Week 5 College Football Predictions and Results

Predictions
Thursday
Memphis at Arkansas State: If this were basketball, I'd put a lot of money on Memphis, but unfortunately for the Tigers, it's not. Their lone win this year came against I-AA Jacksonville State and while Arkansas State may be 1-2, their two losses have come by a combined score of 69-40 (average of 34.5 to 20.0) to Texas and Tennessee. With the game at home, I'm going with ASU. Heck, even if it were away, I'd probably go with the Indians.
Arkansas State 31 Memphis 17
Arkansas State 35 Memphis 31 (1-0)

Southern Mississippi at Boise State: Not much is known about either club thus far. They're both coming off a bye week, and should be well rested because of that. While I respect USM and head coach Jeff Bower, I give the BFA (Blue Field Advantage) to the Broncos.
Boise State 24 Southern Mississippi 20
Boise State 38 Southern Mississippi 16 (2-0)

Friday
West Virginia at South Florida: Forget the pre-season hype of West Virginia or Rutgers squaring off with Louisville, as the Cardinals are now 2-2. There are five unbeatens in the Big East (out of eight teams): West Virginia, Rutgers, South Florida, Cincinnati, and Connecticut. I want to go with South Florida in this game. The Mountaineers' defense has not shown a level of consistency I'm comfortable with and the game is at home for the Bulls, but I just can't bring myself to do it. While the Bulls faced Auburn earlier in the year and won the game on the road, they have yet to witness an offense with the kind of speed West Virginia carries with it. This should be a fun one, but I'm giving the slight edge to West Virginia.
West Virginia 34 South Florida 28
South Florida 21 West Virginia 13 (2-1)

Saturday
Akron at Connecticut: While UConn has played anything but a tough non-conference schedule, with a home win here, the Huskies would (and will) improve to 5-0 on the season, needing just one more victory to become bowl eligible. With a win on Saturday, they'll also eclipse last year's win total of four games. At home against the Zips, they should accomplish both feats.
Connecticut 27 Akron 17
Connecticut 44 Akron 10 (3-1)

Michigan at Northwestern: Starting quarterback Chad Henne is expected to be on the field Saturday, but honestly, it wouldn't matter who played behind center for the Wolverines against Northworstern. With the win, Michigan will improve to 2-0 in the Big Ten and 3-2 overall. While things looked bleak early on for the Wolverines, I wouldn't count them out of the Big Ten race just yet.
Michigan 45 Northwestern 7
Michigan 28 Northwestern 16 (4-1)

North Carolina at Virginia Tech: It was perfect timing by head coach Frank Beamer to start freshman phenom Tyrod Taylor at quarterback. First came Ohio, then came William & Mary, and now comes North Carolina at home. Carolina has anything but a stingy defense and will likely fall to their second conference opponent from the state of Virginia in the past three weeks.
Virginia Tech 27 North Carolina 10
Virginia Tech 17 North Carolina 10 (5-1)

Temple at Army: Oh boy. How in the world does one pick a "winner" in this battle of the reverse unbeatens (AKA winless). For lack of any good reason to go either route, I'll pick the home team. Army wins their first (and possibly only) game of the season!
Army 24 Temple 21
Army 37 Temple 21 (6-1)

Penn State at Illinois: PSU should be on upset alert. In Happy Valley a year ago, the heavily favored Nittany Lions were beat for three to three and a half quarters by Ron Zook's Illini, before the inexperienced club from Champaign, Illinois handed the game to JoPa's crew. But, in losing last week to Michigan, I have to believe that PSU will be more focused than usual this week and should exit Champaign with a victory.
Penn State 24 Illinois 17
Illinois 27 Penn State 20 (6-2)

Buffalo at Ball State: Buffalo has looked good once this season and that was in their 42-7 smackdown of Temple. Ball State, meanwhile, has been a pain in the backside to Nebraska and Navy. With the game at home and in the fact they're facing Buffalo, I'm going with the Cardinals.
Ball State 38 Buffalo 24
Ball State 49 Buffalo 14 (7-2)

