<div>Sorry about the late posting. Early in the week I contracted COVID for the first time since the pandemic broke out. Update: It still sucks! Today was the first day I felt good enough to write. Hopefully that means I'll be 100% soon.Anyways, let's dive in! Tennessee won its conference opener against Oklahoma behind a strong defensive performance. Losing Heard and Campbell really disrupted the offensive gameplan, but Heupel made the decisions to secure the W. Now the Vols are resting up as other playoff contenders take center stage. We're already a quarter through the season and things are shaping up. Let's consider the biggest matchups for the upcoming week.<h2>Recap of the Previous Week</h2>Starters: The week started off with a bang as Nebraska vs Illinois delivered an overtime thriller. The quarterback duel between Raiola and Altmyer provided lots of fireworks as both QBs combined for 7 TDs. The noon slot between Florida and Mississippi State was the least entertaining. Florida was in control for most of the game and even when State threatened, they couldn't keep the Gators out of the endzone. Utah proved that they're the team to beat in the Big 12. Star QB, Cam Rising was declared out right before the game. It didn't matter though because the Ute defense smothered the Cowboy offense. Ollie Gordon II was held to only 42 yards on the ground as Oklahoma State scored two garbage time TDs to make the game closer than it appeared. Finally in the evening slate, Tennessee fans were enjoying a dominant defensive performance against Oklahoma. Not long after, BYU forced three turnovers to secure a huge upset against Kansas State.Bench: I really liked how the bench picks turned out. Every game except for the NC State vs Clemson game was decided by one possession. Stanford won its first ACC game over Syracuse with a walk off field goal. Michigan spoiled USC's comeback efforts with a 89 yard TD drive in the last few minutes of the game. Love 'em or hate 'em, but Sanders' Hail Mary throw to force overtime was pure entertainment. The Buffs would later secure the win with a forced fumble courtesy of Travis Hunter.Upset Pick - Miss: Alex Golesh has the Bulls trending in the right direction, but similar to the Alabama game they just couldn't hang for 60 minutes with Miami. Cam Ward continues to impress and it can a person wonder if they will have anymore challenges that could pose a threat to their playoff hopes.Impact Pick - Hit: No other game really impacted the Vols this week. Tennessee moved up in the polls based on their own actions. The two most difficult teams on the schedule didn't play this week. So I think its reasonable to say that the Arkansas vs Auburn game made the biggest impact from a scouting perspective. I know he's suppose to be stud QB, but Taylen Green just hasn't looked impressive this year. In this game, he threw two interceptions and posted a 44% completion rate. Auburn turned the ball over five times, but I think it's more likely that the Tigers are terrible at QB instead of Arkansas being amazing on defense. If the Razorbacks can beat A&M this week, then things may get interesting next week.<h2>Week 5 Lineup</h2><h2>Weekday/Sunday Picks:</h2>Starting: Washington @ RutgersTime: Friday, Sep 27th at 8PM ET - FoxThe Huskies had a soft introduction to the Big 10 as they cruised by Northwestern last week. It will get a little more challenging when they visit New Jersey to play Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights are fresh off a road win over Virginia Tech. At first glance this game may not appear very interesting. With five ranked teams left on the schedule, Washington really needs this win to help their bowl eligibility. Whereas Rutgers fans believe that this is their opportunity to be taken seriously in the conference.Bench: Virginia Tech @ No. 7 MiamiTime: Friday, Sep 27th at 7:30PM ET - ESPNI mean it was either this game or Army beating down Temple. Miami has been crushing all opposition behind Cam Ward's performances. He's solidly in the Heisman mix thanks to his 1439 passing yards and 14 TDs. The Hurricanes have scored 40 or more points in all their games and have yet to given up more than 17 points. Virginia Tech has had a less than stellar start to the season as a potential ACC dark horse. The Hokies lost on the road in overtime against Vanderbilt and just recently came up short in their comeback against Rutgers. On paper, this one won't be pretty.<h2>Saturday Noon Picks:</h2>Starting: No. 20 Oklahoma State @ No. 23 Kansas StateTime: Saturday, Sep 28th at 12PM ET - ESPNWelcome to Week 5's "get right" game. Both teams suffered embarrassing performances in Week 4. Oklahoma State was unable to do much against a Cam Rising-less Utah team. Despite forcing Utah's backup QB to throw two picks, the Cowboys still surrendered 450+ yards of offense. Ollie Gordon II was limited to 42 rushing yards and Alan Bowman threw two picks of his own. Kansas State outgained BYU by 100+ yards, but turned the ball over three times. This included a 30 yard fumble recovery TD. BYU also pulled off one of the more impressive punt return TDs from their own 10 yard line. If Kansas State can clean up their act then I like their chances against a struggling Oklahoma State.Bench: Kentucky @ No. 6 Ole MissTime: Saturday, Sep 28th at 12PM ET - ABC/ESPN+I know what you're thinking. This game has blowout written all over it. I understand, but the rest of the noon lineup is very weak. So why not see what the Rebels can accomplish against a team with a pulse. Unlike Heupel, Lane Kiffin is letting his starters rack up stats late into the 4th quarter of blowouts. Jaxson Dart, another Heisman runner, has 1554 passing yards and 12 TDs against four terrible teams. Kentucky is having a roller coaster year so far. After getting dominated by SC at home, they followed it up with a one point loss to No. 1 Georgia. Last week against Ohio, Vandagriff put up some yards through the air but failed to find the endzone. UK's rushing attack picked up four TDs from three different ball carriers.