Each of the Power 5 conferences enter Week 5 of the college football season with three or more unbeaten teams. There will be at least one less in the Big 12 after Saturday, when No. 24
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That’s a large part of why I picked Utah to win the Pac-12 in the preseason. Kyle Whittingham earned it. Plus, the Utes are the two-time defending conference champions and the quarterback who led them to those titles, Cam Rising, said in July he would be ready for the opener.
But with new information comes the obligation to re-evaluate and after four games, Utah looks more like a team hanging on than it does a team that’s a real threat to three-peat. It’s a strange sentiment considering the Utes have three Power 5 wins — Florida, Baylor and then-No. 22 UCLA — but in a conference that has one of the best collections of quarterbacks in the history of college football, the offensive struggles feel too significant to overcome. Yes, the Utes have been incredible on defense (No. 6 nationally in scoring), but only three Power 5 offenses are averaging fewer yards per play than the Utes (4.89). It’s not a sustainable winning formula.
The wildcard is Rising, who has yet to play. If his return — maybe this week against Oregon State on Friday (9 p.m. ET, Fox Sports1)? — transforms things, then, sure, Utah remains a player. But if his return keeps getting delayed or the offense doesn’t improve significantly upon his return, expect Utah to fade. — Kyle Bonagura
Kentucky: Had even the most pessimistic of Kentucky football fans surveyed the schedule back in August, they would have confidently placed the Wildcats right where they are at this point — 4-0. It’s difficult to find a cushier start to the 2023 season (Michigan would be in the running) than what Kentucky has faced in playing Ball State, Eastern Kentucky, Akron and Vanderbilt. And against FCS foe Eastern Kentucky in Week 2, Kentucky was anything but sharp.
None of that matters now, as Kentucky gets into the teeth of its schedule with No. 22 Florida visiting Kroger Field on Saturday (noon ET, ESPN). It’s the start of a stretch where Kentucky plays three of its next four games at home.
There was a time when the mention of Florida inside the hallways of the Kentucky football complex would have elicited shivers. But not anymore. The Wildcats have won three of the past five matchups in this series, yet another example of the job Mark Stoops — in his 11th season — has done in building the Kentucky program from the ashes.
Before this recent success, Kentucky had lost 31 straight games to Florida. And if the Wildcats can get it done again, it would be only their fourth 5-0 start to the season in the last four-plus decades. Stoops engineered two of them. Kentucky started 6-0 in 2021 on its way to 10 wins and started 5-0 in 2018 en route to winning 10 games.
Particularly in light of last season’s 7-6 finish, this is a chance for the Wildcats to show they belong in the SEC’s upper echelon. This team very much has a Stoops feel to it. The defense is fourth in the SEC in scoring (15.5 points per game), and they’re tied for first with eight forced turnovers.
Each of their top two running backs are averaging more than 6 yards per carry, and transfer quarterback Devin Leary has one of the deepest fleet of explosive receivers UK has had in a while. Tayvion Robinson has blossomed with Liam Coen back as offensive coordinator.
In short, what’s missing for Kentucky this season is a complete game against a nationally ranked team. The Wildcats get their shot Saturday. — Chris Low
Wide receivers to watch in Week 5
ACC: One of the brightest spots at Virginia this season has been receiver Malik Washington, who has emerged as one of the best players in the ACC. A transfer from Northwestern, Washington leads all ACC receivers in receptions (28) and receiving yards (459). Last week against NC State, Washington had 10 receptions for 170 yards and two touchdowns. He now has three straight 100-yard receiving games, just the third Virginia player to ever do that. Nobody in Virginia history has ever recorded four straight 100-yard receiving games, but Washington will get his chance Saturday against Boston College (2 p.m. ET, CW Network). — Adelson
Big 12: UCF‘s Kobe Hudson is off to a hot start in 2023, averaging 115.8 yards per game, and his 463 yards are 60 more than the next-closest Big 12 receiver (Samuel Brown of Houston). Hudson, a 6-1, 200-pound Georgia native who was Auburn’s leading receiver in 2021 before transferring to UCF, already has three 100-yard games, including 138 yards and two touchdowns in the Knights’ Big 12 opener, a 44-31 loss at defending Big 12 champs Kansas State last week. He’ll be a focus of the offense in the Knights’ first Big 12 home game Saturday against Baylor (3:30 p.m. ET, Fox Sports1). — Wilson
Big Ten: Senior wideout Bryce Kirtz was one of the heroes for Northwestern in its come-from-behind, 37-34 OT victory over Minnesota last week, having a career day with 10 receptions for 215 yards and two scores. With No. 6 Penn State coming to town Saturday (noon ET, Big Ten Network) and the Wildcats searching for consecutive Big Ten wins for the first time since 2020, Ben Bryant will certainly throw in the direction of Kirtz, who’s sixth in the conference with 274 receiving yards. — Blake Baumgartner
Pac-12: Despite Caleb Williams‘ willingness to spread the ball around, USC’s Brenden Rice has emerged as Williams’ top target, especially when it comes to deep balls and touchdowns. Through four games, the 6-foot-3, 210-pound Rice has four touchdowns, including one of 75 yards and another of 43. The son of Hall of Famer Jerry Rice is averaging just over 21 yards a catch so far this season and looks primed to become the top scorer for the Trojans on offense should this trend continue. — Paolo Uggetti
SEC: The bad news for South Carolina is Juice Wells is out for the Tennessee game (7:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network), but Xavier Legette has been one of the best receivers in the country through four games and just keeps getting better. The 6-3, 227-pound Legette leads the country with an average of 139 receiving yards per game and is averaging 20.6 yards per catch. He had two touchdowns last week in the win over Mississippi State, and while he has great size, he also has elite speed. On his 76-yard touchdown reception against Mississippi State, Legette topped out at 22.3 mph. — Low
Notable quotes
Mark Stoops: While some coaches might worry about how a noon ET kickoff affects the crowd, the Kentucky coach has faith in the Wildcats’ fans showing up for Saturday’s game against Florida.
“I have great confidence in the people of Kentucky that can get up very early and pound some beers. Why would you disrespect this great state and the great people of it?”
Hugh Freeze: Auburn’s coach would just as soon not talk about beating the Tigers’ oldest rival Georgia (it dates back to 1892) in a hateful way, but rather in a positive light.
“I’m not big on hate. I’m really not. I’m big on just, man, this means something to so many people. So we should compete in a way out of love for our people, not necessarily for hate for other people.”
Dabo Swinney: Despite Clemson’s 2-2 start, the Tigers coach has been impressed with his team’s play.
“They’re not perfect, but they are playing the right way. We’ll get through this. Honestly, I’ve had a bunch of 4-0 teams around here that haven’t played as well as this group.”
Mike Elko: The Duke coach knew his Blue Devils would be good, but even he didn’t know they’d be this good, this fast.
“I did not take the job with the hope and expectation that we could be a middle-of-the-road program. That’s not who I am. Did I anticipate in Game 5 of Year 2, that we would be on this stage? No, of course not. That is a credit to our kids, and what they bought into and how hard they’ve worked. What it’s doing is it’s allowing us to expedite the process of building the brand of football to the level that we hope that we could get to.”
