After three weeks of the 2022 college football season, just 33 of 131 FBS teams were without a loss. Following Week 4 action, 12 of those teams suffered their first blemish, leaving just 21 squads without a setback.
More blemishes are certainly on the horizon for some of the nation’s unbeatens, and the Week 5 slate is loaded with juicy action, including five Top 25 matchups.
Let’s not waste any more time and get right into the weekend action…
Thursday night
Utah State at No. 19 BYU, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN: The Aggies opened the season with a win over UConn, but they have lost three straight—55-0 to Wyoming, 35-7 to Weber State and 34-24 versus UNLV. QB Logan Bonner is completing just 56 percent of his passes with 8 INTs, including 5 against the Rebels. Meanwhile, the Cougars won last year’s matchup in Logan 34-20, and Jaren Hall didn’t play in that one due to injury. This fierce Battle for the Old Wagon Wheel rivalry is the last scheduled one in this century-old series, as four previously scheduled games from 2023 to 2026 were scratched when BYU opted out ahead of its move to the Big 12 next year.
Friday night
Tulane at Houston, 7:00, ESPN: The Cougars were ranked No. 24 when the season began and beat UTSA 37-35 in three overtimes in their opener, but they now sit at 2-2 and face a very difficult AAC foe in 3-1 Tulane in the conference opener. The Green Wave went on the road and upset Kansas State two weeks ago, but they suffered their first blemish with last weekend’s 3-point home loss to Southern Miss.
UTSA at Middle Tennessee, 7:30, CBSSN: The Blue Raiders are coming off their shocking upset of Miami (FL), but their focus must now turn to reigning Conference USA Champion UTSA at Floyd Stadium in MTSU’s annual Blackout game. Roadrunners QB Frank Harris is a potential C-USA player of the year, so this will be no easy task for Middle Tennessee. UTSA may be 2-2, but that includes an overtime loss to Houston and a respectable road loss to Texas.
San Diego State at Boise State, 8:00, FS1: The Broncos dropped a 27-10 contest to UTEP last week in a game that saw QB Hank Bachmeier go 13-of-34 passing. Now he is entering the NCAA transfer portal, and head coach Andy Avalos fired offensive coordinator Tim Plough after the loss to the Miners. Meanwhile, the Aztecs scored a 17-14 win over Toledo in their last time out, with Jordan Byrd rushing 16 times for 115 yards and 2 TDs.
No. 15 Washington at UCLA, 10:30, ESPN: The highlight of Friday night will take place at the Rose Bowl when the Huskies and Bruins clash in a battle of 4-0 squads. U-Dub has won each of its games by at least 10 points, and Michael Penix Jr. has ignited the offense, passing for 1,388 yards with 12 TDs and just 1 INT. Meanwhile, the Bruins are getting strong play from Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who’s passed for 8 scores and thrown just 1 pick. The Bruins had a close call with South Alabama a couple of weeks ago—needing a 24-yard field goal on the final play of the game to escape—but they comfortably took care of business at Colorado last week. This will be the first road test for Kalen DeBoer’s squad.
New Mexico at UNLV, 11:00, CBSSN: It’s early, but the Rebels are atop the Mountain West West division standings after a 34-24 win at Utah State. They are off to their best start since 2008 as they seek their fifth bowl game in program history. So there is some buzz around Marcus Arroyo’s program.
Saturday’s showcase games
No. 7 Kentucky at No. 14 Ole Miss, Noon, ESPN:
The first Top 25 matchup of the day kicks off in Oxford, where Kentucky holds its highest ranking since 1977. Star RB Chris Rodriguez Jr., who will make his season debut in this one, has been missed. The Wildcats rank 123rd in rushing yards per game (81.5) and 125th in yards per carry (2.4). Meanwhile, the offensive line has given up 16 sacks (129th nationally), players have been shuffled in and out, and a strong starting five up front has not been found. The offense, though, has transitioned a bit to become more explosive behind the arm of Will Levis, which makes this matchup with the Rebels very interesting. Rodriguez will certainly get his fair share of touches, but how much room will he have to run behind this line?
Lane Kiffin’s Rebels are on a 12-game home win streak, but the defense is wounded and allowed 457 yards to Tulsa last week. However, going up against a shoddy O-Line could be a much-needed tonic. The Rebels are running the ball very well, averaging an SEC-best 281 yards per game with multiple backs, but Kiffin wants more from the passing game behind USC transfer QB Jaxson Dart.
No. 2 Alabama at No. 20 Arkansas, 3:30, CBS:
The Razorbacks let a big opportunity slip through their grasp last week in their loss to Texas A&M, which had big SEC West implications and likely cost them an appearance by ESPN’s College GameDay for the first time since 2006. But Alabama transfer Drew Sanders and this Arkansas defense leads the nation in sacks and will be going up against a Crimson Tide offensive line that still has its share of questions. The Tide have also lacked a real deep threat thus far without Jameson Williams and John Metchie. Louisville transfer Tyler Harrell has been out the first month with a foot injury, and we don’t know if he’ll be available against a subpar Arkansas pass defense that returned Myles Slusher last week against a pedestrian A&M passing attack.
What we do know is that ‘Bama still has Will Anderson Jr., who has 3.5 sacks, 4.5 tackles for loss and a Pick-Six over his last two games, and defending Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young, who has completed 68.6 percent of his throws with 13 TDs and led the Tide on a go-ahead drive to beat Texas on the road in Week 2. Can ‘Bama make it 15 in a row over the Hogs?
