Sep 27, 20175 min read

CFB: Week 5 Preview

Week 4 was (unusually) all about the road teams, after No. 8 Michigan beat Purdue, No. 1 Alabama ran all over Vanderbilt (59-0), No. 16 TCU upset No. 6 Oklahoma State, No. 5 USC pulled away from California (20-10), No. 4 Penn State walked-off against Iowa (21-19) with one of the Game of the Year candidates, and No. 7 Washington defeated a previously undefeated Colorado squad.

Week 5 has four ranked-vs.-ranked matchups, starting on Friday night with No. 5 USC traveling to No. 16 Washington State. On Saturday, No. 2 Clemson faces No. 9 Virginia Tech looking to stay undefeated, No. 15 Oklahoma State looks to rebound against No. 25 Texas Tech, and No. 23 Mississippi State takes on No. 13 Auburn, with the loser likely being out of CFP contention. Charles Post, Chase Zayac, and Chinedum Wejinya will preview this coming week.

*Maximum of 100 Points.*

Top-25 Rankings:

1. Alabama (4-0) - 100 Pts.

2. Clemson (4-0) - 97 Pts.

3. Oklahoma (4-0) - 94 Pts.

4. Penn State (4-0) - 91 Pts.

5. USC (4-0) - 90 Pts.

6. Washington (4-0) - 85 Pts.

7. Michigan (4-0) - 81 Pts.

8. Georgia (4-0) - 80 Pts.

9. Virginia Tech (4-0) - 78 Pts.

10. Wisconsin (3-0) - 74 Pts.

11. TCU (4-0) - 73 Pts.

12. Ohio State (3-1) - 71 Pts.

13. Auburn (3-1) - 62 Pts.

14. Miami (2-0) - 62 Pts.

15. Oklahoma State (3-1) - 59 Pts.

16. Washington State (4-0) - 55 Pts.

17. South Florida (4-0) - 50 Pts.

18. San Diego State (4-0) - 47 Pts.

19. Florida (2-1) - 38 Pts.

20. Louisville (3-1) - 34 Pts.

21. LSU (3-1) - 32 Pts.

22. Utah (4-0) - 27 Pts.

23. Mississippi State (3-1) - 25 Pts.

24. Florida State (0-2) - 23 Pts.

25. Texas Tech (3-0) - 16 Pts.

Just Missed the Cut:

26. Wake Forest (4-0) - 13 Pts.

27. Tennessee (3-1) - 12 Pts.

28. Iowa (3-1) - 11 Pts.

29. Oregon (3-1) - 10 Pts.

30. Kansas State (2-1) - 9 Pts.

Charles Post:

No. 5 USC @ No. 16 Washington State

No. 2 Clemson @ No. 9 Virginia Tech

No. 15 Oklahoma State @ No. 25 Texas Tech

Iowa @ Michigan State

Northwestern @ No. 10 Wisconsin

No. 8 Georgia @ Tennessee

No. 23 Mississippi State @ No. 13 Auburn

Marshall @ Cincinnati

Ole Miss @ No. 1 Alabama

Northern Illinois @ No. 18 San Diego State

Week 4 Record: 8-2.

Overall Record: 33-7.

Chase Zayac:

No. 5 USC @ No. 16 Washington State

No. 2 Clemson @ No. 9 Virginia Tech

No. 15 Oklahoma State @ No. 25 Texas Tech

Iowa @ Michigan State

Northwestern @ No. 10 Wisconsin

No. 8 Georgia @ Tennessee

No. 23 Mississippi State @ No. 13 Auburn

Marshall @ Cincinnati

Ole Miss @ No. 1 Alabama

Northern Illinois @ No. 18 San Diego State

Week 4 Record: 9-1.

Overall Record: 33-7.

Chinedum Wejinya:

No. 5 USC @ No. 16 Washington State

No. 2 Clemson @ No. 9 Virginia Tech

No. 15 Oklahoma State @ No. 25 Texas Tech

Iowa @ Michigan State

Northwestern @ No. 10 Wisconsin

No. 8 Georgia @ Tennessee

No. 23 Mississippi State @ No. 13 Auburn

Marshall @ Cincinnati

Ole Miss @ No. 1 Alabama

Northern Illinois @ No. 18 San Diego State

Week 4 Record: 9-1.

Overall Record: 31-9.

1. Out of the four ranked-vs.-ranked matchups (USC vs. Washington State, Clemson vs. Virginia Tech, Oklahoma State vs. Texas Tech, and Mississippi State vs. Auburn), which team has the best chance of pulling off an upset and why?

Post: I think the likeliest is No. 23 Mississippi State taking down No. 13 Auburn, but I'm not confident in the Bulldogs enough to actually pick them to win outright. I think it will be a close game, between a pair of teams that must win in order to stay in CFP contention. The other games should be good, as well, but I think there are clear favorites (USC, Clemson, and Oklahoma State), who should all win. If Nick Fitzgerald plays like he did against LSU instead of how he did against Georgia, Mississippi State could win at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Zayac: Washington State. They have had a high powered offense so far this year, led by veteran quarterback Luke Falk, and USC has been very shaky, especially against Western Michigan and Texas. Considering they're at home, I'll take Washington State.

Wejinya: I think Mississippi State has the best chance at winning against Auburn in their ranked matchup because I think that the Mississippi State offense is good enough to push them over the edge for them to win behind QB Nick Fitzgerald and HC Dan Mullen.

2. If you had to pick right now, who would you take the win the Big 12 conference by the time the season comes to an end and why? (Oklahoma, TCU, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Kansas State, West Virginia, Texas, or another team).

Post: If I had to answer this before last weeks set of games, I would have taken Oklahoma State without a doubt, but after their slip-up to TCU, I'm starting to lean towards Oklahoma. However, the Sooners weren't overly-impressive in a win against 0-4 Baylor on the road. I'm sure it will be one of those three teams, and it should come down to who wins the Bedlam Series (Nov. 4) and the following week when Oklahoma hosts the Horned Frogs (Nov. 11). Those two weeks will show us everything we need to know about the Big 12. For now, though, I'll stick with my preseason prediction of Oklahoma State until they lose another game.

Zayac: I would actually take TCU and quarterback Kenny Hill right now. They have proven to be legitimate with a tough road win at Oklahoma State and they are the only Big 12 to not seem shaky at any point during the season so far.

Wejinya: I would take Oklahoma to win the Big 12 because they have one of the top QB's in the nation, in Baker Mayfield, and also, they have proven themselves against a very good opponent in Ohio State, which I picked would be in the College Football Playoff.

3. Will the winner of No. 8 Georgia vs. Tennessee, a rematch of one of 2016's best games, go on to win the SEC East division? Also, who wins? - And who is going to be the biggest x-factor in deciding the games final outcome?

Post: The SEC East isn't going to come down to this game, it'll come down to Georgia's matchup with Florida. And I think the Bulldogs are head and shoulders above everyone else in the division. They played one heck of a game last year, but this one shouldn't be as tight. Georgia wins 27-17, and star senior running back Nick Chubb rushes for 110+ yards and a pair of scores, but the x-factor will be Jake Fromm's ability to protect the ball.

Zayac: Yes the winner will go on to win the East, only because of lack of strong competition. Once again, Georgia will come away with a win vs. Tennessee and an East division win. Nick Chubb will be the x-factor this weekend. If Georgia can open up a solid run game, they will win on Saturday.

Wejinya: I think maybe the winner of Georgia vs. Tennessee will go on to win the East they still must worry about Florida, to me it seems like Georgia will win the game. The x-factor will be Nick Chubb and how well he will be able to run against the stout Tennessee defense.