What To Watch For In Week 5 Of The 2021 College Football Season

The schedule features several can’t-miss top-25 matchups and difficult road games for other ranked teams.

Author:
Andrew Lind
Oct 1, 2021 6:47 PM EDT

With the calendar turning to October, each game becomes that much more important in the college football landscape. And with four matchups between ranked opponents and several other ranked teams hitting the road for the first time, Saturday’s slate only emphasis that fact.

That includes No. 8 Arkansas at No. 2 Georgia (12 p.m. on ESPN), No. 14 Michigan at Wisconsin (12 p.m. on FOX), No. 7 Cincinnati at No. 9 Notre Dame (2:30 p.m. on NBC), No. 12 Ole Miss at No. 1 Alabama (3:30 p.m. on CBS), No. 6 Oklahoma at Kansas State (3:30 p.m. on FOX) and No. 21 Baylor at No. 19 Oklahoma State (7 p.m. on ESPN2).

The Razorbacks are ranked in the top 10 for the first time since 2012 and their reward for going unscathed against perhaps the most difficult schedule in the country thus far is a date with the second-ranked Bulldogs.

Georgia has been impressive on both sides of the ball, combining suffocating defense with an offense that has averaged nearly 53 points over the last three games. It will be interesting to see if that offense shows up if it will be the one that scored just three points against Clemson in the season opener.

The Wolverines have also taken care of business against lesser opponents, but showed some concerns late in their win over Rutgers last week, finishing with 42 yards of total offense after halftime. They’ll have to correct that if they’ll want to win in Madison for the first time since 2001.

Likewise, the Badgers’ offense had a disastrous fourth quarter in the loss to Notre Dame, with quarterback Graham Mertz throwing two pick-sixes that turned a one-score game into a blowout. Whichever team can establish the run and control field position will win this game.

The Bearcats are looking to prove they belong in the conversation for the College Football Playoff, and they’ll have to do what the Badgers could not by beating the Fighting Irish if they have any hope of being one of the final four teams. Cincinnati is coming off an open week in the schedule and should be well-rested as a result.

Notre Dame, meanwhile, hasn’t been all that impressive this season with close wins over Florida State, Toledo and Purdue. This game will go a long way toward changing everyone’s perception of the Fighting Irish, so they’ll need quarterback Jack Coan (leg) to be fully healthy and at his best.

Speaking of being at their best, the Rebels are going to need to reach their season averages of 52.7 points and 635.7 yards per game if they want to upset the top-ranked Crimson Tide. Quarterback Matt Corral can stake his claim for the Heisman Trophy with a win, too.

Alabama has been equally as impressive on offense, averaging 46.5 points per game behind freshman signal-caller Bryce Young. This game could come to which team gets a defensive stop late, and it’s worth noting the Crimson Tide already have the experience of stopping a potential game-tying two-point conversion in the win at Florida.

We expected the Sooners’ offense to be among the nation’s best this season, but they haven’t quite lived up to the hype through four games. Quarterback Spencer Rattler can’t do it all by himself, and Oklahoma is going to need to establish the run in order to leave Manhattan with a win.

The Wildcats have a two-game winning streak in the series, but it’s difficult to see them pulling off a third straight win without injured quarterback Skylar Thompson. Can backups Will Howard and Jared Lewis avoid costly mistakes against an opportunistic Oklahoma defense? We’ll see.

Keeping in the Big XII, Saturday night’s game between the Bears and Cowboys could go a long way in determining which team plays the Sooners in the conference championship game in December.

The game will feature two very different offenses, with Baylor more apt to run the ball behind Abram Smith, while the Cowboys will air it out behind quarterback Spencer Sanders, who threw for 344 yards and two touchdowns last weekend. There could be a lot of points scored in this one.

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