The Tailgators Setup Podcast: Week 5

This Week’s Top 5 (2023 Record in Parenthesis):

Notre Dame faces a tough road test against an undefeated Duke team this Saturday in the Tailgators Game of the Week. / Source: Saturday Blitz

John’s Game of the Week:

11 Notre Dame at 17 Duke 7:30 p.m. ABC: Maybe the biggest home game in Duke history will be the first trip to Durham, North Carolina, for ESPN's "College GameDay." (Brian: This is the most intriguing matchup for me. I want to see how ND responds to a tough loss, and we see if Duke is for real.)

Fun Fact: With Duke off the board, only six schools in Power 5 conferences have not hosted the pregame show: California, Illinois, Maryland, Rutgers, Syracuse¹ and Virginia.

Other Games to Watch:

10 Utah at 19 Oregon State (Friday) 9 p.m. FS1: First ranked matchup between the two after 25 meetings.

24 Kansas at 3 Texas 3:30 p.m. ABC: The first time the Jayhawks have played the Longhorns when they are ranked.

13 LSU at 20 Ole Miss 6 p.m. on ESPN: The 11th ranked matchup in the rivalry.

---

Underdog of the Week:

John has 2(!) underdogs for us this week:

John predicts more of the same look from Dabo Sweeney on Saturday, with an Orange win over Clemson. / Source: The Spun

Syracuse beats Clemson!

Arkansas beats Texas A&M!

---

Hot Topics of the Week: Let’s talk briefly about…

Road Dogs: Florida St. and Ohio St. pull off big road victories. Ryan Day had some words for Lou Holtz following the Buckeyes’ last-second victory in South Bend.

The Pac-12 is having a boom season in what will ultimately be its last. A plethora of the game’s best quarterbacks call this conference home. / Source: Orange County Register

Strong PAC 12 Showings Again: Oregon, Washington and USC put up offensive explosions. Utah’s defense is insane. Washington State is sneaky good. Oregon State lost but showed grit. Can one of these teams come through unscathed or will they all cannibalize themselves and knock each other out?

6 No. 1 Votes in AP: Georgia, Michigan, Texas, Ohio State, Florida State, and Washington. First time since 2016 preseason and first time in regular season since 2015. The guys discuss the level of parity in the college game today.

Smoke & Mirrors: (John: Questions abound about everyone to me. Is FSU for real, or is Clemson bad and the Seminoles escaped? Was it poor time management and defensive calls that doomed Notre Dame, not Ohio State? Did Texas barely beat a not-very-good Alabama?)

Other Unbeatens: Are there any other Power 5 unbeatens that you think could slip into the College Football Playoff? Maryland? Kansas? North Carolina? Louisville?² Missouri?

Heisman Trophy Watch: Are there any players we can eliminate from the Heisman conversation through four weeks?

Heisman Trophy Watch:

Bo Nix, then with Auburn, played against Justin Herbert, now playing in his fourth professional season with the Chargers. Nix is Gary’s front-runner for the Heisman. / Source: Fly War Eagle

Caleb Williams (QB, USC), Jayden Daniels (QB, LSU), Quinn Ewers (QB, Texas), Jordan Travis (QB, FSU), Shadeur Sanders (QB, COL), Michael Penix Jr. (QB, Washington), Bo Nix (QB, OR) 

“131 teams. Only 1 will survive.”

1. Syracuse’s football stadium, which I will always call the Carrier Dome, was without air conditioning until 2021.

2. These four teams would make an interesting Final Four — in basketball!