Fearless Rick & Coin Flip Week 5 College Football Picks

Week 4 Results: Rick: 9-5; Flip: 8-6
Cumulative: Rick: 29-25-2; Flip 29-25-2

Friday, October 2

Pittsburgh @ Virginia Tech (-3, 54.5) 7:00 pm (ESPN) - Not quite the “Backyard Brawl” tradition between Pitt and West Virginia, this one does qualify as a solid meeting between two ACC perennial bowl teams with a healthy hatred of each other.

Both teams come in at 4-0, with the Panthers boasting a defense that has allowed just 34 points, including last week’s 59-0 walkthrough beating of Bucknell.

Coin Flip: Virginia Tech

Fearless Rick’s Pick: Panthers 27 Hokies 20

Penn State (-3, 45.5) @ Northwestern 8:00 pm (FOX) - Stunned at home last week by Wisconsin, 24-20, the Nittany Lions face another determined foe, this time on the road. The Wildcats nearly knocked off #5 Indiana last week in a 29-23 loss in which QB Aidan Chiles excelled and the Northwestern defense proved tough and ready.

Rocco Becht, the transfer QB from Iowa State, has been less than impressive for Penn State this season and the Wildcat defense may be hounding him all day in this contest. He threw his first interception of the season last week in the loss to Wisconsin, which proved costly. This one could go either way, but it figures to either be close or a house party.

Coin Flip: Northwestern

Fearless Rick’s Pick: Wildcats 27 Nittany Lions 20

Saturday, October 3

3 Notre Dame (-21, 48) @ North Carolina 12:00 pm (ESPN) - The Tar Heels weren’t supposed to win at Clemson in their first road game of the season, and they didn’t, but they put forth a solid effort in a 28-20 defeat. The Irish pose a tougher problem, of course, and while NC is improved this season, they’re still nowhere near elite.

4-0 Notre Dame has handled three Big Ten opponents - Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Purdue - by an average winning margin of 28 points. No reason to suspect they won’t do something similar at North Carolina.

Coin Flip: North Carolina

Fearless Rick’s Pick: Fighting Irish 42 Tar Hells 13

7 Alabama (-6, 60) @ 16 Mississippi State 12:00 pm (ABC) - So far, both of these 4-0 teams have met expectations, so this matchup appears to be one of the top games of the weekend.

What the Crimson Tide brings to the table is plenty of early season swagger, a talented offense led by QB Keelon Russell, who has already thrown for 1,129 yards and eight TDs, and one of the best secondaries in the country. While the Bulldogs are no slouches in the talent department, they are probably going to come up a little short, despite home field advantage because the Tide is rolling.

Coin Flip: Alabama

Fearless Rick’s Pick: Crimson Tide 38 Bulldogs 24

Boston College @ SMU (-21, 56.5) 12:00 pm (CW) - Tough to get a read on 2-2 BC. After losing their opener on the road at Cincinnati, 34-15, they won two straight before losing late to Virginia Tech last weekend in a driving rainstorm. They do appear to have a good enough defense to keep them in games.

The Mustangs are 3-1, their lone loss a 41-31 defeat at Louisville two weeks back. The offense is well-equipped, but they are lacking defensively, which may cause this game to be closer than expected.

Coin Flip: SMU

Fearless Rick’s Pick: Mustangs 31 Eagles 21

Vanderbilt @ 2 Georgia (-24.5, 52) 12:45 pm (SECN) - Last season, Vandy went 6-2 in the SEC, beat four ranked teams - South Carolina, LSU, Missouri, and Tennessee - and finished with a 34-27 loss to Iowa in the Reliaquest Bowl for 10-3 mark. Of course, much of their success was through QB Diego Pavia, now in the NFL.

Georgia was better in 2025, going 12-2, losing to Ole Miss in a CFP quarterfinal, 39-34, and, with Gunner Stockton back for another season at QB, they so far this year haven’t skipped a beat, but beating a pretty good Vanderbilt team by more than three TDs and a field goal is a huge ask. The Commodores are coming off a 21-15 loss at Auburn, while Georgia padded its 4-0 resume with a 41-13 win over Oklahoma.

Coin Flip: Vanderbilt

Fearless Rick’s Pick: Bulldogs 42 Commodores 20

5 Ohio State (-13.5, 45) @ 14 Iowa 3:30 pm (CBS) - Iowa’s upset win at Michigan last week was a huge boost for the Hawkeyes, a team on the cusp of breaking into the elite in college football for many years finally busted through. It wasn’t so much the 16-yard touchdown pass from Hank Brown to Reece Vander Zee on the final play of the game, but the concentrated effort on both sides of the ball, including the game-ending 91-yard drive by the Hawkeyes.

