Five weeks in, and we’re beginning to understand some things about this college football season.
Georgia is still great, and nearly three years removed from Nick Saban, Alabama looks like it once again might be elite. On Saturday, those teams will meet in the eye of a literal hurricane in Tuscaloosa in what’s become a rite of the past three falls, with the Tide having won the previous two, albeit without a ton of success otherwise.
Watch Georgia vs. Alabama live Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT on TSN2.
There’s still plenty else up for debate elsewhere in the SEC. Missouri is the new “it” team after tearing Florida to shreds in Week 5, after the Gators had done the same to Ole Miss the week prior after it had beaten LSU before that.
Lane Kiffin’s team has crept back into the Top 10 after a pair of easy wins, but it’ll get a difficult test on Saturday against a Kentucky team that’s beginning to be ranked again despite winning last week against South Carolina and dropping out.
Ohio State and Indiana continue to rule in the Big Ten, in a conference otherwise overrun by angst, with stalwarts like Michigan and Penn State winless within it, and Lincoln Riley seemingly clinging to his job at USC after barely escaping The Coliseum with a win over Washington – which looks hapless in its own right – last Saturday. This week, the Trojans travel three time zones east for a meeting in Happy Valley, hoping to win outside of the Pacific time zone for just the third time in eight tries since Riley took the USC job before the 2022 season.
The Big 12 is certainly up for grabs, with Texas Tech undefeated but looking less stable with each passing week, and though BYU also hasn’t lost, it found out on Wednesday that it’ll be without star running back LJ Martin for about a month after he was hurt in last week’s win over TCU. The Cougars host Notre Dame in Provo next Saturday and visit Utah for the Holy War on Nov. 7 in a game that could either pave a path or put a fork in either’s playoff hopes.
And then there’s the ACC, which still seems to be Miami’s, after its convincing 41-13 win over Clemson in Week 5. Interestingly, Duke is still undefeated (and still unranked) after winning the conference title last season despite having five losses. The Blue Devils can upend the idea of the Hurricanes being the far-and-away favourites in a visit to Hard Rock Stadium in Week 12.
So, what will we learn this weekend? Perhaps a few things, but we’ll probably be left with a whole other set of questions.
Time to usher in another round of chaos.
A look at storylines for Week 6:
Has the Tide finally turned under Kalen DeBoer?
Alabama entered this season ranked outside the Top 10 in the AP Poll for the first time since 2009, seemingly having lost its identity in the wake of Saban’s departure and with more questions than answers two years into DeBoer’s tenure.
But now, the program that often refers to “The Standard” is undergoing something of a revolution behind DeBoer and first-year starter Keelon Russell.
DeBoer has produced two first-round quarterbacks in the past three NFL Drafts in Michael Penix Jr. and Ty Simpson and might have the top pick in 2028 in Russell, who outplayed Kamario Taylor in last week’s 59-23 statement win on the road against Mississippi State.
Russell won the starting job in fall camp over Austin Mack in large part because of his five-star upside, and it’s been on display week-after-week thus far – in five games, Alabama is undefeated, with Russell accounting for 15 total touchdowns (11 passing, four rushing) with just three turnovers. The Tide has been an offensive juggernaut, scoring 45-plus points in each of its games, becoming the first FBS team to do that to this point in the season since Oklahoma in 2019.
We’ll find out everything we still need to know about Russell and the Tide this Saturday.
Weather is likely to play a major factor and that could favour second-ranked Georgia, which isn’t eager to get into a shootout, particularly after Gunner Stockton struggled to keep up with Trinidad Chambliss in last season’s Sugar Bowl. Georgia leads all Power Four teams this year with 12 plays of 40-plus yards and is leading the FBS with 51.4 points per game, but it’s done the bulk of its damage in pushover wins against Tennessee State and Western Kentucky and hasn’t faced much of a challenge in three conference games thus homefar.
There’s also the Kirby Smart “Alabama problem” narrative, which may have been put to bed last December in the SEC Championship, when Georgia thumped the Tide by three touchdowns to clinch its first-round playoff bye. Smart is still just 2-7 in his career against Alabama (with the other win being in the 2022 National Championship) and 120-14 against all other teams. DeBoer won regular-season matchups against Smart each of the past two seasons, including last October in Athens, when Alabama limited Stockton to 130 passing yards in a 24-21 win.
