Week 5 of the college football season is here, and I’m back with some of my favorite plays and bets for the weekend. But first, let’s recap Week 4.

Season Record is 39-38-1, bad week 4 set me back to just a game above .500.

Week 4 Recap & Takeaways

• Indiana is better than they were last year, Mendoza is arguably the best QB in the country, and I know the Illini had some injuries to the defense, but that Hoosier offense looked good and electric. Curt has them boys rolling in Bloomington. But have to go into Kinnick Stadium this week for a true road test.
  
  

• Oklahoma and their defense showed up once again holding the tigers to only 287 yards of total offense and racking up a 9-sack day. The Sooners are playing with some serious fire though once again losing the turnover battle, they could cause serious trouble later down the road if they don’t clean those mistakes up. Story of the game both teams couldn’t run the ball, but Mateer stepped up and made big plays when it mattered, which is a reason why they are sitting at 4-0 and on the verge of a top 10 ranking. 
  
  

• Head out to Salt Lake City, where the story of the game is backup QB Will Hammond for Texas Tech, entering the game in the third, score 10-3 in a defense of battle, Hammond stepped in for an injured Morton, the tech offense sparked 4 scoring drives. Hammond threw for 169 and 2 TDs, while adding 61 more yards with his legs. Dampier looked confused all day only throwing for 162 with 2 INTs. Utes and the old, highly rated offense of line, got beat there today which was a surprise. The Red Raiders will have to clean up their penalties and they did in the second half, as they got adjusted to the insane Utah environment. Texas Tech will climb up the rankings and look to continue its push to their first CFP berth.
  
  

• Hard Rock Stadium was a defensive slug match, till the Miami offense pulled away late. This one wasn’t pretty; Beck and the offense didn’t look good but leaned on Fletcher Jr who rushed for 116 on the ground. Miami's defense was suffocating, holding the Gators to 141 yards of offense, not letting them pick up a 3rd down conversion as they went 0-13 on third downs. Lagway with another bad performance going 12 for 23 for 61 yards. 2 late TDs from Miami sealed this one away

 

• Ahmad Hardy is the story of this game. This kid should be in the Heisman talks and be a top 3 candidate. 138 yards on the ground while rushing one in, it was a difficult night for the South Carolina Defense to bring this kid down. Sellers look good for a majority of the night throwing for over 300 yards but missing some crucial throws late in the game. The game was won at the line of scrimmage Missouri had 285 on the ground while South Carolina had negative 9 yards rushing. Missouri has to be feeling good with a Heisman candidate back and a favorable schedule going forward.

 

• Quick hitters - 

• Rock bottom for Clemson.
  
  

• Chambliss is the Guy in Oxford.
  
  

• Justice Hayes and Michigan with a gritty road win.
  
  

• Irish defense is something to worry about.
  
  

• Hot seat for Pittman.
  
  

• Oregon handled the beavers before a top 10 match up.
  
  

• Arch is back?
  
  

• Maiava and the Trojan Offense is rolling.
  
  

The Sun Devils offense woke up late .

 

Week 5 Game Previews & Picks

TCU @ Arizona St (Friday Night)

 

We head to Tempe on a Friday night, where the Sun Devils will open this game 2.5 point favorites and the total set at 55.5. The Hornfrogs will enter this game undefeated and the Sun Devils come in 3-1, off a huge second half rally to beat Baylor last weekend. TCU starts with Hoover this offense goes when he goes and he has been eclectic in the passing game this season, and when he finds his buddy McAlister good things happen for this offense. The Hornfrogs have been solid this year on 3rd downs being able to extend drives, it is when they get in the red zone they start to struggle. One of Arizona's bright spots in their defense is their red zone defense being able to hold teams to field goals instead of touchdowns. Things to watch: can Hoover and McAlister connect early and get this Hornfrog offense running early? Can this Arizona st team lean on the run game? They have come out leaning on this run game and while TCU has a good run defense but not a great one are they going to be able to clog up the running lanes and not let the Arizona st offense control the tempo of the game. If Arizona State can come out and establish the run early expect Leavitt and Tyson to connect on some deep shots later in the game. Games are going to be decided if TCU is kicking field goals when they get in the red zone or scoring touchdowns. If TCU hits a deep shot early, ASU will have to adjust its defensive game plan. If ASU opens with a grinding 7–8 minute TD drive, that sets the tone for the whole night. Playing in Tempe under the lights, hydration and depth along the defensive front will matter. If TCU’s defense wears down against ASU’s run game, 4th-quarter holes may open.

