Game Day Kickoff: An epic QB showcase in Starkville and the best of the rest of Week 5

What should the country expect from Kamario Taylor in 2026?

This was the question posed to the Mississippi Statequarterback in late July at SEC media days, when he had just two career starts under his belt, and the world was still unaware of his prodigious talents.

Taylor grinned.

"The country should expect a walking highlight reel," he told ESPN. "Every time I touch the ball, it's going to be something special happening."

This might've seemed a bold prediction from the sophomore whose limited action to date included just 55% completions and a pair of losses.

But Babe Ruth called his shot before he knew what pitch was coming, Neil Armstrong scripted the "one small step" line long before his boots touched the surface of the moon, and Brandon Flowers surely imagined hundreds of shirtless dudes in sports arenas around the world shouting the chorus to "Mr. Brightside" the moment he put pen to paper.

The great ones always know.

It's still perhaps a tad premature to cast Taylor among the greats, but that hasn't stopped the country from doing it anyway. In the first month of the season, Taylor has been compared toLamar Jackson, talked about as a likely No. 1 NFL draft pick in 2028 and served as fodder for every social media pundit (and, perhaps, Power 4 GM) willing to speculate on where he'll play next season.

Taylor's biggest test to date comes this week against Alabama(noon ET on ABC), and a win wouldn't carry the same cache of beating Nick Saban in his prime, but it would serve as something akin to an official coming-out party. But regardless, Saturday's game will be the nation's first chance to sit back on their couches and soak in the majesty of Taylor's game on a big stage.

Still, that doesn't mean the overt gushing by the media and fans across the country is grounded in reality.

Taylor is not, after all, a Jackson clone. He's a couple of inches taller, a good bit stronger at this point in his career, and while he's fast, he's not exactly the same cut-on-a-dime speedster that Jackson was at Louisville. They're different players. But if the specifics are wrong here, the comparison gets the vibe right. Watching Taylor feels like watching Heisman-era Jackson in the way that, on any given snap, you might see something you've never seen before. Jackson, Michael Vick, Herschel Walker -- there's a small handful of college players who inspired genuine awe with such regularity that it became expected, and Taylor is certainly making his case that he belongs in that club.

Those NFL draft predictions have merit. Taylor has all the tools. But we've seen that story before -- from Jimmy Clausen to Jake Locker to Josh Rosen. Right now, Cal'sJaron-Keawe Sagapoluteleis proving that even the most discerning of talent evaluators can't predict what will happen to a college prospect when a couple of years separates them and the draft. That Taylor is being lauded as a future NFL star at least is an improvement from the talent evaluations of Jackson during his playing days, when pundits were encouraging him to move to receiver.

Worse is the constant buzz over whether Taylor will transfer. Practically speaking, it makes sense. This is the world of modern college football, where everything is transactional, and generational talents are drawn to blue-blood programs (and big paychecks) like moths to a flame or Lane Kiffin to a controversy. But the speculation only underscores how little Taylor is known on the national stage. He's not the typical burgeoning star at a small school. He's Mississippi born and bred. He grew up wanting to play for the Bulldogs. He has the southern drawl, a chip on his shoulder and the determination to put his stamp on a place he has always called home. Strap him to an EKG and his heartbeat will sound like cowbells.

But above all, there's this: Taylor has started six games. He played Ole Missand Wake Forestin 2025, losing each game by a couple of touchdowns. This year, that highlight reel has been filmed in front of the ULM, Minnesota, South Carolinaand Missouridefenses. All due respect to the AP voters who are convinced cockroaches and Missouri at No. 25 are the two things that will survive a nuclear apocalypse, but the job is about to get much tougher against the Tide.

And let's not forget about the QB on the other sideline. For as good as Taylor has been this year, Keelon Russell -- another gem of the 2025 recruiting class now at center stage in the SEC -- has been exceptional, too.

In fact, see if you can pinpoint who's who here:

QB A: 71% completions, 1,129 passing yards, 9.6 yards-per-dropback, .37 EPA/touch, 11 touchdowns, four turnovers

QB B: 69% completions, 1,192 passing yards, 9.1 yards-per-dropback, .32 EPA/touch, 15 touchdowns, five turnovers

QB A is Russell. QB B is Taylor. Both have been incredible, and for the next year-and-a-half, they're bound to be compared to each other again and again and again.

