WHO’S WINNING?! | Troup/Tatum tonight; KHS/PT, Hendo/Lindale tomorrow, and more: it’s the GABRIEL JORDAN / ETBLITZ POWER PICKS!
EDITOR’S NOTE: Each week, ETBlitz.com editor/publisher Mitch Lucas and 15 others (ETB staff members and guests) do their very best to pick an assortment of high school, college and NFL football games. Their picks are here for all to see; don’t be offended if they’ve picked against your team. Their only assignment is to pick who they believe will win.
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Here’s our picks panel.
And here are the up-to-date standings.
| Contestant | Last week’s record | Overall record |
|---|---|---|
| Mitch Lucas | 18-5 | 62-20 |
| Ashtyn Lucas | 17-6 | 59-23 |
| Billy Chrisman (last year’s champ) | 17-6 | 58-24 |
| Eric Bell | 16-7 | 57-25 |
| Ronnie Sartors | 15-8 | 57-25 |
| Havon Russell | 18-5 | 56-26 |
| Clayton Fletcher | 16-7 | 56-26 |
| Dennis Jacobs | 15-8 | 55-27 |
| Joe Hale | 16-7 | 55-27 |
| Jacob Lucas | 16-7 | 55-27 |
| Jeremy Newlin | 17-6 | 55-27 |
| Joe Bradford | 15-8 | 54-28 |
| Tim Capps | 19-4 | 53-29 |
| Jenna Lucas | 17-6 | 52-30 |
| Alex Nabor | 15-8 | 52-30 |
| Dereck Borders | 13-10 | 49-33 |
The mover of the week was Capps, who had the best week of picks (19-4) and went from dead last to having three below him.
I’m hanging on to the top spot — don’t worry, I’ll find a way to blow it. In 32-plus years of making these picks, I’ve actually won the season only like four, maybe five, times. Dennis Jacobs, who has won a handful of times in the last 15 years, is always a dark horse. He’s got some ground to make up this year. This is only week five, so we have quite a few weeks to go.
This week’s games
ETBLITZ.COM PICKS WEEK FIVE
(Sept. 24-28, 2026)
HIGH SCHOOL GAMES
Thursday’s game
Troup (4-0) at Tatum (3-1)
Friday’s games
Kilgore (1-2) at Pine Tree (2-2)
Lindale (4-0) at Henderson (2-2)
Carthage (3-0) at West Orange-Stark (3-1)
Sunnyvale (4-0) at Gilmer (3-1)
Athens (4-0) at Gladewater (2-2)
New Diana (4-0) at Sabine (2-2)
West Rusk (3-1) at White Oak (0-4)
Arp (4-0) at Timpson (3-1)
Ore City (1-3) at Beckville (1-3)
Saturday’s game
Overton (3-1) at Alto (1-3), 1 p.m.
+++++
COLLEGE GAMES
Saturday’s games
Blinn at Kilgore College, 3 p.m.
Tyler Junior College at Snow (Utah), 7 p.m.
No. 1 Texas at No. 14 Tennessee, 11 a.m., ABC
Sam Houston at No. 11 Texas Tech, 11 a.m., TNT
Oklahoma at No. 2 Georgia, 2:30 p.m., ESPN
No. 20 Oregon at No. 12 USC, 6:30 p.m., NBC
No. 23 Texas A&M at No. 10 LSU, 6:30 p.m., ABC
NFL GAMES
Thursday’s game
Atlanta at Green Bay, 7 p.m., Amazon Prime
Sunday’s game
L.A. Chargers at Buffalo, noon, FOX
Houston at Indianapolis, noon, CBS
Baltimore at Dallas, 3:25 p.m., CBS
Monday’s game
Philadelphia at Chicago, 7 p.m., ABC / ESPN
The picks!
