Welcome to Week 5 of the college football season and we have some major shakeups in the rankings. Last week, we saw TCU become a major contender when they pulled off the upset against Oklahoma State. In the other big game, the Georgia Bulldogs handily beat Mississippi State to make a statement. This week, we have 3 games featuring ranked teams facing each other. 2nd ranked Clemson Tigers visit the 12th ranked Virginia Tech Hokies. On Friday night, the 5th ranked USC Trojans visit the 16th ranked Washington State Cougars. The final match-up will see the 24th ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs visit the 13th ranked Auburn Tigers. I’ll be predicting a total of 4 games this week. Last week, my record was 3-2 and it lowered my record to 12-5 with my winning percentage dropping to 70.6%. Let’s Get Started!!
We kick things off in ACC country with a battle of top-15 teams. 2nd ranked Clemson go on the road to battle the 12th ranked Virginia Tech Hokies in what could be a preview of the ACC title game. Clemson have picked up where they left off from their championship team of a year ago. They are winning games by explosive offense and a smothering defense. Will the Clemson defense continue that trend against Freshman, Josh Jackson? Virginia Tech started the season with an impressive win over West Virginia and hadn’t really faced a tough challenge ever since. With ACC power, Clemson coming into town Virginia Tech can make a statement that they’re back. The question is, can they pull off the upset? I’m going with the Tigers to win a close one over the Hokies.
Clemson Win 33-24
This game will actually take place on a Friday night and it should be a great game. The 5th ranked USC Trojans will travel and face the 16th ranked Washington State Cougars. We all know that many have picked the Trojans to be one of the four teams to make the playoffs this year. Sam Darnold is also projected to be the top pick in next year’s draft will have a tough time on the road on Friday. Can the Trojan defense slow down the explosive Cougar offense? Luke Falk will try to make his mark as he leads the 3rd ranked passing team in the country. The Cougar offense is averaging over 44 points a game, but can they do that against USC? I’m going with the Trojans to pick up the win on the road.
USC Win 34-24
We head to SEC country as the 24th ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs travel to face the 13th ranked Auburn Tigers. Mississippi State is coming off an embarrassing loss to Georgia this past weekend. Prior to last weekend, Mississippi State had a huge win against LSU, but are the Tigers that good? The Bulldogs will need to win this game to salvage their season as this would drop them to 0-2 in the SEC. The Auburn Tigers had looked great this year except for the Clemson game. They may have had a letdown against Mercer, but they rebounded well against Missouri. Will the offense continue their explosive against this Bulldog defense? I’m going with Auburn because I don’t think the Bulldogs are as good as many thought.
Auburn Win 30-17
We have a huge matchup in the Coastal division of the ACC as the 14th ranked Miami Hurricanes travel to face the Duke Blue Devils. Duke has come out of nowhere and started the season with a 4-0 record. They have wins over Northwestern, North Carolina and Baylor. If they have hopes of reaching the ACC title game, they must upset the Hurricanes. Can the Blue Devils put up points against the Miami defense and stop the Hurricanes offense? Miami have had a couple of their games cancelled because of Hurricane Irma a few weeks ago. Miami have played two games and the offense looked great, but they played inferior teams. Will Miami continue their winning ways against Duke? I’m going with Duke to pick up the upset.
Duke Win 34-31
Are you ready for week 5 of college football? What do you think about my picks? What’s the game you’re looking forward to the most? Leave a comment below.
