NCAA Football 2018 Week 5 picks

Thurs Sept 27
North Carolina Tar Heels at Miami Hurricanes:  The Hurricanes have not been spectacular, but the 3-1 Canes have certainly shown more power on the field than the struggling Heels.  MIAMI

Fri Sept 28
Memphis Tigers at Tulane Green Wave:  Memphis has quietly been producing some excitement on the field while Tulane has looked pretty sad.  MEMPHIS

UCLA Bruins at #12 Colorado Buffaloes:  The Buffaloes get back to work after a bye week and they face the hapless Bruins.  It has been a long time since the Bruins were the lone winless team in the conference, and that streak will continue this week.  COLORADO

Sat Sept 29
Top 25
Louisiana Ragin Cajuns at #1 Alabama Crimson Tide:  Another weak opponent for the Tide to crush.  ALABAMA

#2 Ohio State Buckeyes at #3 Penn State Nittany Lions:  Whoa, this might prove to be the best game all season so far!  After a slow six quarters to start the season, Penn State has come alive.  However, "Linebacker U" doesn't quite have as strong a graduating class as normal.  Meanwhile, the Buckeyes have the hottest QB in the conference and one of the best batch of clutch receivers.  Combine that with two multi-purpose backs, and their offense will stretch that defense.  Penn State's Trace McSorley has been looking good, but the Penn State offense isn't quite on par with Ohio State's.  The home crowd, and the Nittany Lions drive to beat the Buckeyes, will help keep this close, but I expect Ohio State to edge this one out in the second half.  OHIO STATE

Tennessee Volunteers at #4 Georgia Bulldogs:  Tennessee hasn't been horrible, except in their lone conference game.  Their second one won't be much better.  GEORGIA

Baylor Bears at #5 Oklahoma Sooners:  Baylor's 3-1 record makes them look better than they are.  Duke exposed that, and Oklahoma will exploit that.  OKLAHOMA

#16 Syracuse Orange at #6 Clemson Tigers:  Syracuse beat Clemson last year, and they are hoping for a repeat of that.  If this were last week, or if this game were in Syracuse, I would pick the Orange.  However, Clemson finally got it together last week.  Whether that was a fluke or not will depend on the play of new starter Trevor Lawrence.  With former starter Kelly Bryant playing baby and missing practice, he probably won't be allowed to suit up, so Clemson is putting all of their eggs into the basket of the true freshman.  We'll see if he can deliver.  SYRACUSE in the upset

#7 Stanford Cardinal at #11 Notre Dame Fighting Irish:  The Cardinal looked sluggish last week against Oregon, although they eventually pulled out the win.  The Irish finally looked strong, which they hadn't since the win over Michigan in Week 1.  I think the Irish have turned the tide.  NOTRE DAME

Ole Miss Rebels at #8 LSU Tigers:  Although Ole Miss started with a win over Texas Tech, they were shellacked by Alabama, which seemed to shake them.  They had a rocky start against Kent State, and they cannot afford to do that against LSU.  LSU

Pittsburgh Panthers at #9 UCF Golden Knights:  The Panthers will struggle to advance the ball against the extremely tough UCF defense.  UCF

#10 West Virginia Mountaineers at Texas Tech Red Raiders:  This is the Mountaineers' chance to really show that they can challenge Oklahoma.  A win against the resurgent Raiders would show that they can stand up to a strong offense on a roll.  With their defense, I think they can.  WEST VIRGINIA

#13 Oregon Ducks at Cal Golden Bears:  The Ducks offense was flying against Stanford last week.  If they even show half that power this week, they will overwhelm the Bears.  OREGON

#14 Michigan Wolverines at Northwestern Wildcats:  Wither the Wildcats, this game will be a massacre.  MICHIGAN

South Carolina Gamecocks at #17 Kentucky Wildcats:  One Wildcats team may be down, but this one is a force!  Kentucky is challenging Georgia for the division, and if they can avoid their typical conference collapse, they have the tools to do that.  Getting past the Gamecocks will be an important step.  KENTUCKY

Virginia Tech Hokies at #18 Duke Blue Devils:  After last week's epic fail against winless Old Dominion, will anyone be picking the Hokies in the near future?  DUKE

#20 Florida Gators at #23 Mississippi State Bulldogs:  This could be a good game, but you are looking at two teams going in opposite directions.  The Bulldogs started the season hot but have been going cold.  Florida needed to warm up, and now they are doing great.  I think both streaks will continue.  FLORIDA

Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles at #21 Auburn Tigers:  The normally competitive Golden Eagles are having a down year, so I don't think this game will be much of a challenge for the Tigers.  AUBURN

Utah Utes at #22 Washington State Cougars:  The Cougars need a strong win to recover from last week, but Utah may not make that too easy for them.  Fortunately for the Cougars, this isn't a great year for the Utes, so they should capture the win, although it may be closer than they would like.  WASHINGTON STATE

#24 Oklahoma State Cowboys at Kansas Jayhawks:  After getting thoroughly trounced last week, only the most diehard Jayhawks fans will likely come to this game and watch it happen again.  OKLAHOMA STATE

#25 Texas Longhorns at Kansas State Wildcats:  Like Northwestern, here is another group of Wildcats who have been declawed.  TEXAS

Big Ten
Central Michigan Chippewas at Michigan State Spartans:  Sparty gets a break, and a big win to boot.  MICHIGAN STATE

Indiana Hoosiers at Rutgers Scarlet Knights:  Rutgers looks atrocious, which should give Indy a nice win.  INDIANA

Purdue Boilermakers at Nebraska Cornhuskers:  The Cornhuskers also look atrocious, which will allow Purdue to capture their second win in a row.  PURDUE

Other Games of Interest
Arkansas Razorbacks at Texas A&M Aggies:  Arkansas is the worst team in the SEC, so the Aggies get a nice easy win.  TEXAS A&M

Army Black Knights at Buffalo Bulls:  After what Army did against Oklahoma, you can bet the Bulls are worried, but I think they will pull it out to maintain their unbeaten record.  BUFFALO

Virginia Cavaliers at NC State Wolf Pack:  Virginia has quietly amassed a 3-1 record and threatening the top of the Coastal Division.  Unbeaten NC State needs to bring the Cavs back down to earth.  NC STATE

BYU Cougars at Washington Huskies:  BYU is capable of pulling out the upset here, but I'll support the Huskies.  WASHINGTON

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs at North Texas Mean Green:  The Mean Green should continue their unbeaten streak and put themselves at the top of the Conference USA West division.  NORTH TEXAS

Toledo Rockets at Fresno State Bulldogs:  I recently met a wonderful woman from Toledo who is a Rockets fan.  I'd love to pick her team.  Unfortunately, the Bulldogs are too good.  FRESNO STATE