| Games | Mitch | Dennis | Joe Hale | Jenna | Dereck | Jacob | Ashtyn | Clayton |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Troup at Tatum | Troup | Troup | Troup | Troup | Troup | Troup | Troup | Troup |
| Kilgore at Pine Tree | KHS | KHS | KHS | KHS | PT | KHS | KHS | KHS |
| Lindale at Henderson | Lindale | Lindale | Lindale | Hendo | Lindale | Lindale | Lindale | Lindale |
| Carthage at W. Orange-Stark | CHS | CHS | CHS | CHS | CHS | CHS | CHS | CHS |
| Sunnyvale at Gilmer | Gilmer | Gilmer | Gilmer | Gilmer | Gilmer | SHS | SHS | Gilmer |
| Athens at Gladewater | Athens | Athens | Athens | G’water | Athens | Athens | Athens | Athens |
| New Diana at Sabine | ND | ND | ND | ND | ND | ND | ND | ND |
| West Rusk at White Oak | WR | WR | WR | WR | WR | WR | WR | WR |
| Arp at Timpson | Arp | Arp | Arp | Arp | Arp | Arp | Arp | Arp |
| Ore City at Beckville | BHS | BHS | BHS | BHS | BHS | BHS | BHS | BHS |
| Overton at Alto (Sat.) | Overton | Overton | Overton | Overton | Overton | Overton | Overton | Overton |
| Blinn at Kilgore College | KC | KC | KC | KC | KC | KC | Blinn | KC |
| TJC at Snow College | TJC | TJC | TJC | TJC | TJC | TJC | TJC | TJC |
| Texas at Tennessee | Tenn. | UT | UT | UT | UT | UT | UT | UT |
| Sam Houston at Texas Tech | Tech | Tech | Tech | Tech | Tech | Tech | Tech | Tech |
| Oklahoma at Georgia | UGA | UGA | UGA | UGA | UGA | UGA | UGA | OU |
| Oregon at USC | USC | Oregon | Oregon | Oregon | USC | Oregon | USC | USC |
| Texas A&M at LSU | LSU | LSU | LSU | LSU | LSU | LSU | LSU | LSU |
| Atlanta at Green Bay | GB | GB | GB | GB | GB | GB | GB | GB |
| L.A. Chargers at Buffalo | Buffalo | Buffalo | Buffalo | Buffalo | Buffalo | Buffalo | L.A. | L.A. |
| Houston at Indianapolis | Indy | Houston | Houston | Indy | Indy | Indy | Houston | Houston |
| Baltimore at Dallas | Dallas | Baltimore | Baltimore | Dallas | Baltimore | Dallas | Baltimore | Baltimore |
| Philadelphia at Chicago | Philly | Chicago | Philly | Chicago | Philly | Philly | Philly | Philly |
| Games | Alex | Jeremy | Ronnie | Havon | Billy | Tim | Joe B. | Eric |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Troup at Tatum | Tatum | Troup | Troup | Troup | Troup | Troup | Troup | Troup |
| Kilgore at Pine Tree | KHS | KHS | KHS | KHS | KHS | KHS | PT | PT |
| Lindale at Henderson | Lindale | Lindale | Lindale | Lindale | Lindale | Lindale | Lindale | Lindale |
| Carthage at W. Orange-Stark | CHS | CHS | CHS | CHS | CHS | CHS | CHS | CHS |
| Sunnyvale at Gilmer | Gilmer | SHS | Gilmer | SHS | Gilmer | SHS | SHS | Gilmer |
| Athens at Gladewater | G’water | Athens | Athens | Athens | Athens | Athens | Athens | Athens |
| New Diana at Sabine | ND | ND | ND | ND | ND | ND | ND | ND |
| West Rusk at White Oak | WR | WR | WR | WR | WR | WR | WR | WR |
| Arp at Timpson | Arp | Arp | Arp | Arp | Arp | Arp | Arp | Arp |
| Ore City at Beckville | BHS | BHS | BHS | OCHS | BHS | BHS | BHS | BHS |
| Overton at Alto (Sat.) | Overton | Overton | Overton | Overton | Overton | Overton | Overton | Overton |
| Blinn at Kilgore College | KC | KC | KC | KC | Blinn | KC | KC | KC |
| TJC at Snow College | TJC | TJC | TJC | TJC | TJC | TJC | TJC | TJC |
| Texas at Tennessee | UT | UT | UT | UT | UT | UT | UT | UT |
| Sam Houston at Texas Tech | Tech | Tech | Tech | Tech | Tech | Tech | Tech | Tech |
| Oklahoma at Georgia | UGA | UGA | UGA | UGA | UGA | UGA | UGA | UGA |
| Oregon at USC | USC | USC | USC | Oregon | Oregon | USC | Oregon | Oregon |
| Texas A&M at LSU | LSU | LSU | LSU | LSU | LSU | LSU | LSU | LSU |
| Atlanta at Green Bay | GB | GB | Atlanta | GB | GB | GB | GB | GB |
| L.A. Chargers at Buffalo | Buffalo | Buffalo | Buffalo | Buffalo | Buffalo | Buffalo | Buffalo | Buffalo |
| Houston at Indianapolis | Indy | Houston | Indy | Houston | Indy | Houston | Indy | Indy |
| Baltimore at Dallas | Dallas | Baltimore | Dallas | Dallas | Baltimore | Dallas | Dallas | Baltimore |
| Philadelphia at Chicago | Philly | Philly | Chicago | Philly | Philly | Philly | Philly | Philly |