Can undefeated Mississippi State and breakout quarterback Kamario Taylor handle Alabama? Can Iowa drag Ohio State into another ugly Big Ten fight? And which struggling program is under more pressure when Washington visits USC?

College Football with Sam joins Galen Clavio and Matt Blaszka for a full Week 5 college football preview as September gives way to a pivotal October.

The guys begin by revisiting the first month of the season. Washington has been one of the biggest disappointments in the country, Texas Tech hasn’t looked like the dominant Big 12 favorite many expected, and no national championship contender has completely separated itself from the field.

That leads to a look ahead at October: who will be No. 1 when the month ends? Georgia, Notre Dame, Miami and several other contenders have paths to the top as the first College Football Playoff rankings approach.

Then it’s on to the weekend. Penn State visits Northwestern for the first game at the new Ryan Field, while Alabama heads to Starkville to face one of the best stories of the season in Mississippi State and Kamario Taylor.

Ohio State travels to Iowa for a major physical test, Florida takes its resurgent offense to Missouri, and USC tries to rebound from the Oregon loss against a Washington team whose season has gone completely off course.

Plus: Pitt-Virginia Tech, Purdue-Illinois, Kentucky-South Carolina and Indiana-Rutgers.

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