College football games of note: Week 5

If you are still feeling a Week 4 college football hangover, don’t worry. You are not alone. The collegiate gridiron itself was a little tipsy with near upsets from teams like Army and Iowa, an insane comeback from the Stanford Cardinal as well as program history made by Old Dominion with its 49-35 win over No. 13 Virginia Tech. And, no, your vision isn’t blurry: Nebraska is still winless at 0-3, Miami benched starting quarterback Malik Rosier in favor of the future, aka N’Kosi Perry, and the Kentucky Wildcats football team is still undefeated after knocking off No. 14 Mississippi State. Oh, and, yes, Texas Tech freshman quarterback Alan Bowman threw for almost 400 yards in the Red Raiders' 41-17 win over Oklahoma State.

With as lit as last weekend was, Week 5 has decided to keep the party going with a plethora of games featuring ranked opponents, meaning lots of movement in the polls, if you are into that sort of thing. Or if you are like Lane Kiffin and don’t believe in a ranking system for toughness, there are some choice non top-25 games to keep your eye on. Here are some games of note for Week 5.

No. 4 Ohio State at No. 9 Penn State

Start off with the big one – the Buckeyes head to Happy Valley in our first of three featured games between ranked opponents. The Buckeyes are favored but only by a few points, and Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins will have his hands full with Penn State head coach James Franklin’s ever-maturing defense. Luckily he has reliable receivers in Parris Campbell and K.J. Hill and solid run support from J.K. Dobbins and a healthy Mike Weber. Haskins ranks second in the nation in touchdown passes, while the Buckeyes offense ranks third nationally in total offense. But hold up: Penn State’s offense is just as deadly, led by Heisman hopeful QB Trace McSorley who, despite his underwhelming statistics, can throw the ball deep and move extremely well. Plus there is running back Miles Sanders who has 71 carries for nearly 500 yards, ranking him sixth nationally. Ohio State’s defense should be worried, considering it gave up 511 total yards to TCU. It will be a close one, but I think Penn State upsets.

No. 7 Stanford at No. 8 Notre Dame

Now that the Cardinal conquered the cruel environment in Autzen, South Bend should be a piece of cake for David Shaw and Co., right? The Stanford defense is set to hand-deliver a personal invite to Notre Dame QB Ian Book to a super fun party in the backfield — 13-sacks-and-counting fun. Book will need to move quickly to keep drives alive, but luckily the Fighting Irish get back a well-rested Dexter Williams to aid in the run game. And if you are worried about Bryce Love not going off, don’t be — Love has hit the 100-yard mark two years in a row against Notre Dame. The Irish’s secondary will need to be on its toes with receivers like JJ Arcega-Whiteside, who has 17 catches for 408 yards and seven touchdowns this season. Plus, might we be seeing the resurgence of “Tight End U” at Stanford with guys like Kaden Smith and Colby Parkinson getting time? Stanford definitely has a fighting chance, but I think the Irish ultimately edge.

Purdue at Nebraska

At first blush, this may not seem like a game you would gather around the television for, but hear me out. First there is the Scott Frost factor — the former UCF coach is struggling in his new role at Nebraska, as the Huskers are 0-3 and have lost the last seven straight games, allowing a combined 310 points. A loss to Purdue would give the program an eight-game losing streak and seven-game home losing streak, both unheard of in the program’s 129 seasons. But there is a bright spot: Purdue is the only team Nebraska has beaten in its current losing stretch. The Huskers won 25-24 in Indiana with a last-second touchdown last October. Senior quarterback David Blough will start, according to Purdue head coach Jeff Brohm, which is fitting since Blough helped orchestrate Purdue’s 30-13 victory over No. 23 Boston College last weekend and helped the Boilermakers avoid their first 0-4 start since 1982. This is the first of two road games for Purdue, so it will be looking to set the tone. And Nebraska’s defense hasn’t exactly been inspiring, so the Boilermakers could very well drop 50.

No. 19 Oregon at No. 24 Cal

Lastly, this is one of the games I will be covering this week.  I think by now we have all seen the video of Oregon fans throwing trash on Stanford players as they left the field last Saturday night. I’m sure you have even seen Jared Goff’s tweet calling out the shirtless guy, hoping he will make the trek to Memorial Stadium to watch the Bears roll over the Ducks. It won’t be easy, because disastrous finish against Stanford aside, Oregon boasts a potent offense led by the incredibly talented QB, Justin Herbert, who completed 26-of-28 passes against the Cardinal before the overtime meltdown. Turnovers will be the big key — Oregon has given the ball away eight times in three games against FBS teams, which will prove problematic against an opportunistic Cal defense that ranks fifth in the nation in pass efficiency and has seven interceptions. Plus Cal is coming off a nice little bye week. This is the Golden Bears chance to start the season 4-0 and win the first game between ranked opponents at Memorial Stadium since October of 2009. One caveat: Cal is 2-6 immediately after receiving an AP ranking, according to California Golden Blogs. Hopefully, head coach Justin Wilcox isn’t superstitious.

Hall over the place
Over the course of the 2018 season, Emily Hall Van Buskirk will be traveling across the country, attending as many college football games as humanly possible. In this sacred section, she will share with you the details of her travels as she embarks on this adventure. Follow along as she makes her way across the country, bringing back tales of glory and memoirs of misfortune.

After an incredible Week 3 between the Hedges, I decided to keep the party going and fly to Florida for some in-state matchups. I was able to find a Friday night UCF vs. FAU game followed by a Saturday afternoon Miami vs. FIU matchup. Perfect, right? But what was I supposed to do with all that downtime before Friday?

Rent a convertible and drive to Key West, obviously. With my best friend and cohost in tow, we zipped through the Keys and explored everything the (nearly) southernmost city had to offer. We ate key lime pie covered in chocolate on a stick, we enjoyed cocktails in a clothing optional bar recommended by a friend who told us Mike Leach is a big fan and we spent the night on a restored Dutch sailboat, lounging on fancy couches and looking up at the stars. It was incredible.