Four Associated Press Top 25 matchups headline the Week 5 college football schedule, and at least a half-dozen other games involving ranked teams are equally intriguing.
The only meeting of top-10 teams happens Saturday night when No. 3 Oregon visits No. 6 Penn State for a Big Ten showdown.
The Southeastern Conference has co-main events. No. 17 Alabama travels to No. 5 Georgia and No. 4 LSU goes to No. 13 Mississippi. The Crimson Tide have won nine of the last 10 meetings with Georgia, and the Tigers and Rebels have split their last four.
The other Top 25 game has No. 21 Southern California at No. 23 Illinois for a game that lost some luster following Indiana’s 53-point demolition of the Illini.
The week’s undercard is really good, too.
Washington, 3-0 and a winner of 22 straight at home, hosts No. 1 Ohio State. Auburn, which won a four-overtime thriller against Texas A&M last year, goes on the road to play the No. 9 Aggies. No. 14 Iowa State goes for a second straight 5-0 start when it plays Arizona at home.
No. 15 Tennessee heads to Mississippi State, which at 4-0 already has doubled its 2024 win total. No. 22 Notre Dame is at Arkansas for the first meeting between the teams. No. 24 TCU, which has its first regular-season ranking since 2022, visits defending Big 12 champion Arizona State.
Best game
No. 6 Oregon (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) at No. 3 Penn State (3-0), 7:30 p.m. ET (NBC)
Oregon beat Penn State in the 2024 Big Ten championship game, and the Nittany Lions were the media’s preseason pick to win the title in 2025. Neither team will have been tested until they square off Saturday night in Happy Valley.
The Ducks have outscored their opponents by an average of 51-9, their closest game a 20-point road win against Northwestern in their Big Ten opener. The Nittany Lions have won their first three games by an average of 44-6 and no opponent has come closer than 34 points.
Look out for big plays, or a lack of them. Oregon is among the national leaders with 31 plays of at least 20 yards. Penn State has allowed just two through three games.
Under the radar
Louisville (3-0) at Pittsburgh (2-1), Noon ET (ESPN2)
Pittsburgh has had an extra week to stew over its disappointing loss to West Virginia and would like nothing more than to vent some frustration in its ACC opener against the Cardinals.
Look for this to be a defensive battle. Pitt is giving up an ACC-low 3.96 yards per play. Louisville has the ACC’s best pass defense.
Pitt leads the series 11-10, including 3-2 since Louisville joined the ACC in 2014. The Cardinals haven’t won in Pittsburgh since 2012, when both schools were in the Big East.
Heisman watch
Two straight games with five touchdown passes have caused Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza to surge in the wagering markets for the Heisman Trophy winner. Mendoza, who was listed at 55-to-1 odds by BetMGM Sportsbook last week, is now 9-to-1 and the public’s second choice behind Oklahoma’s John Mateer.
Mendoza, who plays at Iowa on Saturday, was 21 for 23 for 267 yards while playing the first three quarters of last week’s 63-10 rout of Illinois. He has completed 40 of 43 passes for 537 yards and 10 touchdowns the last two weeks and has 14 TD passes and no interceptions through four games.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 35 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
