College Football-Week 5 Preview

Interstate rivals and ranked conference matchups highlight this weeks slate of games. 

WEEK 5


Written by: D. Wash.


This week features quite a few notable games, including three ranked vs. ranked matchups. LSU is gonna try to remain unbeaten as they travel to Athens, Georgia.  USC travels to Berkeley in a big game that could decide the Pac 10 title and revive Jahvid Best’s Heisman hopes. Last, but certainly not least, Oklahoma makes the journey to Landshark Stadium to play The U in a big game that will end the national title hopes of one of the two teams.

Saturday also features two in-state rivalries, The USC-Cal game as well as the Michigan-Michigan State game. For those of you that have never been on a college campus at a big football school, you have to realize something. A game against an instate rival isn’t the same thing as a game against any other team. The energy builds all week, and then on Saturday it explodes into four quarters of action. Fans scream louder than at anytime during the season. Teams work harder than at any time during the season. It’s a game to impress the voters or disappoint them. It’s a chance to redeem an imperfect season or continue an unbeaten one. So you gotta realize, there’s more at stake on Saturday for those four teams than simply wins and losses. There are high school recruits on the line. There are national title hopes. Perhaps most importantly of all, there’s pride. And nothing could be more important to a school than their pride.  

#22 Michigan at Michigan State

It wouldn’t matter if MSU was winless and the U of M was a top 10 team nationally, this game is always an important one to watch. Almost every year, this game is closer than it is supposed to be. It is more exciting than people expect it to be. It isn’t simply a game, it’s a war. Forcier and company look very good on offense, but this Michigan defense has underachieved considering the talent of it. Expect Kirk Cousins (QB, MSU) and this very talented Spartans receiving corps, led by Blair White and Bj Cunningham, to try and turn this game into a shootout. That is Michigan State’s best chance to win, and they could very well do it. The Michigan pass rush has underperformed and lacks consistency. If neither team pulls away by the fourth quarter, then Michigan may still be able to pull out a victory. Forcier has shown the composure to come back and win it in the fourth quarter, but a shoulder injury that he suffered last week could limit his physical ability to drive a comeback. Michigan needs to pull ahead early and silence the MSU crowd if they are going to win this game.

#4 LSU at #18 Georgia

Both of these teams barely won over unranked opponents last week, but they’re still two of the best teams in the country. Georgia’s young defense really showed up against Arizona State and proved that youth doesn’t always equal poor play. If it hadn’t been for two interceptions by Joe Cox, the Bulldogs would’ve held Arizona State to just 3 points last week. That’s a great accomplishment for a defense that has been together for 4 years, let alone just a few months. They’ll be attempting to stop a LSU offense, which has tons of skill in the backfield and a quarterback that throws conservatively and doesn’t make mistakes. Jordan Jefferson has thrown seven touchdown passes this year and a single interception. Combined with a potent rushing attack, Georgia’s defense will really have to work to stop LSU’s multi faceted offense. On offense, Georgia features one of the top 3 wideouts in the nation in AJ Green. His game last week was very impressive (8 catches, 153 yards, and one touchdown). Can you say Biletnikoff? Unless the Tigers can find a solution for him the Bulldogs may be able to put that first taint on LSU’s spotless record, possibly killing LSU’s national title hopes. 

#7 USC at #24 California

Despite Cal’s complete embarrassment at the hand of Oregon last week, this game should still worry Trojan fans. Cal is a spectacular home team, and USC has shown some weaknesses on the road (notably: they are a one dimensional offense disguised as a balanced offense). Taylor Mays and the rest of the Trojan secondary will have some trouble shutting down Cal’s wide receivers, and Best is still the top running back in the nation. Jahvid will be looking for a huge game to redeem himself from the 55 yard performance that he had in Oregon last week, so expect him to be going 110% on Saturday. Barkley, McKnight, and the rest of that USC offense better be ready to put up some big points. The absence of Staphon Johnson may be a factor as Johnson was definitely a part of the Trojan running game, but USC never runs out of talented running backs so don’t expect the Trojan running game to be nonexistent just because of Johnson’s injury. This game should be very entertaining, and is a must see for any fans of Pac 10 football.

#8 Oklahoma at #17 Miami

It was unrealistic to expect Miami to go undefeated through the gauntlet of ranked teams that they had lined up to start the season. They got beat by the Hokies last week, but still have the looks of a very solid team. Harris may no longer be a Heisman contender, but he is still one of the most consistently efficient passers in college football. He won’t torch Oklahoma’s defense for 300+ yards, but he will be able to have a 200-yard game and won’t make many mistakes. Everyone knows what Oklahoma has to offer already. But their biggest story line of this game isn’t who is gonna be playing this weekend, its who wont be. Heisman winner Sam Bradford will sit out this game and rehab his shoulder for yet another week before Oklahoma begins their Big 12 schedule. Is sitting Bradford for the best? Yes. Hell yes. I understand that this is a big game for the Sooners, but Landry Jones is a very capable backup with plenty of knowledge of how to run the OU offense. He has yet to play against a defense as fast as Miami’s group, but he won’t fall apart against them on Saturday. Also, putting Bradford into a game before he is 100% would be doing a disservice to a former Heisman winner and the top quarterback prospect in college football. If he were to get injured again or play poorly because his injury is hampering his gameplay, then his draft stock would drop significantly and the kid that was supposed to get drafted #1 overall last year could drop further than Brady Quinn did in the 2007 draft.