College football week five is here, and while the Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers each play in one of the biggest games of the week, there are some other fascinating matchups as well.
The Tide heads to Starkville for a quarterback showdown against Kamario Taylor and the Mississippi State Bulldogs, while the Tigers hit the road to Knoxville to try to pull the upset over the Tennessee Volunteers. Beyond Alabama and Auburn, there are some games you absolutely need to pay attention to.
No. 8 Florida @ No. 25 Missouri: 2:30 p.m. CST
All of the sudden, the Gators have turned things around quickly under Jon Sumrall and to this point, look like a legitimate contender in the conference and for the national title. With an absolutely electric offense that has led to steamrolling of opponents, Florida is coming off a huge win over Ole Miss and now has to hit the road in a tough environment against a strong Missouri team.
The Gators are less than a touchdown favorite over the Tigers, but another dominant win is going to cause the hype around this team to keep on ballooning ahead of some huge games for them this month.
No. 24 Kentucky @ South Carolina: 3:15 p.m. CST
The Wildcats have looked like a legitimate program the last couple of weeks with an upset on the road over Texas A&M and the hot start against Alabama. If Kentucky can keep on winning, they may have a shot to end the season ranked for the first time in a very long time, but the test this week is a unique one.
South Carolina is in absolute desperation mode with Shane Beamer potentially coaching for his job and the Gamecocks crowd ready to start booing at a moment’s notice. South Carolina is actually favored by a field goal in another significant test for the Wildcats this week.
No. 4 Miami @ Clemson: 6:30 p.m. CST
The Hurricanes have looked the part of national championship contender, but they have not been tested at all to this point with a very weak schedule. The Tigers, meanwhile, have had to survive both North Carolina and California since their week one beat down at the hands of LSU, and another blowout here would ramp up the Dabo Swinney hot seat talk immediately again.
Miami is more than a two touchdown favorite on the road, the biggest underdog point spread of Swinney’s entire coaching career, and it’s tough to see a circumstance in which Clemson is able to pull off the upset. With that being said, a win for the home team would absolutely throw chaos into the postseason race, and the Tigers are going to try to do just that.
Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP and hear him every weekday morning from 6 to 9 a.m. on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5, available free online.

