Section 400’s Week 5 College Football Roundtable

Happy Saturday to all that celebrate! As they do every Saturday, the guys from Section 400 will go through the top storylines heading into the monstrous slate on each College Football Saturday.

Find out below what Section 400 writers Brian Hauch, Matt Kolen, Jack Albanese, and Zach Meyers are most intrigued about in week five.

Brighter Lights

The meat of the college football season is FINALLY here gentlemen. Although we are still a few weeks away from the absurdly juicy slate, we do have plenty of fun games to look forward to this Saturday. Which one(s) will you be watching?

BH: Payton Thorne is starting another game on the Plains. I am terrified, but I’ll be watching. I have a special place in my heart for Louisville, partly because my dear friend Will (not to be confused with our editor), is a die hard UofL fan. The Cardinals have the talent to beat Notre Dame on the road this weekend, and I’ll be keeping a close eye on the action to see if they do just that. On the other side of the country, Washington State is somehow still undefeated after a ridiculous double-overtime thriller in week four. The Cougars travel to No. 25 Boise State this week in what should be a great game, unfortunately I’ll have to look at that field.

ZM: The Indiana Hoosiers are hosting the Maryland “Terps” with a chance to go 5-0!

MK: I’m all in on the Illinois Fighting Illini this weekend! They are battled tested, road dawgs! Penn State is on upset alert in Happy Valley!

JA: I have three big ones I’ll be watching. Oklahoma vs. Auburn, UGA taking on Alabama, and Illinois vs. Penn St. I’m also looking forward to UCF beating Colorado.

Cavs vs. Warriors

As much as we may hate conference realignment and the expansion that comes with it, the elimination of divisions within the SEC has forced Alabama and Georgia to play a meaningful game against each other before the month of December. Which program picks up the win on Saturday afternoon?

BH: As I said on the podcast, I hope both teams don’t have fun. I’ll take Georgia in what I hope is a 3-0 slugfest of a game. Alabama somehow being on the brink of playoff elimination before the Iron Bowl would be fantastic, although I’m not necessarily looking forward to that contest either.

ZM: Fun fact – I worked the Georgia vs. Alabama National Championship game. This one should be a great game with great storylines, but as Pat Mcafee said, “GIVE ME ALABAMA”.

MK: I’m backing Alabama at home! Rolllllll Tideeeee

JA: I want Georgia to win so, bark bark?

Survive and Advance

Long gone are the days of small programs missing out at an opportunity to win the National Championship, as the 12-seed in the College Football Playoff is reserved for a Group of 5 team. Which “Goliath” runs the table and gets invited to the tournament of “Davids”?

BH: I’ll tell you one thing, it definitely won’t be UNLV after the Rebels lost starting quarterback Matthew Sluka to a NIL dispute in one of the wildest stories of the college football season. I’ll take the Boise State Broncos and their horrendous abomination of a field. It’d be cool to see a “Statue of Liberty” play in the Playoff.

ZM: If I had to pick right now, my 12th team would be THE Army Black Knights. They have looked DOMINANT, and what a story that would be!

MK: It would be electric to see the James Madison Dukes sneak in there!

JA: Dude, JMU Dukers? Mayyybe?

If It Ain’t About The Money

Favorite bet(s) today?

BH: BYU (+3) is going to beat Baylor on the road. The mormons are really soaking up the spotlight right now, and I don’t see a reason for it to end against a Baylor team that just lost to Colorado. In a game that won’t be as fun, Texas (-38) might beat Mississippi State by 70.

ZM: Michigan (-10), JMU (-20), Utah (-8)

MK: Utah (-7), Illinois (+20), Bowling Green (-10), JMU (-20), Syracuse (-28)

JA: JMU (-21.5) and Oklahoma (+1). Is that line a joke?

 

Speaking of Goliaths…

Which underdog shocks the world today?

BH: I mentioned the game earlier, give me the Lousville Cardinals (+6.5) in South Bend against Notre Dame. Miami looked vulnerable last night. I’d love to see this ACC race heat up.

ZM: South Florida and Buffalo.

MK: Illinois, Northern Illinois, Buffalo, BYU, Louisville.

JA: I’ll give you two Louisville over Notre Dame and Illinois over Penn State.