<h2>Saturday Afternoon Picks:</h2>Starting: No. 15 Louisville @ No. 16 Notre DameTime: Saturday, Sep 28th at 3:30PM ET - PeacockAfter their collapse against Northern Illinois, the Fighting Irish have bounced back with wins over Purdue and Miami (Ohio). Riley Leonard has not thrown for over 200 yards yet, but he did pick up two rushing TDs and 143 rushing yards in last week's performance against the RedHawks. Louisville had two easy wins to kick off the season and picked up a solid win over conference foe, Georgia Tech last week. The Cards starting QB, Tyler Shough, has put up 200+ yards and 2+ TDs in every matchup so far. Notre Dame is currently sitting around as a TD favorite, but I think Louisville will give them a much closer game.Bench: Arkansas vs No. 24 Texas A&M (Arlington, TX)Time: Saturday. Sep 28th at 3:30PM ET - ESPNThis one may be tied with Auburn vs Oklahoma on your preference list. I chose this game because of two main reasons. Arkansas is Tennessee's next opponent and it would be interesting to see how they compete against a decent Aggies squad. The other reason is that I believe Oklahoma is going to crush Auburn. Texas A&M is still trying to improve their credibility after Notre Dame invaded their home and took the W in Week 1. After losing Conner Weigman to injury, Marcel Reed has been doing an admirable job filling in. The Aggies took their turn in whipping Florida and then struggled with a Bowling Green team that gave Penn State fits. Arkansas' starting QB, Taylen Green, just hasn't found his footing yet. After staring with a near 70% completion rate, the junior QB has followed it up with 57%, 42%, and 44% performances. He's also thrown at least one pick in all his starts against FBS competition.<h2>Saturday Evening Picks:</h2>Starting: No. 2 Georgia @ No. 4 AlabamaTime: Saturday, Sep 28th at 7:30PM ET - ABC/ESPN+Arguably the biggest game of the season to date. Both teams come into this matchup undefeated and fresh off a BYE. They come in with some concerns as well. Georgia had a nail-biting game against a Kentucky team that was crushed by SC the week before. Alabama struggled in the trenches for the majority of the game against USF. Alabama's Jalen Milroe has continued his identity as a dual threat QB, gaining 8 TDs through the air and 6 TDs on the ground. Georgia's Carson Beck starting hot with a couple 200+ passing yard games and 7 total TDs, but was mostly nullified in their game against Kentucky. Kirby Smart had two weeks to fix the issues and prepare for the hostile road environment in Bryant-Denny, so we'll see if this matchup is a clash of the titans or if one team will be exposed as a fraud.Bench: No. 19 Illinois @ No. 9 Penn StateTime: Saturday, Sep 28th at 7:30PM ET - NBCAs all eyes will be on ABC, this game may fly under the radar. Penn State came into the season with high hopes as a Big 10 title contender and playoff caliber team. Junior QB, Drew Allar returns and he put up good numbers in his first three games by throwing at least 200+ yards 2+ TDs in each contest. However, the competition is suspect. Their win against West Virginia was a good performance against a rival, but struggling against Bowling Green and blowing out a helpless Kent State didn't tell us much. By contrast, Illinois already has wins over two ranked opponents. Luke Altmyer had a great performance on the road against Nebraska. He put up 215 passing yards and 4 TDs to secure the win in overtime. This has great upset potential and could really shake up the Big 10 hierarchy.<h2>Upset Pick:</h2>Washington State @ No. 25 Boise StateTime: Saturday, Sep 28th at 10PM ET- FS1Don't look now, but Washington State could realistically run the table and finish undefeated this season. The Cougars earned wins over power conference teams such as Texas Tech and bitter rival, Washington. San José State gave the Cougars a scare in a double overtime shootout where Washington State would come out on top. Starting QB, John Mateer, has accumulated 1102 yards and 11 passing TDs with an additional 425 yards on the ground and 5 rushing TDs. Boise State had a prime opportunity to score a huge win against Oregon, but lost it due to some special teams errors. The Broncos responded by dominating Portland State behind starting QB, Madsen's three TD performance. The real star is Boise State's RB, Ashton Jeanty who has 9 rushing TDs and nearly 600 yards. This game has slight playoff potential as either team could win out the rest of the season.<h2>Biggest Pick that Impacts the Vols:</h2>No. 21 Oklahoma @ AuburnTime: Saturday, Sep 28th at 3:30PM ET - ABC/ESPN+We already talked about teams ranked above the Vols and Tennessee's opponent next week. That leaves Tennessee's current victories and Oklahoma is the best win so far on the schedule. Doesn't it seem like every time the Vols win, the media likes to move the goalposts? First it was against NC State. Although the Wolfpack is turning out to be a bit overrated, it was a trendy reason why people picked the Vols to struggle or outright lose to the Sooners. Now that Tennessee controlled that game from beginning to end, it seems like the narrative is that Oklahoma is just abysmal on offense. Honestly I'm tired of people complaining about the Vols schedule. If Oklahoma comes out against Auburn and crushes the Tigers, then it would help the Vols strength of schedule. If the Sooners lose? Well, I can imagine the media members will love to use this to discredit Tennessee's accomplishments.That's gonna do it for this week's viewing guide. Thank y'all for checking it out and let me know which games you plan on starting in your lineups.</div>

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Week 5 - A Football Fan's Viewing Guide

Sorry about the late posting. Early in the week I contracted COVID for the first time since the pandemic broke out. Update: It still sucks! Today was the first day I felt good enough to write. Hopefully that means I'll be 100% soon. Anyways, let's dive in! Tennessee won its...