Northern Illinois at Central Michigan: Northern Illinois won their first game of the season a week ago, beating Idaho 42-35. Central Michigan, just a year removed from their MAC title, got pounded by I-AA North Dakota State 44-14 a week ago. This is a big battle between a traditionally solid MAC team and what seemed to be an up-and-coming program. With the game at home and some chewing out sessions this past week following their embarrassing loss to NDSU, I'm giving the slight edge to the Chippewas. But, we'll see. Neither club has shown me much thus far.
Central Michigan 31 Northern Illinois 28
Central Michigan 35 Northern Illinois 10 (8-2)

Duke at Miami (Florida): Duke was this close ::pinches right index finger and thumb close together:: to winning their second straight game a week ago, following 22-consecutive losses. They found a way to lose to Navy 46-43 after being up and rather comfortably most of the game. Well, they won't even be close this week. Miami should hand it to the Blue Devils.
Miami (Florida) 45 Duke 10
Miami (Florida) 24 Duke 14 (9-2)

Notre Dame at Purdue: Let me guess Lou... Notre Dame will magically find their stride in this game and the luck of the Irish will finally be on their side? Good luck. Even though Purdue doesn't have the best defense in the world, as they illustrated last week against Minnesota, the Boilers will have no problems scoring on the Irish D and if/when Notre Dame is involved in a shoot-out, with anyone this year? I'll be betting on their opponent.
Purdue 35 Notre Dame 17
Purdue 33 Notre Dame 19 (10-2)

LSU at Tulane: The battle of Louisiana...won't be much of a battle at all. Outside of nine late points LSU allowed to South Carolina last weekend, they've allowed 14 points in four games to teams with a 9-8 record. I'm going to go out on a limb and say they pitch another shut-out, or, at the very worst, allow less than double-digits in points.
LSU 52 Tulane 0
LSU 34 Tulane 9 (11-2)

Indiana at Iowa: This is a rebound week for both schools, as Indiana comes off a 27-14 loss to Illinois and Iowa comes off two heartbreaking losses, a 15-13 loss to Iowa State and a 17-13 loss to Wisconsin. With the game in Iowa City and in having a difficult time seeing Kirk Ferentz allow his team to lose three straight, the third being at home to Indiana, I'm going with the Hawkeyes.
Iowa 24 Indiana 13
Indiana 38 Iowa 20 (11-3)

Baylor at Texas A&M: Baylor and A&M have a lot in common. Both Universities reside in the state of Texas. They're both members of the Big XII conference (South). Both teams are 3-1 and neither school has looked too impressive in attaining that record. Baylor has beaten Rice, Buffalo, and Texas State to get to where they are and A&M has beaten Montana State, Fresno State by 2 in triple overtime, and Louisiana-Monroe. Baylor's victories have come against opponents with a 1-11 record (I-AA schools being winless) while A&M's wins have come against teams with a combined 1-9 record. Their losses? Baylor was shut-out 27-0 to TCU (2-2) and A&M was down 31-0 to Miami (Florida) late until TAMU made it respectable with some late scores. This comes after Miami was slaughtered 51-13 by Oklahoma. But, even with all the similarities, I have to go with the 12th man at College Station, but I can't say I've been too impressed with the Aggies this year. An upset here isn't completely out of the question.
Texas A&M 31 Baylor 14
Texas A&M 34 Baylor 10 (12-3)

Mississippi State at South Carolina: Both SEC clubs are 3-1 heading into this one. The Gamecocks are coming off a disappointing (but not unexpected, unless you're Lou Holtz) loss to LSU this past weekend. They should be on the lookout for Croom's Bulldogs, but Spurrier should get his team to rebound at home to improve to 4-1.
South Carolina 28 Mississippi State 14
South Carolina 38 Mississippi State 21 (13-3)

