Washington State, who travels to Boulder to take on an underwhelming Colorado team, is our first pick here.

The Cougars haven't passed two wins in a season since 2007, but they'll look to improve to 3-1 early this year. WSU's defense is still the old beatable squad, but the offense is much improved.

After junior quarterback Jeff Tuel went down for the season due to injury, Marshall Lobbestael has stepped in admirably. He's leading a suddenly potent offensive attack that is eighth in the nation with 515 yards per game.

Granted, they haven't played the toughest opponents, but Colorado isn't the toughest opponent either. The Buffaloes have given up just over 30 points per game this season and should get beaten plenty by Lobbestael and star wide receiver Marquess Wilson.

The Buffaloes are favored by 3.5 in this one, but expect the Cougars to move to 1-0 in early Pac-12 play.

Iowa State Will Upset Texas

They've given up 30.5 points per game, so the Iowa State Cyclones have looked beatable, but their defense is no pushover. 

The Cyclones defense is giving up just 3.2 yards per carry and allowing opponents to throw for just 47 percent. That's good for 24th and seventh in the country respectively.

The Case McCoy-David Ash experiment has worked out so well for Mack Brown and Texas, but this might be the week the quarterback tandem slips up on the road.

In the end, this one might just come to down to the turnover battle. Iowa State certainly has the talent to pull off the upset at home, but they are averaging three giveaways a game while Texas is 16th in the nation with 2.7 takeaways per contest. 

The Longhorns are favored by 9.5 points, but if Iowa State takes care of the ball they should come out on top in a battle of the undefeated. 

Someone (Kansas State) Will Finally Slow Down Robert Griffin III and Baylor

Robert Griffin is playing out of his mind right now. Heck, he's playing out of Tom Brady's mind right now.

Baylor's star quarterback has completed 83 percent of his passes for 962 yards, 13 touchdowns and zero interceptions through the first three games. For what it's worth, his QB rating is a ridiculous 236.2.

This might just be the week that he slows down. At least a little.

The Bears travel to Manhattan to take on a 3-0 Kansas State team that's been mighty impressive on the defensive side of the ball.

The Wildcats have given up just 12 points per game, good for seventh in the nation. Part of that is a great defense, but part of it is also keeping their offense on the field. Kansas State has yet to commit a turnover and have been dominating the time-of-possession game.

This should be a good one between the exciting Bears and disciplined Wildcats. Whatever happens, don't expect 50-plus points from Baylor in what will be their first road game of the season.

Arkansas vs. Texas A&M Will Be a Low-Scoring Battle

Tough defense is usually a common trait for top SEC teams and this future conference battle is primed to see a lot of it.

Texas A&M's defense has been stellar to start the season, but it looked less-than-perfect against Brandon Weeden and Oklahoma State last week in the second half. 

Arkansas quarterback Tyler Wilson certainly isn't Brandon Weeden, however. He's thrown for seven touchdowns but has also committed five turnovers. Losing star running back Knile Davis to season-ending injury isn't always easy.

Over on the other side of the ball, Texas A&M has been a potent offensive team, but part of that has been because of matchups with SMU and Idaho. Ryan Tannehill hasn't been too impressive behind center, and the Aggies might have to lean more on Cyrus Gray and the run game.