The 2-2 Denver Broncos are looking to earn a winning record. The Las Vegas Raiders currently boast an eight-game winning streak over the Broncos, and to snap it, Denver will need to get things going on offense.

The Broncos have been inconsistent offensively, but they have had sparks. In this game, the Broncos need those sparks to catch fire and find a way to sustain them over the remainder of the season. 

To help Denver achieve that, these five bold predictions need to come true. This is a home game with a lot on the line and borders on a must-win for the Broncos, but more than that, this is a must-have game for the offense.

My Week 5 bold predictions have the Broncos figuring it out offensively while staying dominant on defense. 

Let’s dive in. 

It’s been a rough start for Nix, as he has been one of the NFL’s worst quarterbacks this season. However, the rookie has faced an onslaught of formidable defenses and a torrential downpour against the New York Jets.

The Raiders offer a reprieve, and Nix will use the Broncos’ challenging first-quarter schedule to take advantage of a middle-of-the-pack defense. The Raiders play off-coverage and their secondary has issues missing tackles, so Sean Payton calls short and quick passes that lead to some yards after the catch and a few big plays, and Nix’s best passing day as a young pro.  

Prediction: Nix throws for 300-plus yards and three touchdowns. 

The Broncos’ offensive line struggled in the first two weeks, allowing 18 pressures with a 36.7 pressure rate in Week 1, 14 pressures and 35.9% pressure in Week 2, nine pressures and 23.1% pressure in Week 3, and five pressures and 18.5 pressure rate in Week 4.

The Broncos have improved each week, allowing two sacks in each of the first two games but none in the last two. The O-line keeps it up and keep Nix protected, enabling him to have a great day passing the ball. 

Prediction: The Broncos allow less than five pressures on Nix. 

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There’s a chance the Raiders will be down two offensive linemen, and they’ve struggled to protect Minshew all season long. The Raiders are facing off against the Broncos defense, one of the best pass-rushing teams this season, while being the most aggressive pass-rush.  Denver has posted 12 sacks in the past two games

Prediction: The Broncos sack Minshew eight times, leading to 20 sacks in three games. 

Thanks to the pressure upfront, Minshew makes multiple mistakes. One of the pass rushers registers a strip-sack, forcing two other bad passes that find their way into a Broncos defender’s hands.

These three turnovers give more opportunities to Nix, and the Broncos capitalize on it, scoring 17 points off of turnovers. 

Prediction: The Broncos pick off Minshew twice on their way to a three-takeaway day. 

There have been some inconsistencies with the Broncos’ clean game. They’ve been penalized 27 times, the 14th-most so far this season.

These penalties have been costly in different ways, and the Broncos have been focusing on cleaning up. Playing in front of the home crowd, the Broncos keep the penalties to a minimum. 

The Broncos are tied for the sixth-worst turnover differential because their offense has had issues keeping the ball. They’re tied for the third most giveaways this season with seven: four interceptions and three lost fumbles.

The Broncos keep it clean here by not turning the ball over, and with their projected three takeaways on the defense, they take their season turnover differential from -2 to +1. 

Prediction: The Broncos have no turnovers and get called for under five penalties.

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The greater Seattle area could enjoy temperatures in the low 70s on Monday! Otherwise, we’re forecasting beautiful, dry weather this weekend around Western Washington. FOX 13 Meteorologist has all the details on your weather this weekend into next week.

The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors led by quarterback Brayden Schager, face the San Diego State Aztecs, led by quarterback Danny O’Neil on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024 (10/5/24) at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, Calif.

How to watch: Fans can watch the game for free via a trial of DirecTV Stream or fuboTV. You can also watch via a subscription to Sling TV.

Here’s what you need to know:

What: NCAA Football, Week 6

Who: Hawaii vs. San Diego State

When: Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024

Where: Snapdragon Stadium

Time: 8 p.m. ET

TV: CBS Sports Network

Live stream: fuboTV (free trial), DirecTV Stream (free trial)

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Here are the best streaming options for college football this season:

Fubo TV (free trial): fuboTV carries ESPN, FOX, ABC, NBC and CBS.

DirecTV Stream (free trial): DirecTV Stream carries ESPN, FOX, NBC and CBS.

Sling TV ($25 off the first month)– Sling TV carries ESPN, FOX, ABC and NBC.

ESPN+($9.99 a month): ESPN+ carries college football games each weekend for only $9.99 a month. These games are exclusive to the platform.

Peacock TV ($5.99 a month): Peacock will simulstream all of NBC Sports’ college football games airing on the NBC broadcast network this season, including Big Ten Saturday Night. Peacock will also stream Notre Dame home games. Certain games will be streamed exclusively on Peacock this year as well.

