It’s week five of the college football season, and several teams will play their first conference matchups of the season this week. Here are some matchups we’re watching and some trends we’ve seen.
- North Texas (2-2) at Tulsa (3-1)
8 p.m. CT | Thursday, October 1 | H.A. Chapman Stadium | Tulsa, Okla. | ESPN
North Texas Game Notes | Tulsa Game Notes | Live Stats
The American Conference opener is on ESPN Thursday night, as Neal Brown leads North Texas into Thursday night’s matchup against Tre Lamb and Tulsa.
It’s the 27th all-time meeting between the programs in a series Tulsa leads 17-9, but North Texas has won each of the last three meetings – including two since joining the American in 2023.
After its season-opening loss to defending national champion Indiana, North Texas has ramped up its offensive production and is coming off a dominant 63-14 win over Houston Christian. North Texas currently ranks seventh in FBS in passing offense at 342.0 yards per game, ninth in total offense at 516.0 yards per game, and 25th in scoring at 39.5 points per game.
Tulsa started the season 3-0 – picking up a big win over Oklahoma State in the season opener – but fell last week 34-6 at Arkansas. Where UNT has been effective on offense – it’s the Golden Hurricane defense that has really made a difference for Tulsa, as TU averages just 15.3 points allowed per game (tied for 24th nationally).
Keep an eye on the UNT rush attack – Neal Brown is 29-2 as a head coach when his teams rush for over 200 yards, and TU is allowing just 109.8 yards per game on the ground this season.
- Pittsburgh (4-0, 1-0 ACC) at Virginia Tech (4-0, 1-0 ACC)
6 p.m. CT | Friday, October 2 | Lane Stadium | Blacksburg, Va. | ESPN
Pittsburgh Game Notes | Virginia Tech Game Notes | Live Stats
Both teams sport identical perfect records both overall in in league, and both teams are receiving votes in both polls. Friday night when Pat Narduzzi leads his Pitt Panthers into Blacksburg for a matchup with James Franklin and Virginia Tech, one of the ACC’s unbeatens will suffer the first blemish of the year.
It’s the 24th meeting in a series dating back to 1993, with Virginia Tech holding a 12-11 lead. Pitt has the edge in ACC meetings at 6-4, but the home teams have been dominant – Virginia Tech has an 8-3 advantage in games played in Blacksburg.
The Panthers are coming off a record-setting performance in last weekend’s non-conference, 59-0 win over Bucknell. The Panthers racked up 766 yards of total offense, 574 passing yards, and eight touchdown passes. The previous week, Pitt won its ACC opener, 27-13 at home over Syracuse. The Panthers will be looking for their fifth consecutive win under the Friday night lights.
The Hokies won their ACC opener last weekend with a 21-14 win at Boston College. And while Pitt has racked up big numbers on the offensive side of the ball, the Hokies have been up to the task defensively. Pitt’s offense (523.8 ypg) ranks sixth overall in FBS – while VT’s defense ranks sixth overall in FBS (269.3 ypg). And when it comes to pressuring the line of scrimmage, nobody has been better than the Hokies this year – with 45 tackles for loss, Virginia Tech leads all of FBS.
This will be the fourth time that Narduzzi and Franklin have squared off as head coaches – Franklin won three of four meetings during his time at Penn State.
- No. 7/7 Alabama (4-0, 2-0 SEC) at No. 16/16 Mississippi State (4-0, 2-0 SEC)
11 a.m. CT | Saturday, October 3 | Davis Wade Stadium | Starkville, Miss. | ABC
Alabama Game Notes | Mississippi State Game Notes | Live Stats
One of college football’s perennial blue bloods plays host to one of college football’s best turnaround stories this week, when Kalen DeBoer leads No. 7 Alabama into Starkville for a matchup with Jeff Lebby and No. 16 Mississippi State.
It’s the 109th meeting between two schools that are just a little over an hour and a half away from one another driving down highway 82, but the all-time series tilts heavily toward the Crimson Tide. Alabama has an all-time 88-17-3 advantage, with Alabama winning 16 straight. However, while the two teams have a deep familiarity with one another – the Bulldogs are Alabama’s most-played opponent – it will mark the first meetings for DeBoer against MSU and Lebby against Alabama.
It will be the first contest against a ranked opponent for Alabama this year, as the Crimson Tide have picked up lopsided wins over East Carolina, Kentucky (then unranked), and South Carolina), in addition to a shootout win over Florida State in the third game. In those games, the Crimson Tide have put on an offensive show, racking up an average of 48 points and 471.5 yards per game.
Meanwhile, Mississippi State has gone from rebuilding to nationally ranked, and has benefitted from its own share of offensive firepower, averaging 43.0 points and 533.2 yards per game. The Bulldogs have run up those numbers against solid opposition – Mississippi State is just one of five teams nationally with multiple wins against Power Four teams with winning records this season.
Saturday’s matchup features two of the most dynamic quarterbacks in college football – Mississippi State’s “Score From Far” offense has accumulated 27 explosive plays over the first month of the season, with nine of Kamario Taylor’s 14 touchdown passes coming from 20-plus yards, while Alabama has completed 25 plays of 20-plus yards. Which offense will limit turnovers – and which defense will keep from giving up chunk plays – could well determine who wins this matchup.