No. 9 Oklahoma State at No. 16 Baylor, 3:30, FOX:
The Big 12 has arguably been the most intriguing conference thus far this season, and a big showdown looms in Waco as the Cowboys look to remain unbeaten after an idle week. Once again this Pokes offense is explosive, which is great news for fans in Stillwater. But can the defense live up to the level of play Jim Knowles was able to coax out of the unit when he was DC? Oklahoma State is averaging 49.7 points per game, but the Bears are limiting opponents to 16.8 points per contest. Can the Cowboys avenge last season’s Big 12 title game loss? Spencer Sanders needs to be at his best after throwing 4 INTs in that championship game setback.
No. 22 Wake Forest at No. 23 Florida State, 3:30, ABC:
The Seminoles squeaked out wins over LSU and Louisville after their Week 0 blowout, but they coasted past Boston College behind 321 passing yards from Jordan Travis, jumping out to a 37-0 lead. Mike Norvell’s squad now gets a Demon Deacons team that suffered a heartbreaking loss to Clemson, which would have given Dave Clawson his first win over Dabo Swinney. The Seminoles lead the ACC in rushing, so they’ll want to play ball control and keep Sam Hartman and the Wake offense on the sideline, grinding things out while taking occasional shots down the field.
No. 10 NC State at No. 5 Clemson, 7:30, ABC:
DJ Uiagalelei put forth his strongest performance as a Tiger (371 passing yards and 5 TDs) in a wild win over Wake Forest last week, but now there are questions about this defense—particularly a secondary that was torched by Sam Hartman. What can Devin Leary and this Wolfpack offense do? It hasn’t been a very explosive unit thus far, and that needs to change this week against Clemson and next week versus Florida State. The defense has been as good as expected, though.
The best of the rest
No. 4 Michigan at Iowa, Noon, FOX
No. 18 Oklahoma at TCU, Noon, ABC
Purdue at No. 21 Minnesota, Noon, ESPN2
Texas Tech at No. 25 Kansas State, Noon, ESPN+
Illinois at Wisconsin, Noon, BTN
Navy at Air Force, Noon, CBS
Oregon State at No. 12 Utah, 2:00, Pac-12
Iowa State at Kansas, 3:30, ESPN
Michigan State at Maryland, 3:30, FS1
Virginia Tech at North Carolina, 3:30, ACCN
No. 17 Texas A&M at Mississippi State, 4:00, SECN
Georgia Southern at Coastal Carolina, 4:00
California at Washington State, 5:30, Pac-12
LSU at Auburn, 7:00, ESPN
No. 1 Georgia at Missouri, 7:30, SECN
West Virginia at Texas, 7:30, FS1
San Jose State at Wyoming, 7:30, CBSSN
Stanford at No. 13 Oregon, 11:00, FS1
Bonus Sunday action
SMU at UCF, 1:00: Hurricane Ian has moved this game in Orlando to Sunday, and the broadcast designation—originally slated for ESPNU—will be announced at a later date, per the AAC. Rhett Lashlee and the Mustangs hope that Tanner Mordecai can replicate his success against the Knights after throwing for 377 yards with 3 TDs last season. Meanwhile, Gus Malzahn and the Knights may need more from John Rhys Plumee through the air after he only threw for 49 yards against Georgia Tech.
My Top 25 after Week 4
1. Georgia
2. Alabama
3. Ohio State
4. Michigan
5. Clemson
6. USC
7. Oklahoma State
8. Tennessee
9. Utah
10. Baylor
11. Kentucky
12. NC State
13. Ole Miss
14. Washington
15. Oklahoma
16. Arkansas
17. Wake Forest
18. Oregon
19. Penn State
20. BYU
21. Texas A&M
22. Minnesota
23. Kansas
24. Florida State
25. James Madison
Heisman Watch: The 5 leading contenders heading into Week 5
*Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud: He has thrown 16 TD passes and just 1 INT while completing 70.5 percent of his passes despite playing the majority of the year without star receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
*Kansas QB Jalon Daniels: It is a new era of Jayhawks football, and it’s offensively charged. Daniels leads the nation in QBR (98.0) after throwing for 324 yards and 4 TDs in the team’s win over Duke to move KU to 4-0. He also added 83 yards and a score on the ground.
*Alabama QB Bryce Young: The 2021 winner threw for 385 yards and 4 TDs on 25-of-36 passing against Vanderbilt and has a huge road test at Arkansas this week.
*Georgia QB Stetson Bennett IV: He threw his first INT in 167 passing attempts in this past weekend’s win over Kent State.
*Washington QB Michael Penix Jr.: The former Indiana Hoosier had his fourth straight 300-yard passing game in a rout of Stanford.
This week’s best bets
*Oklahoma -6.5
*Army -7.5
*Clemson -6.5
This season: 10-4-1
Cocktail of the week
With the onset of October, we are jumping right into things with a—WAIT FOR IT—pumpkin margarita! Sounds weird, right? It tastes great!
Prep instructions:
-Combine 1.5 oz. reposado tequila, 1 oz. Bols pumpkin spice liqueur, 2 oz. orange juice, .5 oz. lemon juice and two dashes cinnamon powder in a large shaker.
-Add ice to small shaker, combine and shake vigorously
-Pour through a strainer into a rocks glass filled with fresh ice (add an optional cinnamon sugar rim)
-Garnish with a lime wedge and orange slice, and enjoy!
I hope you all enjoy the games, and I’m sending my very best to all affected by Hurricane Ivan.
Follow me on Twitter @Miller_Dave & email me at david.matthew.miller@gmail.com