Top College Football Week 5 Matchups and Which Player Cards to Chase

The 2025 college football season has been action packed since the opening kickoff. Four weeks into the schedule, and with conference games beginning for all, the contenders are rising while the pretenders are falling to the wayside. Week 5 promises more rifts in the rankings and a reshuffling among the elite in P4 conferences.  

National Overview

Ohio State (3-0) held onto the top ranking but has a new challenger rising on the board in Miami. The Hurricanes are 4-0 with noted wins over then No. 6 Notre Dame (27-24) and Florida (26-7). Miami gets a bye this week before meeting No. 8 Florida State in Doak Campbell. The FSU showdown will be Miami’s first venture outside of south Florida this season.

With Miami’s rise in the rankings, Penn State and LSU dropped a spot, respectively. Georgia and Oregon maintained their positions at No. 5 and No. 6. The Oklahoma Sooners controversial 24-17 win over then No. 22 Auburn vaulted them four spots in the rankings to No. 7. Texas A&M downing Notre Dame 41-40 on the road moved the Aggies from No. 16 to No. 9 in the latest poll. Even though Texas pitched a 55-0 shutout against Sam Houston, voters are losing faith, dropping them two spots to No. 10

Week 5 Games of Interest

Auburn (3-1) at No. 9 Texas A&M (3-0)

No. 11 Indiana (4-0) at Iowa (4-1)

No. 15 Tennessee (3-1) at Mississippi State (4-0)

No. 22 Notre Dame (1-2) at Arkansas (2-2)

*Key players for each team in bold.

Marquee Matchups

No. 21 USC (4-0, 2-0 Big Ten) at No. 23 Illinois (3-1, 0-1 Big Ten)

The Trojans have run through a user-friendly schedule thus far winning their four contests with relative ease. Last week was a 45-31 takedown of then No. 25 Michigan State at home. Jayden Maiava runs the Trojans’ offense with Waymond Jordan and Eli Sanders pounding the rock.

Makai Lemon (24 rec./438 yards/3 TDs) is on his way to Big Ten All-Conference honors and more. Ja’Kobi Lane and Lake McRee are getting good looks from Maiava game to game. Maiava enters the game as the sixth leading passer in the nation (1,223 yards).

USC, in theory, should not be caught looking ahead to Michigan. The Wolverines come to the Coliseum on Oct. 11 after a bye week for USC.

The Illini were humming along with wins over Western Illinois, Duke, and Western Michigan until running into an angry Hoosiers squad at Memorial Stadium. The 63-10 thumping was a signal sent by Curt Cignetti and should serve as a wake-up call for Illinois.

Illini QB Luke Altmyer has been impressive compiling nine passing scores without a pick. As the final score showed, Illinois’ offense was roadblocked a week ago. Altmyer threw for 146 yards on 14-of-22 passing with one score. Illinois’ top rusher was Kaden Feagin, five carries for 18 yards.

No. 17 Alabama (3-1) at No. 5 Georgia (3-0, 1-0 SEC)

The shadow looming over Kalen DeBoer after a 9-4, 5-3 SEC, first year in Tuscaloosa is seemingly unbearable. Fans were up in proverbial arms after a 31-17 road loss to FSU in the season opener. Losing to No. 5 Georgia on the road this week may feel like the sky is falling, but this squad has a lot of football left and favorable matchups to get back to nine wins or better. Helping Bama’s odds of scoring an upset, the Tide are coming off a bye after beating Wisconsin 38-14. Worth noting, this is Bama’s first conference game of the season.

Alabama will rely heavily on QB Ty Simpson. Simpson is completing 71.9 percent of his attempts with a 186.64 QBR. The junior has thrown nine TD passes without an interception. The tailbacks have shared the load with Kevin Riley getting the majority of the carries (23 carries, 120 yards, 0 TDs). The top targets for Simpson are Germie Bernard and Ryan Williams. Williams is dynamic with first round pick written all over him.