Texas could add to Oklahoma’s misery in the Red River Rivalry
The Longhorns and Sooners meet on the grounds of the Texas State Fair for the 122nd installment of the Red River Rivalry – a matchup that might inspire dread for the folks in Norman, with Oklahoma having scored a combined 27 points in its last three games and having been kept out of the end zone in three of its last four meetings with Texas.
John Mateer entered last season as one of the most celebrated quarterback acquisitions in the sport, then got a mulligan after struggling in the second half of the year after rushing back from a thumb injury he suffered in Week 4.
Oklahoma’s offensive issues have reared their ugly head again, and this year it’s without an excuse. Mateer threw a game-altering interception in a loss at Michigan in Week 2 and struggled badly in a 41-13 loss to Georgia in Athens two weeks ago, getting sacked three times and turning the ball over twice – one of which was a fumble that was run back 85 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter.
Arch Manning hasn’t exactly set the world on fire in his second season as a starter in the SEC either. Texas is ranked first in the AP Poll on the strength of its 24-23 win over Ohio State in Austin in Week 2 – a standing it affirmed with a 20-17 win over Tennessee in a challenging road environment two weeks later.
Statistically, Manning hasn’t taken the jump that seemed promised after his electrifying finish to last season – in four starts, he’s thrown seven touchdown passes with three interceptions, and he has just one touchdown pass and a pair of picks in the Longhorns’ two signature wins. After rushing for 10 touchdowns in 2025, Manning is yet to get into the end zone with his legs this year.
This is the 14th time the Red River Rivalry has involved a No.1-ranked team, and the second time in the last three years where Texas has come in with that distinction, with the Longhorns having won 34-3 in 2024.
A game formerly referred to as a “shootout” turned into more of a grind last season, with Texas winning 23-6 behind 166 passing yards and a touchdown from Manning, and Mateer being intercepted three times in his first game back from injury. This weekend doesn’t exactly scream “breakout” for Oklahoma’s offence either, with Texas ranked 21st in the FBS in passing yards allowed per game (171.8).
The Heisman race is beginning to look like a landslide
If you’re a fan of Heisman battles that come down to the wire, then this might not be your year.
Jeremiah Smith had his second straight staggering performance last weekend in Ohio State’s 31-14 win over defensively-stout Iowa, catching 11 catches for 206 yards and two touchdowns – bringing his totals from the past two games to 23, 423 and six. Through five games, Smith leads the FBS in catches (44), receiving yards (823) and is tied with Oregon State true freshman Jesse Legree for the lead in receiving touchdowns (nine).
Smith’s pace might be unsustainable, but he’s unlikely to be slowed on Saturday by Maryland, which has allowed 137 points and over 445 yards in three straight losses against Power Four opponents (Virginia Tech, UCLA and Nebraska).
Even if he rests late in a game where Ohio State is favoured by five touchdowns, there’s still potential for another eye-popping stat line.
Smith combined for 14 catches, 261 yards and four touchdowns in the first two quarters the past two weeks against Illinois and Iowa. After passing Michael Jenkins’ program record for receiving yards in Week 4 against Kent State, Smith completed the triple crown against Iowa by eclipsing Emuka Egbuka’s standard for receptions and Chris Olave’s for touchdowns, and he’s done it in just 34 career games.
Smith currently is the odds-on favourite to win the Heisman at FanDuel (-110), ahead of a handful of quarterbacks that have work to do to win a trophy that’s been generally reserved for them this century, with 21 of the 26 winners since 2000 being passers.
Miami’s Darian Mensah is idle in Week 6, and Russell faces a pair of challenges between the weather and Georgia, and CJ Carr is home to face Stanford after passing for four touchdowns in Notre Dame’s win over North Carolina last Saturday. Trinidad Chambliss and Ole Miss will try to get back on track in Nashville against Vanderbilt following a bye, eager to regain momentum after that humbling loss to Florida two weeks ago.
