Get ready for Week 5 with rosters, picks, forecasts & more as Penn State faces Northwestern

Matt Hymowitz
·3 min read

No. 11 Penn State begins a pivotal month of football Saturday with a showdown against Northwestern at Beaver Stadium.

The Nittany Lions are one of four 4-0 teams in the Big Ten — the others are division foes Michigan and Ohio State and this season’s Whiteout opponent, Minnesota.

Penn State has next week off, followed by a matchup Oct. 15 with No. 4 Michigan in Ann Arbor. The Nittany Lions host No. 21 Minnesota on Oct. 22 and end the month with an Oct. 29 visit from No. 3 Ohio State.

Northwestern started the season 1-3, with its only win coming against Nebraska in the season opener in Ireland. The Wildcats are coming off a 17-14 loss at home last week to Miami of Ohio.

Penn State leads the series against Northwestern 14-5. The teams last met five years ago in Evanston with the Nittany Lions taking home a 31-7 win.

Saturday’s game is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN. Bob Wischusen will be in the broadcast booth with analyst Dan Orlovsky and sideline reporter Kris Budden.

Fans might want to bring a raincoat, AccuWeather says, as the remnants of Ian move through the area. Temperatures are expected to reach the upper 50s.

Week 5 game picks

All six of the CDT pickers finished over .500 last week. Josh Moyer, Bret Pallotto and Nate Cobler led the pack at 7-3. Jon Sauber, Kyle J. Andrews and Andrew Buckman each went 6-4. Overall, Moyer remains in the lead, having picked 29 of 40 games correctly.

This week’s unanimous choices to win were Penn State, Minnesota, Maryland, Michigan and Alabama.

Take a look at the full slate of picks below:

Week 5 picks
Week 5 picks

Penn State roster

The Nittany Lions’ roster is below. Scroll down for the Northwestern roster.

Northwestern roster

The Wildcats’ roster is below.

What to know before kickoff

Here’s a roundup of the week’s college football news.

ICYMI: Beer will be sold to the public at Beaver Stadium starting Saturday

Previewing this weekend’s games: Big 12 has title game rematch | Kentucky visits Mississippi in SEC showdown | NC State and Clemson take stage | In Big Ten, Michigan faces test vs. Iowa | Washington at UCLA tops Pac-12 slate

Development: Northwestern unveils plans for new stadium

CFP: Timing of expansion still up in the air

Around the Big Ten: Ups and downs mark early portion of season | Even in defeat, Terps take step forward against Michigan | Illinois coach Bielema downplays return to Wisconsin

A look at the polls: AP Top 25 Reality Check: Kansas left out again

Starting over: Georgia Tech fires Collins, Stansbury

Another loss: Auburn loses 2nd center, Tate Johnson, to injury

Week 5 games to watch

Conference play picks up in earnest, with a full slate of Big Ten games. Here’s a look at the rest of the conference matchups, plus other notable games (all are on Saturday, unless noted).

  • Washington at UCLA, 10:30 p.m. Friday (ESPN)

  • Illinois at Wisconsin, noon (BTN)

  • Michigan at Iowa, noon (Fox)

  • Kentucky at Ole Miss, noon (ESPN)

  • Purdue at Minnesota, noon (ESPN2)

  • Alabama at Arkansas, 3:30 p.m. (CBS)

  • Rutgers at Ohio State, 3:30 p.m. (BTN)

  • Michigan State at Maryland, 3:30 p.m. (FS1)

  • Wake Forest at Florida State, 3:30 p.m. (ABC)

  • Oklahoma State at Baylor, 3:30 p.m. (Fox)

  • Indiana at Nebraska, 7:30 p.m. (BTN)

  • NC State at Clemson, 7:30 p.m. (ABC)

  • Arizona State at USC, 10:30 p.m. (ESPN)