One of the most anticipated weekends on the 2025 college football calendar is upon us.

The headliner comes Saturday night when No. 6 Oregon visits No. 3 Penn State. A potentially season-defining occasion, the clash of Big Ten powers, will test quarterbacks Drew Allar (Penn State) and Dante Moore (Oregon), Nittany Lions coach James Franklin and the Ducks’ backbone as they step into the hostile confines of Beaver Stadium in Week 5.

Elsewhere, eyes will fall on a trio of juicy SEC matchups: Alabama–Georgia, Auburn–Texas A&M and Ole Miss–LSU, all of which could hold significant implications for the conference title race and the College Football Playoff field.

Ahead of a series of high-level games, our college football reporters deliver their insights on keys to the weekend’s biggest matchups, five quarterbacks putting themselves on the map this fall and the best quotes so far from Week 5. — Eli Lederman

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Georgia-Alabama | Quarterbacks to know
Key conference matchups
Quotes of the Week

What does each team need to capitalize on to win?

Georgia: If the Bulldogs are going to defeat the Crimson Tide for only the second time in the past 11 meetings, they’ll have to avoid getting themselves in another big hole — and take advantage of playing Alabama at home for the first time in nearly 10 years.

In last season’s 41-34 loss in Tuscaloosa, the Bulldogs trailed by three touchdowns before the end of the first quarter and by 28 points less than 18 minutes into the game. Georgia put together a furious rally in the fourth quarter, scoring three straight touchdowns to grab a 34-33 lead.

The Crimson Tide won on Jalen Milroe‘s 75-yard scoring pass to Ryan Williams with 2:18 to go.

Georgia had a similar slow start in its 44-41 victory in overtime at Tennessee on Sept. 13. The Volunteers scored touchdowns on their first three possessions to take a 21-7 lead, and the Bulldogs had to come from behind on the road. They were fortunate that Tennessee missed a 43-yard field goal attempt to take the lead near the end of regulation.

The Bulldogs didn’t do a good job of containing Milroe last season. He threw for 374 yards with two touchdowns and ran for 117 yards with two scores, including several long runs to keep drives alive. New Tide quarterback Ty Simpson isn’t as fast as Milroe, but he also isn’t a statue standing in the pocket.

Williams burned Georgia’s secondary on some big plays last season, finishing with six catches for 177 yards. The Bulldogs had similar problems against Tennessee’s fast-paced offense, and they’ll have to shore up those mistakes and play better on the back end. Getting pressure on Simpson would also help; the Bulldogs had only four sacks in their first three games this season.

On offense, Georgia needs to do a better job of protecting quarterback Gunner Stockton, who took too many hits at Tennessee. The Bulldogs need to find more ways to get the ball into the hands of Zachariah Branch, and tight ends Oscar Delp and Lawson Luckie also need to get their share of touches. Shoring up the right side of the offensive line, which has been a trouble spot, will allow them to be more involved in the passing game. — Mark Schlabach

Alabama: It has not been pretty for Alabama on the road under Kalen DeBoer. Alabama is 2-4 since he became head coach, including a 31-17 loss to Florida State to open the season. In that loss, the Crimson Tide looked lethargic at times and ended up being beaten up front on both sides of the ball. So to give themselves any chance against Georgia, their first road game since Week 1, they simply must play better on the offensive and defensive lines. Getting defensive lineman Tim Keenan III back from an ankle injury will be huge in that respect. Alabama has struggled to rush the passer without him, and has only four sacks on the season. Georgia has done a nice job using Gunner Stockton in the run game when needed, so slowing him down is also going to be key. That is also an area in which Alabama struggled against the Seminoles.

On the other side of the ball, offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said it would continue to rotate its starting offensive line unit to find the right combination. Getting Jam Miller back at running back is also is a big addition, not only because of his running ability but his presence as a pass blocker in the backfield. But more than anything, defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said the team was eager to prove it has learned how to handle adversity in-game, something that cost it in the opener.

