What to Watch: Auburn’s road test, upset opportunities and more in Week 5

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Auburn v. Tennessee

• The Tigers have not won a road SEC game against a ranked opponent since 2021 (Arkansas). Auburn ended their 600+ day’s home losing streak to SEC teams last Saturday with a win over Vanderbilt. It would be difficult to envision an Auburn victory in a game like this over the last couple of years. Those teams, even if they could manage to keep the score close, struggled mightily to make the winning plays that are necessary to win on the road in the SEC. Can Head Coach Alex Golesh and his team put those recent frustrations behind and give Auburn’s loyal and long-suffering fans hope that things might be different? This group of Tigers has proven that they can win tight games late and make those winning plays on both offense and defense. Keeping the game close and not allowing Tennessee to get rolling offensively will be the key to Auburn having a chance late to pull off the upset, in what could be a season defining win.

Alabama v. Mississippi State

• The Bulldogs are one of the surprise teams so far in the 2026 season. Perhaps it really should not be all that surprising. State started 4-0 last season before suffering agonizing losses to Florida, Tennessee in overtime and Texas in overtime as well. Jeff Lebby is a good coach and Kamario Taylor is a way better than good quarterback. Will they have enough to beat an Alabama team that has been unstoppable on offense through four games? Mississippi State has not beaten the Crimson Tide since 2007. This is the kind of game Alabama has shown it can lose in the past, on the road, facing a dynamic dual-threat quarterback. I give the Bulldogs more than a fighting chance in Starkvegas tomorrow morning.

Iowa v. Ohio State

• Heroic Hank hopes lightning can strike twice. The former Auburn quarterback broke Michigan hearts, much to the delight of most of the country I dare say, last week by engineering a last-second game-winning touchdown drive. Ohio State visits Iowa City this week. Kinnick stadium is a magical place. The tradition of waving to the children's hospital reminds us all of why college football is special and treasured. On that field, several highly ranked teams have come in and been upset by the Hawkeyes. An Iowa victory would be huge for them and head coach Kirk Farentz, who has not been able to secure as many of these types of wins in recent seasons as he did earlier in his tenure. More importantly, a win tomorrow would put Iowa in good position to be playing for a Big 10 title in Indianapolis come December.

Florida v. Missouri

• Can the Gators’ offense continue to steamroll the SEC? Florida goes to Columbia, Missouri to face Eli Drinkwitz’s Tigers, who are coming off a tough loss in Starkville last week. Meanwhile, Florida picked up a marquee win, hanging an eye-popping 52 on Ole Miss in the Swamp. Maybe the Gators are as unstoppable as some people think, but this has all the makings of a Tigers’ upset in my view, Drinkwitz’s 7-19 record against ranked teams notwithstanding.

Miami v. Clemson

• Dabo Swinney’s Tigers have won three straight after its opening-night debacle in Baton Rouge. Unfortunately, those opponents do not compare to what’s coming to town on Saturday. Mario Cristobal’s Hurricanes are the deeper and more talented team by a decent margin. These are the types of games that expose Swinney’s decision to largely forgo the transfer portal in acquiring top talent.

USC

• A week after giving up 41 to Oregon, who had to play its backup quarterback, the Trojans welcome their old Pac-10/12 rival Washington to the Coliseum. Lincoln Riley’s tenure has not remotely lived up to expectations. Keep an eye on the crowd size in this one.

Other Saturday storylines

• Bill Belichick’s Tar Heels welcome #3 Notre Dame to Chapel Hill.
• PJ Fleck, after channeling his inner vampire last week in Seattle, gets Michigan at home with a chance to row the Wolverines back to Ann Arbor with back-to-back losses.
• Navy and Air Force meet in the first leg in the race for the Commander-in-Chief's trophy.
• UAB vs. Samford is an interesting game from an Alabama perspective. It is just their second meeting ever. Samford won 49-3, back in 1992.
• Umass looks to stay undefeated as the Minutemen host Eastern Michigan in one of college football’s best stories of the season thus far.
• North Dakota State hopes to keep their record unblemished in their maiden FBS campaign as they host Wyoming.

Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.