College Football Week 5 Games: 10 Biggest Matchups to Watch

College football Week 5 features three ranked-vs-ranked matchups, led by Ohio State vs Iowa. CFB Vibes ranks the 10 best games with kickoff times, TV, streaming, radio and model predictions.

College football Week 5 games are headlined by No. 5 Ohio State at No. 14 Iowa, one of three ranked-vs-ranked matchups in the CFB Vibes top 10 games to watch.

The list ranks the week's three games between ranked teams, then seven in which a ranked team is favored by no more than 85%. The CFB Vibes model simulates each game 10,000 times to set its win probability.

Times Eastern. Ranks in team names are the AP Top 25 (Week 5). "Spread" is the betting market's point spread, averaged across books, so it can land on a quarter point. "Win Probability" is the CFB Vibes model's pregame chance to win as of Sept. 30, 2026, the same number each game page shows. Both move until kickoff.

No. 5 Ohio State at No. 14 Iowa kicks off at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday, Oct. 3, on CBS, streaming on Paramount+. The CFB Vibes model gives Ohio State an 81% chance to win; the point spread is Ohio State -14.25.

On the radio: Ohio State: Ohio State Sports Network · WBNS 1460 AM / 97.1 FM Columbus. Iowa: Hawkeye Radio Network · WHO 1040 AM Des Moines / KXIC Iowa City.

All 10 games by kickoff, Eastern time.

• ABC carries three of the 10 games, the most of any network.

The CFB Vibes model simulates every game 10,000 times from the betting market's point spread. Its picks in the three ranked-vs-ranked matchups:

• No. 5 Ohio State at No. 14 Iowa: Ohio State 81% (spread: Ohio State -14.25).
• No. 7 Alabama at No. 16 Mississippi State: Alabama 65% (spread: Alabama -6).
• No. 8 Florida at No. 25 Missouri: Florida 63% (spread: Florida -5.5).

The closest game on the list is No. 24 Kentucky at South Carolina, where the model gives South Carolina a 57% chance to win.

Of the 16 Week 5 games with a ranked team, these are the seven in which the ranked team is favored by 85% or less:

• No. 24 Kentucky at South Carolina: South Carolina 57% (spread: South Carolina -3).
• No. 10 BYU at TCU: BYU 67% (spread: BYU -6.5).
• Auburn at No. 17 Tennessee: Tennessee 67% (spread: Tennessee -7).
• Washington at No. 18 USC: USC 72% (spread: USC -9.5).
• No. 12 Texas Tech at Colorado: Texas Tech 77% (spread: Texas Tech -12).
• UCF at No. 20 Houston: Houston 78% (spread: Houston -12.25).
• No. 4 Miami at Clemson: Miami 85% (spread: Miami -16.5).

Just outside the cut: Boston College at No. 21 SMU (SMU 90%); Utah State at No. 22 Boise State (Boise State 90%); No. 3 Notre Dame at North Carolina (Notre Dame 90%).

Each program's season-long radio network and flagship station, as the school publishes it. Affiliate lineups and listen-live links are on each team's How to Watch page.

• What are the best college football games in Week 5? 1. No. 5 Ohio State at No. 14 Iowa; 2. No. 7 Alabama at No. 16 Mississippi State; 3. No. 8 Florida at No. 25 Missouri; 4. No. 24 Kentucky at South Carolina; 5. No. 10 BYU at TCU; 6. Auburn at No. 17 Tennessee; 7. Washington at No. 18 USC; 8. No. 12 Texas Tech at Colorado; 9. UCF at No. 20 Houston; 10. No. 4 Miami at Clemson.
• What is the biggest college football game of Week 5? No. 5 Ohio State at No. 14 Iowa, the matchup of the two highest-ranked teams by combined AP Top 25 ranking.
• What channel is Ohio State vs Iowa on? CBS, streaming on Paramount+.
• What time does Ohio State vs Iowa start? 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday, Oct. 3.
• How many ranked vs ranked games are in Week 5? Three, and all three are in the CFB Vibes top 10.

• Up to six games between two AP Top 25 teams, highest combined ranking first, then games in which a ranked team is favored by 85% or less, closest first, until there are ten. That order is the Rank column.
• Win probabilities come from the CFB Vibes model, which simulates each game 10,000 times from the betting market's point spreads. A game with no line is not priced and cannot make the list.
• The spread is that same market line, averaged across books. The team with the minus sign is favored to win by that many points.
• TV and streaming are the listings the site's schedule feed carried for each game, the same ones on every team's How to Watch page. A game with no carrier listed yet says so.
• Radio is each program's season-long network and flagship station. Availability can vary by game.

Season

2026, Week 5

Rankings

AP Top 25, Week 5

Games with a ranked team

16

Ranked vs. ranked

3

Figures generated

2026-09-30

• No. 5 Ohio State at No. 14 Iowa: game page · Ohio State how to watch · Iowa how to watch
• No. 7 Alabama at No. 16 Mississippi State: game page · Alabama how to watch · Mississippi State how to watch
• No. 8 Florida at No. 25 Missouri: game page · Florida how to watch · Missouri how to watch
• No. 24 Kentucky at South Carolina: game page · Kentucky how to watch · South Carolina how to watch
• No. 10 BYU at TCU: game page · BYU how to watch · TCU how to watch
• Auburn at No. 17 Tennessee: game page · Auburn how to watch · Tennessee how to watch
• Washington at No. 18 USC: game page · Washington how to watch · USC how to watch
• No. 12 Texas Tech at Colorado: game page · Texas Tech how to watch · Colorado how to watch
• UCF at No. 20 Houston: game page · UCF how to watch · Houston how to watch
• No. 4 Miami at Clemson: game page · Miami how to watch · Clemson how to watch

CFB Vibes is a college football data platform covering schedules, scores, standings, rankings, rosters, statistics, betting odds, prediction markets and other college football data.

CFB Vibes publishes original data studies and weekly rankings examining notable results and trends from across college football.

The game-by-game data behind these tables is available to reporters on request through the contact form. The graphic above is free to use with credit to CFB Vibes.

Figures are as of Sept. 30, 2026 and will not change under this URL. Kickoff times and win chances can move before kickoff; each game page carries the current ones.

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