Indiana gets its biggest test yet against Nebraska
Anyone in the “Indiana hasn’t faced anyone camp” might get their wish this weekend against undefeated Nebraska, even if the Hoosiers’ challenging home game against Northwestern two weeks ago might actually stack up as a stronger win than it had originally looked.
Saturday’s game also serves as a precursor for one of the best games on the entire college football schedule, when Curt Cignetti’s team hosts Ohio State in Week 7 in a matchup between the last two national champions.
The key word in that first paragraph is “might” because even with five wins to open the season, we still don’t know much about Nebraska. The Cornhuskers have a pair of relatively easy wins over Michigan State and Maryland but haven’t exactly played a team in the Big Ten that has a pulse. And Nebraska notoriously doesn’t have one of its own in games like this weekend’s against Indiana, having lost 31 straight against ranked teams.
Indiana has been near-flawless as well, albeit against only slightly stronger competition than Nebraska, with a strength of schedule to this point that ranks 108th in the FBS to the Cornhuskers’ 126th.
Last week, the Hoosiers pushed around Rutgers – a weekly tradition for anyone facing the Scarlet Knights – behind four touchdowns from Josh Hoover.
Hoover was a bit of a question mark after transferring in to replace Fernando Mendoza in January with 42 turnovers in 33 career starts but has 15 touchdown passes without an interception through five games. Charlie Becker and Nick Marsh each padded their cases to be first-round picks next April by going for over 100 yards apiece against Rutgers, and Becker had a pair of touchdown catches to bring his total to eight so far – third in the nation, behind only Smith and Legree.
For the third straight year under Cignetti, Indiana has an indomitable one-two punch at running back and got 326 combined yards from Turbo Richard and Lee Beebe Jr. in Week 5, bringing each of their season totals to over 500 yards through five games. Nebraska has allowed just 3.1 yards per carry and just three rushing touchdowns thus far but did have its worst defensive game against Maryland last Saturday, allowing over 300 total yards in the first half before pulling away in a 48-23 win.
Can UCLA pull off an upset against an old Pac-12 foe?
Two weeks after beating USC to avoid being pushed to the brink, Oregon turns to Dylan Raiola for the first time as a starter in a meeting against UCLA that’s looking a lot more challenging than it might’ve initially.
The Bruins are currently 21st in the AP Poll – their first time being ranked since 2023 – in their first year under Bob Chesney, having scored a combined 151 points in a trio of Big Ten wins over Cal, Purdue and Maryland. Now, they get a chance to prove it against one of the conference’s elite.
Dante Moore was officially ruled out on Wednesday as he continues to recover from the helmet-to-helmet hit by USC’s Desman Stephens II two weeks ago that left him with a concussion, though Raiola was outstanding the remainder of that game in his absence, throwing for 289 yards and two touchdowns in the Ducks’ 41-27 win.
Raiola transferred to Oregon in January in a move similar to Moore’s two years prior, when Moore left UCLA to back up Dillon Gabriel for a year and then asserted himself as one of college football’s premier quarterbacks when his turn came. Raiola was the highest-rated Nebraska commit in modern recruiting history in 2023 and went 13-9 as a starter over two seasons but was 0-5 against ranked teams.
Meanwhile, Chesney returns to Eugene with his new team, after leading James Madison into Autzen Stadium in last year’s playoffs – a game Oregon won, despite allowing 34 points and giving up 509 yards of total offence. Chesney brought 10 players from that Dukes team to UCLA, including running back Wayne Knight, who’s averaging over nine yards per carry this season and had 110 yards against the Ducks in that game last December. The Bruins are fourth in the FBS in rushing yards (281.5 per game) and have 18 touchdowns on the ground – second, trailing only LSU, which has played an extra game.
It’s a statement game for both teams. UCLA is eager to prove its legitimacy after being pushed around in its first two years in the Big Ten, behind Chesney, who’s hoping to have a similar impact at his new program to Cignetti’s after he moved from James Madison to Indiana two seasons ago. Oregon was convincing in its win over USC in Week 4 but still has a bad taste in its mouth from its miserable loss against Oklahoma State two weeks prior to that.