A shocking (or maybe not so shocking) beatdown, an instant classic, and a couple of fiery coaches not holding back. Week 4 in college football was an absolute blast and the rankings are coming together nicely as we look to dial in on the college football playoff in coming weeks. This week is loaded with great matchups. Here are our Top 3 2023 College Football Games Week 5.
No. 8 USC vs Colorado
Well, the Colorado hype train went off the rails last weekend in Eugene. The country has tuned in to watch Deion Sanders and the Buffs at a historic rate and that may have been a bad thing on Saturday. Oregon absolutely dominated Colorado from start to finish. The final score was 42-6 and the Buffs were outgained by over 300 yards. Now they must face USC, another tough opponent. The USC defense is suspect, and they really struggled to pull away from Arizona State until the end of the second half last week. Still, their offense which is led by Heisman winner Caleb Williams is electric and can easily drop 50 points on this weak Colorado defense. The Colorado national hype may be put to rest after this game. Prediction: USC 45 Colorado 23
No. 24 Kansas vs No. 3 Texas
I thought there was a real shot that the hype would get to Texas, and they would stumble over an easy opponent in Baylor last week. Just the opposite of that happened. The Longhorns continued their mission of “being back” and dominated the Bears. This is a legit defense that has allowed a combined 16 points in the last two weeks. Quinn Ewers is playing himself into Heisman contention as well. But don’t overlook Kansas, a team that upset Texas just a few seasons ago. The Jayhawks are nationally ranked too, and their scoring ability is enough to make me tune in for this game. If this game was in Lawrence, I’d likely side with the Hawks. But it is tough to win in Bevo’s country. Prediction: Kansas 24 Texas 31
No. 11 Notre Dame vs No. 17 Duke
Who thought Duke would be ranked 17th coming into this contest? Former Irish defensive coordinator Mike Elko has done a good job since taking over in Durham. The Blue Devils are hot, and they are playing really good offensive football at the moment. Outside of beating Clemson, I am not all that impressed by the other three Duke wins so a victory over Notre Dame would make them prime ACC champ candidates and we could be having more serious talks after that. Notre Dame is coming off a heartbreaker to Ohio State where they lost on the Buckeyes’ final drive of the game. This is a huge bounceback game for the Irish. The away atmosphere won’t be that difficult to handle and I think Marcus Freeman gets his team ready for a big win. Prediction: Notre Dame 27 Duke 20