“There’s a difference when you have to go on the road, particularly in the SEC and in a hostile environment and respond to adversity,” Wommack said. “At times, we have been a team that has been reactionary to adversity, and we’ve got to be more responsive. It’s at the forefront of our minds, and I expect to see a very responsive football team on Saturday.” — Andrea Adelson

Fernando Mendoza

Curt Cignetti found a gem via the transfer portal yet again. Mendoza was solid at Cal the past two years, but he was surrounded with little talent and playing in an offense that probably didn’t maximize his skill set. Turned loose at Indiana, he has looked like a genuine Heisman Trophy candidate, including a dominant five-touchdown performance in a win over Illinois. For the season, Mendoza has 14 touchdown passes without an interception.

Tommy Castellanos

When Castellanos talked smack about Alabama this summer, it became a national punchline. When he backed it up with a win over the Tide in Week 1, he had the last laugh. Through three games, Castellanos’ 91.6 Total QBR ranks third nationally, though he’ll be in for a test the next two weeks — a road trip to Virginia on Friday for what could be a shootout and then a showdown against rival Miami. If Castellanos takes down another top-five team, the Heisman might be his to lose.

Beau Pribula

A part of the same class as Drew Allar, Pribula wasn’t able to get onto the field with any regularity at Penn State. He entered the portal and landed at Missouri, but he didn’t win the starting job there until just before the opener. And yet, once he was given his chance to shine, Pribula has looked like a star. He has racked up 11 TDs so far this season and has the Tigers undefeated and trending up in the rankings.

Brendon Lewis

The sixth-year senior has been through his share of growing pains. He was a well-regarded recruit at Colorado but was part of the brutal 2021 season that led to the arrival of coach Deion Sanders, then transferred to Nevada, where his team struggled again. Now he has found the right fit at Memphis, where he has the Tigers 4-0 and well positioned to snag the Group of 6’s playoff spot.

Drew Mestemaker

North Texas is 4-0 and Mestemaker has 10 TD passes and no picks. It’d be a great story if that was all there was to it. But this rags-to-riches tale goes much deeper. Mestemaker wasn’t even the starter at his high school and arrived at UNT as a walk-on. He got the start in last year’s bowl game after Chandler Morris entered the portal, then beat out Reese Poffenbarger for the starting job this fall. He has rewarded the Mean Green’s belief with a red-hot start to the season. — David Hale

Biggest things that need to happen in these matchups

Auburn-Texas A&M: This series has been a strange one since 2021. The Aggies won twice at home, both times by 17 points. Auburn won twice at home, by three in 2022 and then two last year, in a 43-41 upset in four overtimes. This game, in College Station, will be another interesting one. The Aggies are coming off a bye week after their upset of Notre Dame, their first nonconference road win against an AP top-10 team since 1979. Auburn lost 24-17 at Oklahoma and is 0-5 under Hugh Freeze against ranked teams on the road. For the Tigers, they’ll first need to shore up an offensive line that gave up eight sacks on Jackson Arnold from a standard pass rush. But Auburn will look to move the ball with its rushing attack (198 yards per game, 5.0 yards per carry) against the Aggies, who are giving up 139 yards per game on the ground and are 102nd nationally in scoring defense at 28.7 points. But if the Aggies can get Arnold into being one-dimensional and having to play from behind, that will give them an advantage. They can do so by utilizing the dynamic duo of Mario Craver, the SEC’s leading receiver with 443 yards, even with the bye week (he had seven catches for 207 yards against Notre Dame), and KC Concepcion, who had four catches for 82 yards against the Irish. — Dave Wilson

LSU-Ole Miss: Last season’s showdown went to overtime in Baton Rouge. Expect another tight battle that comes down to details and who capitalizes on opportunities. Third-down conversions are going to be essential. Ole Miss’ offense is 5-of-17 on third and medium (3 to 7 yards) this season, and LSU’s defense is getting stops on 14 of 22 chances in that spot. This is where Lane Kiffin’s decision at QB becomes even more critical. Trinidad Chambliss is averaging 12.3 yards per carry on third downs and has yet to take a third-down sack. Can he be efficient in those high-pressure moments against the best defense he has faced? For LSU’s offense, the big question is injured running back Caden Durham‘s availability and finding answers in the run game so Garrett Nussmeier isn’t frequently stuck in third-and-long. The Tigers’ average third-down distance this season has been 7.9 yards, which ranks 114th in FBS, according to ESPN Research. — Max Olson

