Ranked teams have fallen more often in the first four weeks than they have since the 1930s. This week gives us four ranked teams facing each other including six of the top 12 teams battling it out. Outside of that we have Iowa, BYU, Michigan, Oregon, Oklahoma, and Florida all in the top 15 with tricky road games. Arkansas at Georgia, Cincinnati at Notre Dame, and Ole Miss at Alabama will get most of the eyeballs but this promises to be the best college football weekend of the year. Now, let’s get into it as we look at the best matchups in college football with our 2021 week five college football watch guide.
Note: All game times are in central standard time
2021 Week Five College Football Watch Guide
Friday
7:00 PM
(5) Iowa at Maryland 
In the first game of our 2021 week five college football watch guide, we have a sluggish Iowa club traveling to College Park to take on Maryland. The Hawkeyes are 4-0 and ranked in the top five but haven’t been incredibly impressive in games against Kent State and Colorado State. Meanwhile, the Terps look to be a much-improved squad under Mike Locksley. Taulia Tagovailoa is much more consistent in year two, but do they have enough firepower to get the upset?
8:00 PM
(13) BYU at Utah State 
Utah State was dropped from the ranks of the unbeaten in emphatic fashion with a 27-3 loss at the hands of Boise State at home on Saturday. The Aggies will need to take care of the ball better against the Cougars. After rolling through three straight PAC 12 foes, BYU came back to earth after an uneven 35-27 win over lowly USF. BYU heads on the road for a true road game for the first time all season in what should be an entertaining game.
Saturday
11:00 AM
(8) Arkansas at (2) Georgia
Here we have the first of two top 10 teams facing off in our 2021 week five college football watch guide. Arkansas has been one of the best stories in the country in jumping up all the way to number eight after the upset against Texas A&M. For the Hogs to have any chance in this game, the health of KJ Jefferson is critical. Meanwhile, Georgia is looking more and more like the best team in the country. The Bulldogs have throttled their last three opponents to the tune of 158-20, but the competition is much better this week.
Texas at TCU 
All of a sudden Texas is looking like they could be the best offense in the Big 12. The Longhorns have scored 128 points in their last two games and have appeared to found their guy at quarterback with Casey Thompson. But, they travel to TCU, a team that has only won two of the last 11 games against. The Horned Frogs have given up 74 points in their last two games. That’s a scary proposition against a team as hot as the Longhorns.
(14) Michigan at Wisconsin 
The Badgers led Notre Dame 13-10 in the fourth quarter until the wheels went tumbling down the road. Three non-offensive touchdowns in the fourth did make the game more lopsided than it was. Wisconsin has to get much better play at the quarterback position from Graham Mertz who has been very bad early in the season. For Michigan, the good news is that they are 4-0. But, the bad news is that they struggled offensively last week in a 20-13 victory over Rutgers. The first team to 10 points could very well win this game.
1:30 PM
(7) Cincinnati at (9) Notre Dame 
Here it is, this is the matchup that Bearcat fans have been pointing to. A highly ranked and highly respected non-conference opponent on the road give Cincinnati a chance to make a statement. With a very favorable schedule ahead of them the Bearcats should go undefeated with a win in South Bend. For the Irish, they have a schedule ahead of them with Virginia Tech, USC, and North Carolina that doesn’t look quite as daunting now. Much like Cincinnati, a win here gives the Irish a good chance at an undefeated season.
2:30 PM
(12) Ole Miss at (1) Alabama 
The schedule makers love us here as we have six of the top 12 teams in the country facing each other in the 2021 week five college football watch guide. The top two players in the Heisman Trophy race face-off as Bryce Young of Alabama match up against Matt Corral of Ole Miss. Defensive stops will be at a premium as Ole Miss and Alabama have arguably the best offenses in the country. Can Lane Kiffin be the first assistant to beat Nick Saban? Or will Saban continue to exude his dominance and lay claim to Alabama as the best team in the country?
(4) Oregon at Stanford 
After the upset of Ohio State, Oregon has looked just okay in victories over Stony Brook and Arizona. In fact, they were outplayed last week as Arizona held a 31-17 first down and 435-393 total yard advantage but committed five turnovers. Now, they hit the road for the second time this season to the farm as Stanford comes calling. The Cardinal have been inconsistent with a 2-2 record thus far but if the trend continues then on Saturday they could give the Ducks all that they can handle.
