Notre Dame on upset alert? Bold predictions for college football’s Week 5
We’ve been trained to expect unpredictable results every Saturday in college football. What we still can’t make sense out of is when those upsets and surprises are going to happen.
Last week, there were shocking results that knocked off unbeaten teams and several games with amazing finishes. This week, the schedule should allow for more of the same. Could one occur when No. 1 Georgia visits No. 4 Alabama? What about the three other ranked games matching Top 25 teams or when teams continue their early forays in conference play?
That’s why the USA TODAY Sports college football staff is here. Scooby Axson, Jordan Mendoza, Paul Myerberg, Erick Smith, Eddie Timanus and Dan Wolken weigh in with their bold predictions for Week 5 of the college football season:
USC gets defensive again
The Trojans really had no business losing to Michigan, considering the Wolverines didn’t even try to develop a passing game and used big runs to grind their way to victory. But USC’s next opponent, Wisconsin, isn’t the old-school power running football of the past, only averaging a shade over four yards a carry this season. The Badgers passing game is even worse, and to pull off the upset, they must play a complete game and hope for some sloppy play from their opponents. However, USC will use its superior offensive skill and should have no trouble notching their first-ever Big Ten victory. — Scooby Axson
EXPERT PICKS: Week 5 staff predictions for every Top 25 matchup
Duke and Indiana … unbeaten in football?
It’s been decades since Duke and Indiana started a football season 5-0. Duke last did it in 1994. Indiana’s previous best beginning goes all the way back to 1967. Granted the schedule hasn’t been tough, but the Blue Devils and the Hoosiers are legit. Curt Cignetti has the offense rolling in Indiana while the Duke defense is tough. They’ll get their first tests this weekend with Duke playing rival North Carolina and Indiana hosting Maryland. Both known basketball schools get it done on the gridiron this week to maintain their perfect record. They aren’t College Football Playoff contenders (yet), but something special is building in Durham and Bloomington. — Jordan Mendoza
Kansas State bounces back against Oklahoma State
After a shocking 38-9 loss last weekend at Brigham Young, Kansas State gets back on track with a win at home against Oklahoma State. One week after the Cowboys were hammered by Utah’s running game, the Wildcats lean on a similar game plan behind quarterback Avery Johnson and reassert themselves as one of the best teams in the Big 12 and a playoff contender. Two losses in a row would essentially ruin Oklahoma State’s chances of reaching the conference title game and playing for a playoff berth. — Paul Myerberg
Arkansas beats Texas A&M to finally get over the hump
It’s been tough in close games for the Razorbacks. Arkansas is 3-10 in one-score contests during the past three seasons with the most-recent demise coming in overtime at Oklahoma State in Week 2. Expect another tight matchup for Sam Pittman’s team in its annual trip to Arlington, Texas, to face the Aggies. This time the outcome will be different with Razorbacks quarterback Taylen Green getting the best of whichever counterpart Texas A&M starts – either Connor Weigman coming back from injury or Marcel Reed, who led the team to victories in the past two games. The win for Arkansas will make Pittman’s hot seat much colder and move Arkansas closer to a bowl game. — Erick Smith
RJ Harvey breaks out as Central Florida tops Colorado
There will be plenty of star power on the field when Colorado visits Central Florida. The Buffaloes, of course, will have two-way standout Travis Hunter as well as quarterback Shedeur Sanders. But the player of the game will come from the other side.
UCF fans already know about running back RJ Harvey, and the rest of the Big 12 is beginning to learn. TCU found out about him the hard way a couple of weeks ago when he scored three touchdowns and added a two-point reception as the Knights rallied from a 28-7 deficit to win 35-34 in Fort Worth. For the season, Harvey is averaging 7.6 yards per rushing attempt, while the Colorado ground defense is getting gashed for a shade over four yards a pop. Look for Harvey to crack the century mark once again as UCF moves to 4-0. — Eddie Timanus
Jeff Brohm leads Louisville past Notre Dame
It feels like we talked about Jeff Brohm going to Louisville for years before it happened. And then it happened, and Brohm is doing exactly what everyone thought he would do: Winning at an extremely high rate.
Oddly, though, Louisville seems to fly under the radar now more than ever and it’s hard to figure out why. Since arriving at Louisville, Brohm is 13-4 and has done extremely well against ACC competition, losing only at Pittsburgh last year and to Florida State in the conference title game.
Despite being a touchdown underdog in South Bend, Louisville finds a way to beat Notre Dame just like it did last year. And the reason is because Brohm is just a vastly better coach than what we have seen from Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish. The Cardinals are severely underrated and will show it this weekend with quarterback Tyler Shough (8 TDs, 0 INTs) vaulting them close to the top 10. — Dan Wolken