Oregon-Penn State: Quarterback Drew Allar needs to be a reason — perhaps the reason — why the Nittany Lions notch a signature win in a game in which they have most of the advantages. Allar wasn’t overly sharp in his past two performances, completing fewer than 58% of his passes against both Villanova and Florida International. He will need to be sharper against a talented but quite young Oregon defense, and start to change his big-game rep. Oregon must show it can handle one of the toughest environments in college football, Beaver Stadium at night in a White Out. The game marks a big growth opportunity for Ducks quarterback Dante Moore, a first-year starter, and also promising young players such as wide receiver Dakorien Moore and defensive backs Brandon Finney Jr. and Aaron Flowers. The Ducks visited Michigan and Wisconsin in 2024, but they haven’t faced an elite Big Ten opponent on the road until now. — Adam Rittenberg

Quotes of the Week

“We need this place rocking,” Penn State coach James Franklin said ahead of the Nittany Lions’ White Out game against No. 6 Oregon. “Need to have a distinct home-field advantage. We always do, but I’m expecting this to be an environment like no one has ever seen.”

“We’ll do everything we can to be prepared for that environment for sure,” said Oregon’s Dan Lanning, who was also asked about the song “Mo Bamba”, which has become a fixture of No. 3 Penn State home games. “I don’t love that song.”

“I would say he’s probably the hottest quarterback right now in all of college football,” Georgia’s Kirby Smart said of Alabama’s Ty Simpson ahead of the Bulldogs’ Week 5 visit from the No. 17 Crimson Tide. “His two last outings, I don’t know [if] I’ve seen an incompletion. The ball does not hit the ground. He’s been accurate. He’s been quick with the ball. They’re really hard to defend because of their skill. They’ve got tremendous skill — receivers, backs, tight ends. But you got to have a trigger guy that can get those guys the ball and they do.”

“We ain’t with that get-back stuff,” Colorado’s Deion Sanders said as his team prepares to face No. 25 BYU nine months after the Cougars blew out the Buffaloes in the 2024 Valero Alamo Bowl. “I ain’t with that get-back stuff. I’m with that let’s-get-them stuff. They played their butts off, kicked our butts in the bowl game. Now we have a whole new team.”

“I always love when you guys say that, like, ‘Oh, OK, now we’ll go actually, like, try and game-plan really hard,” Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin said with the Rebels set to host No. 4 LSU on Saturday. “It’s OK. My boss says the same things when we play Arkansas. ‘Hey, I really need this one.’ Oh, OK, well then we’ll actually, like, try this week. We were just going to not try.”

“Is it hot in here or is it just me every week?” Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy speaking to reporters three days after the Cowboys 19-12 loss to Tulsa and less than 24 hours before he was fired Tuesday morning after his 21st season in charge of the program.

Chase Briscoe doesn’t feel comfortable.

“I’ve never brought a single dime to any race team, so really, all I can bring is myself,” he told ESPN. “If you’re not performing, and all you can bring is your helmet, it makes it really easy for them to go in another direction. It’s why you have to perform and show your worth. Yeah, we’ve been fortunate enough to do that this year, but I’ve always felt my back is against the wall, and that’s what’s always driven me.”

The comments, especially now that Briscoe has won two races for Joe Gibbs Racing and appears to be a legitimate NASCAR Cup Series championship contender, are not so much surprising as much as they are unwarranted. Those two wins have established Briscoe as the driver of the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota and have shown that he and crew chief James Small, who are only in their first season together, are building a great partnership.

Briscoe not only led all Cup Series playoff drivers with the most points scored in the first round of the postseason (133), but led the entire series in points earned in those three races. He had the second-most stage points earned (30) to Bubba Wallace (35). And he led 451 of the 1,107 laps in those races.

Feeling like he is replaceable is emblematic of who Briscoe is as a driver. Perhaps it stems from sleeping on the couches of friends for so long early in his career, or it could come from having long believed that he needed race teams more than they needed him. After winning the first race in the first round of the postseason, though, Briscoe is now coming around to the idea that he’s a valuable asset.