The comparison isn't entirely fair. Russell inherited the QB1 job at one of college football's best programs. Taylor is taking over a program mired in years of misery. Before witnessing his September heroics, the notion that Mississippi State would even be competitive in this game might've seemed like some kind of fever dream brought on by the humidity. But he offers hope.

Still, here are the facts: Alabama has won 16 straight against Mississippi State. During that span, the Bulldogs have kept the game to within one possession just twice -- in 2014 and 2017. They haven't scored 30 against the Tide in a game since 1997 -- 10 years before Taylor was born.

If Taylor can get Mississippi State within shouting distance of a win Saturday, it'll put him in a tier that, for the past generation, only Dak Prescott has reached.

If Mississippi State wins, it'll be something akin toIndianahoisting a national championship trophy, and the spotlight on Taylor and speculation about his future will reach Kardashian levels.

This is the way the world works for overnight sensations like Taylor, but it's a fool's errand to speculate on his future when the present is so much fun.

Jump to:

Top games|Under-the-radar

Upset alert|Heisman five

Power rankings|Two-minute drill

Best of the rest of Week 5

This week, Virginia Techand Pittwill face off in a battle of two undefeated ACC teams.

Neither is ranked.

According to ESPN Insights, this is the first time in history two teams 4-0 or better from a power conference have played each other when neither was ranked.

Meanwhile, Miami, busy defending its schedule against critics, awaits a Saturday showdown against unranked Clemson. In another universe in which Dabo Swinney was willing to take a portal quarterback, Week 5 might have been one of the marquee matchups on the Canes' schedule. Instead, they arrive in Death Valley as 16.5-point favorites according to DraftKings.

And fresh off a massive win over a top-10 Ole Miss, the upstart Florida Gators get another ranked matchup this week against No. 25 Missouri, a team whose place in the rankings feels like seeing a commercial for a new episode of "Grey's Anatomy," when the only reasonable response is, "Wait, that's still a thing?"

Since 2023, Missouri has been ranked for 32 weeks. The Tigers are 21-9 overall, but just 4-9 against power-conference teams that finished (or currently have) a winning record. Their best win in that span is over 8-5Iowain the 2024 Music City Bowl.

Meanwhile, Dukehas a 22-9 record in that same span and is 6-7 vs. winning power-conference foes. The Blue Devils have not been ranked in a single AP poll in that span.

Or how about Wake Forest, which hosts Stanfordthis week after pulling an upset over then-No. 16 Louisville. The Deacons are currently fourth in "others receiving votes" this week, trailing, among others, a Penn Stateteam that went 7-6 last year and whose biggest 2026 win so far has come against Templeand lastly,Wisconsin, a team that has seven total wins since the start of 2025, compared with 12 for Wake.

Or, how about this comparison:

Team A: 3-1 with two road wins vs. Power 4 competition, a win vs. SP+ No. 37 and a 13-point loss to SP+ No. 5. Two wins vs. Power 4 teams with a winning record since the start of last year.

Team B: 3-1 with one road win vs. Power 4 competition, a win vs. SP+ No. 39 and a 28-point loss to SP+ No. 6. No wins vs. Power 4 teams with a winning record since the start of last year.

Who's better?

You might want to make the case that neither has proved all that much, but the bottom line is one of these teams -- Team B -- is ranked. That'd be Kentucky, which managed a No. 24 ranking on the back of beating Texas A&Mtwo weeks ago despite the fact that A&M was then bludgeoned by LSUlast week while the Wildcats played a closer-than-expected game vs. South Alabamain which they didn't pull away until the fourth quarter.

Team A, of course, is Wake Forest -- a program that keeps winning games against the likes of Louisville,SMUand Virginiawithout an ounce of respect on its name.

And none of this should really matter. In the playoff era, teams ranked in the bottom third -- Nos. 18-25 -- of the AP poll actually have a losing record against unranked power-conference opponents who finished the year with a winning record and are just 145-132 vs. unranked power-conference teams that made a bowl.

There is, for all intents and purposes, little difference between the No. 20 team in the AP poll and the 28th or 32nd or even the No. 40 team in the country, if the rankings went that high.

But, of course, we put a little number next to just 25 teams, and a "ranked win" still has cache. It's like going to see a Journey concert -- a shell of what it once was, and yet, look how many people still care.

