At first glance, the fifth weekend of this college football season does not feature many intriguing games. Even with conference play beginning this weekend, there do not appear to be any classic games on the schedule.

But a closer look shows some ranked teams that have work to do if they want to find themselves with an attractive bowl bid at the end of the season. Games like USC-Stanford and Northwestern-Minnesota will certainly earn a lot of attention, but three other matchups merit a closer look.

RICE AT TEXAS

When you think of the Longhorns, you think of running back Cedric Benson. He is a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate who is approaching school records set by Ricky Williams and averages over eight yards a carry. The Texas offense relies heavily on Benson’s legs as well as scrambling quarterback Vince Young.

Even so, head coach Mack Brown knows his Longhorns must pass the ball better if they want to make a serious run at a national championship. With former stalwarts Roy Williams and B.J. Johnson gone, Tony Jeffery is the leading receiver with a grand total of seven catches in two games. Only Oklahoma State has fewer total receptions (15) than Texas (26) in the Big 12 conference.

Quite a bit of this has to do with their playbook. Texas has passed the ball 46 times this season while rushing 106 times. The offense has gained 310 yards through the air, but has gained more than double that on the ground, amassing 772 yards already this season.

The Longhorns are blessed with a soft schedule – except for their annual grudge match against Oklahoma coming up in two weeks. Texas must take advantage of a relatively easy matchup like this one with the Owls, and try to find a complete offensive game plan.

Benson will get gobs of yards as usual, but Coach Brown needs to let his QB take more shots down the field. Otherwise, the Sooners will be able to focus solely on the run and shut the Longhorns down. Texas will not lose to Rice, but every chance they have to balance their offense is critical for their future success this season.

BYU AT BOISE STATE

It does not look too promising for BYU tonight. While the Cougars are coming off a lopsided loss to USC, the Broncos have won 14 consecutive games and 20 contests in a row at home, both best among Division I teams.

The Broncos have led the country in scoring for the past two seasons, and are averaging 55 points a game so far this year behind the play of quarterback Jared Zabransky, who has already thrown for 835 yards in just three games.

They’ve also slipped into the AP Top 25 Poll due to their 3-0 start this season. It would almost seem that BYU wouldn’t have a chance of winning this game. That might actually be true if it were not for the porous Boise State defense.

While they can put up points on offense, Boise State has also allowed 65 points in the last two games, including a 31-point effort last weekend by Texas-El Paso, a team they should have beaten quite easily.

BYU has an anemic offense so far this season, but a weak defense like this could be the perfect remedy. And the Cougars have a score to settle – the Broncos handed them a 50-12 humiliation at home last season.

MISSISSIPPI STATE AT LSU

How can a game between a powerhouse like LSU and a team like Mississippi State be on the radar? Well, this is a Southeastern Conference game and both teams will be fired up, although for quite different reasons. The Tigers are coming off their first loss in 11 games after falling to Auburn 10-9 last weekend. The loss hurt, but falling out of the top five to find themselves ranked 13th in the country really stung.

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs have lost nine of their last 10 games against the Tigers and would love to make their conference rivals suffer even more. I don’t give Mississippi State much of a chance to actually win this game, but you can bet they won’t just lay down and let the Tigers roll over them.

This is the kind of game that will help define LSU this season and indicate if they have any remaining chance of vying for another national championship. The system of rotating quarterbacks Marcus Randall and JaMarcus Russell has been awful and the Tigers offense has struggled as a result. Head coach Nick Saban needs to stop the experiment immediately and commit to one of these two quarterbacks.

Randall is a senior with more experience, but the freshman Russell seems like the better choice to lead this offense back into the top 10. He brings a 6-foot-5 frame and a rocket for an arm, as well as excellent mobility that makes an already quick team even more dangerous.