Expert Picks: Loaded College Football Slate Opens October

The Week 5 slate is headlined by Clemson–NC State, Alabama-Arkansas, Michigan-Iowa and Kentucky–Ole Miss.

As the calendar gets ready to flip to October, college football is kicking off the month in a big way with a packed slate of games. With the vast majority of nonconference games in the books, teams are now turning their full-time focus to league games, and the pitfalls and challenges that come with them. 

A number of games in Florida and the South have been moved from Saturday due to Hurricane Ian, but the day will still bring some packed windows. At 12 p.m. ET, No. 4 Michigan will play at Iowa (Fox), No. 7 Kentucky will clash with No. 14 Ole Miss in Oxford (ESPN) and No. 18 Oklahoma will look to bounce back vs. TCU (ABC) after its first loss.

At 3:30 p.m. ET, three top-25 matchups will take center stage when No. 20 Arkansas welcomes No. 2 Alabama to Fayetteville (CBS), No. 16 Baylor hosts No. 9 Oklahoma State (Fox) and No. 22 Wake Forest visits No. 23 Florida State (ABC). And in prime time, No. 5 Clemson will take on No. 10 NC State (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC) in a critical ACC Atlantic Division clash. The Tigers are coming off a thrilling overtime win, but can they win another marquee matchup?

Standings to Date:

John Garcia: 44–16
Ross Dellenger: 43–17
Richard Johnson: 41–19
Pat Forde: 38–22
Molly Geary: 37–23

Sports Illustrated’s Week 5 straight-up picks:

More College Football Coverage:

• What We Know—and Don’t Know—About Playoff Expansion
• Penn State and More Top October Story Lines
• It’s Time for Georgia Tech to Hire a Black Coach