(6) Oklahoma at Kansas State 
It’s been a several of fortunes for the Sooners this season as the defense has only 29 points over the last three games. However, the offense has only scored 39 points total in the last two games. The struggle on the offensive line and with Spencer Rattler has been too hard to ignore and must get better. Comparatively, Kansas State is looking for three straight wins against the Sooners. That could be a little easier if Skylar Thompson is back a quarterback for the Wildcats. Kansas State as a whole will be looking to play much better than they did against Oklahoma State.
5:00 PM
(10) Florida at Kentucky 
Even with the loss to Alabama, the Gators have been more impressive than many thought they might be initially. Comparatively, the Wildcats are looking for a 5-0 start to the season. Both teams appear to be mirror images of each other at this time. Ball control offense that relies on the running game and stout defense. The difference is the way that they attack you. Florida involves quarterback Emory Jones in the running game. But, Kentucky relies more on Chris Rodriguez in a prototypical running game. However, it might be the downfield passing game that decides the outcome.
6:00 PM
(21) Baylor at (19) Oklahoma State 
We all had Baylor ranked higher than Clemson after the first month of the season, right? Well, be that as it may, the Bears are sitting atop the Big 12 right now at 2-0 after their upset win over Iowa State. Now, the Bears go on the road against the best defensive team they have faced all year in the Oklahoma State Cowboys. After an inauspicious start to the year. Oklahoma State has looked impressive in back-to-back weeks. Utah State transfer Jaylen Warren has rushed for 341 yards in the last two games to kickstart an anemic offense that appears to be clicking now.
6:30 PM
Indiana at (4) Penn State 
It’s not been the type of season that many people in Bloomington expected this season. The Hoosiers are 2-2 and Michael Pennix, Jr has been struggling only completing 55% of his passes with four touchdowns and six interceptions. But, a win on the road against top-five Penn State could be a big shot in the arm. Comparatively, the quarterback play has been much better this season for Sean Clifford who is completing 72% of his passes with eight touchdowns and two interceptions. With road games at Iowa and Ohio State in two of the next three weeks, this game is huge.
Boston College at (25) Clemson 
For the first time since 2014, Clemson has two regular-season losses. The mentality will be interesting for a team that is conceivably out of the playoff race in October. The offense is only averaging 22 points per game and injuries are mounting up with Bryan Bresee out for the year and Will Shipley out for a few weeks. Conversely, Boston College is sitting at 4-0 after an overtime win over Missouri on Saturday. The continued improvement of Dennis Grosel at quarterback and the emergence of Pat Garwo III at running back could be key.
8:00 PM
(22) Auburn at LSU 
In a game where Auburn needed the aid of two non-offensive touchdowns to defeat Georgia State, they head to Death Valley limping along. To make matters worse, there might a quarterback controversy after Bo Nix was replaced by TJ Finley in the second half. They may need all the offense they can get to keep up with LSU’s passing game. Max Johnson has thrown 15 touchdowns to only three interceptions with over 1,100 yards in four games. But, the running game is only averaging 2.9 yards per carry.
9:30 PM
Arizona State at (20) UCLA 
PAC 12 after dark brings us a big conference matchup at the Rose Bowl. The Bruins rebounded nicely from the loss to Fresno State with an impressive victory over Stanford on Saturday. With Utah and USC having down years so far, UCLA and Arizona State look like the best two teams in the South. With both teams traveling to Utah and Washington later in the year, the winner of this game has to like their position to represent the South in the PAC 12 Championship Game.
10:00 PM
(18) Fresno State at Hawaii 
Our final matchup in the 2021 week five college football watch guide has us going back to Hawaii for some Mountain West action. After their big win over UCLA, Fresno State sleepwalked and narrowly avoided the upset at the hands of UNLV last weekend. However, they do have one of the best quarterbacks in the nation in Jake Haener. For Hawaii, they played well in the second half in a 20-point win over New Mexico State last weekend. After narrowly missing the upset against San Jose State a few weeks ago, can they complete the job this weekend?