The Bulldogs passed their first big test of the season getting a come from behind win over Tennessee (44-41) in Knoxville on Sept. 13. Like the Tide, UGA is coming off a bye week and should be fresh for what is coming.

Gunner Stockton has been on point with his passes this season hitting targets at a clip of 70.8 percent. Stockton has yet to throw an interception but has just four passing TDs. The Bulldogs use a full doghouse backfield with four players, including Stockton, already over 100 yards rushing for the season. Nate Frazier and Chauncey Bowens get the majority of handoffs out of the backfield.

Another player in this game with first round written on him – Zachariah Branch. After two seasons with USC, Branch is leading UGA in receiving yards (181) and is tied with London Humphreys for receiving TDs (2). The other big play threat for the Bulldogs, Colbie Young.

No. 4 LSU (4-0, 1-0 SEC) at No. 13 Ole Miss (4-0, 2-0)

From Baton Rouge to parts unknown, the LSU faithful want to know, is this the year for head coach Brian Kelly? Clemson and Florida may drop off the college football map this season, making the early season wins less than, but on today’s paper, the Tigers are off to an impressive start. Ole Miss presents a challenge as will A&M, Bama, and OU down the line. But a win here could clear space for a run to Atlanta in December.

The man for LSU is quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, arguably the early season leader in the Heisman race. Nussmeier is coming off a 273-yard, 3-passing TD, 1-running score, performance against Southeastern Louisiana. Caden Durham got a breather against the Lions with just seven carries but has been the go-to running back for LSU. The Tigers have a two-headed monster on the outside in Aaron Anderson (21/293/0) and Barion Brown (20/199/1).

With Lane Kiffin in Oxford, the Rebels are no stranger to lighting up the scoreboard. The Rebels are 12th in the nation, scoring 44.8 on average. Mississippi had nail-bitters against Kentucky (30-23) and Arkansas (41-35) to remain unbeaten. Fighting through adversity should be a big bonus at Vaught-Hemmingway.

Trinidad Chambliss got the start last week under center for Ole Miss against Tulane. There is a QB controversy at Ole Miss with Austin Simmons struggling early throwing four interceptions.

The Rebels have playmakers on the outside in Harrison Wallace and Deuce Alexander. Dae’quan Wright and Cayden Lee are names to remember. Kewan Lacy is tied for second in the country in rushing touchdowns (7) with 358 net yards on the stat sheet.  

No. 6 Oregon (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) at No. 3 Penn State (3-0)

Truly a heavyweight matchup with a clash of opposing identities. Oregon is seventh in the nation in scoring offense (50.8) while Penn State is third in scoring defense (5.67). The nudge on paper, Oregon’s strength of schedule isn’t one to brag about and ditto for the Nittany Lions. This has the feel where stats are blown out of the water with a slugfest brewing in Beaver Stadium.

The CFB world has waited to see redshirt sophomore Dante Moore shine, and his moment is building. Moore is throwing darts, completing 74.7 percent of his attempts. The 11-1 TD-INT ratio is a big bonus. The ball is spread around between Dakorien Moore, Malik Benson, Kenyon Sadiq, and Gary Bryant Jr.

Card collectors have been on PSU QB Drew Allar for what seems like forever now. Allar hasn’t played lights out yet. The top targets for Allar are Kyron Hudson, Trebor Pena, and Luke Reynolds, each with double digit receptions.

PSU tailback Kaytron Allen has standout early season stats, most notably, an 8.0 yard per carry average. Off 34 totes, Allen has produced 273 yards with three touchdowns. Even if knocked down to five yards per carry, which is still fantastic, can Allen put the offense on his back moving the Ducks backwards for four quarters?

Oregon bypasses Ohio State during the regular season, Penn State does not. This is a Big Ten driver’s seat game for both teams. If Oregon rings the victory bell, they could cruise to Lucas Oil with a top seed in the playoffs.