Coming off a well-fought loss to new number one Alabama, Georgia looks to rebound against Auburn at home while Ole Miss will take on South Carolina after its first defeat of the season.

In week five of the 2024-2025 college football season, surprising results altered the Associated Press’ top 25 rankings all the way from bottom-to-top, including a new program named as the number one team in the country. The Alabama Crimson Tide were able to defeat the Georgia Bulldogs 41-34 in a game that will go down in college football history as one of the greatest matchups ever played. 

Alabama was able to take a commanding 30-7 lead into halftime, seemingly prepared to embarrass the Bulldogs and show why it should be seen as the top contender in the SEC conference. From that point on, however, Georgia outscored the Crimson Tide 27-11, including a touchdown with only two and a half minutes remaining in the football game to take a shocking 34-33 lead. In an even more shocking turn of events, Alabama scored a touchdown only 13 seconds later to retake the lead 41-34 and intercepted quarterback Carson Beck for the third time to seal the victory. 

Beck and Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe were able to show NFL scouts why each should be a first round draft pick come next April, especially Beck who got the opportunity to recover from a terrible first half to nearly lead his team to a comeback victory. 

Heading into week six, Georgia will return home to play the 2-3 Auburn Tigers in a great chance for a “get right” game, showcased by the -23 spread in the Bulldogs’ favor. The Tigers have gone back and forth between starting quarterbacks this season, but will most likely start Payton Thorne after he threw for 338 yards and three touchdowns in a loss against Oklahoma in week four. 

Georgia, now ranked at number five in the AP poll, will begin its climb back to the top of college football where Alabama currently sits at number one after last week. Texas was pushed down to number two after struggling in the first half versus Mississippi State, while Ohio State and Tennessee round out the remaining top five squads. 

With Auburn sitting at +1100 on ESPN Bet, it is unlikely the Tigers head into Athens, Georgia and find victory against an emotional Bulldogs team coming off such an intense defeat. The loss to Alabama was Georgia’s first in the regular season since 2020 and the Bulldogs’ defense should be primed to attack Thorne, who has already thrown six interceptions in his four starts throughout 2024-2025. The only real threat on offense for Auburn is wide receiver Cam Coleman, but with a stout Georgia secondary, the Tigers will face difficulties getting the ball to its 6’3” playmaker. 

Fans of Ole Miss won’t have as easy a time against South Carolina when hoping its program can bounce back after a loss to Kentucky in week four. Quarterback Jaxson Dart, who had been pushing for the Heisman trophy prior to facing the Wildcats, only managed 261 yards through the air and one touchdown in the 20-17 defeat at home. The game put a damper on many Rebels’ fans hopes of winning the SEC this year, as Ole Miss still has to play teams like LSU, Oklahoma and Georgia in the second half of its schedule. With games of such importance approaching, the Rebels can ill afford to drop matchups such as what is in front of the program for week six. 

The Rebels are still 10-point favorites over the Gamecocks on ESPN Bet, also having -340 moneyline odds to get back on track after its first loss of the season. Ole Miss will have to prepare for a strong South Carolina defensive line, which includes Kyle Kennard and Dylan Stewart who have combined to account for eight of the team’s 14 sacks this season. 

Gamecocks quarterback LaNorris Sellers missed the last game against Akron after departing South Carolina’s matchup with LSU with the team up 24-10 prior to halftime. South Carolina was unable to hold onto its lead against the Tigers, eventually falling by a score of 36-33, but Sellers is expected to make his return to the field in week six versus Ole Miss. 

Wide receiver Antwane “Juice” Wells will be making his own return in week six, having spent his first two collegiate seasons with the Gamecocks before transferring to Ole Miss. During his tenure, Wells generated 956 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns for South Carolina while accounting for 278 yards and four touchdowns at Ole Miss up to this point. 

Many wouldn’t quite deem his return as a “revenge game” since Wells chose to leave, but he could be motivated to show the Gamecocks why the program could’ve given “Juice” more of a squeeze during his two seasons. 

In the only matchup this weekend to feature two programs ranked within the top 25, the 4-0 Missouri Tigers will travel to College Station to take on the Texas A&M Aggies, which is favored by two and a half points despite the difference in placement for each. Missouri is the ninth ranked team in the nation, while the Aggies are listed at 25th by the Associated Press after week five. 

Missouri went to double overtime against now 2-2 Vanderbilt, displaying the weaknesses that could plague the Tigers’ chances of making the College Football Playoff. Despite its perfect record, Missouri will still have to play Alabama, Oklahoma and travel to South Carolina before its season concludes, meaning the week six matchup should be a must win in the eyes of Tigers fans. 

Missouri will enter the game on an eight-game winning streak dating back to 2023, but will be facing a dynamic Texas A&M offense featuring quarterback Marcel Reed, who has taken over the role from Connor Weigman after Weigman missed the last three games with a sprained shoulder. He is a game-time decision against Missouri, but even in the case Reed needs to step in once again, the Tigers will have its hands full trying to slow him and running back Le’Veon Moss who is coming off a season-best 117 yards versus Arkansas. 

With +110 odds on ESPN Bet to improve to 5-0 for the second straight season, the Tigers are still being looked at as a team capable of going on the road in one of the most difficult environments in college football and still walk away with a victory. If Missouri is able to take down Texas A&M, it would set the program up extremely well to make its first College Football Playoff appearance in school history and possibly compete for the SEC conference championship this season.