Ultimate Viewers Guide to college football Week 5: What to watch, when, and where

Week 5 of the college football season is a stacked selection of big-time action. Every time slot in the day includes multiple standout games. Even Friday gets into the act with a couple of intriguing matchups. As usual, whether you're looking to settle in for a daylong or even two-day journey around college football or trying to find the biggest game of Saturday, we've got you covered. Here's the playbook for the Ultimate Viewers Guide to Week 5.

The Friday action

Friday has a pair of good games, with No. 8 Florida State facing its first real test since Alabama in Week 1. The Seminoles head to 3-1 Virginia for a 7 PM ET (all remaining times here will be Eastern) kickoff on ESPN. The late game is no slouch, as No. 24 TCU takes its 3-0 mark to 3-1 Arizona State for a 9 PM FOX kickoff. Both favored teams on the road should get a good test.

Early Saturday must-watch

Saturday wastes no time getting serious. At noon, No. 21 USC faces No. 23 Illinois on FOX. After the ugly loss to Indiana, some will turn on the Illini, but it's a good challenge for a USC team that racked up a ton of numbers against so-so competition. Also at noon, No. 22 Notre Dame faces a desperate Arkansas team on ABC. Sam Pittman's job could be on the line, but so could the last whisper of Notre Dame's feeble CFP hopes.

There are some good ACC games going on too, if you're so inclined. No. 16 Georgia Tech is at Wake Forest on ESPN, but Louisville vs. Pittsburgh on ESPN2 is a sneaky good choice for another good game, with both of those in that noon window.

Midday matchups

There's no brilliant game in the 2:00 or 3:00 starting window, so the next big action comes at 3:30. with a pair of intense SEC games headlining, and a pair of potential B1G upsets being worth consideration. No. 4 LSU and No. 13 Ole Miss face off in a battle of big offenses on ABC. Another strong possibility from the SEC is the Auburn at No. 9 Texas A&M game on ESPN.

But for Big Ten folks, it's either top-ranked Ohio State getting a potential test out west from Washington on CBS/Paramount + or No. 11 Indiana having to deal with a potential style clash at Iowa. That game will be on Peacock and could be the upset of the day, if the Hoosiers aren't ready to grind out a victory.

A pair of games that might merit look-in possibility if your main game is a blowout is No. 15 Tennessee at Mississippi State at 4:15 on SEC Network or Arizona at No. 14 Iowa State at 7:00 on ESPN. In both cases, undefeated underdogs against ranked teams that could stumble.

The late action

It's all about where you are, because in Big Ten country, the No. 6 Oregon at No. 3 Penn State game, televised on NBC/Peacock, is the one to see. In the SEC world, it's No. 17 Alabama at No. 5 Georgia, shown on ABC. Both games kick at 7:30. Both are CFP-significant battles that might justifying buying a second TV or watching the other game on a tablet or just heading out for wings and multiple screens.

After that, it's pretty quiet. The one truly late game that could be interesting is No. 25 BYU's trip to Colorado, which kicks at 10:15 on ESPN. BYU has won the last three in the series, including last season's Alamo Bowl beat down, but Coach Prime could have some revenge up his sleeve.

The game to see

Those afternoon games present some massive upset possibilities, but the late window is the one to catch. Again, it's Oregon/Penn State or Alabama/Georgia. Frankly, neither could go wrong.

The underrated game of the week

An under the radar game worth watching? That Arizona/Iowa State game will probably get some halftime flipovers from the big games above. It might well justify sticking around.