COLLEGE FOOTBALL: WEEK FIVE PREDICTIONS

Clemson visits Virginia Tech tonight in the highlight game of the day. There's only one other match-up of ranked teams today, but there are still plenty of compelling games on the schedule.

I took a bit of a beating last week, as a number of close games didn't go my way. I'm still over 80% on the season and look to make a comeback this week.

Last Week:  19 - 8    70.4%
Overall:       91 - 22  80.1%

Friday: (From a previous post)

(14) Miami (2 - 0) 23 @ Duke (4 - 0) 20: Duke has bounced back nicely from last season's four win campaign. The Blue Devils turned in a good defensive effort in a win against rival North Carolina last week, setting up a crucial Coastal division game with Miami. The Hurricanes took care of business against Toledo last week and I think they have a little too much for Duke, but this won't be as much of a slam dunk for Miami as many would think.

(5) USC (4 - 0) 30 @ (16) Washington State (4 - 0) 37: As I mentioned earlier, USC hasn't looked as sharp as a lot of people were expecting in some close wins, the last one a ten point win over surprising California. On my radio appearance this morning, I picked Washington State because I think their offense is clicking and the Cougar defense is playing well enough to keep USC off balance. Pullman can be a tough place to play, even more so on a Friday night.

Nebraska (2 - 2) 30 @ Illinois (2 - 1) 21:Nebraska is looking for a new athletic director, primarily because the football team has failed to deliver much success the last three seasons. His head coach hire, Mike Riley, has to be on a very hot seat. A loss at Illinois would probably make him a lame duck, so I look for the 'Huskers to be motivated to make a statement in Champagne. Illinois is improved, but they don't have the athletes to compete at a high level.

Saturday:

Northwestern (2 - 1) 16 @ (10) Wisconsin (3 - 0) 27: Despite being ranked in the top ten, Wisconsin is flying a bit under the radar in the Big Ten. Iowa showed last week that Penn State is beatable and Ohio State has already lost to Oklahoma, so don't count the Badgers out of the conference race. Northwestern has a loss to Duke and two wins over lesser opponents, so I look for Wisconsin to be able to get out of this one with a win.

(18) South Florida (4 - 0) 40 @ East Carolina (1 - 3) 23: After looking a bit shaky early in the season, South Florida appears to have righted the ship. East Carolina is still struggling to rebuild and it won't get much better today as the Bulls have a high-powered offense that will take advantage of a porous Pirates' defense.

Vanderbilt (3 - 1) 20 @ (21) Florida (2 - 1) 23: I'm still not sold on Florida, but at home against the Commodores they should be able to eke out another close win. The Gators have gotten just enough offense to support their good defense and I don't believe Vandy will have enough firepower to overcome Florida.

Indiana (2 -1) 17 @ (4) Penn State (4 - 0) 30: Penn State has perhaps the most electrifying player in college football this season, running back Saquon Barkley. He's already run for over 500 yards and is also a threat to out of the backfield to catch the ball. After getting out of Iowa City with a close win, the Nittany Lions should be able to stay undefeated.

(7) Georgia (4 - 0) 27 @ Tennessee (3 - 1) 20: Georgia was dominant against a pretty good Mississippi State team last week and will bring their physical play to Knoxville looking to make a statement in the SEC East. Tennessee is still trying to overcome a bad ending to their lone loss to Florida and can't afford another one if they want to stay in the division hunt. I don't like the Vols' inconsistent play and Georgia has been pretty steady.

Murray State (1 - 3) 13 @ (17) Louisville (3 - 1) 42: After their lopsided loss to Clemson a couple of weeks ago, Louisville's stock took a hit. Quarterback Lamar Jackson should be able to get back on track today ahead of a big game at NC State next week.

Miami, OH (2 - 2) 20 @ (22) Notre Dame (3 - 1) 31: The rest of Notre Dame's schedule is pretty challenging, so the Irish will need to take care of business against Miami, the first of two Miami's on their slate this season. Only a late field goal by Georgia has kept Notre Dame from being undefeated, so their appearance in the rankings is probably justified.

(24) Mississippi State (3 - 1) 23 @ (13) Auburn (3 - 1) 27: Mississippi State burst onto the scene with a beatdown of LSU a couple of weeks ago and then stunk it up at Georgia in their next game. Auburn's only loss was to what is clearly a great Clemson team. There is a lot of conversation about how the Tigers are under performing against weaker competition, but things change when the SEC games begin. I like Auburn's defense to hold serve in this one.

Troy (3 - 1) 17 @ (25) LSU (3 - 1) 30: LSU can't underestimate the Trojans. The Sun Belt isn't a bad conference and Troy is at or near the top of it. They'll have nothing to lose in trying to upset the Tigers, but I believe they'll come up short.

(11) Ohio State (3 - 1) 34 @ Rutgers (1 - 3) 10: Ohio State appears to have put the Oklahoma loss in the rear view mirror and the Buckeyes know it's possible to recover from an early non-conference loss and still contend for a national championship. They did just that after losing to Va. Tech the season they won the title. This one shouldn't be much of a problem for Ohio State.

