In the 2017 regular season, the Clemson Tigers only suffered one loss, and that was a 27-24 stunner that came courtesy of Syracuse at the Carrier Dome. Now Clemson, who is ranked No. 3 in the country, hosts a 4-0 'Cuse squad that has looked impressive so far. Through four games, Syracuse has outscored its opponents (Western Michigan, Wagner, Florida State, UConn) by a total of 198-80. They're 3-0-1 against the spread, and their senior quarterback Eric Dungey is a legitimate dual-threat. Although Syracuse has shown a noteworthy run game, this Clemson defense is a unit that can absolutely stunt any momentum your offense had going. Especially on the ground. The Tigers enter this game as 24 point favorites, and are 1-3 against the spread. Clemson enters this one with a new QB1, as Dabo Swinney announced he is going with freshman phenom Trevor Lawrence as his starter. He's earned the job, and now it's time for the young buck to take control of the team. A lot of people have a lot of thoughts on the situation of Dabo giving the Lawrence the nod, causing Kelly Bryant to announce that he is transferring. Personally, I don't see anything wrong with the situation. At least Dabo was straight forward with him, which still gave him time to sit out and transfer. Before Kelly Bryant goes feeling bad for himself, he should be thankful he's not Jalen Hurts.
The Afternoon GamesBryant transferring isn’t him “giving up on the team.” It’s a two way street. If you’re best isn’t quite good enough, bounce to a program where your best is more than enough. He’s already got a ring as a backup. Now he’s focusing on his career.— Caleb Blackmur (@CalebBlackmur) September 26, 2018
Sandwiched in between some great early games and a plethora of night time entertainment is a mediocre slate of afternoon games. If you haven't realized by now, I am enamored with the Texas Longhorns' quest for their old ways. And this week, the No. 18 Longhorns hit the road to take on Kansas State. The Wildcats are 2-2 so far, although both of their losses have come to ranked teams: No. 23 Mississippi State and No. 12 West Virginia. Texas has some hefty momentum rolling, coming off of three straight wins against Tulsa, USC, and TCU. This will be the Longhorns' first away game of the season, and of all the places to be travelling to, Manhattan, Kansas is not the ideal destination for them. The last time Texas traveled to Kansas State and headed home with a victory was 2002. The Longhorns enter Saturday's game favored by 8.5. Neither team has a winning record against the spread, with Texas being 2-2 and Kansas State is 1-3. If the Longhorns don't end that losing streak in K-State's house, they'll be dealing with some serious scaries looking ahead to their matchup with rival Oklahoma next week.
If you're looking to watch some hard-fought, closely-matched football on Saturday, the No. 2 Georgia vs. Tennessee is not for you. But if you want to merely observe how far behind Tennessee is from the rest of the SEC, this might be the one for you. I'm personally interested in Jeremy Pruitt's tenure in Knoxville and how much he can improve the program that is in complete shambles. I like Pruitt and hope he can turn this thing around; it's just an incredible challenge as the Vols have dug themselves way too deep of a hole in recent years. In a Q&A after the loss to Florida, Pruitt told reporters that he is honest with recruits in saying, "This will probably be the worst year with me being the head football coach, because it's the first year." I love the honesty from him here. I feel like so many coaches, and fans of their teams, think a turnaround effort can be executed in just a couple of weeks or months. But Pruitt understands and transparently conveys that this is a process; you've got to build your way up. So as the Vols travel to Athens, Georgia for their first SEC road game, it's probably not going to be close at all. The Bulldogs are favored by 31.5 points. They have yet to score fewer than 40 points in a game this season. This game isn't a potential upset, that just won't happen. But it could be a game that, a few seasons down the road, people look back at to compare the "then and now" of Jeremy Pruitt's time at Tennessee.
