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ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI) predicts the outcome of every college football game every week.
The Week 5 projections have been released, including for an SEC matchup between Oklahoma and Auburn.
The model favors Oklahoma to get the victory, giving the SEC newcomer a 57.7% chance to win. This means that Auburn has a 42.3% chance to win the game. Ultimately, these numbers imply that it’ll be a close game.
The 2 teams have only played twice, and this Week 5 matchup will be the first time the teams have played in a regular season matchup. Both prior matchups, in 2017 and 1972, took place in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. The Sooners came out on top in both of those games by a wide margin.
Both of these teams will have plenty of motivation to win in Week 5. The Sooners are coming off of a tough home loss to the Tennessee Volunteers in Week 4, meanwhile, the Tigers also fell at home, to the Arkansas Razorbacks. The Sooners fell to 3-1 on the season while the Tigers fell to 2-2. Both teams are 0-1 in the SEC, making this game important for conference standings.
It will be interesting to see how the Sooners handle their QB situation. Jackson Arnold was benched against the Vols in Week 4 after completing under 50% of his passes for just 54 yards and an interception. Michael Hawkins Jr. came in and provided a spark, throwing for 132 yards with 1 TD and 0 INTs.
The Tigers have their own QB controversy. Payton Thorne was previously benched for Hank Brown, but Thorne was thrust back into action in Week 4 after Brown threw 3 picks.
This game will kick off from Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday at 3:40 p.m. ET.
Bryce Lazenby covers college football for Saturday Down South. A Nashville native, his previous stops include FanSided, Dimers, and The Leaf-Chronicle.