Mississippi at Georgia: The Mississippi schools shouldn't be taken for granted this season, as Florida can attest to, but Between the Hedges in Athens, following the tough 30-24 loss to the Gators last week should be a bit too much for the Rebels to handle.
Georgia 24 Mississippi 10
Georgia 45 Mississippi 17 (14-3)

Florida Atlantic at Kentucky: Quite the opportunity for Kentucky to start the season 5-0 following huge wins against Louisville and Arkansas. While Howard Schnelleberger may have something to say about that, even Schnelly won't be able to upset the Wildcats in this one.
Kentucky 48 Florida Atlantic 17
Kentucky 45 Florida Atlantic 17 (15-3)

Air Force at Navy: Air Force was looking pretty good at 3-0 until last week when they got pounded by the Mormons of Provo, Utah (I'm not laying down some ignorant stereotype. BYU stands for Brigham Young University, the man whom Joseph Smith handed the reigns to after he passed and approximately 97% of students and faculty at BYU are Mormon and 70% of Utahans). Navy had to come from way back to defeat the hapless (but not winless!) Blue Devils of Duke 46-43 to even their record at 2-2. Even with the game in Annapolis, I'm giving the slight edge to the Falcons due to their more consistent (even with last week's dreadful performance) play of the two and better competition they've faced.
Air Force 27 Navy 24
Navy 31 Air Force 20 (15-4)

Oklahoma at Colorado: So, Dan Hawkins split his first four games out-of-conference, which can be seen as a plus in Boulder in comparison to last year. What's next? Their first conference game is against Oklahoma! Ouch! Miracles can occur Dan, but I'm not thinking it's going to happen in Boulder on Saturday.
Oklahoma 38 Colorado 10
Colorado 27 Oklahoma 24 (15-5)

Iowa State at Nebraska: Nebraska has been embarrassed in Lincoln two weekends in a row and one of those embarrassments came in a victory! Thankfully, ::knocks on wood:: Nebraska faces one of the worst offensive teams, not only in the Big XII, but in the country, so one would hope they'd be able to hold their opponent (The Suckclones) to under 40 points and 610 yards of total offense in this game. NU should win and improve to 4-1 on the season.
Nebraska 31 Iowa State 6
Nebraska 35 Iowa State 17 (16-5)

Syracuse at Miami (Ohio): Why is it, that after a huge upset of the once top ten bound Louisville Cardinals, I'm having a difficult time deciding who will win between the Orange and the Red Hawks? Sad. Sad. Sad. I hate to pick Syracuse, but based on their fluke performance from a week ago, I'm going to roll the dice and take my chances with them against Miami.
Syracuse 24 Miami (Ohio) 17
Miami (Ohio) 17 Syracuse 14 (16-6)

Kent State at Ohio: After two tough losses, especially one at home this past weekend to Wyoming by a single point, 34-33, Ohio is in desperate need of a conference victory to gain some momentum as they begin conference play. At home, I think they will do just that, but the Golden Flashes won't make that easy.
Ohio 31 Kent State 21
Kent State 33 Ohio 25 (16-7)

Utah State at Utah: Utah is 1-3 with that one victory coming against 3-1 UCLA by the final score of 44-6. What happened that day is beyond me, but outside of that single game against the Bruins, the Utes have been looking anything but impressive. Lucky for them, they square off against a winless opponent who looks even worse off than they are.
Utah 28 Utah State 10
Utah 34 Utah State 18 (17-7)

Clemson at Georgia Tech: The Tigers, outside of their opening win against Florida State, has not faced a tough opponent in their early season schedule. With Georgia Tech now 0-2 in conference play following their disappointing 28-23 loss to Virginia, I believe they'll be extra geared up for this home showdown with the unbeaten Tigers. Yellow Jackets in the upset.
Georgia Tech 28 Clemson 24
Georgia Tech 13 Clemson 3 (18-7)

