Week 5 Recap: The Top 25

#1 USC @ Washington State
My Prediction: USC
Final Score: USC 28, Washington State 22
Passing games dominated the day here, with USC's John David Booty throwing for 269 and 3 TD, and WSU's Alex Brink gaining 287 and 2. The overall yardage reflected the shootoutness of this game, as Wazzou actually outgained the Trojans 426-418. Some concerns about USC's defense here, but they still should be able to outgain any other team on their schedule. Hm.

#2 Michigan @ Minnesota
My Prediction: Michigan
Final Score: Michigan 28, Minnesota 14
The Wolverine offense was actually more impressive than the defense here, gaining 536 yards while the defense forced no turnovers. Mike Hart ran for 195 yards, but no TDs, as Chad Henne ruled the day, throwing for 284 and 3 scores. Bryan Cupito only completed half his passes, but managed 215 and 2 scores. Not the dominating Michigan performance that they've had of late, but this still looks like a team without a weakness.

#24 Alabama @ #3 Florida
My Prediction: Florida
Final Score: Florida 28, Alabama 13
Wow, Alabama actually outgained the Gators here, 363-345. Tide QB John Parker Wilson only had 21/40 passing, but had 240 yards and looked impressive when he wasn't throwing one of this 3 picks. Chris Leak had an efficient day, going 14/20 and throwing for 174 and 2 TD. Florida looks impressive on both sides of the ball, but not really enough to make them a clearcut SEC favorite. Alabama's pretty good, but will likely remain underrated. Until they win at Tennessee, which they very well could do.

#4 Ohio State @ #9 Iowa
My Prediction: Iowa
Final Score: Ohio State 38, Iowa 17
Well, Drew Tate (19/41, 249, 1/3 TD/INT) exploded, just not in the way I thought he would. Troy Smith had the typical low yardage, high performance day, only throwing for 186, but getting 4 TDs. And OSU RB Antonio Pittman kept his good year up, gaining 117 and a score on the ground. Also of note: The Buckeyes stopped someone on the ground! Iowa only gained 106 rushing. I really should be higher on Ohio State, but I still don't buy them as the supposed clearcut #1, even if they keep beating good teams.

#5 Auburn @ South Carolina
My Prediction: Auburn
Final Score: Auburn 24, South Carolina 17
Gamecocks won the yardage game here, 395-325. The Auburn offense pretty much solely consisted of Brandon Cox (180, passing TD) and Kenny Irons (117, 2 rushing TD). Then again, the SC offense pretty much consisted of QB Syvelle Newton (240 and 2 TD passing, 44 rushing). Cox really hasn't impressed that much all year, and Auburn's definitely vulnerable. This is probably the start of the Gamecocks turning the corner.

Sam Houston State @ #6 Texas
My Prediction: Texas
Final Score: Texas 56, Sam Houston State 3
Shock.

Mississippi State @ #8 LSU
My Prediction: LSU
Final Score: LSU 48, Mississippi State 17
JaMarcus Russell went KABOOM!!!!!!, gaining 330 and 3 TD on 18/20 passing. The big shock here was that Mississippi State actually passed for 212. For shame, Tigers.

#10 Oregon @ Arizona State
My Prediction: Oregon
Final Score: Oregon 48, Arizona State 13
I didn't think ASU was that good, but Rudy Carpenter's line shocked even me: 6/19, 33, INT. VINDICATION FOR SAM KELLER! Oregon just really killed them here, outgaining the Sun Devils 584-213. Oregon's still pretty good, but I think the domination here was just Arizona State imploding.

#11 California @ Oregon State
My Prediction: Cal
Final Score: Cal 41, Oregon State 13
The Beavers gained 329, so they didn't completely Arizona State it here, but Cal QB Nate Longshore outdid that, throwing for 341 and a 4/1 TD/INT. Oh, and Marshawn Lynch did well enough, running for 106 and a score. Cal's still back on track, and the Vols game is looking more and more like an abberation.