The Buckeyes should be prepared to face a solid defense and an entire team that intends to prove itself again. It’s still early in the season and anything can happen, and this happens to be a road game for Ohio State. Don’t be surprised if Iowa keeps Jeremiah Smith somewhat under wraps and makes this a close call.

Coin Flip: Iowa

Fearless Rick’s Pick: Buckeyes 24 Hawkeyes 17

8 Florida (-4.5, 57) @ 25 Missouri 3:30 pm (ABC) - The Gators looked every bit a contender in the SEC last week, Pounding Ole Miss, 52-28, but teams have to prove themselves every week in the SEC, and a visit to Missouri after a big, blowout win is no walk in the park.

The Mezzo come off a tough, 31-24 loss at Mississippi State and will need to regroup if they hope to avoid a second straight conference loss. They’re a solid bunch, but Florida seems to have everything moving in a positive direction.

Coin Flip: Florida

Fearless Rick’s Pick: Gators 37 Tigers 23

Auburn @ 17 Tennessee (-7, 53.5) 3:30 pm (ESPN) - The Vols get to play at home for a second straight week after dropping a tough one to Texas, 20-17, and it’s too early to tell if Tennessee is the real deal or another SEC also-ran. This one could go either way.

Auburn’s lone loss (3-1) was to Florida, 44-39, so it’s apparent thatchy can play with the big boys. Last week’s 21-15 win over Vanderbilt was a confidence builder. Auburn will test the Vols, and vice versa. Could come down to the wire in Knoxville.

Coin Flip: Tennessee

Fearless Rick’s Pick: Volunteers 31 Tigers 26

10 BYU (-6.5, 48.5) @ TCU 7:00 pm (ESPN) - This may be the easiest pick of the week. 2-2 TCU hasn’t shown much in the way of offense, though the defense is credible.

An inability to score points on BYU could haunt the Horned Frogs, as evidenced last season in a 44-13 defeat at Brigham Young. This one may be closer, but not by much. Right now, the Cougars are the choice to win the conference and head to the CFP. They’va also had an extra week to prepare. Watch out.

Coin Flip: TCU

Fearless Rick’s Pick: Cougars 42 Horned Frogs 13

4 Miami (-17, 48) @ Clemson 7:30 pm (ABC) - The only “close” game Miami has had thus far was their 33-20 win at Wake Forest. That result should not be dismissed, as the Demon Deacons came back to whip Louisville last week, 30-27.

While Clemson is clearly not the kind of powerhouse they used to be, they are 3-1, at home, and will be motivated against one of the top teams in the ACC. The result of this game may prove whether their 51-10 loss at LSU in the season opener was a fluke or a sign that the Tigers can’t compete at the higher levels. 4-0 Miami has firepower galore, a stingy defense, and national championship aspirations.

Coin Flip: Clemson

Fearless Rick’s Pick: Hurricanes 38 Tigers 13

12 Texas Tech (-13, 50.5) @ Colorado 7:30 pm (FOX) - The Big 12 appears to be one of the more unbalanced conferences in the country. BYU, Utah, and Texas Tech may very well dominate it, and the rest of the teams are just trying to measure up.

This appears to be a down year for the Buffaloes. After opening with a 14-13 win at Georgia Tech and a 52-21 win over Weber State, they’ve lost two straight, 41-7, at Northwestern, and, 23-13, last week at Baylor. It wasn’t playing on the road that Hurt Colorado’s chances, it was the competition and the Red Raiders are probably a step above what they’ve faced so far. Surprised the line isn’t 21 or higher.

Coin Flip: Texas Tech

Fearless Rick’s Pick: Red Raiders 35 Buffaloes 13

Washington @ 18 USC (-9.5, 57.5) 8:00 pm (NBC) - The Trojans got punked by Oregon last week as Nebraska transfer Dylan Raiola filled in for injured Dante Moore in a 41-27 Duck soup. Once again, USC’s porous defense was exposed and the poll voters have taken notice. A loss here would likely drop the off the Top 25.

Fortunately for the Trojans, the Huskies don’t possess the kind of offense that can produce the number of points likely to be needed for a win. On home turf, USC should bounce back though problems remain.

Coin Flip: Washington

Fearless Rick’s Pick: Trojans 38 Huskies 17

6 Indiana (-24.5, 57) @ Rutgers 8:00 pm (BTN) - That’s a mighty big spread for the Hoosiers to cover, but, Rutgers is 1-3 and hasn’t shown much ability on defense, so there’s the possibility that Indiana could just run up the score on the Scarlet Knights.

Indiana got a scare from Northwestern last week, eventually overcoming for a 29-23 win. This is their first road game of the season, and Rutgers, despite the 1-3 mark, has a reasonably good offense. This is one game to be avoided, but that juicy line is hard to resist.

Coin Flip: Indiana

Fearless Rick’s Pick: Hoosiers 38 Scarlet Knights 24