So, Miami might demolish Clemson, and it won't do much to change any hearts and minds. It's not a ranked win after all. And Pitt andVirginia Techwill be playing to determine which ACC team can be forgotten about entirely and which one will still be in line behind Penn State in the "others receiving votes." And should Florida avoid a hangover following its win over Ole Miss and beat up on No. 25 Missouri -- well, the Gators will likely crawl into the AP top 10, and the voters will have no choice but to credit the Tigers for another great loss.

Now, let's take a look at some other matchups:

Ohio State at Iowa

The Ohio Stateshook off a loss to Texasby hanging a combined 101 points against Kent Stateand Illinois, but the challenge gets bigger in Week 5 as it travels to Iowa, where Kirk Ferentz's plan to lure everyone to sleep and somehow emerge with a win seems entirely reasonable.

Iowa might not be in the entertainment business, but at least the Hawkeyes can guess how many players belong on the field on defense at any given time, give or take two in either direction.

On 36 drives in the first three quarters of games this year, Ohio State opponents have mustered just one touchdown. Of course, Iowa might only need the last play anyway.

Auburn at Tennessee

Auburn's five-point loss to Florida looks even better now, and a win over Vanderbiltthat didn't require anyone to not fumble in the end zone on the final play is solid. The big concern for the Tigers though? It's the same one Tennesseehad last week -- protecting the QB. Byrum Brown has been sacked 14 times so far -- tied for the most in the country -- and he has been hit on more than a third of his season dropbacks.

Under-the-radar games

Cincinnati at Arizona

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Fun fact: Cincinnatiis4-0. A fast start is not exactly big news for Cincinnati though. Last year, Cincinnati lost a 20-17 game to Nebraskain Week 1, then reeled off seven straight. In 2024, an epic Pitt comeback was all that spoiled a 6-1 start to the year. The problem for Cincinnati is what comes next. Under Scott Satterfield, Cincinnati is 2-14 from Week 9 on. Unfortunately forArizona, there are still a few weeks to go before Cincinnati fans are filled with the type of remorse and pain that only a second helping of Skyline Chili or the annual Bearcats freefall can provide.

Louisville at NC State

A week ago, we were discussing Louisville as a potential playoff team. Now, this one looks like do-or-die for the Cardinals, on the road against a desperate NC Stateand potentially without QB Lincoln Kienholz.

Marshall at James Madison

With Boise State's emphatic win over Western Michiganin Week 4 and a close call against Oregonin the opener, the Broncos seem to be the clear front-runner for the Group of 6's playoff bid. But maybe we shouldn't write off James Madisonjust yet. The Dukes are 4-0 with the No. 6 game control and No. 5 average win percentage in the country. JMU's strength of record (No. 26) is actually five spots better than Boise State's, and its past two wins -- vs. San Diego Stateand Old Dominion-- are at least a bit more impressive when you remember those two teams combined for a 19-7 record a year ago. Marshallis 3-1, but the Herd might not be the biggest test for JMU -- they needed a minor miracle to get past FCS Gardner-Webb last week.

Eastern Michigan at UMass

This is not a drill. UMassis 4-0 and one of just five teams to have scored at least 30 and allowed 21 or fewer in four straight games.

Upset alert

USF(home vs. Temple)

The Owls are 1-3, but their losses have come by one point to Toledoand by four to Army. Temple led in the fourth quarter of both, including by as much as 14 against Toledo. Temple played Penn State hard, too, trailing just 10-3 at the half. USF is 4-0, but the Bulls have had the opposite of Temple's luck, leading FIUjust 6-3 entering the fourth quarter in Week 1, trailing Army by 10 in the fourth quarter in Week 3 and coming back from a 6-0 fourth-quarter deficit vs. Bowling Greenlast week.

USC(home vs. Washington)

Both teams are coming off frustrating losses last week, though at leastWashingtonavoided celebrating any egregious penalties.But there has to be some real questions about how USC will respond to the loss to Oregon -- the latest in a long line of big moments when a Lincoln Riley team came up small.

In fact, here's a pretty stunning metric:

Clay Helton, as USC's full-time coach from 2016 to 2020: 39-19

Lincoln Riley's first 58 games as USC's head coach: 39-19

Virginia (at Florida State)

Florida Statedefensive coordinator Tony White compared Cavaliers QB Beau Pribula to Tim Tebow this week -- and apparently not in reference to both being questionable downfield passers. If they build a statue of Pribula at Virginia the same way they did Tebow at Florida, he probably needs to win this one. But FSU took Virginia to double overtime in Charlottesville a year ago, so this won't be a pushover.

