College Football Week 5 Bold Predictions

1. NC State shocks Florida State

Yes, Jameis Winston is back this week.  And NC State has yet to face an opponent with a pulse this season.  But, throw out the win against Citadel and the Seminoles have an average margin of victory of six points.  They have also lost multiple key defensive players to injuries.  The last time Florida State played in Raleigh?  A 17 - 16 defeat at the hands of the Wolfpack.  This year they do it again, 29 - 27.

2. Washington takes down Stanford

Washington comes into this game averaging 41.3 points per game.  On the other side of the ball, Stanford is the best nationally, allowing only 4.3 points per game.  One thing's for sure, we will learn a lot about these Huskies on Saturday.  Washington holds the home-field advantage, and took the win two years ago when they last played Stanford in Seattle.  And don't be fooled by the Huskies' first two games against sub-par competition, which were scary close.  This team is better than that and will show it this weekend with a 17 - 13 win over the Cardinal.

3. Ohio State scores twice on defense/special teams vs Cincinnati

The Buckeyes haven't scored on defense since a fumble return against Navy in week 1, and have yet to score on special teams.  They were close last week, on a blocked punt that ended up back in the hands of Kent State.  This week, Dontre Wilson finally takes a kick return to the house, and the defense records a pick-six to spark a big second half for Ohio State.  Bearcats hang tight for the first two quarters but can't keep up.  Ohio State wins 42 - 24.

4. Michigan's six-figure attendance streak comes to an end

If it wasn't bad enough for the Wolverines, a miscommunication between Coca-Cola and the university led to a promotion where fans could get two free tickets with the purchase of a pair of Cokes.  The deal is an embarrassment and an insult to season ticket-holders, even if it wasn't officially OK'd by the university.  To make matters worse, the Big House's streak of games with attendance over 100,000, which has stood for almost 30 years, is still in jeopardy.  The game against Miami (Ohio) tallied only 102,824, the lowest in almost 20 years.  And that was before losing 26 - 10 at home vs Utah.  This week's attendance with Minnesota in town could be even lower, possibly dipping below the six-figure mark.  But they still get the win, 27 - 23.

5. Wisconsin racks up 100-billion rushing yards against South Florida

Last week, the Badgers ran for an astonishing 644 yards against Bowling Green.  South Florida gave up 315 yards on the ground against NC State, who do not possess a rushing attack even close to Wisconsin's.  OK, so I don't really think they will tally 100-billion rushing yards, but I could see them going for 400+ in another blowout win.  55 - 17, Badgers.