Georgia Vs. Alabama Headlines Week 5 Of The College Football Season
by Tom Layberger · ForbesGeorgia heads to Tuscaloosa having won an astonishing 42 consecutive regular season games with the last such defeat against Florida in 2020. UGA is since 46-2 with both setbacks at the hands of Alabama in the 2021 and 2023 SEC title games. Kirby Smart, by the way, lost four of five against former boss Nick Saban and will get his first crack at the Kalen DeBoer-led Tide on Saturday night.
Here is a look at Georgia and Alabama as well as a few other key games this weekend.
Friday, Sept. 27
Virginia Tech (2-2) at No. 7/9 Miami (4-0) | 7:30 EST ESPN
One can only imagine the pregame atmosphere if this matchup was in Blacksburg with the Hokies taking the field to Metallica’s “Enter Sadman.” Alas, ‘Canes fans welcome their undefeated and top 10 team back home after blowing through USF in the second half of last week’s 50-15 win in Tampa.
Virginia Tech, which has lost both of its games (Vandy, Rutgers) by a combined 10 points, has been solid on the ground averaging 189 yards per game. More production will be needed from quarterback Kyron Drones (87th in pass efficiency) if the offense is to do much against a Miami defense that features a pass rush tied for the nation’s lead in sacks per game with four.
Each of Miami’s seven touchdown drives at USF were at least 75 yards, two of which were more than 90 yards. Cam Ward is fifth nationally in pass efficiency thanks in part to leading the nation with 14 TD passes.
Saturday, Sept. 28
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No. 2/1 Georgia (3-0) at No. 4/4 Alabama (3-0) | 7:30 EST ABC
The season debut of left tackle Kadyn Proctor settled the Alabama line and allowed quarterback Jalen Milroe and the offense to run much more smoothly in a Week 3 rout of Wisconsin. A similar effort will be required against a Georgia defense that has not allowed a touchdown (six FGs) through three games.
On the flip side, a Georgia offense that struggled (262 yards, 12 FD) at Kentucky will need to be at its best against a Crimson Tide defense that is the nation’s stingiest (16.7%) in third down conversions. The Bulldogs’ offense is 74th nationally in converting 39.4% of its third downs.
Many memorable encounters have taken place in a series Alabama leads 43-26-4. The Tide has won eight of the last nine. Both teams are coming off a bye week.
No. 19/21 Illinois (4-0) at No. 9/8 Penn State (3-0) | 7:30 EST NBC
The Fighting Illini are off to their best start since 2011 when they opened 6-0 under Ron Zook. This season’s start, which included last week’s overtime win at Nebraska, has been led by the play of quarterback Luke Altmyer (10 TD passes) and corner Xavier Scott, who has three of the team’s Big Ten-leading seven interceptions.
Nobody in Happy Valley needs to be reminded about the outcome when Illinois last visited Beaver Stadium in 2021. Bret Bielema picked up his first conference win as coach of the Fighting Illini when his 1-5 squad defeated the then-No. 7 Nittany Lions in a 9 OT affair. Penn State’s Nicholas Singleton is averaging 104 yards rushing per game and is fifth nationally with an average of 8.5 yards per carry.
No. 15/17 Louisville (3-0) at No. 16/14 Notre Dame (3-1) | 3:30 EST Peacock
The Notre Dame defense is ahead of the offense after four weeks. True, the Irish put up 66 points (one defensive TD) versus Purdue. Otherwise, new OC Mike Denbrock’s unit has scored 65 points. Though by no means all his doing, Riley Leonard has only one TD pass after four games – he has rushed for six scores — is 116th (of 129) nationally in pass efficiency and is having difficulty getting the ball down the field as underscored by nine yards per pass completion.
The Fighting Irish are sixth nationally in pass efficiency defense and are allowing only 43 percent of opposing passes to be completed. Cardinals’ quarterback Tyler Shough has had no problems getting the ball down field as his 16.3 yards per completion attests. He has had plenty of help from a running game in which the top two rushers, Isaac Brown and Duke Watson, are averaging 11.8 and 10.8 yards per tote, respectively.
No. 20/20 Oklahoma State (3-1) at No. 23/25 Kansas State (3-1) | Noon EST ESPN
What might be most intriguing about this matchup, beside the fact it is a top 25 affair among Big 12 teams, is that both teams are coming off their first loss of the season. Oklahoma State fell to Utah last week (22-19) in a conference opener that Mike Gundy’s team made very tight late in the final quarter. Hence, a loss to the Wildcats would not just mean a two-game slide to close September, but an 0-2 start in conference play. Kansas State won its conference opener against Arizona two weeks ago before being embarrassed (38-9) at BYU. Three turnovers, a punt return and a fumble return for touchdowns made for an unsightly affair. (Parker Kingston’s 90-yard punt return was quite the adventure.)
Cowboys’ DC Bryan Nardo needs his unit to tighten the screws against the run. A matchup to watch is Kansas State’s DJ Giddens, who is averaging 104 yards rushing per game, against a defense that is allowing 180 yards per game on the ground to rank 101st. Conversely, the Wildcats are yielding all of 83 rushing yards per game to rank 15th. After rushing for 126 yards and three TDs in the opener against South Dakota State, the Pokes’ Ollie Gordon is 45-132-2.9-1 in three games against FBS foes.
Colorado (3-1) at UCF (3-0) | 3:30 EST FOX
Deion Sanders will be back in his home state and the FOX pregame crew will be on hand. While there will be much fanfare, this is a game the Knights need to win. In their inaugural season of Big 12 play a year ago, Gus Malzahn’s team blew a 28-point lead at home to what turned out to be three-win Baylor and let an early 14-0 lead at middling Texas Tech dissolve into a one-point loss. If they are to step up in their second season in the conference, this is the type of opponent the Knights need to defeat. A win would mark UCF’s first 4-0 start since 2018.
While the Knights had a rousing comeback from a 21-point second half deficit at TCU last week, the Buffaloes had a Shedeur Sanders-to-Travis Hunter Hail Mary answered as time expired before winning in overtime against visiting Baylor. Sanders has thrown 11 TD passes, including seven to Hunter, whose 118 yards receiving per game rank seventh nationally. Something to watch: the Knights’ RJ Harvey is fourth nationally in averaging 149 yards rushing per game (with eight TDs) and the Colorado defense is 82nd (151 ypg) against the run.