We have made it to week five of the college football season and the action is picking up. Last week we saw Clemson escape Winston-Salem with a win, beating Wake Forest in overtime 51-45. In the Pac-12, USC and Oregon barely escaped with close wins. In the SEC, Tennessee got a much-needed victory over Florida – hanging on to a 38-33 win, while Texas A&M was able to beat the Razorbacks in Arlington. Looking forward to this week there are plenty of good match ups, so if you’re rained in due to Hurricane Ian, sit back, stay safe, and enjoy the Saturday slate.
Here are the key games from week five:
#7 Kentucky vs #14 Ole Miss (-6.5):
Mark Stoops will take his Kentucky team on the road to face Lane Kiffin and the Ole Miss Rebels. This will be the first test of the season for Ole Miss as they haven’t played much competition early in the season, and barely got past Tulsa, 35-27. I think this game will be very tight.
#9 Oklahoma State vs #16 Baylor (-2.5):
These teams will look to separate themselves in Big 12 play. Both of them average over 40 points per game, so expect a lot of points as the over/under is set at 56.5 points.
#2 Alabama (-17.5) vs #20 Arkansas:
This will be the first time Alabama has been on the road since narrowly beating Texas a few weeks ago. Bama has had a couple of tune up games to fix the mistakes they made versus the Longhorns. Arkansas is coming off a tough 23-21 loss to Texas A&M and their prize is Alabama.
#22 Wake Forest vs #23 Florida State (-7):
Coming off a tough overtime loss to Clemson, Wake Forest now will have to travel to Tallahassee to take on a rising Seminoles team. Since starting 0-4 last year, Florida State has gone 9-3. Mike Norvell has the Noles improving and their confidence building. This game is another opportunity to show that FSU is climbing back up the ranks in the ACC. Sam Hartman and Jordan Travis are both playing well at the quarterback position.
#10 NC State vs #5 Clemson (-6.5):
Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei played his best game since subbing in for Trevor Lawrence versus Wake Forest when the Tigers’ defense struggled. DJ threw for 371 yards and five touchdowns in last week’s win. Now the Tigers have their eye set on revenge versus NC State. After barely beating ECU, the Wolfpack have cruised since – beating Charleston Southern, Texas Tech, and Uconn by an average of 32 points. NC State’s offense has been well-balanced, but Devin Leary will need to be excellent for the Wolfpack as Clemson only allows 79 rushing yards a game, so State will have to attack through the passing game.