What to Watch, Week 5: Has Texas A&M's run defense really improved?

In every college football season there’s a week that has very little going for it.

This is that week.

Good teams are playing bad teams, mediocre teams are playing each other and even the ranked contests are a little suspect. Still, we combed through the muck to find the best of what’s to watch during Week 5. Also of note, this is also the seventh annual Coach to Cure MD week, so coaches across the country will be wearing special patches to raise awareness of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

But before we get to that, let’s have a quick look back at what you might have missed during Week 4:

Florida State remained undefeated even without quarterback Jameis Winston, who had the most lax suspension in the history of all suspensions.

Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon ushered himself back into the Heisman race with 253 yards and five touchdowns against Bowling Green.

Speaking of running backs, Oklahoma introduced us to a new name – Samaje Perine, who ran for 242 yards and four touchdowns against West Virginia.

Michigan coach Brady Hoke strapped himself in for a yearlong stint in the hot seat after a 26-10 loss to Utah.

Mississippi State shocked the SEC world with a win against LSU.

And the night ended with this Hail Mary pass (we have no West Coast bias here).

I think that’s everything. Let’s look ahead to this week:

Game of the week:
Arkansas at No. 6 Texas A&M, 3:30 p.m. ET
This game is interesting because it will test the Texas A&M rushing defense in a way that it has yet to be tested. Arkansas runs the ball and it runs it well. So far this year, the Aggies have been great against the run, but that’s because it’s offense has put its opponents in holes that have forced teams to go to the air to catch up. That’s what A&M needs to do here to put this game out of reach because I don’t think its defense is good enough to keep the Hogs at bay. This should be a high scoring affair and if A&M can execute its offense — and there’s nothing the Arkansas defense has done this season that would suggest otherwise — then it should win this game handily.

Game to watch:
Missouri at No. 13 South Carolina, 7 p.m. ET
Similar to how South Carolina wasn’t as bad as it showed in the season opener against Texas A&M, Missouri isn’t as bad as it showed during an unexpected loss to Indiana last week. This game will be entertaining because the teams are so similar. The offenses have a little spark to them and the defenses are mediocre. This is a big game for both teams as they jockey for position in the SEC East. South Carolina gets the edge because it’s a little more experienced and it’s at home, but never sleep on Maty Mauk and that Missouri offense.

Also check out…
No. 16 Stanford at Washington, 4:15 p.m. ET
This is a chance for both teams to prove who they really are. Washington is one of six undefeated teams in the Pac-12, but it’s play has been so up and down that it’s difficult to predict what the Huskies will do every week. Stanford has lopsided wins against weak competition, but had a bunch of offensive and kicking woes against USC. The bottom line is no matter how badly Washington has played at times, it has the offensive firepower to beat any team in the conference. Stanford has the potential to have that kind of offense, but it has to show up. Stanford’s defense will keep Washington at bay for awhile, but if the offense doesn’t show up as well, Washington could pull off the upset.

Don't waste your time with:
No. 8 Notre Dame at Syracuse, 8 p.m. ET
In the past couple weeks, the game I’ve noted as one that wasn’t worth watching ended up being a pretty good contest. That won’t be the case this week. Notre Dame is 3-0 coming off a bye week. It has a much better offense than Maryland and the Terps had their way with Syracuse last weekend. There’s always the fear that Notre Dame could be looking past this game and at Stanford, but I think the week off helps that and the Irish will be itching to play.

Keep an eye on:
Gunner Kiel, QB, Cincinnati
If former Notre Dame quarterback Gunner Kiel wants to put himself on the map as one of the nation’s elite quarterbacks, this is going to be his first chance. Kiel is currently completing 66 percent of his passes for 689 yards, 10 touchdowns and two interceptions through just two games. If Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Brewer can throw for 200 yards and two touchdowns against the Buckeyes, Kiel should be able to threw for 50 more yards and another score.

Upset alert:
Cincinnati (+17) at Ohio State, 6 p.m. ET
It’s difficult to get Ohio State’s loss to Virginia Tech out of my mind especially with as poor as Virginia Tech has played since that upset win. Was it a fluke? Possibly. Or did the Hokies just provide evidence that Ohio State isn’t as good of a team as we thought it was? That's more likely. No one is going to claim Cincinnati to be a world-beater here. It struggled with Miami-Ohio last week. But as noted above, quarterback Gunner Kiel might be the best throwing quarterback the Buckeyes have faced this season and we’ve already seen their passing defense get abused. Cincy might not win this game, but it will certainly keep it closer than the 17-point spread.

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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday

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