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Jackson's bold predictions for Week 5 of the 2025 college football season, including picks for Oregon, Washington, LSU, Auburn, Tennessee, Mississippi State, and Notre Dame.
There were not a ton of blockbuster matchups in Week 4, but that's far from the case in Week 5 of the college football season. Alabama-Georgia, Oregon-Penn State, LSU-Ole Miss, and Illinois-USC are the ranked vs. ranked matchups this weekend, but there are several more contests with significant college football playoff implications.
Anything can happen on any given Saturday, and in this article, we'll try to predict some potential headlines after the Week 5 action. Again, college football will never fail to deliver surprise outcomes and performances. Let's hope this week lives up to the hype.
Below, read about the bold calls for LSU, Auburn, Oregon, Washington, Tennessee, Mississippi State, and Notre Dame.
Washington Takes Ohio State to the Wire
I'm not crazy enough to pick Washington to win outright here, but it wouldn't be the most shocking outcome. Washington sophomore quarterback Desmond Williams looks like a star in the making. He's completed over 76% of his 173 career passing attempts, scored 18 total touchdowns, and thrown just one interception. He has yet to put his team in a bad situation due to sloppy play and turnovers, which is the first step in pulling off a big-time upset.
DEMOND WILLIAMS TO THE HOUSE.
And clean with the celly @UW_Football pic.twitter.com/veXRsfdbLk
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) September 21, 2025
Meanwhile, Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin is set to make his first road start, and Washington has arguably the most underrated home-field advantage in college football. Not only will Ohio State have to make the long trip from Columbus to Seattle, but they'll face a program that has won 22 consecutive home games. Only Georgia has won more home games in a row.
The Huskies might not be ready to compete for a Big Ten crown, but they should be expected to be competitive against the league's best teams, especially in Husky Stadium. We also don't know much about Ohio State at this point in the season. The Week 1 win over Texas looks less impressive as the weeks go by, so this could be the Buckeyes' first true test of the season.
When the final whistle blows, one of these teams will walk off the field as a narrow victor.
Oregon Routs Penn State
Is anyone else surprised Oregon is a 3.5-point underdog here? While Penn State has home-field advantage, it's fair to question if its start to the 2025 season is conducive to being ready for a powerhouse coming into Happy Valley. On one hand, facing Nevada, Florida International, Villanova, and then the bye week has allowed Penn State to cruise to wins and prepare for this must-see Big Ten showdown, but will the lack of facing any adversity bite them?
We won't pretend Oregon has faced earth-shattering competition either, but it has faced two Power 4 opponents and Oregon State. Ducks quarterback Dante Moore was a question mark heading into 2025, but he's been nothing short of elite, tallying 962 passing yards, 11 passing touchdowns, and just one interception through four starts. Neither team is lacking talent, but Oregon has the edge there.
Dante Moore finds Malik Benson for the 42-YD score 🚀 @oregonfootball
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/qMyh4kSkAV
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) September 6, 2025
Although Dan Lanning hasn't been around for long, he already has two wins over teams ranked inside the top five, including the win over Penn State in last year's Big Ten title game. James Franklin has just one top-5 win in his 15th season as a head coach.
Perhaps this take will look atrocious by Sunday, but Oregon looks like it could steamroll its way to another No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff. That starts with a double-digit victory over the Nittany Lions this weekend.
LSU Scores 31+ Points, Beats Ole Miss
The LSU offense has not come close to meeting expectations this season against Power 4 opponents, but this could be a get-right spot for Garrett Nussmeier and his talented group of weapons. The Week 3 showing against Florida wasn't promising, but the Gators might have one of the nation's best stop units.
The Rebels' defensive performance against Tulane was impressive, as many thought there would be another shootout in Oxford. Instead, Ole Miss held Tulane to just 282 total yards and 10 points. However, that does not undo the fact that Ole Miss allowed 442.5 yards per game and 29 points per game against Kentucky and Arkansas.
Now, it's time for Ole Miss to square off with, by far, the most talented offense it has seen this season. Nussmeier's torso injury doesn't seem to be much of a concern, and we shouldn't be surprised if the Tiger offense finally breaks out as the meat of its schedule begins.
Tennessee and Mississippi State Combine for 13 Touchdowns
The Bulldogs are one of the most improved teams in the country this year, in large part due to their offense. Mississippi State hired Jeff Lebby to essentially do what Josh Heupel has done in Knoxville: Deliver a watchable product and football team, and take major strides quickly. He looks to be on his way to doing that in the early part of Year 2.
So far, Tennessee's offense looks a lot like its dominant 2022 offense. The route concepts and scheme are different than 2022, but the production has been just as strong. Quarterback Joey Aguilar is a Heisman candidate with 13 total touchdowns in four games. Tennessee is averaging 53.5 points per game.
However, its defense has taken a major step back thanks to NFL departures on the defensive line and key injuries in the secondary. The Volunteer defense ranks last in the SEC in passing yards allowed per game (279.0), and it wasn't just Georgia that torched it through the air.
Mississippi State's offense has proven capable of having big performances, and at home, Blake Shapen should be able to take advantage of Tennessee's defensive woes. Although Tennessee has suffered crushing road losses in each of the last three seasons, we're not necessarily calling for the upset here.
.@BShapen x @AnthonyEvansIII 🎯#HailState || 📺: @SECNetwork pic.twitter.com/HxcTygrNWH
— Mississippi State Football (@HailStateFB) September 20, 2025
But we do expect this to be the highest-scoring game on the Week 5 slate, and Mississippi State collecting another top-25 win is not out of the realm of possibilities.
Auburn Wins at Kyle Field
Auburn did not come out of Norman with a win last week, but if you believe Oklahoma is a legitimate SEC title contender, then Auburn's performance was somewhat promising. Despite Jackson Arnold being sacked 10 times and the Tigers being held under 300 total yards, Auburn suffered just a single-score defeat and was in the game from start to finish.
Winning in Norman is going to prove to be one of the toughest feats this season, so we shouldn't simply write Auburn off after a close loss. Auburn's rushing defense has been spectacular this season, and it showed it was capable of limiting the Heisman front-runner, John Mateer, in the passing game.
Texas A&M had an eye-opening win in South Bend a few weeks ago, but the Irish defense is clearly one of the worst units in the country. Let's not forget Auburn won this matchup last year, and we're going to learn a lot about the trajectory of these two programs on Saturday. We're taking Aubrun in a close one thanks to its ascending defense. Expect Marcel Reed to look mortal for the first time this season.
Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price Combine for 300+ Rushing Yards
Is this bold enough? Love and Price combined for 231 rushing yards and five touchdowns against Purdue, so we're calling for an even bigger performance out of one of the nation's top one-two punches. Arkansas surrendered a whopping 290 rushing yards to Memphis last week and has allowed 157.5 rushing yards per game this season. Even Arkansas State surpassed 150 rushing yards against the Razorbacks.
Jeremiyah Love does it again ☘️#GoIrish☘️ | @JeremiyahLove pic.twitter.com/4QX9M1BA9H
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) September 20, 2025
With Notre Dame sitting at 1-2 and having significant defensive struggles, the Irish need to get back to the basics and do what they do best. A strong rushing attack keeps your defense off the field, which is evidently needed this season.
Letting CJ Carr continue to grow and take in-game reps as a passer is key, but Notre Dame has no more margin for error if it wants to make the 12-team College Football Playoff field come December. Heading into 2025, Love was viewed as a Heisman contender, while Price was seen as an elite "backup" running back. It's time to ride those two to victory and let them eat in a favorable matchup here.