Paramount+ (free trial): Paramount Plus will live stream college football games airing on CBS this year.

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Here’s a college football story via the Associated Press:

The ebb and flow of the college football season hits a low this week if measured by the number of Top 25 matchups.

The only one is No. 9 Missouri at No. 25 Texas A&M, the fewest since there were no ranked teams pitted against each other during Week 3 last season.

Maybe it’s karma for the weekend we enjoyed last week. Bookending it were the Miami-Virginia Tech did-he-catch-it-or-not ending and that fantastic Alabama-Georgia finish.

Of course, there still are important games this week besides the Southeastern Conference showdown in College Station, Texas.

No. 12 Mississippi, upset by Kentucky at home, is in bounce-back mode on the road against a South Carolina team that beat the Wildcats by 25 points in Week 2.

No. 22 Louisville has a tough follow-up to its loss to Notre Dame when high-scoring SMU visits.

No. 3 Ohio State faces its biggest challenge to date when breakout star Kaleb Johnson leads Iowa into the Horseshoe.

Texas Tech, picked in the bottom half of the Big 12 preseason poll, has won four of five to start the season and gets a measuring-stick game at Arizona.

And don’t forget the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy series, which gets underway with unbeaten Navy at struggling Air Force.

Best game

No. 9 Missouri (4-0, 1-0 SEC) at No. 25 Texas A&M (4-1, 2-0), Saturday, noon ET (ABC)

Missouri hopes to play like a top-10 team in its road opener. The Tigers had to erase a 14-3 halftime deficit to beat Boston College and had to go two overtimes to get past Vanderbilt. They’ve had a week off to sort things out, mainly uncharacteristic red-zone and third-down struggles against Vandy.

The Aggies have won four straight since a close loss to Notre Dame. Marcel Reed has started the last three games at quarterback in place of the injured Connor Weigman. A&M coach Mike Elko said Weigman would be a game-time decision. Whoever starts, he’ll be going against the toughest defense the Aggies have faced.

BetMGM Sportsbook lists the Aggies as 2 1/2-point favorites.

Heisman watch

Ashton Jeanty is the best player in the Group of Five. How about the best in all of college football?

The folks at Boise State would argue he is, and the betting public is starting to take notice. He’s the No. 4 choice on BetMGM Sportsbook at 10-1 odds to win the Heisman Trophy, still well behind Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, Miami’s Cam Ward and Colorado’s Travis Hunter.

Alabama’s Derrick Henry was the last running back to win the Heisman, in 2015, and no player from a Group of Five school, as it would be defined now, has ever won it.

Jeanty is the nation’s leading rusher and has gone over 200 yards twice in four games. He had 259 yards and four touchdowns against Washington State last week, with 234 yards coming after contact. He forced 17 missed tackles.

He could put up equally prodigious numbers against Utah State’s porous defense Saturday.

Numbers to know

0 — First-quarter points allowed by Clemson.

9 — Mississippi WR Tre Harris’ nation-leading number of plays of at least 30 yards.

38 — Navy has scored at least this many points in its first four games of a season for the first time in the program’s 144-year history.

1971 — Year of Iowa State’s most recent conference road shutout before last week’s 20-0 win at Houston.

1994 — Year Duke last opened a season 5-0.

Under the radar

Rutgers (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) at Nebraska (4-1, 1-1), Saturday, 4 p.m. ET (FS1)

The Scarlet Knights probably merit more attention for their best start since 2012. They’re coming off close wins at Virginia Tech and at home against Washington. A road win against a Nebraska team on the rise under second-year coach Matt Rhule almost certainly would end their 12-year absence from the Top 25.

The Cornhuskers are looking for their offense to be sharper than it was in an ugly win at Purdue last week. A victory over Rutgers would move Nebraska within one win of bowl eligibility for the first time since 2016.

Hot seat

Florida State’s Mike Norvell has seen his fortunes turn dramatically.

A year ago, the Seminoles were on their way to 13-0 and an ACC championship before they were snubbed by the College Football Playoff committee because of an injury to their quarterback. A 63-13 Orange Bowl loss to Georgia was considered a one-off considering the Seminoles were No. 10 in the preseason Top 25 and predicted to win the ACC.

But here they sit, 1-4 with No. 15 Clemson up next. The offense is averaging just 15.2 points, the passing game has produced just four touchdowns and six interceptions and the run game is the fourth-least productive in the country. Brock Glenn will take over at quarterback for the injured DJ Uiagalelei.

Norvell was rewarded for last season with an eight-year, $84 million contract extension, and the Tallahassee Democrat reported his buyout would be $65 million. That should be enough to make his bosses think twice, or three times, about making a change.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report)

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