Heisman five

Let's take a look at five candidates for the hardware who don't play quarterback.

1. Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith

In a drubbing of Illinois in Week 4, Smith caught 12 passes for 217 yards and four touchdowns. He's up to 617 receiving yards through four games, with a top-20 matchup against Iowa in the offing in Week 5. At this point it's fair to wonder whether, in high school, Smith was bitten by a radioactive spider or participated in a science experiment gone horribly awry and developed superpowers. There's no more logical explanation for how good he is.

2. Texas DE Colin Simmons

Simmons turned in one of the elite pass-rushing performances in recent history last week against Tennessee, with nine total tackles, 5.5 sacks, 10 QB pressures and a forced fumble.

3. Florida RBJadan Baugh

Baugh has already racked up 11 rushing touchdowns this season after a stellar 142 yards and three scores in a win over Ole Miss in Week 4. That's one more rushing score than Florida had all season in 2025. Baugh has multiple rushing touchdowns in five straight games, the longest streak in the SEC since Derrick Henry did the same in 2015 and the second-longest streak by any power-conference back in the playoff era.

4. Duke RB Nate Sheppard

Sheppard might've felt like the Will Smith gif from the final episode of "Fresh Prince" this offseason after Miami booked a bunch of one-way tickets to Florida for Duke's biggest offensive weapons, but it turns out, he's entirely capable of carrying a team on his own if need be. Sheppard leads the nation with 644 rushing yards, averaging better than 7 yards per carry, and he has racked up nine total touchdowns so far, as Duke is off to a 4-0 start -- even if no one casting a vote in the AP poll has noticed.

5. Miami WR Malachi Toney

Through four games, Toney ranks third nationally in both catches (34) and receiving yards (564) and is tied for fourth in receiving touchdowns (six). Perhaps the only true defense for Toney is some fuzzy officiating. AgainstCentral Michiganlast week, Toney missed out on a touchdown late in the second quarter when he hauled in a 35-yard catch -- while being held -- but was ruled to have stepped out of bounds just shy of the goal line. Then, midway through the third quarter, he appeared to have a 12-yard touchdown grab, too, only for officials to flag him for a questionable offensive pass interference penalty. Nevertheless, he still finished the game with six catches for 120 yards and a score, and we feel confident he could top 100 through the air even if he was wearing mittens and a pair of Crocs.

Week 4 Power Rankings

The best of last week's performances.

1. Florida

2. Austin Romaine somehow becoming the second big story of the year involving romaine racking up returns

3. Karma in Ann Arbor

4. Texas in close games

5. Georgia

6. Oregon's Los Angeles-area recruiting

7. Wisconsin's players finally earning a trip to Culver's for ice cream after a big game

8. Lincoln Riley hot seat rumors

9. Alabama

10.Colin Simmons' new Heisman pose

Unranked: Swole QBs; Missouri being grandfathered into the AP Top 25; Louisville in close games; Arch Manning on the road; Texas A&M

Two-minute drill

A quick trip around the country for more news and nuggets ahead of Week 5's action.

LSUhosts McNeesethis week in the latest Power 4 vs. FCS matchup, though McNeese is entirely capable of giving LSU a better game than Clemson or Texas A&M did.

In Week 4, Power 4 teams went 4-0 vs. FCS, winning by an average of 48 points per game. Pitt out-gained Bucknell by 630 yards.

The Power 4 has now won 175 straight against FCS teams dating back to 2022, including a 50-0 mark this year with an average score of 53-8.

This is atrocious football, and it's probably time leagues mandated they end.

Scheduling these games costs real money in a time when nearly every school is looking for loose change in its couch cushions. Fans buying season tickets are on the hook for these games that end up being glorified scrimmages, it's like having to pay for "Godfather 3" when you just want to watch the first two. TV networks -- the driving economic force in the sport -- aren't getting ratings winners when fans tune out after the first quarter. And players risk getting hurt on a fluke play in a pointless game, as Florida State's Jordan Travis did in 2023, upending the entire program as a result.

