Oklahoma (2-1) is coming off their first loss of the season and they are now 0-1 in Big 12 play. They now face a Texas Tech team that is 4-0 and the Red Raiders have not lost a home game to Oklahoma at home since the 2003 season.
South Carolina (5-0) has won 2 straight over Georgia (5-0) including beating them in a 45-42 shootout at Georgia last season.
This sweet Big 12 match up pits Texas (4-0) and their solid defense against West Virginia (4-0) and their offense that has scored the 3rd most points in the nation.
The UCLA Bruins and the California Golden Bears couldn’t be having much different seasons at this point in 2012. The Bruins are 4-1 under new head coach Jim Mora Jr., while the Golden Bears are 1-4 with their head coach, Jeff Tedford, officially on the hot seat.
The LSU Tigers have continued to slip in the rankings despite their 5-0 record, and a win against the No. 10 Florida Gators would do wonders for their BCS title hopes midway through the season. Oppositely, the Florida Gators are off to a sound start. These two SEC foes will meet in The Swamp on Saturday in one of the better matchups of the entire weekend.
The Iowa State Cyclones and the No. 15 TCU Horned Frogs meet this week in what could be one of the more underrated games in all of college football this weekend. While neither team has played a top-quality opponent up to this point, both squads have boasted solid defenses. TCU currently holds the nation’s longest winning streak at 12 games running.
The Big Ten race is wide open this year. Ohio State and Penn State have looked as good as anyone in the league, but they aren’t eligible for the conference title. Michigan has been humbled a couple times, but the Wolverines are still one of the best teams in a conference that is down.
The Big Ten as a whole has taken a real beating in the media this year, and it has deserved it. The league has a ton of underachieving teams, and Illinois and Wisconsin both fit into that category.
The No. 2 Oregon Ducks have only faced one ranked opponent up to this point 2012, but with the No. 23 Washington Huskies coming to town this weekend, the team will try to assert their dominance in Pac-12 competition.
These two teams are bitter rivals, and no other team in the nation (aside from maybe the Oregon State Beavers) would be happier taking the Ducks out of national championship contention.
Following their 25-point loss to the Ducks in week five, the Washington State Cougars head to Corvallis to face the other team from the state of Oregon, the Oregon State Beavers. The Beavers are coming off a big-time road victory in Arizona that has propelled them to No.14 in the nation. The Cougars have struggled against decent programs, and they’re looking to get their first big win of the season.
The No. 15 Clemson Tigers play host to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets this Saturday, and for the most part, their seasons have gone different directions up to this point in the year. The Yellow Jackets may have one of the most exciting and unique offenses in the country, but their 39.2 points per game have only resulted in two wins in their first five contests.
The Boise State Broncos’ relevancy went out the window for most casual fans when they lost to the Michigan State Spartans in the first week of the season. They’ve bounced back to win their last three games, but the interest level just isn’t there as the BCS-Buster label has gone missing from their program. The Southern Miss Golden Eagles are no BCS-Buster, either, but they’re coming off a close loss to No. 19 Louisville just a week ago.
After a horrid start to the season Pitt (2-2) has rebounded well winning their last 2 games including beating a ranked Virginia Tech team. On the other side of the coin Syracuse is only 1-3 and their only win of the season came against college football powerhouse Stony Brook.
The USC Trojans had extremely high aspirations this year, but their loss at Stanford a couple weeks ago really hurt their chances of being a player on the national level.
USC is still a very good team, but they haven’t played up to the level many expected they would.
The Arizona Wildcats and the Stanford Cardinal both began their seasons with high-profile victories. Arizona took down No. 18 Oklahoma State, while the Cardinal defeated No. 2 USC. Many believed just two weeks ago that these two squads could challenge the leaders in their respective divisions, but following recent disappointments, each team is looking to bounce back in their week six matchup.
When the Nebraska Cornhuskers went into Wisconsin last season, they suffered a 48-7 loss against the then-ranked seventh team in the nation. This year’s Badgers have been good—not great—but the biggest question heading into week five’s matchup has to be, will starting running back Monte Ball be in or out?