Louisville at North Carolina State: While things are going poorly, especially on the defensive end for the 2-2 Louisville Cardinals, things are going even worse for Tom O'Brien and his Wolfpack. NC State is 1-3 with their only victory coming against I-AA Wofford (38-17) and after this week, I have to believe it'll be their only win still. The loss Louisville suffered this past weekend was one of the most embarrassing in recent memory (outside of Ann Arbor), and they'll play a four quarter game this time around, at least on the offensive side of the ball.Louisville 42 North Carolina State 24
Louisville 29 North Carolina State 10 (19-7)

Maryland at Rutgers: This is a pretty good tune-up game for Rutgers as they get ready for Big East conference play. Maryland has sputtered some their past two games against West Virginia and Wake Forest. Look for that to continue this weekend, as Rutgers improves to 4-0 with the win.
Rutgers 31 Maryland 17
Maryland 34 Rutgers 24 (19-8)

Kansas State at Texas: Only if this game were played in Manhattan. I'd take the Wildcats. ::Sighs:: Since that's not the case, I'll put this game on upset alert, but have to believe the Longhorns will win it in Austin.
Texas 27 Kansas State 21
Kansas State 41 Texas 21 (19-9)

Michigan State at Wisconsin: Every week, I'm tempted to pick against Wisconsin. Their past three games, against UNLV, Citadel, and Iowa, teams with a combined 4-8 record, they've won by the combined score of 82-57 (average of 27.3 - 19.0). With the game at Camp Randall, I'm expecting more of the same from the Badgers, to play ugly on offense, to appear as if they've lost the game at some point in the second half, and to find a way to win in the end.
Wisconsin 20 Michigan State 13
Wisconsin 37 Michigan State 34 (20-9)

California at Oregon: The battle of the Pac-10 unbeatens at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. DeSean Jackson is fast... But Dennis Dixon and the Oregon offense are rather quick as well and want to avenge last year's 45-24 loss to the Bears. At Autzen, I think they'll do just that.
Oregon 45 California 38
California 31 Oregon 24 (20-10)

UNLV at Nevada: For whatever reason, UNLV has looked better than anticipated. They led unbeaten Wisconsin going into the 4th quarter and shut-out Utah this past weekend, 27-0, the same Utes that beat UCLA 44-6 the week before. I'll admit, I don't know much about this Rebel team, but I'm going to go out on a limb and pick them in this game.
UNLV 31 Nevada 28
Nevada 27 UNLV 20 (20-11)

UTEP at SMU: Mike Price and his Miners should have no problems scoring against the Mustangs. UTEP improves to 3-2 on the season.
UTEP 35 SMU 24
UTEP 48 SMU 45 OT (21-11)

Alabama at Florida State: Alabama is coming off a tough overtime loss to Georgia, but Florida State is going through some off-the-field (which translates to on-the-field) distractions of their own. Even without those off/on-the-field distractions, Florida State has looked anything but dominant, falling to Clemson, and outscoring UAB and Colorado (3-4 combined record) 50-30 (average of 25.0 - 15.0). The Tide are much better prepared for this game than the 'Noles and that should be shown on Saturday in Tallahassee.
Alabama 24 Florida State 17
Florida State 21 Alabama 14 (21-12)

Hawaii at Idaho: With or without Colt Brennan, June Jones' offense will score a lot of points, especially against an Idaho defense that allowed 42 this past week to Northern Illinois (the then 0-3 Huskies). Warriors score at will against the Vandals.
Hawaii 63 Idaho 21
Hawaii 48 Idaho 20 (22-12)

Western Kentucky at Bowling Green: The Hilltoppers got their first win against a I-A school this past week as a I-A independent by beating Middle Tennessee State 20-17. Congrats to them, as they've now won three straight, but that streak will likely come to an end on Saturday against the Falcons.
Bowling Green 27 Western Kentucky 17
Bowling Green 41 Western Kentucky 21 (23-12)

Louisiana-Lafayette at Central Florida: The Golden Knights were a bit peeved following their near upset win over Texas two weeks ago and they took it out on Memphis this past weekend in their 56-20 blow-out win over the Tigers (it wasn't even that close). Look for more of the same this week against the Rajun' Cajuns. George O'Leary's club wins big.
Central Florida 49 Louisiana-Lafayette 21
Central Florida 37 Louisiana-Lafayette 19 (24-12)