#12 Georgia @ Mississippi
My Prediction: Georgia
Final Score: Georgia 14, Mississippi 9
Ole Miss had no offense (280 yards); Georgia had less (269). Georgia doesn't look any good except for that defense, but they'll probably be that team that everyone expects to lose but keeps squeaking by.

Louisiana Tech @ #15 Clemson
My Prediction: Clemson
Final Score: Clemson 51, Louisiana Tech 0
James Davis: 143 rushing, 2 TD
C.J. Spiller: 127 rushing, TD
Demerick Chancellor: 113 rushing
Dang. Clemson's very good.

#16 Tennessee @ Memphis
My Prediction: Tennessee
Final Score: Tennessee 41, Memphis 7
Oof, Vols outgained Memphis 578-137. And as Ole Miss looks worse, Memphis looks even more horrible. Erik Ainge had a big day, gaining 324 and 4 TD on 23/27 passing.

Kansas @ #17 Nebraska
My Prediction: Nebraska
Final Score: Nebraska 39, Kansas 32 (OT)
Jayhawks won the yardage battle here, 584-531. Shootout! Unsurprisingly, the QBs carried the day here: Nebraska's Zac Taylor had 395 and 4 TD on only 15/33 passing, KU's Adam Barmann had 405 and a 2/3 TD/INT on 27/54 passing. Barmann's 3 INTs could have been the difference, but Nebraska also fumbled it over 3 times. So Nebraska's probably closer to the rest of the pack than Texas and OU, while Kansas still could make some noise.

Purdue @ #18 Notre Dame
My Prediction: Notre Dame
Final Score: Notre Dame 35, Purdue 21
Both teams had 493 yards; however, Purdue had the lone turnover of the game. Both QBs had 2 TDs, with Brady Quinn being more accurate (76.3% to 50%), and Purdue's Curtis Painter throwing for more yards (398-316). Purdue WR Selwyn Lymon had a huuuuuge day, gaining 238 yards and 2 TD on only 8 catches. So yeah, Notre Dame's all offense, no defense. Texas Tech with credibility!

#22 Georgia Tech @ #19 Virginia Tech
My Prediction: Georgia Tech
Final Score: Georgia Tech 38, Virginia Tech 27
Nowhere near as close as the score indicates. VT QB Sean Glennon had a big day (27/53, 339, TD) playing catch-up. Calvin Johnson (6 rec, 115 yds, 2 TD)? A beast. Reggie Ball (9/16, 176, 2/2 TD/INT)? Inconsistent as ever. And hey, GT RB Tashard Choice had a big day, with 105 yards and 2 rushing scores. GT's probably the most impressive ACC team outside of Clemson. And I don't know what to think of that.

#20 Boise State @ Utah
My Prediction: Utah
Final Score: Boise State 36, Utah 3
Holy fuck, domination with BSU outgaining the Utes 418-190. The Utah passing game combined for only 51 yards and 4 TD. And this was Boise AWAY from home. Jesus. Utah looked decent after a bad showing at UCLA, so I tend to buy into Boise more than this being a Utah collapse. Dang.

BYU @ #21 TCU
My Prediction: TCU
Final Score: BYU 31, TCU 17
Thank God, or whatever Mormons worship. The TCU offense actually looked good here, outgaining the Cougars 460-425, but 2 Horned Frog turnovers were probably the difference. QB John Beck was again the key to the BYU offense, throwing for 321 and 3 TD. I suppose this combined with Utah's blowout loss makes BYU the Mountain West favorite. Or Air Force? Who knows.

Illinois @ #23 Michigan State
My Prediction: Michigan State
Final Score: Illinois 23, Michigan State 20
Illinois even dominated this game statistically (390-296), so...yeesh. Michigan State just...shit the bed. I don't know what to say. PUCKER PUCKER PUCKER