College Football Previews Week 5

September 29, 2017

FRIDAY SEPT. 29 7PM ET ESPN
MIAMI (FLA) by 4 @ DUKE
This is a tough one to call even though I do believe Miami is the more talented team. The beginning of their season has been totally disrupted by hurricane season here in Florida and it’s a home game for an undefeated Duke team. Those two factors give me cause for pause, but I will go with the ‘Canes even with only two games under their belt. The Dukies may have the advantage at the all important QB position, with DANIEL JONES/Soph. who ran for 486 yards and 7 TD last season while completing almost 63% of his throws. With the QB guru DAVID CUTCLIFFE/HC as his mentor this kid is on the verge of stardom and a big part of their 4-0 start. Miami has a bit more if a running game emphasis with MARK WALTON about to start setting school rushing records. And he can catch the ball as well as rush it. Miami has a speed advantage over Duke and I think that will play a major factor in the game.

Miami prospects: #1 MARK WALTON/RB/JR; #23 CHRIS HERNDON/TE; #68 NICK LINDER/OC; #73 TREVOR DARLING/OT; #52 KC McDERMOTT/OT; #9 CHAD THOMAS/DE; #80 RJ McINTOSH/DT; #15 MICHAEL BADGLEY/K.

Duke prospects: #29 SHAUN WILSON/RB; #34 BEN HUMPHREYS/IB; #14 BRYON FIELDS/CB; #21 ALONZO SAXTON/S.

SATURDAY Sept. 30 3:30 ET CBS
GEORGIA by 5 @ TENNESSEE
This contest should be a double digit advantage for Georgia based on results to date, but fear the power of a Vols home game. It’s relatively early in the season, but tis may be the showdown game for the SEC East title slot, unless Florida can get all of their suspended players back on the field in the coming weeks, which now appears doubtful. UGA is unbeaten and has done that without their Soph starting QB JACOB EASON for the most recent wins. KIRBY SMART/HC has been a revelation since replacing Mark Richt between the hedges. His recruiting has been top notch and this team looks like a potential juggernaut if EASON gets back healthy soon. The Vols are 3-1, but have been less than overwhelming as they struggle to replace JOSHUA DOBBS/QB, so far with inconsistent QUINTEN DORMADY. Give me the Bulldogs with their running tandem of CHUBB/MICHEL.

Georgia prospects: #27 NICK CHUBB/RB; #1 SONY MICHEL/RB; #77 ISAIAH WYNN/OT; #97 JOSH ATKINS/DT; #17 DAVIN BELLAMY/OB/ER; #7 LORENZO CARTER/OB; #1 REGGIE CARTER/LB; #35 AARON DAVIS/CB; #24 DOMINICK SANDERS/S.

Tennessee prospects: #4 JOHN KELLY/RB JR; #82 ETHAN WOLF/TE; #75 JASHON ROBERTSON/OC; #63 BRETT KENDRICK/OT; #39 KENDAL VICKERS/DL; #53 COLTON JUMPER/LB; #24 TODD KELLY/FS; #93 TREVOR DANIEL/P.

SAT Sept. 30 8PM ET ABC
CLEMSON by 5 @ VIRGINIA TECH
Tech has looked solid with their Frosh QB/JOSHUA JACKSON #17 running and passing his tam to a 4-0 start, but I just cannot pick against Clemson, which I think is a solid sign that DABO has become the Nick Saban of the SEC with his “program” which now sustains itself in talent recruiting. Look for this to be another low scoring defensive struggle between 2 teams likely to be bowling on prestigious bowl days come January.

Clemson prospects: #8 DEON CAIN/WR/JR; #55 TYRONE CRAWFORD/OG; #75 MITCH HYATT/OT/JR; #42 CHRISTIAN WILKINS/DT/JR; #23 VAN SMITH/S/JR.

VA Tach prospects: #5 CAM WILLIAMS/WR; #61 KYLE CHUNG/G/T; #54 ANDREW MOTUAPUAKA/IB; #31 BRANDON FACYSON/CB; #3 GREG STROMAN/CB; #22 TERRELL EDMUNDS/FS/JR.

SAT Sept. 30 10:30 PM ET FS1
CALIFORNIA @ OREGON by 7
Both teams lost last week, meaning that the loser here will play spoiler pretty much for the rest of the season. I’ll take the Ducks at home primarily because I think ROYCE FREEMAN can control the clock running between the tackles for Oregon. It may be quite interesting to see if star LB/DEVANTE DOWNS for Cal can contain FREEMAN a bit. Those tow guys are the top prospects here for the 2018 NFL Draft.

California prospects: #5 TRE WATSON/RB; #11 RAY HUSDSON/TE; #97 TONY MEKARI/DT; #9 JAMES LOONEY/DE; #1 DEVANTE DOWNS/IB; #9 MATT ANDERSON/K.

Oregon prospects: #21 ROYCE FREEMAN/RB; #73 TYRELL CROSBY/OT; #11 JUSTIN HOLLINS/OB/JR; #13 ARION SPRINGS/CB; #21 TYREE ROBINSON/S.