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“I always feel like I’m auditioning, still, every week to a certain extent,” he said. “I certainly feel way more comfortable now having multiple wins, but this is still a dog-eat-dog world and you have to perform. I could very easily be running badly right now and on the chopping block. You have to perform at this level.”

Briscoe was hired to inherit the car driven by Martin Truex Jr., a former series champion and likely first-ballot NASCAR Hall of Famer. Briscoe had won two races in his Cup Series career (spanning 144 races across four seasons) before joining the Gibbs fold. While those in the industry have never doubted his talent, the 2025 season is the first time he’s had all the resources required for on-track success.

The good news is that Briscoe has always felt he’s performed better in higher-pressure situations. Not only on the racetrack, but in life.

It’s how he views his ride with Joe Gibbs, and he came into it feeling he still has something to prove in the Cup Series. The same could be said for Small, who wants to demonstrate that he can guide the No. 19 team to success without Truex, who was given much of the credit. Whether one considers it the team’s driving force or added motivation, it has worked to everyone’s advantage.

“We both had, I felt like, a lot of people doubting us,” Briscoe said. “‘Why are they in that role?’ James got a lot of flak for how he and [Truex] would go back and forth [on the radio], and now, knowing James, I’ve never met someone more competitive and more determined to win and willing to do what it takes to win. It’s been good because we both kind of have that chip on our shoulder; we want to prove we belong.

“I think James has certainly proven this year that he is an elite-level crew chief and that’s fun for me to see his progression. We’re living this together, and at Pocono, you saw how for both of us the weight of the world was lifted off our shoulders. Then, when we did what we did at Darlington (sweeping the stages and winning the race after leading 309 of 367 laps), it’s like a whole new level of confidence we’ve both reached at the same time together, which is fun. The race team has, too.”

And yet, perhaps because of that uncomfortable feeling Briscoe lives with, he isn’t quite ready to say the success he’s having means he’s arrived as a Cup Series driver.

“I’m torn, but I think you have to have a sense of that,” he said. “I don’t think you can ever say, ‘Oh, yeah, man, I’ve made it.’ But in the same sense, I’ve certainly made it. I never in a million years thought I would race a single Cup Series race. I never thought I’d run a Truck Series race. Now, to have four Cup Series wins, yeah, I’ve certainly made it from that standpoint.

“But with how my career has progressed, you honestly keep changing the goal posts. It went from, ‘I want to make it to Cup.’ Then you make it to Cup and then it’s, ‘I want to win in Cup.’ Well, you win in Cup and now you move the goalposts [again]. So, I don’t know. I’ve made it in very many ways, but I feel like I still have a lot more that I want to do.”

One of those things would be another Round of 8 appearance, if not more. Briscoe believes it’s expected as a Joe Gibbs Racing driver to at least make it that far into the postseason. From there, if Briscoe were to advance all the way to the Championship 4, it would be the first time he’s accomplished such a feat.

It’s been a season of firsts, though. In his first year in a Gibbs car, Briscoe has won multiple races for the first time in a single season, has eclipsed the most laps led, top-five and top-ten finishes he’s ever earned in a single season, and has led the point standings for the very first time.

The next first on the list would be a berth in the Championship 4. Of course, the icing on the cake would be if Briscoe were to cap off this season of firsts with his first NASCAR Cup Series championship.

Dozens of diplomats have walked out of the UN’s assembly hall as Israel’s prime minister took to the podium to speak.

As the session’s chairman called for order, there were boos and cheers while delegates streamed out, leaving masses of empty seats.

Benjamin Netanyahu used his speech to speak directly to the hostages held in Gaza and their captors.

UN latest: Dozens of delegates walk out on Netanyahu’s UN address in protest

He said loudspeakers had been put up around the territory and said Israeli spies had hacked mobile phones in Gaza so they carried his voice.

To the hostages he said: “We have not forgotten you… we will not falter, we will not rest until we have brought all of you home.”

To Hamas’s leadership, he said: “Lay down your arms… free the hostages now. If you do you will live, if you don’t Israel will hunt you down.”

He hit out at “false charge of genocide” and said: “If Hamas agrees to demands, war could end.”