UCLA at Oregon State: Out of all the games this weekend, this has been the toughest one for me to pick. With the game in Corvallis, I'm very tempted to go with the Beavers, but UCLA quarterback Olsen is scheduled to come back this weekend and with their typically stingy defense (unless their offense turns the ball over 5 times and the team commits 10 penalties...ala Utah), I give the very slight edge to the Bruins.
UCLA 31 Oregon State 23
UCLA 40 Oregon State 14 (25-12)

North Texas at Arkansas: The Mean Green are anything but Mean anymore, but Arkansas will be playing Mean and angry on Saturday, following their consecutive losses to the likes of Alabama and Kentucky. Mean Green fans may want to turn in early and not even tune into this game.
Arkansas 70 North Texas 7
Arkansas 66 North Texas 7 (26-12)

UAB at Tulsa: Even with an extra week to prepare for the Golden Hurricane, UAB will have little to no shot at pulling off the upset. Tulsa improves to 3-1 with an easy win over the Blazers.
Tulsa 38 UAB 13
Tulsa 38 UAB 30 (27-12)

Eastern Michigan at Vanderbilt: Eastern Michigan has won two straight games, but they were against Waterloo, Nebraska and Nicaragua's 8-man team. Vandy should have no problem improving to 3-1 with a win at home against the Eagles.
Vanderbilt 42 Eastern Michigan 6
Vanderbilt 30 Eastern Michigan 7 (28-12)

East Carolina at Houston: The pesky Pirate defense from a year ago seem anything but this season. They better improve and quickly in order to limit the always explosive Cougars' offense in Houston. Unfortunately, for head coach Skip Holtz and company, I don't see that happening.
Houston 28 East Carolina 17
East Carolina 37 Houston 35 (28-13)

Pittsburgh at Virginia: Virginia lost their season opener to MWC Wyoming by 20 points and have since reeled off three conference victories to carry a 3-0 ACC record and 3-1 overall record into their game this weekend. Pittsburgh has lost two straight, including an embarrassing 20-point loss to Connecticut this past Saturday. Given the momentum (or lack there of) each team is carrying into Charlottesville this weekend, I'm taking the Cavs in another close win.
Virginia 20 Pittsburgh 17
Virginia 44 Pittsburgh 14 (29-13)

Florida International at Middle Tennessee: This could be it! This could be Florida International's opportunity to win a game this year! They went 0-12 last season and are off to another obliterating 0-4 start this year. Unfortunately, I just can't pick them to win a game. Blue Raiders win at home for their first victory of the season.
Middle Tennessee 31 Florida International 21
Middle Tennessee 47 Florida International 6 (30-13)

Colorado State at TCU: CSU has had anything but an easy early season schedule. They started the year by playing their in-state rivals, Colorado at Boulder in their 31-28 overtime loss to the Buffaloes. They then came back against California, only to lose 34-28 in the end. This past weekend, they had the lead against the always dangerous Houston until late, falling to the Cougars 38-27. Now they get to face TCU and again...I see a hard-fought, tough loss for Lubbick's club.
TCU 24 Colorado State 20
TCU 24 Colorado State 12 (31-13)

Western Michigan at Toledo: Western Michigan had a tough non-conference schedule this season, but now it's time to get serious with in-conference games. Toledo's usually potent offense hasn't appeared like its old self until this past weekend when they scored 36 against Iowa State. While Western better hope the Rockets haven't found their rhythm on offense again, I have a feeling that the Broncos' defense will be able to limit them just enough for the big MAC victory.
Western Michigan 28 Toledo 21
Western Michigan 42 Toledo 28 (32-13)

