The college football season has been a little too quiet the last two weeks, as teams atop the polls have seldom lost to teams not ranked alongside them. Are we due for a weekend full of surprising upsets?
We have four more games between ranked opponents in Week 5, led by a top-five clash when No. 2 Georgia travels to face No. 4 Alabama in a rematch of last year’s SEC Championship in Tuscaloosa. We also have battles between ranked teams in the Big Ten and Big 12, as the race for conference titles and College Football Playoff berths only begins to heat up.
And, just in case that’s not enough, we have five ranked teams going on the road this week. Nothing strange ever happens on the road!
Odds via Sportsline consensus
The big games
No. 2 Georgia (-2.5) at No. 4 Alabama: It’s the biggest matchup of the season so far, and one we’ve seen plenty of times in recent years. However, most meetings have been in the SEC Championship or even the national title game. This is a rare regular-season meeting of the two SEC powers who used to reside in different divisions. It’s a game that will have huge implications in both the SEC title race, as well as the College Football Playoff picture.
No. 15 Louisville at No. 16 Notre Dame (-4.5): The Cardinals are off to a 3-0 start to the season, but some are wondering how good they truly are given the competition. They said similar things last season when a 5-0 Louisville team hosted a top-10 Notre Dame team and beat the Irish 33-20. Will history repeat itself, or will Notre Dame get revenge and continue to separate itself from that Northern Illinois loss?
No. 19 Illinois at No. 9 Penn State (-17.5): There’s only one team in the country with two wins against ranked opponents this season: the Fighting Illini of Illinois. Can they make it three? After pulling off upsets of Kansas and Nebraska, the Illini find themselves to be much larger underdogs against a Penn State team that has looked very explosive on offense. It’s hard to find many better atmospheres than a ranked matchup at night in Beaver Stadium.
No. 20 Oklahoma State at No. 23 Kansas State (-4.5): This is something of a must-have for both teams. Oklahoma State lost at home to a Utah team missing starting quarterback Cam Rising, while Kansas State got crushed on the road by BYU. The Big 12 may be considered wide-open, but the door closes considerably when you start 0-2.
