By Adam Caparell

CSTV.com

	ADAM CAPARELL Adam is CSTV.com's football editor and national football writer. E-mail here!

        ---   Column Archive   --- FOOTBALL 01/23: Feeling It 01/18: Post-Bowl, Pre-Spring 2008 Preseason Top 25 01/11: Late Season Run Priming Dawgs For '08 01/07: Ring A Bell? 01/04: Tressel's Hopefully Prepared For Anything 12/21: Hokies Have Something To Play For 12/14: Name Game 12/8: Little Surprise Tebow Takes Heisman 12/8: Back For More 12/7: Class Act 12/6: Flutie's Legacy Still The 'Miracle' 12/4: Dixon Can Still Smile 12/2: Wishful Thinking 11/30: Daniel Driving Missouri On BCS Run 11/28: 'Game' Still Largely Defines Beban 11/23: Long Time Coming 11/21: Bandstanding Brown 11/16: Georgia In The Know 11/14: Only Eddie Held Eddie Back 11/9: Soft Schedule Could Have Hawai'i BCS Bound 11/7: The 'Bear' And Crow 11/2: No Secret To Oregon's Success 10/31: Age Only A Number 10/26: Nittany Lions Know It's Got To Be Close 10/24: In Long Line, White Continued Tradition 10/19: Trojans In Unfamiliar Territory 10/17: Rogers Larger Than Life 10/12: Missouri The Machine 10/10: The Jet Likes To Run 10/5: Meyer's Seen This Before 10/4: Polled Over 10/3: Long On Memories 9/28: Season Begins For Dixon And Ducks Saturday 9/26: Desmond The Poser 9/21: Spurrier's Being Honest 9/19: All In The Family With Rozier 9/14: USC Ready For Another Early Road Test 9/12: Detmer's Magic Won Him Heisman 9/7: 'Show' Time For Virginia Tech 9/5: Drive Drove Dorsett 8/31: Family Affair 8/29: Count On The Gamecocks To Hatch 8/28: Youth Gone Wild On Gator Defense 8/28: Talent Comes Naturally To Tigers 8/27: SEC Preview 8/27: All Hail Saban 8/25: No More Lazy Sundays 8/24: Illinois D Brimming With New Confidence 8/23: Big Ten Preview 8/23: 2007 Football Schedule Planner - Week 14 8/22: Tee'd Off 8/16: 2007 Football Schedule Planner - Week 13 8/15: Brohm's Back, And All Is Well 8/15: Coaches Split On Early Signing Period 8/14: Schiano's Success Starting to Show 8/13: Big East Preview 8/13: It's Not About Respect With Leavitt And USF 8/11: Production Time for Seminole Signal Callers 8/10: Shannon Looking To Return Swagger 8/10: Wake Up? 8/9: Atlantic Coast Conference Preview 8/9: Tough Turkeys, Once Again 8/9: 2007 Football Schedule Planner - Week 12 8/8: Preseason Top 25 8/2: 2007 Football Schedule Planner - Week 11 8/1: Big Ten Expansion Doesn't Make Sense 7/26: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 10 7/25: Beamer's Burden 7/19: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 9 7/18: Good Vibrations 7/12: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 6 7/11: Three and Up 7/4: And The Winner Is... 7/2: Where In The World Is Ed Smith? 6/28: SEC East's Big Weekend 6/27: Summer Bowl Forecast 6/21: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 5 6/20: Big 12 Loses Its Big Man 6/14: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 4 6/13: Trick Up His Sleeve 6/7: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 3 6/6: For the Record 5/31: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 2 5/30: Like Clockwork 5/24: 2007 Schedule Planner - Week 1 5/23: Florida Freshmen Get Defensive 5/16: Maroon Affected 5/10: Brennan's A Numbers Guy 5/9: More Than Just One Play 5/2: Post-Spring, Pre-Preseason Top 25 4/27: Quinn's Fallen, But He'll Still Be Up There 4/26: Size Does Matter 4/25: Troy Smith Now Middle of Pack QB 4/24: Peterson Can't Wait For The Moment 4/21: QB Biggest Question Facing Buckeyes 4/21: Don't Forget About The D 4/20: Bowl Game A Boon For Bluegrass Boys 4/19: The Bigger They Are, the Harder They Fall 4/18: New Coordinator, New Scheme, New Results? 4/18: Earlier The Better 4/17: It's Your Turn Offense 4/16: Spartans Hope Big Changes Go Long Way 4/14: Defense The Question Mark For Michigan 4/12: Height's Nothing But A Number 4/5: Two Much To Handle 3/28: More To Hill Than Just TDs 3/21: Down Could Mean Up For Delaware's Patrick 3/14: Changes In Store For Gill and Buffalo 3/7: Lurking In the Backgroung 2/28: What A Mock-ery 2/25: The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same 2/24: Piscataway Proud 2/23: 40, For Better or Worse 2/22: The Ultimate Q and A 2/21: Combine's A Coming 2/14: Rights For Recruiting Wrongs 2/8: Recruiting No Joke For Coaches 2/6: Lemming Retrospect: Class of 2006 1/31: Coker In No Rush To Move On 1/30: Ross Bows Out, But Leaves His Mark At Army 1/26: Seniors With Something To Prove 1/25: Coaching For The League 1/24: Welcome To The Pros 1/17: Pre-Spring, Post-Bowl 2007 Preseason Top 25 1/10: Irish Have A Ways To Go 1/8: Siler and Gators After Something More 1/4: Russell Sweeter Than Sugar 1/3: Irish Out For Respect

