Week 5 of the college football is here, and with it comes a full slate of top-25 games.
There are five matchups between AP Poll top-25 teams this week, including No. 4 Ohio State at No. 9 Penn State, No. 7 Stanford at No. 8 Notre Dame, No. 12 West Virginia at No. 25 Texas Tech, No. 19 Oregon at No. 24 Cal and No. 20 BYU at No. 11 Washington.
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Sporting News is here to offer its straight up picks for those games and more. We're 22-10 on the season after three consecutive weeks with a 6-2 record, including last week's.
Here are Sporting News' straight up picks for the best games of Week 5 (lines reflect Consensus picks from VegasInsiders.com as of Monday):
Virginia Tech at No. 22 Duke (-3.5)
It’s been a rough week for Virginia Tech. The Hokies are not only coming off a demoralizing loss to Old Dominion, but also lose quarterback Josh Jackson with a fractured leg. Duke, meanwhile, enters the game allowing only 15.3 points per contest, tied for second-best in the ACC. Virginia Tech will rally after the loss to the Monarchs, but Jackson’s absence will be the difference in a close loss. Duke 27, Virginia Tech 24
South Carolina at No. 17 Kentucky (-1.5)
Expect Kentucky to feature a heavy rush attack against South Carolina on Saturday. The Wildcats average an SEC-best 269 rushing yards per game; South Carolina’s defense ranks 75th nationally by surrendering 163 per contest. Benny Snell Jr., who leads the conference with 540 rushing yards and seven touchdowns, might be too much for South Carolina to keep up with. Kentucky wins tough and goes 3-0 in SEC play for the first time since 1977. Kentucky 31, South Carolina 23
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Florida at No. 23 Mississippi State (-7.5)
Joe Moorhead said his team wasn’t looking ahead to Florida after getting beat down by Kentucky, but there’s no doubt Dan Mullen’s return to Starkville will be a sore topic for a lot of his former players. Expect Moorhead to open up more of the playbook for Nick Fitzgerald, who may have an interesting quarterback duel against Feleipe Franks. The Gators quarterback is tied with Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa for an SEC-leading 12 passing touchdowns. It's close, but a motivated Bulldogs team gets it done against Florida, which isn't quite there yet under Mullen. Mississippi State 35, Florida 28
No. 20 BYU at No. 11 Washington (-18)
BYU has been the surprise of the season this year, beating Wisconsin and losing only one game to still-undefeated Cal. That said, the Cougars won’t catch Chris Petersen or Washington sleeping in Seattle. The Huskies are coming off two hard-fought wins in Pac-12 play and can’t afford to lose again if they want to make the Playoff. Jake Browning and Myles Gaskin lead a balanced attack in a convincing win. Washington 30, BYU 13
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No. 19 Oregon (-3) at No. 24 Cal
The Ducks were one reversed touchdown away from winning an otherwise-dominant game against Stanford on Saturday, something Cal will be keenly aware of this week. Justin Herbert will have a tough test against a Golden Bears defense that has seven interceptions on the year, but he makes enough plays while the Oregon defense — which limited Cardinal running back Bryce Love to 89 yards on Saturday — keeps the offense in check. Oregon 31, Cal 21
No. 12 West Virginia (-4) at No. 25 Texas Tech
This matchup pits the Big 12’s top scoring offense (Texas Tech, 52 points per game) against the country's top scoring defense (WVU, 12.3 ppg). The Red Raiders are coming off a convincing 41-17 win over Oklahoma State and will look to keep that going at home in Lubbock. The difference in this game will be Will Grier, who looks like a Heisman contender early this season. West Virginia 35, Texas Tech 30
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No. 7 Stanford at No. 8 Notre Dame (-5.5)
Credit Stanford for its improbable comeback win over Oregon, but David Shaw can’t expect the Cardinal to pull off the same feat twice if they fall behind early to Notre Dame. The Irish finally got it going offensively on Saturday with Ian Book at quarterback, but that came against a porous Wake Forest defense. We think Stanford is the overall more complete team, the difference in a close game with Playoff implications. Stanford 28, Notre Dame 27
No. 4 Ohio State (-4) at No. 9 Penn State
The energy surrounding this game will be incredible, as arguably the Big Ten’s two best teams square off in Happy Valley. Trace McSorley (1,258 total yards, 14 touchdowns) will get the huge stage again to prove his doubters wrong against a Buckeyes defense minus Nick Bosa. Dwayne Haskins (1,194 passing yards, 16 touchdowns) will need a big game as well. This one has game of the year potential, but we think the Nittany Lions — who have played down to lower competition at times this year — fall just short of the upset. Ohio State 38, Penn State 35
