College Football Week 5 2026: Every Marquee Game, Ranked by What’s at Stake
Week 5 is the first Saturday where October starts to look like a playoff field. A top-four road trip in Gainesville, a ranked pair in Ann Arbor and the Shillelagh Trophy in West Lafayette all land on 26 September. Here is the full board — and the shirts that go with it.
Week 5: quick answers
- Week 5 kicks off Saturday 26 September 2026, with the main slate in the afternoon and evening.
- The headline game is No. 1 Texas at No. 14 Tennessee, noon ET on ABC.
- No. 3 Notre Dame at Purdue carries the Shillelagh Trophy at 2:00 p.m. ET on Peacock.
- South Carolina at No. 8 Alabama and No. 4 Ole Miss at No. 21 Florida are the SEC games that matter.
- No. 17 Iowa at No. 18 Michigan meets on CBS in the late afternoon.
- Oklahoma at No. 2 Georgia and Illinois at No. 7 Ohio State complete the ranked-on-ranked list.
- Ten of the Week 5 programs are in stock, with names and numbers printed to order.
The Week 5 board: every game that matters
| Date | Game | Kick-off (ET) | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 26 Sep | No. 1 Texas at No. 14 Tennessee | 12:00 p.m. ET | ABC |
| Sat 26 Sep | Illinois at No. 7 Ohio State | 12:00 p.m. ET | FOX |
| Sat 26 Sep | No. 3 Notre Dame at Purdue | 2:00 p.m. ET | Peacock |
| Sat 26 Sep | No. 4 Ole Miss at No. 21 Florida | 3:30 p.m. ET | ABC |
| Sat 26 Sep | No. 17 Iowa at No. 18 Michigan | 3:30 p.m. ET | CBS |
| Sat 26 Sep | Oklahoma at No. 2 Georgia | 3:30 p.m. ET | ESPN |
| Sat 26 Sep | Utah at Iowa State | 3:30 p.m. ET | ESPN2 |
| Sat 26 Sep | TCU at UCF | 3:30 p.m. ET | ESPN |
| Sat 26 Sep | Wisconsin at No. 13 Penn State | 5:00 p.m. ET | Peacock |
| Sat 26 Sep | Nebraska at Michigan State | 5:00 p.m. ET | Big Ten Network |
| Sat 26 Sep | Oklahoma State at West Virginia | 7:00 p.m. ET | ESPN |
| Sat 26 Sep | South Carolina at No. 8 Alabama | 7:00 p.m. ET | ESPN |
| Sat 26 Sep | Texas A&M at No. 10 LSU | 7:30 p.m. ET | ABC |
| Sat 26 Sep | Oregon at No. 12 USC | 7:30 p.m. ET | NBC |
| Sat 26 Sep | UCLA at Maryland | 1:30 p.m. ET | Big Ten |
Times are US Eastern. Poll positions are from the 20–26 September releases and refresh every Sunday.
Five games that decide September
Neyland Stadium, noon ET on ABC. It is the only noon kick-off of the weekend between two ranked teams, which means the No. 1 ranking is live while most of the country is still on its first coffee. Tennessee get it at home; whoever wins the line of scrimmage here sets the tone for the rest of the SEC season.
Shop this matchup →Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, 2 p.m. ET on Peacock. The Shillelagh Trophy game sits alone in the early-afternoon window, so Notre Dame get the national audience to themselves. A road win keeps the No. 3 team level with Texas at the top of the first playoff picture; a loss in West Lafayette is the kind of result that gets read out again in December.
Shop this matchup →Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC. Ole Miss are the highest-ranked team on the road anywhere in Week 5, and Florida are the ranked side nobody in the top four wanted to visit. Along with Texas at Tennessee, it is one of only two Week 5 games that sends a top-four team into a ranked opponent’s stadium.
Shop this matchup →Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS. It is the only Week 5 game between teams ranked within one place of each other — No. 17 at No. 18 — and the only one where both sides expect to win with defence. Two run-first offences, two deep front sevens, and a kicking game that decides how the Big Ten tiebreakers read in November.
Shop this matchup →Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, 7 p.m. ET on ESPN. It is the last ranked-on-ranked game of the day, and the one where the committee is most likely to be watching the margin rather than the result. Alabama close the night at home; South Carolina are the first team on their schedule with the receivers to stretch the field.
Shop this matchup →Shirt demand index: how the Week 5 teams move
Built from our own order flow and range depth, not from a poll. The tiers move every Sunday after a win.
Texas, Alabama and Notre Dame — national brands whose shirts sell out first every Saturday morning.
Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Ohio State and Michigan — steady demand, strongest after a ranked win.
Ole Miss, South Carolina, Iowa, Purdue and LSU — smaller ranges, but they disappear first in overtime.
Week 5 shirts
Ten of the programmes on this weekend’s board, in fan and player editions. Names and numbers are printed to order, so give yourself a few extra days before Saturday.
Colin Simmons Texas Longhorns Game Shirt - Te…
Tennessee Volunteers Icon Nil Pick-A-Player S…
#1 Alabama Crimson Tide Shirt - Crimson
Nike Ole Miss Rebels #18 Archie Manning Men S…
#1 Florida Gators Shirt - White
Notre Dame Fighting Irish Shirt - Navy
#1 South Carolina Gamecocks Road Shirt in Whi…
#1 Iowa Hawkeyes Game Shirt - Black
#1 Ohio State Buckeyes Camo Shirt Scarlet
Michigan Wolverines #1 Navy Icon Print Fashio…
Our verdict
Week 5 is where padding stops. The ranked teams that win here play the playoff field in October; the ones that lose start explaining their own schedule. Watch the Texas-Tennessee line of scrimmage first — it tells you more about the SEC than five other games put together.
When is college football Week 5 in 2026?
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Which Week 5 teams are ranked?
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Week 5 is here: get your team’s shirt
Ten Week 5 programmes in stock, with custom printing. Free worldwide shipping over $49.9.
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