Over the summer, CSTV.com will be taking a look at the college football schedule, highlighting the top matchups, the can't-miss games and the storylines that make certain contests so intriguing. Check in every Friday for the heads-up on what games are shaping up to be the best each week, the worst each week and a few others that have piqued our interest. 

The absence of any major theme in Week 5 of the college football season doesn't mean there aren't things worth noting, especially as teams around the country begin to settle in for conference play.

The weekend will get off to an early bang with two great matchups on Thursday night. It'll be must-see TV in the SEC and MWC as the two conferences showcase some of their better teams. And they should have a nice audience with the MLB regular season winding down and the playoffs still a few days away.

Week 5 also presents a chance to see some pretty good offenses face off. Expect to see some big numbers put on the board Thursday night and again on Saturday afternoon, when two of the premier Big Ten programs square off.

Game of the Week

Sat., Sept. 30 - Ohio State at Iowa

This one will feature a great QB matchup, as the Hawkeyes' Drew Tate and the Buckeyes' Troy Smith will lead two top notch offenses. Iowa doesn't have the toughest Big Ten schedule, so if they can get past Ohio State and avoid any upsets, their road date against Michigan in October will loom rather large. If Ohio State were to lose their game against Texas three weeks earlier, the Hawkeyes could have the pleasure of destroying any national title hopes the Buckeyes have left.

Games to Watch

Thurs., Sept. 28 - Auburn at South Carolina

Auburn should be one of the better teams in the country. So, with lofty aspirations and only four road games, the Tigers have to take care of business. This will be Auburn's second road game, and its toughest besides the annual battle with Alabama in November. But it won't be easy against Steve Spurrier in Columbia. It could be make or break time for the Tigers' SEC title hopes if they come in with a loss from the LSU game two weeks earlier.

Thurs., Sept. 28 - BYU at TCU (CSTV, 7 pm)

Great early season matchup in the Mountain West. Getting the Cougars at home makes the possibility of TCU running the table in the MWC a little easier. This one should feature plenty of fireworks - both teams boasted offenses that averaged over 399 yards per game last season. BYU has only four starters returning on defense which could pose a problem trying to slow down the high-risk, high-reward offense of TCU.

Sat., Sept. 30 - Northwestern at Penn State

This is Northwestern's chance to make a statement that they're serious contenders in the Big Ten, but it will be a tall order in Happy Valley. Wildcats RB Tyrell Sutton, and one of the better offensive lines in the conference, will face off against Paul Posluszny and the Nittany Lions.

Sat. Sept. 30 - SMU at Tulane (CSTV, 9 pm)

This game is significant because it will be the first one played in New Orleans for Tulane since Hurricane Katrina. The Superdome has been undergoing extensive repairs and renovations and should be ready for football season. Good chance to catch Tulane QB Lester Ricard in action, a player many seem to feel could play professionally in the Superdome one day.

Rivalry of the Week

Sat., Sept. 30 - Michigan at Minnesota

It's installment No. 95 of the Little Brown Jug rivalry as these two teams have been playing each other since 1903. While Michigan has pretty much owned the rivalry, Minnesota shocked the Wolverines in Ann Arbor last year for the first time in 19 years.

Mismatch of the Week

Sat., Sept. 30 - Sam Houston State at Texas

Texas gets a break in their schedule and a chance to work out any kinks or add any new wrinkles to their system before next week when Dallas and the Texas State Fair beckon. That means it's time for the Sooners and the Red River Shootout, Rivalry or whatever politically correct moniker the game is going by these days.