College Football Week 5 Bold Predictions

1. Underdogs prove victorious in at least 3 out of 5 clashes between ranked teams

This week, there are five showdowns between ranked teams, and I think the lower ranked guys come out on top in the majority of them.  #15 Oklahoma and #23 West Virginia are both undefeated and I could see that one going either way.  You certainly can't count out #13 Alabama against #8 Georgia.  #25 Florida has its work cut out with #3 Ole Miss coming to the swamp, but I think it's only a matter of time before the Rebels falter - why couldn't it be against the undefeated Gators?  I feel the same way about #14 Texas A&M as they get ready to play #21 Mississippi State.  And finally, we've got #6 Notre Dame taking on #12 Clemson, another one that I wouldn't be surprised to see go down to the wire.  My picks for these games: West Virginia over Oklahoma, 37 - 35; Alabama beats Georgia, 42 - 30; Ole Miss survives Florida, 28 - 20; Texas A&M hangs on against Mississippi State, 31 - 24; Clemson downs Notre Dame in OT, 34 - 31.

2. Eastern Michigan keeps Leonard Fournette under 200 rushing yards

The LSU running back and Heisman front-runner has totaled 631 yards on the ground in just three games this year, and that number could explode this Saturday.  The reason?  Eastern Michigan ranks 128th (out of 128) in the FBS in terms of rushing yards allowed, giving up an astonishing 1493 yards over the course of four contests.  The only chance that I get this prediction right is if the Tigers get a huge lead early and rest their bruising back, which is certainly possible.  LSU wins easily either way, something like 48 - 10.

3. Ohio State puts up 50+ points on the Hoosiers

This is the week it finally all comes together on offense.  It seemed like the Buckeyes were on the verge of breaking out last week, and with Jones solidifying the starting job I think his confidence and the overall potency of the entire offense skyrockets against Indiana.  The Hoosiers aren't exactly known for their defense, either, and the school announced yesterday that DT Darius Latham, the cornerstone of their defensive line, has been suspended indefinitely.  On the other side of the ball, IU boasts a dangerous ground attack, spearheaded by UAB transfer Jordan Howard, who leads the nation in rushing yards.  Quarterback Nate Sudfeld is also back for his senior year, making this game a potential challenge for Ohio State's defense.  But I think the Buckeye offense outperforms all other units (for a change), as Cardale drops a bomb on Indiana in a 52 - 27 victory.

4.  Big Ten openers feature blowouts, with average margin of victory exceeding 20 points

The average margin of victory (by week) during the B1G conference slate last year was about 16 points.  On only three occasions did that average top 20 points.  However, one of those occasions was the first week of conference play.  Vegas is predicting closer games; if results match the current lines it would yield only a 12.7 average margin of victory.  But I think the disparity between the top and bottom of the Big Ten becomes clearly evident from the start, much like it did last year.  Penn State and Rutgers are left out from this prediction, since they opened their conference schedules against each other last week.  Rutgers is on bye this week and Penn State faces Army, which amounts to virtually the same thing.  I already gave my Ohio State vs Indiana score prediction, but here are my others: Michigan 35, Maryland 13; Michigan State 41, Purdue 17; Northwestern 23, Minnesota 16; Wisconsin 39, Iowa 17; Nebraska 38, Illinois 14.

5. Oregon finally figures out who fielded that punt

Last week, Utah pulled off an amazing fake during a punt return in the third quarter of their 62 - 20 obliteration of the Ducks.  The Utes fooled just about everyone, including 9 out of 11 of the Oregon players on the field.  It's now been determined that Britain Covey did not in fact catch the punt.  Oregon has their top special-teams experts dedicated to figuring out exactly where the ball went, and who may have caught it.  I'm confident that they'll find out what happened.