USC @ Illinois

Head to Champaign for an early kick for the Trojans. Game starting at 11am central time, USC comes into this one favored by 7.5 points and 59.5 total for the game. USC comes into this one with a balanced offensive attack and speed everywhere. Jayden Maiava is one of my favorite QB’s to watch right now as he can do it through the air and on the ground with his legs. How will the Trojans come Saturday with a cross country flight and early morning kick off. Illinois comes into this one after getting their teeth kicked in by Indiana, getting back home and playing in front of their fans will do the Illini good. USC’s run game versus Illinois front is what I am going to be watching in this game, USC needs to be able to run the ball versus Illinois which will help this offense explode. USC can open up the run and give their guys on the outside space to play with, it could turn into a track meet for Illinois. How will the Illinois offense and Luke Altymyer be able to handle USC d front, if the offense of line can hold and give Altmyer time and clean pocket to throw the Illinois offense will look good again but if USC can put pressure on and get the nation leading sack defense going early expect another long day in Champaign for the Illini. If the Trojans come out of this game with a win and the offense looks good again expect Maiava to jump up the Heisman leaderboards. 

LSU @ Ole Miss

Vaught-Hemingway Stadium will host the number 4 ranked LSU Tigers this weekend in what could be a classic game. Ole Miss is favored by 2.5 with a total of 55.5. Both teams came into this weekend 4-0, coming off big wins versus inferior opponents. Garrett Nussmeier, looked good last Saturday versus Southern Louisiana as he went 25 of 31 throwing for 273 adding 3 TD’s and 0 INT’s in 2 ½ quarters of play. Ole miss coming off a win versus Tulane, Chambliss has come in and seems to have put a spark in the offense as they have looked better since he took over. Questions I have for this game: how is the LSU offense going to look in a big game have they figured it out yet? Is Nussmeier's ability to spread the ball all and go deep going to come into factor? Chambliss' first real test for a legit defense is going interesting. Can he take care of the ball through the air or are LSU DB’s going to have another field day? Ole Miss is going to have to run the ball efficiently this weekend to have any chance in this game. If they can establish the run earlier and control the pace of the game it is going to be easier on Chambliss to pass the ball and the passing game should open up. Recently in this series we have seen high scoring close games, I expect this one to be tight to the end. Which D- line will be able to get home and effect the QB and force a bad throw? Which offense will get a big 3rd down conversion or which defense can cause a timely turnover. 

Oregon @ Penn St

Game of the weekend here in Happy Valley, and it’s a white out. Dan Lanning and the ducks are going to be traveling across the country for a battle of a top 10 match up. Both teams are coming into this game off blowout victories and both schools cruising to an undefeated start. Some keys to this game that I will be looking towards is Penn St run game, with savvy vets such as Singleton and Allen can establish themselves early to help control the pace of the game and keep the high powered ducks offense off the field. How will Allar look versus Oregon's secondary? Will Oregon’s coverage disrupt Allar’s timing and Rytham? Can the Ducks elite offense spread out Penn State’s defense and wear em out? Another thing you should be looking into here is the coaching battle. We all know how James Franklin gets in these big games as he puckers up and can’t win. He is an ugly 4-25 vs top 10 teams in his career. Dan Lanning vs top 10 teams is 4-4. I will say the Nitty Lions do have Jim Knowles as their DC now. I will say the travel from the West Coast to the East Coast is still a factor in my eyes. 

 

Alabama @ Georgia 

 

Head down to Athens here, where the bulldogs are favored by 3.5 and the total of the game is set at 53.5. The question is which Alabama team is going to decide to show up? The sluggish, sleep walk team? Or the team who gets up and gets ready to play in big games? I have no question that Deboar is going to have to team up and be ready for this game as they usually struggle in games which they seem to be the team who should win by double digits. What to look for in this match up is the Quarterback play Simpson vs Stockton which QB is going to be able to protect the ball and make explosive plays? How will Alabama D front come to play in this game, if Georgia can establish the run and control the line of scrimmage it will be a repeat of the Florida St game for the Tide. Have the Tide become more disciplined, penalties have been a killer for the Tide all year and if they continue to be undisciplined it will cost them field position and this game. Athens is a tough place to play as Georgia has had a lot of success at home, this game is always close and usually comes down to who has the ball last and which defense can cause a few turnovers to swing the outcome of the game. I expect this one to be a defensive battle.