Texas Visits Tennessee, A&M Meets LSU in Pivotal SEC Saturday
The short version
- Texas travels to Tennessee on Saturday; Golden predicts 31-28 Texas, Bohls 27-21 Texas.
- A&M visits LSU with both teams coming off losses; Golden picks LSU 24-20, Bohls LSU 41-31.
- Golden ranks Arch Manning first among 2027 draft-eligible QBs; Bohls puts him sixth.
- In the Big Ten, both writers pick Oregon over USC — Golden 38-31, Bohls 42-39.
- Golden names Ole Miss's Kewan Lacy the top running back; Bohls chooses Florida's Jadan Baugh.
Columnists Kirk Bohls and Cedric Golden break down a Week featuring Texas-Tennessee, Texas A&M at LSU, and Oregon traveling to USC.
Two of college football's biggest Week 5 storylines land in the SEC on Saturday. Texas goes on the road to Knoxville for a matchup with Tennessee, while Texas A&M visits Baton Rouge to take on LSU in a game that could carry must-win weight for the Aggies. Both the Aggies and the Tigers dropped their previous outing, adding urgency to an already important conference clash.
Cedric Golden of the Austin American-Statesman believes the Longhorn defense will carry the day at Neyland Stadium. Texas has surrendered just nine points across its last six quarters and has given up only two touchdowns through three games. While he allows that Tennessee's offense is solid, he notes the Volunteers rank last in the SEC with only 22 plays of 10 or more yards. Golden predicts Texas will contain freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon and running back Desean Bishop well enough to win 31-28, with 25 points as his benchmark for victory.
Kirk Bohls of the Houston Chronicle sees defensive coordinator Will Muschamp as the most influential figure in the game. He expects Muschamp's unit to harass the 18-year-old Brandon, record three sacks, and hold Tennessee's rushing attack below 150 yards. Bohls calls a 27-21 Texas win.
The columnists also weighed in on where Arch Manning fits among quarterbacks eligible for the 2027 NFL draft. Golden slots Manning at the very top of that group, ahead of Dante Moore of Oregon, Trinidad Chambliss of Ole Miss, Drew Mestemaker of Oklahoma State and Notre Dame's C.J. Carr, while acknowledging Manning needs sharper accuracy to stay there. Bohls is more cautious, placing Manning sixth behind Julian Sayin, Chambliss, Moore, Darian Mensah and Carr. He believes NFL owners would value Manning's marketing appeal more than their football staffs would, but says the quarterback hasn't proven accurate enough yet to rank higher.
At quarterback, the A&M-LSU game may hinge on Marcel Reed and Sam Leavitt, according to Golden. Reed's season has begun poorly, including a home collapse in which Kentucky ripped off 28 unanswered points, and injuries to receivers Terry Bussey and Ashton Bethel-Roman have hampered the offense. Golden also observes that Leavitt has not starred for LSU, and that fans worry about his heavy running shortening his season. He picks LSU to win at home, 24-20.
Bohls points instead to LSU's emotional state as the deciding factor. A second September loss, he argues, would essentially doom either program's College Football Playoff hopes. He adds that Kiffin cannot afford to fall to two consecutive defeats, and that the Tigers still remember A&M's lopsided win in Baton Rouge a year ago. With the Aggies' receiving group thin on options, Bohls forecasts a 41-31 LSU victory.
The weekend also features a significant Big Ten contest as Oregon faces USC in Los Angeles. Golden calls the Ducks the country's biggest disappointment so far, saying an 84-0 blowout of Portland State proved little, and that an earlier Oklahoma State defeat has Oregon at risk of sliding toward the Holiday Bowl if it loses again. He expects a desperate Oregon squad to win 38-31. Bohls also backs the Ducks, but by a narrower margin, noting Rutgers nearly upset the Trojans the week before. He predicts Oregon prevails 42-39, reasoning that Dan Lanning's team has more firepower and needs a road win to stay in Big Ten contention.
On the individual front, the two writers split on the sport's top running back. Golden favors Ole Miss standout Kewan Lacy, who left last week's win over LSU with a shoulder injury, praising his 21-mph top speed, elusiveness and inside running despite ranking just 51st nationally in rushing. Bohls sides with Florida's Jadan Baugh, who has racked up eight touchdowns and nearly 500 yards on the ground.
Games to watch