Louisiana-Monroe at Troy: Louisiana-Lafayette last week and Louisiana-Monroe this week. Troy appeared to be sleepwalking in the first half of their game last week, which is understandable, given the fact their first three opponents were: Arkansas, Florida, and Oklahoma State. But, they came back to score 48 on the Rajun' Cajuns in their 17-point victory which evened their record at 2-2. They may be able to sleepwalk even further into the game this week and come out with a 17-point win.
Troy 52 Louisiana-Monroe 17
Troy 24 Louisiana-Monroe 7 (33-13)

Auburn at Florida: If this were a few years ago or even last year, I may have a difficult time deciding who to choose for this game. But, not this season. Florida had a bit of a hiccup last week against Mississippi, as I expected, but escaped with the victory. Auburn, meanwhile, has not looked good against any of their four opponents thus far. They have lost two of four games, including an in-conference game at home to typical SEC doormat Mississippi State, and they've found themselves down at least deep into the second quarter of their two other games, being down late against Kansas State and finding themselves down to New Mexico State 20-14 late in the second quarter of last week's game. Urban Meyer will have his team focused again this week, at the Swamp, against a typical SEC giant, in Tommy Tuberville's Auburn Tigers. If one thought the Gator/Volunteer game was ugly, they haven't seen anything yet!
Florida 42 Auburn 3
Auburn 20 Florida 17 (33-14)

Ohio State at Minnesota: The Buckeyes' young offense is finally showing some life and Minnesota's defense has been dead and buried for a few years now. One question, though. Why did Minnesota fire Glen Mason again? Well, anyway, Buckeyes win easily.
Ohio State 45 Minnesota 14
Ohio State 30 Minnesota 7 (34-14)

USC at Washington: With this game in Seattle and the Huskies playing the Trojans very closely last year, I'd be on the look-out if I were Pete Carroll. The Huskies lost a tough one this past weekend against UCLA and have lost two straight (the other to Ohio State) since starting the year at 2-0. But, even at home, in seeing how successful UCLA's running game was last weekend against the Huskies and seeing in person how deep and dangerous USC's backs are, Washington won't last past halftime.
USC 55 Washington 20
USC 27 Washington 24 (35-14)

BYU at New Mexico: The Cougars appear to be coming around after their slow start, pummeling then unbeaten Air Force this past weekend 31-6. New Mexico did some pummeling of their own, but it was against a community college in Poland. BYU is no community college and I'm thinking they'll get the best of the Lobos in this one.
BYU 38 New Mexico 24
BYU 31 New Mexico 24 (36-14)

Washington State at Arizona: I know it's a bit early to say things like this, but this could be a do or die game for Arizona. They're already 1-3 and with a loss here, will drop to 1-4 and will need to finish 5-2 to just become bowl eligible. Not likely when they'll need to face UCLA, USC, and Oregon amongst other schools. Unfortunately, I don't see them coming out of this one alive (figuratively speaking, of course).
Washington State 31 Arizona 24
Washington State 20 Arizona 0 (37-14)

Cincinnati at San Diego State: No analysis needed here. Unless Cincinnati plays drunk (literally), I can't see them losing this one. The Bearcats should improve to 5-0 on the season. Who would've thought?
Cincinnati 41 San Diego State 14
Cincinnati 52 San Diego State 23 (38-14)

Arizona State at Stanford: Stanford looks to be an improved club this year, giving Oregon a battle this past weekend, but ASU looks to be improved as well. Love or hate the guy, Dennis Erickson gets the job done in college. They better not look past the Cardinal, especially on the road, but if they play their game, ASU should improve to a perfect 5-0.
Arizona State 38 Stanford 24
Arizona State 41 Stanford 3 (39-14)

Louisiana Tech at Fresno State: With a week off to recover from their tough two-game stretch of Texas A&M (and losing in triple overtime) and Oregon at Autzen, Pat Hill's Bulldogs should be ready to win a WAC game. If not, this could be another long season for Hill and company.
Fresno State 28 Louisiana Tech 14
Fresno State 17 Louisiana Tech 6 (40-14)

Week 5 Record: 40-14 (.741)
Overall Record: 149-54 (.734)