Yes, these games do help the finances for FCS teams who rely on a big payday to support their own athletics departments, but we'd be far better served moving these games to the preseason -- a tuneup before Week 1, perhaps? -- and having schools play 12 actual games in a regular season that already has scant few big nonconference opportunities.

Right now, these games are on the docket to give coaches an easy W. Those same coaches are getting paid handsomely to earn the wins rather than being handed them.

A few more games of note:

• Notre Dame's annual stealing of the ACC's lunch money begins anew Saturday with a trip to North Carolina. In 2014, Notre Dame began playing five games per year vs. the ACC, for which the ACC has thanked the Irish by making those matchups incredibly easy. Throughout the relationship -- including the 2020 season when Notre Dame played as a full-time member of the ACC and won the league (something Miami still hasn't done) -- the Irish are 55-12 vs. the conference (and 23-3 since 2021). North Carolina has been a big part of the problem. Throughout the course of the Irish-ACC relationship, the Heels, along with Syracuse, Boston College, Pitt, Georgia Tech, Virginia, Wake Forest and, since joining the ACC, Stanford, have a combined record of 0-36 vs. Notre Dame.


• Coloradohosts No. 12 Texas Tech, and Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders sounds like he's on the brink of tabbing a new starting QB. It's easy to see why. In Sanders' first two seasons at Colorado, with his son, Shedeur, at QB, the Buffs completed 70.7% of their throws, with 66 touchdown passes, 14 picks and 104 completions of 20 yards or more in 25 games. Since then, the numbers have plummeted: 59.7% completions, 24 touchdowns, 13 picks and 46 completions of 20 yards or more in 16 games. Should Isaac Wilson get the start against the Red Raiders, it'll be Colorado's fifth QB change in the past 13 months, and likely just a precursor to Coach Prime unveiling yet another new QB -- a long-lost son who bears an uncanny resemblance to Shedeur, only with a pair of cheap glasses and a sweatshirt with the word "Browns" crossed out and "Colorado" written in Sharpie.


• Nebraska can get to 5-0 for the first time since 2016 with a win over Maryland. The Terps, fresh off a 54-3 drubbing by UCLAin which Mike Locksley again faced sharp questions about his job status, are just hoping to get off the bus in Lincoln without tripping over a rake and falling into a vat of coconut cream pie. Huskers QB Anthony Colandrea is off to a blazing start with 10 passing touchdowns, a pair of scores on the ground and just one interception. Of course, Dylan Raiola started last season with 11 TD passes and just one pick through four games. His line the rest of the way: seven TD passes, six interceptions.


• One thing everyone seems to agree on: Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele is a first-round talent at QB. But so far this season, Cal's superstar has looked like a mess. After a woeful performance in a loss to Clemson last week, JKS's tally in three games vs. FBS opponents: 58.7% completions, four touchdowns, four interceptions, 5.5 yards per pass. Now Sagapolutele and the Bears travel to UNLVwith their season teetering on the brink of disaster. There's plenty of blame to go around, but plenty is being painted at Jordan Somerville, who had never been a full-time playcaller or QB coach. Cal fans are reasonably concerned the keys to their Ferrari were handed over to a kid who just got his license and still is a bit shaky with parallel parking, and the biggest concern isn't just that Sagapolutele's talent is going to waste this year but that he won't stick around for a do-over in 2027.


• Jared Curtis famously chose Vandy over Georgia -- a stunning recruiting turn that touted the Commodores' arrival as a player for elite talent. This week, he might just learn that there's an advantage in not having to play against Georgia's defense, which is allowing 3.3 yards per play and 0.6 yards per rush with the starters on the field so far this season. But Curtis has been listed as questionable for Saturday's game.


• Here's a wild stat: New Mexicohas 14 takeaways, which is the most in the country. It also has yet to turn the ball over, the only FBS team without a giveaway. Its plus-14 turnover margin is tied with 2022 USC for the best by any school through four games since 2007, when Cincinnati opened the year at plus-15. The Lobos host 1-3 UTEP on Saturday.


• Delaware's Friday night showdown with Libertyis sold out and arguably the biggest event in the state since Mike Brey's annual hot tub party. Hens QB Nick Minicucci has thrown for 4,521 yards since the start of last season, the second most by any Group of 6 QB and eighth most nationally. Liberty is allowing opponents to complete less than 50% of their throws and has more INTs (four) than touchdowns allowed (three) so far this season.

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