College Football Rankings: Predicting How Each Top 25 Team Will Do in Week 5

Week 5 is one of the biggest weekends of college football yet.

Conference play kicks off for a many teams, and there are four games between ranked opponents, plus two other games between undefeated teams.

The games today will have an impact on conference and national title hopes for many teams, and multiple teams are playing their toughest opponent yet.

So how will all the Top 25 teams do this weekend? Read on to find out.

No. 25 Arizona State

Opponent—Oregon State

Prediction—the Beavers have just been awful this season and are currently 0-3. Don’t expect that to change in Tempe against a Sun Devils team with the lead in the Pac-12 South.

Arizona State defeats Oregon State 45-13.

No. 24 Illinois

Opponent—Northwestern

Prediction—the Wildcats finally get back elite quarterback Dan Persa, and if he plays up to his potential, he will lead Northwestern over an Illini team that nearly lost to Western Michigan last weekend.

Northwestern defeats Illinois 27-20.

No. 23 Florida State

Opponent—Bye week

Prediction: The Seminoles will need a bye week after losing two close games to Oklahoma and Clemson recently.

No. 22 West Virginia

Opponent—Bowling Green

Prediction—the Mountaineers could be suffering from a hangover after last week's loss to LSU, but Bowling Green is just not a good football team.

West Virginia defeats Bowling Green 45-21.

No. 21 Georgia Tech

Opponent—at N.C. State

Prediction—the Yellow Jackets have run over everyone in their path so far this season. N.C. State lost their quarterback, Russell Wilson, and their defense gave up 44 to Cincinnati last week.

What do you think will happen?

Georgia Tech defeats N.C. State 52-23.

No. 20 TCU

Opponent—SMU

Prediction—TCU’s defense has looked much better than it did against Baylor, and they have a lot of tape from SMU’s game against Texas A&M to thoroughly beat up on the Mustangs.

TCU defeats SMU 34-13.

No. 19 Michigan

Opponent—Minnesota

Prediction—Michigan has yet to play anyone of quality and the Gophers are no different. They’re just awful and should get run over by the Wolverines.

Michigan defeats Minnesota 45-13.

No. 18 Arkansas

Opponent—No. 14 Texas A&M

Prediction—Arkansas got handled by Alabama last weekend, but they should be ready for the Aggies, who lost to Oklahoma State. Arkansas is also welcoming back Jake Bequette to the lineup.

Take the Hogs in a close game over their future conference opponent.

Arkansas defeats Texas A&M 27-23.

No. 17 Texas

Opponent—at Iowa State

Prediction—the Longhorns lost to Iowa State last season at home and you can bet they won’t soon forget it. The Cyclones are running on a high, but their wins have come in way too close fashion for them to survive, even at home.

Texas defeats Iowa State 27-17.

No. 16 South Florida

Opponent—at Pittsburgh (Thursday)

Prediction—the Bulls got absolutely trounced on the road by Ray Graham and the Pitt Panthers. They won’t be seeing the Top 25 anytime soon, considering their best win is against Notre Dame.

No. 15 Baylor

Opponent—at Kansas State

Prediction—Robert Griffin has been the best quarterback in the country this season and while the Wildcats are 4-0 and have shown some solid defense, they don’t have the offense to outscore the Bears.

Baylor defeats Kansas State 38-24.

No. 14 Texas A&M

Opponent—No. 18 Arkansas

Prediction—The biggest question for the Aggies is whether they will be mentally prepared for this game. Either way, Arkansas’ underrated defense will come to play and stop the Aggies.

Arkansas defeats Texas A&M 27-23.

No. 13 Clemson

Opponent—at No. 11 Virginia Tech

Prediction—Clemson is on a streak of two wins against ranked opponents and face a third in Virginia Tech. But the Tigers have yet to bring rookie quarterback Tajh Boyd on the road, and Lane Stadium is one tough place to play, especially at night.

Virginia Tech defeats Clemson 31-24.

No. 12 Florida

Opponent—No. 3 Alabama

Prediction—the Gators are one of the fastest teams in the country, but they are untested and John Brantley has not played a defense as good as the Tide’s under Charlie Weis.

Florida could pull the upset, but the safer bet is Alabama winning in a close one.

Alabama defeats Florida 23-16.

No. 11 Virginia Tech

Opponent—No. 13 Clemson

Prediction—the Hokies have yet to play anyone of significance, but rookie quarterback Logan Thomas won’t face much of a test against the Clemson defense. Expect David Wilson to have a breakout game and for the defense to hold up well at home.

Virginia Tech defeats Clemson 31-24.

No. 10 South Carolina

Opponent—Auburn

Prediction—the Gamecocks have not beaten the Tigers since 1933, but expect that to change because Auburn’s rush defense is putrid and Gene Chizik is an awful road coach.

South Carolina defeats Auburn 38-27.

No. 9 Oregon

Opponent—Bye week 

Prediction—RB LaMichael James will need his rest after rushing for nearly 300 yards against Arizona lat week.

No. 8 Nebraska

Opponent—at No. 7 Wisconsin

Prediction—the Black shirt defense has not held its end of the deal this season, and against Wisconsin that simply won’t cut it. It should be an entertaining game but take Wisconsin to pull away late.

Wisconsin defeats Nebraska 37-27.

No. 7 Wisconsin

Opponent—No. 8 Nebraska

Prediction—Russell Wilson has kept the Badgers’ offense running at full speed, but their defense has not looked sharp. Still, if this game gets into a shootout, the advantage goes to Wisconsin at home.

Wisconsin defeats Nebraska 37-27.

No. 6 Stanford

Opponent—UCLA

Prediction—the Bruins have just been hapless this season, so this should be a great game for the replacements of linebacker Shayne Skov to get some quality minutes.

Stanford defeats UCLA 41-23.

No. 5 Oklahoma State

Opponent—Bye week

Prediction—hopefully, the Cowboys don’t become rusty after a comeback win on the road against Texas A&M. They’ll likely get jumped in the rankings by the winner of Wisconsin versus Nebraska.

No. 4 Boise State

Opponent—Nevada

Prediction—these two schools have developed quite a nice rivalry, but Nevada is just not a good football team without Colin Kaepernick.

Boise State defeats Nevada 48-21.

No. 3 Alabama

Opponent—at No. 12 Florida

Prediction—this Tide defense is just too good to lose on the road in the Swamp. AJ McCarron has been incredibly efficient, and if he continues to be, Alabama will come out with a win.

Alabama defeats Florida 23-16.

No. 2 Oklahoma

Opponent—Ball State

Prediction—come on, it’s Ball State. Why is this game even being played?

Oklahoma defeats Ball State 48-13.

No. 1 LSU

Opponent—Kentucky

Prediction—the Wildcats have just been bad this season, while the Tigers have been the most impressive team in the country. LSU may overlook this game at the beginning, but they should pull away in the second half.

LSU defeats Kentucky 48-20.