- No. 5/6 Ohio State (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) at No. 14/14 Iowa (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten)
2:30 p.m. CT | Saturday, October 3 | Kinnick Stadium | Iowa City, Iowa | CBS
Ohio State Game Notes | Iowa Game Notes | Live Stats
Eight teams remain unbeaten in Big Ten play entering this weekend’s games, and two of them will collide in Saturday’s matchup in Iowa City. Ryan Day leads his Ohio State Buckeyes team into a matchup with Kirk Ferentz and the Hawkeyes in a game that has high stakes in the Big Ten this season.
It’s the 67th all-time meeting between the programs, in a series that Ohio State holds a dominant 49-15-3 advantage. The Buckeyes have won seven of eight and 15 of 17, with Iowa State’s last win coming in the 2017 season – a lopsided 55-24 victory in Iowa City. That meeting was Ohio State’s last trip to Kinnick.
For the first time since 2009 and the 14th time in the history of the series, both teams are ranked in the top-15.
Ohio State has been its usual excellent self – a one-point loss at Texas is all that stands between OSU and an undefeated record this season. And of the Buckeyes’ three wins, all have been lopsided – with Ball State and Kent State mustering just three points of offense in their games, and Illinois scoring 19. The Buckeyes boast the Big Ten’s top-ranked total offense at 522.0 yards per game, and second-ranked scoring offense at 45.0 yards per game.
Meanwhile, across the field, Iowa has pushed out to an undefeated mark on the strength of its defensive performances. The Hawkeyes have pitched a pair of shutouts this season, and have not allowed more than 20 points in a game this year. That gives the Hawkeyes the top-ranked scoring defense not just in the Big Ten, but in all of FBS at just 8.0 points allowed per game.
Riding high after last week’s last-second win at Michigan, can Iowa’s defense slow down the Buckeyes enough to give the Hawkeyes back-to-back wins over perennial blue bloods?
- No. 8/8 Florida (4-0, 2-0 SEC) at No. 25/25 Missouri (3-1, 0-1 SEC)
2:30 p.m. CT | Saturday, October 3 | Memorial Stadium | Columbia, Mo. | ABC
Florida Game Notes | Missouri Game Notes | Live Stats
In another matchup of undefeated SEC teams, Jon Sumrall leads his undefeated Florida Gators into Columbia for a matchup with Eli Drinkwitz and the Missouri Tigers. It’s the 13th all-time meeting between the two schools, with Missouri holding an all-time 7-6 advantage in the series. Both teams hold a 4-2 record on their home field in the series.
Sumrall has authored one of the finest turnaround stories in the country to date – the Gators’ four wins overall and two in conference thus far match last season’s win totals in each. And how the Gators have gotten there is unprecedented in school history – Florida has scored more points (214) in Sumrall’s first four games; the highest such total in school history. Coming off a dominant 52-28 win over No. 4 Ole Miss – the Gators’ highest-ranked win in 11 years – the Gators can look to a historical parallel from 30 years ago for inspiration. The last time that Florida scored 52 points against a top-five team was the 1996 national championship game against Florida State – that also marked the last time that the Gators scored 50 or more in three of their top four games.
For Mizzou, success has come in large part due to a consistent offense and a stingy defense. Missouri’s 31 points allowed in last week’s loss at Mississippi State was the most the Tigers have allowed all year, but the overall grit of the team has been a hallmark over Drinkwitz’s six-plus season at the helm of the program. Offensively, the Tigers are the best they’ve been under Drinkwitz, scoring 35.8 points per game this year, and defensively, the Tigers have been their best stopping the run, allowing just 100.3 yards per game.
Will that grit be enough to slow down the high-octane Gators offense? As some football watchers have noted – yes, this is your father’s Florida team – can Sumrall keep the good times rolling on offense and take the Gators to 5-0?
Other Things To Watch.. And Some Things We Watched
- BOUNCING BACK IN KNOXVILLE – Both Alex Golesh at Auburn and Josh Heupel at Tennessee will be looking for bounce-back wins this weekend. It’s the first of four straight games against ranked opposition for Auburn as the Tigers face a who’s who in the SEC in October with games against Georgia, LSU, and Ole Miss.
- TOP TEN IN FCS – A critical top-ten matchup from the Missouri Valley takes place in Normal, Illinois, this weekend, as No. 2 South Dakota State faces off against No. 10 Illinois State. ISU is coming off a surprising loss against UNI and will face off against one of the best teams in all of FCS – perhaps the game of the year in FCS to date.
- LIFE IN THE DEUCE – Down in Ada, Oklahoma, coach John Litrenta has East Central University off to a 4-0 start after opening the season against Ouachita (WASH-it-aw) Baptist University, and subsequent wins over Arkansas-Monticello, Southern Nazarene, and Northwestern Oklahoma State. This week, the Tigers face their toughest test of the season – playing host to No. 2 Harding, a team that has perfected the triple option attack.
- D3 POWERHOUSES COLLIDE – No. 8 John Carroll heads to St. Louis for a matchup with No. 17/18 Washington University. It’s a high-stakes clash in the NCAC, as both teams are coming off lopsided wins last week (WashU 79-0 over Oberlin and John Carroll 49-3 over Wittenberg).
- FROM THE NAIA – Keep an eye on a pair of ranked matchups from the NAIA – No. 6 Montana Tech travels to No. 22 Dakota State, and No. 18 Dordt visits No. 20 Midland.
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