The Night Games
The evening slate is absolutely loaded, so let's start off with the same game the College Gameday crew will start our day from. The No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes play the No. 9 Penn State Nittany Lions in Happy Valley. This top 10, in-conference battle under the lights should be absolutely extraordinary. Although the Buckeyes are the road team in an extremely hostile environment, they are favored by three points. Both teams come into this one as 4-0 straight up and 3-1 against the spread. After a week one overtime scare from Appalachian State, Penn State has been steamrolling opponents, outscoring the competition of the last three weeks 177-40. Nobody has scored more points in the country than these two teams: Penn State has scored the most with 222 total points (55.5 points per game) and Ohio State is right behind them with a total of 218 points (54.5 points per game). This BIG 10 matchup clearly features a ton of offensive power, and Ohio State's defense will be missing a key piece as defensive end Nick Bosa is out after having surgery on a core muscle. Both quarterbacks in this game are awesome. I could never really get behind Trace McSorely being something special, but he keeps on proving me wrong over and over again. On the other side, Dwayne Haskins is just about as legitimate as an early Heisman contender can get, as he's put up insane numbers: he has the second best completion percentage in the country with 75.7, the second most passing touchdowns with 16, the third best passer efficiency rating with 207, and the tenth-most passing yards with 1,194. The current over/under for this game is 71, which seems like more of a Big 12 line than that of two BIG 10 teams.
Count your blessings folks, because we get to witness two top-ten matchups under the lights on Saturday. It could've been nice if these heavyweight bouts were spread out a bit, having one in the currently lackluster afternoon slot, but I won't complain about top teams battling it out in prime time. No. 7 Stanford travels to South Bend as they take on No. 8 Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish are favored by 5.5 in this one. The last time Notre Dame beat Stanford was in 2014, when the Irish won 17-14 at home. Although Stanford handled Notre Dame last season 38-20, every meeting between these two team from 2012-2016 ended as a one-possession point differential. This game being in South Bend is huge for ND, as the home crowd should be a zoo and the Irish haven't beat Stanford out West since 2007. One of Notre Dame's glaring weaknesses in 2018 has been the play of quarterback Brandon Wimbush. However, coach Brian Kelly assigned junior QB Ian Book as the starter. Regardless of who is under center for ND, this Stanford defense is capable of causing major disruptions. Also, keep an eye on Stanford's running back Bryce Love, who hasn't necessarily put up his expected numbers so far this year, but he's still an incredible talent that is due for a breakout performance in the spotlight. It will be extremely difficult for the Cardinal to play a second-straight ranked matchup on the road, but playoff implications are on the line for both teams in this one.
Yet another top-25 matchup on Saturday night will take place in Seattle, with the No. 11 Washington Huskies hosting No. 20 BYU. Entering the season, the Huskies were highly regarded as a playoff contender and the Pac 12 favorite. Those two accolades are still very much in sight for Washington, but they definitely haven't looked as dominant as many had foreseen, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Which is why I am a little stunned that Washington is favored by 17 points in this one. The only time this year they've really lit up the scoreboard was against North Dakota, a game they won 45-3. But in the three games the Huskies have faced Power Five opponents (Auburn, Utah, Arizona State), they've scored an average of 21.3 points per game. Not that their offense has been non-existent, but that's a lot of points to be favored by for a team that hasn't been entirely explosive offensively. I guess that line is really counting on the Washington defense to completely shut down BYU's offense, which is very possible seeing as they've allowed 12.8 points per game (tied for fourth fewest in the country). Against Power Five opponents (Arizona, Cal, Wisconsin), BYU has allowed an average of 21.6 points in three games. BYU has proven that they are not afraid of going on the road to play a higher ranked team, as they went into Madison, Wisconsin two weeks ago and stunned the Badgers 24-21. BYU was unranked, while Wisconsin was No. 6 at the time. Washington has only covered the spread once this season, while failing to do so in the other three weeks. BYU, on the other hand, goes up to the Pacific Northwest with a 3-1 record against the spread.
One final ranked matchup for week five comes to you courtesy of #Pac12AfterDark. The No. 19 Oregon Ducks are looking to bounce back after blowing a lead to Stanford last Saturday night, which they'll have to do on the road against the No. 24 Cal Golden Bears. Cal has gone 5-7 in three of the last four seasons, and head coach Justin Wilcox is really looking to turn things around in his second year in charge. Their most significant win in 2018 was the 21-18 victory over BYU in Provo, Utah. They've also beat UNC 24-17 and Idaho State 45-23. They've allowed an average of less than 20 points per game, but Justin Herbert and the Ducks' offense are much more talented than anything Cal has faced yet this year. Oregon has scored an average of 46.5 points per game, but they've also failed to come out on top in their only Power Five matchup of the year. The Ducks are currently favored by 1.5, but I wouldn't be surprised if that line changes a bit between now and kickoff. Oregon has yet to cover the spread this season, and Cal is 1-1-1 against the spread. This is the second of three-straight ranked opponents for Oregon, as they host No. 11 Washington next week.
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