In Week 4, the Miami Hurricanes played their first Saturday game of the season. And now Week 5 gives us the Hurricanes on Saturday in primetime for a road trip to Clemson. That's the priority for the weekend, but there's a lot of college football to set us up for the big game at Death Valley.
The evening schedule outside Miami-Clemson is pretty light for Week 5, but the afternoon games should be fun. Time to break it all down:
Four ACC games that Miami fans need to check out
Pittsburgh at Virginia Tech, Friday (7 p.m. ESPN)
Someone's "0" has to go! And check out the ticket prices for this game! They are pumped up in Blacksburg about this 4-0 start under James Franklin. Both of these teams appear on Miami's schedule — one that is a little tougher than some might have anticipated when the season began. This is also a big game for Pitt quarterback Mason Heintschel, who has been phenomenal against the weak competition on the schedule, throwing for 856 yards and 13 TDs against Miami (Ohio) and Bucknell, but far more mortal against P4 competition UCF and Syracuse (53.8 completion %, zero TDs).
No. 3 Notre Dame at North Carolina (Noon; ESPN)
As much as Notre Dame fans have been ragging on Miami about its schedule, the Irish's past three games were against Rice, Michigan State, and Purdue. The combined record is 4-8. North Carolina and Michigan State are pretty similar, both have some grit and are really limited on offense. The Irish beat the Spartans, 27-10, and I expect a similar score on the road against the Tar Heels. But we all want to see Notre Dame against a team that might be able to punch back. North Carolina isn't great, but the Tar Heels will punch back.
Louisville at NC State (3:30 p.m.; ACC Network)
NC State is NC State. The Wolfpack are what they are under Dave Doeren and would probably be that way under another coach. Beating N.C. State at home is a little tougher task; there's no question about that. Louisville has to show it can bounce back. The Cardinals were upset by Wake Forest, but I'm not ready to write them off yet. If they can win at Carter-Finley this week, the schedule should allow the Cardinals to get on a roll.
Virginia at Florida State (3:30 p.m.; ESPN2)
We'll get to FSU in a second, but Virginia has to win this week because the second half of October is going to be very challenging for the Cavaliers. They should find a welcoming host in the Seminoles, who allow everyone to come into Doak Campbell Stadium and take what they want. The Mike Norvell watch is still on, but the feeling is he'll make it to Hard Rock Stadium in a couple of weeks. And, as pathetic as the Seminoles look right now, they are the next opponent, and they are the biggest rival, so I guess they need to be taken seriously?
Three non-ACC games that will have real CFP implications
No. 7 Alabama at No. 16 Mississippi State (Noon; ABC)
Honestly, this is the best QB matchup in college football this season. Keelon Russell and Kamario Taylor, and don't be surprised if the winner of this game joins Darian Mensah and Jeremiah Smith at the top of the Heisman race. This is as good of a start to a college football Saturday as you can get. A playoff team against an upstart conference opponent, and the winner needs to be taken seriously as a CFP threat.
No. 5 Ohio State at No. 14 Iowa (3:30 p.m.; CBS)
No. 8 Florida at No. 25 Missouri (3:30 p.m.; ABC)
I grouped these two games together because they have similar storylines. We think Ohio State and Florida are for real, and both teams have real Heisman contenders on their respective rosters, but we're very skeptical of Iowa and Missouri... especially Missouri, because they absolutely should not be ranked in the top 25. But these are tough road games for the Buckeyes and Gators.
Ohio State is only taking its fifth trip to Iowa City since 2004, and the Buckeyes are 2-2 in their previous four games there. Missouri has been a house of horrors for Florida and holds a 4-2 record against the Gators at home. This is a test of the maturity of both road favorites, and a second loss for the Buckeyes would put them on the CFP borderline.
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