Mr Netanyahu held a map of the region and crossed out the various threats he said had been eliminated, such as Hezbollah and Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

“Israel rebounded from its darkest day to deliver one of the most stunning military comebacks in history,” he said.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump said he believes the US has reached a deal on easing fighting in Gaza, saying it “will get the hostages back” and “end the war”.

“I think we maybe have a deal on Gaza, very close to a deal on Gaza,” the US president told reporters on the White House lawn as he was leaving to attend the Ryder Cup.

Mr Trump has repeatedly claimed an agreement to end the war was imminent, only for nothing to materialise. Weeks ago he said: “I think we’re going to have a deal on Gaza very soon.”

It comes soon after the UK, France, Canada and Australia formally recognised a Palestinian state in an effort to keep alive the prospect of a two-state solution.

The war in Gaza has been going on for nearly two years, with UN agencies and its chief repeatedly warning over the dire humanitarian situation.

Israel’s recently launched ground assault on Gaza City has only heightened concerns and seen thousands flee south in fear for their lives.

Israel says it’s designed to destroy what remains of Hamas after its October 2023 terror attack killed more than 1,200 people and kidnapped 251.

The Israeli leader insisted Israel had to “finish the job” to ensure the atrocity is not repeated.

“They beheaded men. They raped women. They burned babies alive. They burned babies alive in front of their parents,” he told the UN.

Walk outs show Netanyahu is a leader now isolated

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Even before Benjamin Netanyahu started to speak, dozens of diplomats walked out. His Israeli team attempted to distract from their actions by cheering and giving their Prime Minister a standing ovation.

Almost immediately, Netanyahu did what he often does during these speeches – presenting props and a map of the region, ticking off one by one the threats that have long been posed against his country.

However, while he attempted to remind the few still seated to listen to his speech at the UN General Assembly of the horrors of 7 October, it was clear that this was a leader now isolated.

His journey to New York was complicated as he snaked around European countries to avoid an ICC arrest warrant.

Netanyahu’s speech was broadcast live into Gaza via Israeli military vehicles carrying loudspeakers – where he sent a message to the hostages and issued a threat to Hamas: “Lay down your arms, free the hostages.”

Some of his country’s staunchest allies – Britain, France, Australia, and Canada – recognised a Palestinian state just this week. It now also appears that his strongest ally, Donald Trump, has had enough and wants this war to end.

The US president, in a meeting with Muslim and Arab leaders, has attempted to reassure them that he will bring an end to the Israeli onslaught in Gaza and ban Benjamin Netanyahu from annexing the West Bank.

In an exclusive interview with Sky News, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister told me Trump is “very, very committed” to a pathway to peace to end the suffering of the Palestinian people.

Netanyahu is due to meet Donald Trump early next week. The question is, will he finally put the kind of pressure on the Israeli prime minister that the international community is demanding?

Mr Netanyahu previously condemned the recognition of a Palestinian state by Western powers, saying it only rewarded Hamas and made it harder to win the release of the remaining hostages.

There are fears he could retaliate by annexing the West Bank and recognising Israeli control over illegal settlements.

However, Mr Trump – the only world leader believed to hold any sway over Israel – told reporters yesterday he would “not allow it”.

The Israeli leader is subject to an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, which has accused him of crimes against humanity, which he denies.

More than 65,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed in the war, according to the country’s Hamas-run health ministry.

Ninety per cent of its population has also been displaced by attacks that have flattened most of the territory and left many people desperately short of food.

‘Weak-kneed’ Western leaders

The Israeli prime minister told the UN “the war could end right now” if Gaza agreed to its demands.

“Israel would retain overriding security control, and a peaceful civilian authority would be established by Gazans and others committed to peace with Israel.”

He also hit out at “weak-kneed” Western leaders who he accused of giving in to biased media and antisemitic mobs.

“For much of the past two years, Israel has had to fight a seven-front war against barbarism, with many of your nations opposing us,” said Mr Netanyahu.

He denied his military was deliberately targeting civilians and referenced an assessment that it was taking more “measures to minimise civilian casualties than any military in history”.

Denying genocide claims, the prime minister said the “truth had been turned on its head” and cited his forces dropping millions of leaflets and sending text messages telling people to flee prior to attacks.