(2) Clemson (4 - 0) 21 @ (12) Virginia Tech (4 - 0) 23: This is clearly the game of the day, if not the week. In a rematch of last year's ACC championship game, Clemson brings a daunting defense into Blacksburg against a freshman quarterback who has played surprisingly well this season. On "Lou in the Morning" Friday I picked the Tigers, stating that these two teams are very similar, but Clemson is better. My Hokie friends probably wouldn't forgive me if I didn't change course and go with Va. Tech to pull an upset at home.

(6) Washington (4 - 0) 38 @ Oregon State (1 - 3) 13: This one shouldn't be much of problem for Washington, even on the road. Oregon State is one of the weaker teams in the FBS.

(15) Oklahoma State (3 - 1) 41 @ Texas Tech (3 - 0) 30: Before the season started most people would not have guessed that Texas Tech would be the only undefeated team in this match-up. After starting the year so strongly, Oklahoma State was shut down by TCU's stout defense last week. Texas Tech doesn't present the same problems, but they can put up points in bunches.

Florida State (0 - 2) 27 @ Wake Forest (4 - 0) 24: This is perhaps the most surprising pair of records of teams facing each other this weekend. Florida State has had to battle Alabama, injuries and a hurricane to open the season. Back-up quarterback James Blackman didn't get the opportunity to play a game for a couple of weeks to get acclimated to the starting role and it showed in last week's loss to NC State. Wake has a tough defense but I believe the 'Noles will find a way to get a victory.

North Carolina (1 - 3) 24 @ Georgia Tech (2 - 1) 30: With Virginia Tech facing Clemson, Georgia Tech can get into a good early position in the ACC Coastal with a win. North Carolina has struggled against a surprisingly challenging early schedule and doesn't look to have enough to stay with the Yellow Jackets.

Syracuse (2 - 2)  24 @ NC State (3 - 1) 35: NC State stunned Florida State last week and now has a chance to contend in the ACC Atlantic. They'll need to guard against a letdown against a Syracuse team that they should be good enough to defeat.

Iowa (3 - 1) 27 @ Michigan State (2 - 1) 17: Iowa gave Penn State all they could handle last week and I look for them to get a big conference win on the road against a still rebuilding Spartan team. Defensively the Hawkeyes should be able to bottle up Michigan State's offense.

Maryland (2 - 1) 31 @ Minnesota (3 - 0) 37: It's difficult what to make of Minnesota since their wins have all come against less than stellar competition. Maryland defeated Texas to start the season, but was embarrassed by UCF last week. I'll take the home team in a tough pick.

Arizona State (2 - 2) 27 @ Stanford (2 - 2) 37: Stanford came to life last week against UCLA after a couple of disappointing performances, but they were both against what are now ranked opponents. I just don't think Arizona State's defense will be good enough to win this one.

Ole Miss (2 - 1) 16 @ (1) Alabama (4 - 0) 34: Ole Miss has won a couple of games they should have, but this is an entirely different challenge. I still think Alabama will lose one this season, but it won't be tonight.

Northern Illinois (2 - 1) 23 @ (19) San Diego State (4 - 0) 31: Northern Illinois has a win over Nebraska that resulted in a change at the Athletic Director position for the Cornhuskers. San Diego State, along with South Florida, are currently to cream of the Group of Five crop. I like what the Aztecs have done this season, with two wins over Pac-12 teams. 

Colorado (3 - 1) 31 @ UCLA (2 - 2) 37: I know UCLA has stumbled against Memphis and Stanford, but I have a feeling the Bruins will find a way to put it together at home against the Buffs. UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen has been inconsistent, but my gut tells me he'll have a good game tonight.

California (3 - 1) 28 @ Oregon (3 - 1) 37: Both of these teams were impressive in starting 3 - 0, but Oregon stumbled at Arizona State last week and California was beaten by USC. I think Oregon is for real, Cal not so much.

South Carolina (3 - 1) 27 @ Texas A&M (3 - 1) 31: Texas A&M is an historic comeback from UCLA away from being in the national discussion. I think their explosive offense will be too much for a South Carolina team that has trouble generating the kind of offense needed to challenge the Aggies.

Hear my recent interview with legendary sports agent Leigh Steinberg, where we discussed his agency, concussions, franchise relocation and philanthropy at http://thechtonsports.com/cold-hard-truth-sports-radio-show-1242017/

Also listen to our conversation with author and sports journalist Mike Carey, as we discussed his latest book "Bad News" about Marvin Barnes and reminisced about Mike's coverage of the Boston Celtics during their glory years with Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Danny Ainge and Robert Parish. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/golongmedia/2017/02/08/the-cold-hard-truth-on-sports-radio-show

Don't forget to check out my new book, "Offsetting Penalties - A PK Frazier Novel" at  Amazon.com and listen to me Friday's at 8:40 am EDT/ 7:40 am CDT on Lou in the Morning, streaming live on www.WPFLradio.com, 105.1 FM. Also check out www.thechtonsports.com for our podcasts and live broadcast on Tuesday's at 8:30 pm EST. I can also be reached via email at kevin@pkfrazier.com.