Saturday Predictions: Week 5

The Mountaineers have lost three straight to the Sooners but
have a strong team coming into this year's game.

Straps yourselves in, folks. This fifth week of college football looks like it'll be the best yet. Thursday night's game features the Miami Hurricanes and the Cincinnati Bearcats. The Bearcats are 2-2 and have their backs against the wall in their home stadium. Miami has all the talent they need to beat Cincy, though oftentimes this season the Canes have failed to play a complete game. On Friday, undefeated Memphis plays the South Florida Bulls in Tampa. The Bulls have both home-field-advantage and the advantage of having had an extra week to prepare, although this still may not be enough to down the formidable Tigers.

Come noon Saturday on the east coast, UCF will look to pick up their first win of the season against Tulane. This may be one of the best chances for both teams to notch a victory this year. Missouri and South Carolina are another two teams desperate for another victory. Both teams will be utilizing greenhorn quarterbacks, and may struggle offensively.

The biggest matchup in the early timeslot spotlights two Big 12 contenders, West Virginia and Oklahoma. Both teams have appeared strong this season, although OU is somewhat more battle-tested, West Virginia should have enough firepower to cause trouble for the Sooners. Texas has had a very difficult season, and it could get worse in their upcoming game against TCU. The Horned Frogs far from invincible, but Texas may not have enough to pull an upset.

The Big Ten West will be in focus at noon in two separate games. Minnesota travels to Evanston to take on Northwestern while Iowa plays Wisconsin in Madison. Both home teams are ranked, although their opponents should feel confident about their chances to upset them.

At half past three, Air Force faces Navy in a battle of what are expected to be our best service academies. Florida State heads to Winston-Salem, seeking to extend their conference winning streak to 24 games against Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons shouldn't have enough to challenge the Seminoles.

Alabama will be a major challenge for Georgia, but the
Bulldogs can prove the hype right with a win over the Tide.
Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

In Atlanta, North Carolina plays Georgia Tech, hoping to build momentum by beating a reeling Yellow Jackets team. Down the road in Athens is a huge matchup between two Top 15 teams, Georgia and Alabama. Georgia seeks to make a major statement against their toughest opponent of the year so far; Alabama, on the other hand, is looking to avoid starting conference play 0-2 (something that hasn't happened since 1990, when they dropped a home game followed by a loss at Sanford Stadium). Both teams will seek to impose their will offensively with the ground game, as their quarterbacks are fairly unproven in providing consistent high-level play.

At four, Kansas State and Oklahoma State will kick off in Stillwater, both looking to remain undefeated. Despite their unblemished records, both teams are reasonably flawed. OK State has appeared just slightly more impressive this season, and playing at home they should have the advantage.

About half of Saturday's games will begin at seven or later. The first notable seven o'clock game features Ole Miss and Florida in Gainesville. The Rebels are favored by more than a touchdown on the road, likely due to their impressive list of playmakers and depth on both sides of the ball. The Gators have their own wealth of talented players, though lack experience on the offensive line and depth at linebacker. The Florida offensive line must play to the best of their ability to improve Florida's chance at an upset, while their defense may also need to force big plays of their own. Against Alabama, the Rebel defense won the day by forcing turnovers. They must continue to play well while their offense looks to improve over last week's showing against Vanderbilt.

Tennessee needs a win immediately to salvage hope for this
season. Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Two of the SEC's most disappointed teams hope to find a spark when Arkansas plays Tennessee in Knoxville. Both teams saw victory slip away from their grasps in last week's games; a loss here may totally break the spirit of either team (and certainly their fanbases). Three hours west, in Murfreesboro, Vanderbilt faces Middle Tennessee. The Commodores look to avoid losing their second out-of-conference game of the season against a respectable C-USA squad.

Mississippi State and Texas A&M battle for position in the SEC West at half past seven. Neither team has appeared to be the best in the west, but any win in this division is precious. Both teams have prolific passing attacks, but also respectable defenses. The Aggies might be slightly more talented. Later, at eight, Notre Dame plays Clemson in a game of national importance. Despite an unfortunate string of injuries, the Fighting Irish are undefeated. Clemson has won all three of their games although none were especially impressive. The Tigers can improve the perception of their conference with a win over the Irish.

As the night goes on, Oregon looks to bounce back from last week's embarrassing loss with a win over Colorado. The Buffaloes, however, would prefer a win in order to accelerate the rebuilding of their program. Stanford will seek to pick up their first conference home win against Arizona. The Cardinal will try to replicate UCLA's success against the Wildcats.

State of Florida:

• Miami (3-0) over Cincinnati (2-2), 35-21
• Memphis (4-0) over South Florida (1-2), 31-20
• Tulane (1-2) over UCF (0-4), 20-17
• FIU (2-2) over Massachusetts (0-3), 31-27
• 11 Florida State (3-0) over Wake Forest (2-2), 31-14
• 25 Florida (4-0) over 3 Mississippi (4-0), 24-20
• Florida Atlantic (1-3), BYE

Southeastern Conference:

• Missouri (3-1) over South Carolina (2-2), 17-14
• 8 Georgia (4-0) over 13 Alabama (3-1), 38-35
• Auburn (2-2) over San José State (2-2), 34-17
• Tennessee (2-2) over Arkansas (1-3), 35-28
• 9 LSU (3-0) over Eastern Michigan (1-3), 45-6
• Vanderbilt (1-3) over Middle Tennessee (2-2), 30-27
• 14 Texas A&M (4-0) over 21 Mississippi State (3-1), 28-24
• Kentucky (3-1) over Eastern Kentucky (2-1), 49-13

Top 25:

• 1 Ohio State (4-0) over Indiana (4-0), 34-20
• 2 Michigan State (4-0) over Purdue (1-3), 37-20
• 4 TCU (4-0) over Texas (1-3), 45-35
• 5 Baylor (3-0) over Texas Tech (3-1), 52-42
• 12 Clemson (3-0) over 6 Notre Dame (4-0), 33-30
• 7 UCLA (4-0) over Arizona State (2-2), 45-16
• 15 Oklahoma (3-0) over 23 West Virginia (3-0), 45-42
• 16 Northwestern (4-0) over Minnesota (3-1), 23-16
• 18 Stanford (3-1) over Arizona (3-1), 34-13
• 19 Wisconsin (3-1) over Iowa (4-0), 35-31
• 20 Oklahoma State (4-0) over Kansas State (3-0), 37-34
• 22 Michigan (3-1) over Maryland (2-2), 38-14
• 24 California (4-0) over Washington State (2-1), 42-21
• 10 Utah (4-0), BYE
• 17 USC (3-1), BYE