Everything UK fans should know about CFB's Week 5

The 2025 college football season is about a month old and we know a lot more about the landscape of the sport than we did just a few short weeks ago.

Kentucky fans will obviously be locked onto the Wildcats road game at South Carolina but there are a lot of other interesting and relevant games on the slate. Here’s Cats Illustrated’s typical weekly preview of the upcoming college football action.

Oregon-Penn State and Alabama-Georgia headline the day

The nation’s two top conferences each have a marquee matchup. In the Big Ten it’s Oregon and Penn State. The Nittany Lions are 3.5-point home favorites and the night atmosphere in Happy Valley should be insane with both teams holding national championship aspirations.

Both Oregon and Penn State have taken care of business as expected to this point. Each team carries one of the nation’s best defenses and the Oregon offense has also put up numbers, but Penn State’s offense rates just inside the top-50 nationally.

This is a rematch of last season’s inaugural expanded Big Ten championship which Oregon won 45-37.

The Alabama-Georgia matchup is all about watching to see if that series’ dynamics are going to change. Even Georgia’s best teams have really struggled against some of Alabama’s teams that were not their best. We are now two years removed from the Nick Saban era and while the Crimson Tide has already lost to Florida State, Georgia already has a road win at Tennessee. Still, whether it’s the matchup or a perceived psychological hurdle, UGA is only a 2.5-point favorite at home.

Alabama’s Ty Simpson has put up huge numbers since that loss to Florida State. He has completed 41 of 46 pass attempts during the month of September (89.1%) and has nine touchdowns with no picks this year.

Can Arkansas knock off LSU?

Arkansas has been close but no cigar too often under Sam Pittman and learning how to finish those games isn’t easy. The Razorbacks get a chance at Notre Dame and it’s at home just a few weeks after Texas A&M knocked off the Irish in South Bend. The Arkansas offense could be a problem for the Fighting Irish but the Arkansas defense will be in the spotlight and needs to force turnovers or get off the field a few times. Notre Dame is a 4.5-point favorite. If Arkansas wins it would drop the Irish to 2-3 and make a playoff bid unlikely.

Ole Miss is favored against LSU

The Rebels are 3.5-point home favorites against No. 4 LSU in spite of only beating Kentucky and Arkansas by a single score in both games. LSU has that season-opening win against Clemson but the Tigers haven’t always looked like a finished product to this point in the season. Ole Miss probably needs to play its best game of the year to pull the upset but LSU is still rounding into form. Barion Brown is having a good season for LSU. This will be another big game for Garrett Nussmeier’s Heisman chances.

Florida State tested on the road against Virginia

The undefeated Seminoles are 6.5-point road favorites going into a game against Virginia (3-1, 1-0). FSU is ranked No. 8 and along with Miami appears to be a leading contender in the ACC, with Clemson and SMU having some struggles to start the year. Virginia has been putting up huge offensive numbers but Coastal Carolina, NC State, and Stanford are not the Seminoles. If FSU goes on the road and handles business with ease then that would be a great sign they stand a good chance to cruise in the ACC along with the Hurricanes.

USC-Illinois is a top-25 matchup

Rewind the tape a decade and imagine how you would have felt if someone told you that USC-Illinois would be a top-25 Big Ten matchup in 2025. While Illinois had nothing against Indiana last week the Illini did come into the season as one of the most hyped teams in the conference. This USC team has established a physical identity and they can run the ball. That makes them more interesting in league play this year. The Trojans are averaging 252 rushing yards per game

TCU at Arizona State is a big one in the Big XII

TCU started the season with a blowout win in Chapel Hill to give Bill Belichick a bad start to his coaching tenure. Arizona State started the season with an upset loss at Mississippi State. TCU hasn’t lost and Arizona State has won every game since that one. Arizona State is a 3.5-point favorite in the conference opener for both teams.

Is Ohio State on upset watch in Seattle?

While Ohio State is the No. 1-ranked team in the country the Buckeyes are only 7.5-point road favorites at Washington. Welcome to the new college football, which seems a lot more like the NFL. Washington quarterback Demond Williams has put up huge numbers for a Huskies team that is averaging 55 points per game. He has rushed for 220 yards in three games and has completed 73.5% of his passes for 778 yards, six touchdowns and no picks. Ohio State is only surrendering 227.7 yards per game through three.

How will Auburn respond to more heartache?

Hugh Freeze has had plenty of heartbreaking losses already in his time at Auburn. The most recent episode came after an officiating mistake the SEC got out in front of. That might have cost Auburn its game against Oklahoma last week but the Tigers have to bounce back quickly because they’re on the road at Texas A&M this weekend. Marcel Reed has nine touchdown passes and only one interception so far this year. If the Aggies take down Auburn that would be a great resume to start the year along with the win at Notre Dame. Auburn’s athletics director released a statement expressing his continued disappointment on Thursday.

Can Iowa’s defense slow Indiana?

Indiana has the No. 2 total offense in college football and is averaging 588.5 yards through four. The Hoosiers have shown tremendous balance with 1,235 rushing yards and 1,119 passing yards. The Hoosiers are also giving up only 8.3 points per game. They have been one of the most dominant teams in the country so far. The question is obvious: Will the Hawkeyes have enough offense to keep pace with Indiana?

Louisville’s first real test of the year

Jeff Brohm takes the Cardinals on the road to Pitt and Louisville is a 4.5-point favorite against the Panthers. Pat Narduzzi has made Pitt one of the more consistent programs in the ACC but last week’s loss at West Virginia has the betting community down on Pitt. While James Madison was viewed as a potentially tricky opponent this is a much better talent matchup for UofL in terms of overall team talent. Because of the way the ACC has gone so far this year Louisville sets up to be one of the teams with a chance to make a darkhorse bid for the league.

We’ll learn a lot about Mississippi State

One of the surprises of the SEC this year has been Mississippi State. It looks like the Bulldogs are a much improved team and State is already sitting at 4-0 overall. Now Tennessee invades Starkville with a No. 15 ranking. At the very least we are going to learn something about Mississippi State. They did have that win against Arizona State, at home. UT is only a 7.5-point road favorite so there’s a chance we’re talking very differently about the MSU program after Saturday.