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🚨 Who’s on upset alert in Week 5?
Plus, week 5 predictions, and why CFB player buyouts are about to take center stage.
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Friday, October 02, 2026 If this email was forwarded to you, please subscribe. College Football 1 Who's on upset alert in week 5? Week 5 is here, and Josh Pate has pulled out his Upset Alert Meter again. Every week on Josh Pate's College Football Show, he scores the weekend's most dangerous games on a scale of 1 to 10. While some favorites look safe, plenty of teams have real reason to worry. Miami at Clemson Clemson's season-opening loss to LSU took a lot of the shine off this one, and Pate isn't convinced the Tigers' defense is ready for another elite offense. "I just have the unfortunate task to remind you that Clemson has faced one high-level offense all year," Pate said. "They gave up 644 yards to LSU." Concern meter: 2/10 BYU at TCU BYU hasn't been tested yet, while TCU has already lost to North Carolina and UCF, so the Cougars look like the better team on paper. Pate still isn't fully buying it. "This is one of those classic examples of it feels like somebody knows something, or in this case it feels like everybody but me knows something," he said. Concern meter: 6/10 Pate also took a closer look at Georgia, Tennessee, USC, Indiana, and more, and some of those favorites could be in big trouble this weekend. UPSET ALERTS → College Football 2 Andy Staples’ best Week 5 predictions Andy Staples is 25-17 against the spread this season after a 5-5 week, and he's back with his picks for a surprisingly packed Week 5 slate. He's backing Virginia Tech to cover as a 3.5-point favorite against Pitt in Blacksburg tonight, where good weather should finally let both offenses show what they've really got. Andy also has picks for Alabama at Miss State, Ohio State at Iowa, Auburn at Tennessee, Michigan at Minnesota, and more, including one double-digit spread he thinks is way too big. PICKS FROM ANDY STAPLES → College Football 3 Why college football player buyouts are about to take center stage Darian Mensah paid a multimillion-dollar settlement to get out of his Duke contract, and college football front offices are now asking whether a player buyout can actually hold up. With retention talks expected to start in the next few weeks, Power Four GMs and agents told On3 how buyouts are really written into rev-share deals, and how often they're ignored. One SEC front-office staffer says there's one multiyear deal that "keeps me up at night, and it's hefty." FULL STORY FROM PETE NAKOS → 4 College Sports Protect College Sports Act under scrutiny by House Members of the House of Representatives are sharpening their proverbial pencils to go to town on the Protect College Sports Act. Some lawmakers expect moderate revisions. Others believe there will be wholesale changes. Read More → 5 Rivals Football Recruiting 2028 quarterback Knox Kiffin locks in SEC visit plans Touted 2028 QB Knox Kiffin, the son of first-year LSU head coach Lane Kiffin, has seen his recruitment take off this year. Now, he's set to visit another SEC program. Read More → Also Trending 6 Point spreads for every Week 5 game 7 San Diego State football dealing with mumps outbreak ahead of Pac-12 opener 8 Lincoln Riley on USC's loss against Oregon: 'We didn't get run out of the stadium' 9 4-star SG Malik Olajuwon, son of Hakeem, makes college commitment 10 QB Jared Curtis remains on Vanderbilt's Thursday injury report Not subscribed? Get On3 | Rivals National + Team All-Access Get The App Unsubscribe Privacy Policy On3.com © 2026 On3 | Rivals. All rights reserved. 2970 Foster Creighton Drive, Nashville, TN 37204