College Football Week 5 Preview

The SEC highlighted the action in Week 4 and Alabama looked great behind the HB Mark Ingram as they pressured Arkansas QB Ryan Mallett and escaped a tough road battle with a win. While QB Cam Newton continued to impress as Auburn downed South Carolina. The Tide remain on top and after this weekend, it looks like it will take a great game to down them.

Looking at the top 5 games I highlighted, I went 5-0 and now am at 16-4 on the year after four weeks. Oklahoma needed everything in the tank to outlast a late effort by Cincinnati. The Bearcats dug too deep of a hole and showed signs that they might have a down year after two great years. West Virginia suffered a similar fate as Cincy as they could not do enough to trip up LSU, who did not play very sharp at times.

Before the SEC doubleheader is addressed, the play of Boise State against Oregon State showed the country that the Broncos could show up and play with the "big boys". They used a lot of their toolkit against the Beavers and silenced the Rodgers brothers. Boise State will need to play consistent and they might be there waiting if enough top teams fall along the way.

Getting to the SEC doubleheader, Alabama and Auburn both looked strong against Arkansas and South Carolina, respectively. The Tide used their defense and Ingram to wear out the Razorbacks. There were multiple opportunities for Mallett to win it for Arkansas, but he felt short each time. Auburn's Newton, on the other hand, found the right holes in the Gamecocks to overtake the effort by USC freshman HB Marcus Lattimore.


Now on to Week 5 with a bunch of big games.

Games featuring top 25 teams/some that might be interesting:

Thursday, September 30
Texas A&M at Oklahoma State: This is a better than average Thursday night showdown. Both have capable offenses especially the Cowboys. QB Brandon Weeden to WR Justin Blackmon could be said a couple times.

Saturday, October 2
Washington at No. 18 USC: Washington has played USC close the last couple years even upsetting them once. USC is playing for pride this year and might fall into a trap at home.


And of course, the top 5 games to watch this week.

Top 5:

5) No. 22 Penn State at No. 17 Iowa: This one sets up to be an old school Big Ten matchup. Iowa has the edge playing at home and features more experience around the board. Those factors will be the difference as the Nittany Lions will make a couple costly mistakes. PREDICTION: IOWA

4) No. 11 Wisconsin at No. 24 Michigan State: This one will feature bruising running and could feature a lot of lead changes. Ultimately, Wisconsin's line and wear down style of offense will catch up with the Spartans. PREDICTION: WISCONSIN

3) No. 8 Oklahoma vs No. 21 Texas: A week ago, I would have said this would be a big top ten battle. However, Texas fell to UCLA and fell in the polls. Nonetheless, a win by the Longhorns would even things out with Oklahoma in the record columns. For that reason, the Sooners have more to lose especially considering they still have their other top rival, Oklahoma State, down the road. This one has one sided in the last decade with Oklahoma owning things followed by Texas owning things. In this one, Texas lacks the experience and playmakers Oklahoma has and that will be the difference and what will close for three quarters. PREDICTION: OKLAHOMA

2) No. 7 Florida at No. 1 Alabama: Florida won in 2008. Alabama won in 2009. The two are top title contenders again and the winner will take a big step in gaining a shot at another title. The Gators have struggled at times on offense this year. That could ultimately play the biggest factor in this SEC grudge match. HB Mark Ingram has looked great since coming back from an offseason injury. He will set the pace and the defense will again rise up at the right moments in what could be a close one. PREDICTION: ALABAMA

1) No. 9 Stanford at No. 4 Oregon: The big game of the week features two potent Pac-10 offenses. This one has shootout written all over it. QB Andrew Luck is starting to emerge as a top player in the country and will be against another pair in QB Darren Thomas and HB LaMichael James. One or all three could be invited to New York City in December for a chance at the Heisman Trophy. You don't want to miss a minute of this one! With all that said, Stanford gets the ball last and comes up short. PREDICTION: OREGON

Another pair of big games highlight the action as the top teams will slowly begin to fall out of the title picture.