Week 5 Summary
Chaos Reigns in Week 5
Joe Broback
Chaos. One word to define week 5 and college football in general. Chaos does not bring clarity to anyone, and it does not make sense. How does a team like Arizona State beat UCLA? How does Ole Miss beat Alabama and lose to Florida? How does Georgia go from favored to flattened? No one has the answers to these questions, because that is what college football brings to the table. You can prepare all you want for the season by analyzing every little detail, but you can’t control chaos.
What did we learn week 5? First, that no team is immune to losing at any point this year. Every team that made the playoff last year has looked vulnerable or has been eliminated. Oregon’s need everyone to lose at least two games, Ohio State needs to find an offense, Florida State has struggled, and Alabama has already lost a game. The two teams that were snubbed spots last year (Baylor and TCU) are out to prove they should not be left out this year. Teams that have struggled that last few years are having success (looking at you Florida, Michigan, and Oklahoma). Certainty is not guaranteed, doubt and fear are a given. When you think your team has an easy week, think again. Arizona State showed that a team that was left for dead can rise again and ruin a season for a team. Teams that started out strong (NC State) showed that it’s who you play, not how many you play. So buckle up, the season’s not even half over for anybody’s team, meaning chaos will be at a game near you soon.
TRENDING UP
Rebels Get Swamped----The Gators brought the Swamp back to life this weekend. In the trap game of the year (good call), the Rebels were not prepared for their competition and struggled on the road. Florida QB Will Grier fought the flu all week to lead his team by throwing four touchdowns in the first half. The Rebels offense looked overwhelmed and the defense looked tired by being on the field so frequently.
Sun Devils Figure It Out----Welcome to the 2015 season, ASU. The Sun Devils went to the Rose Bowl and stunned a UCLA team that was riding high from their win over Arizona the week before. This was the first game that Todd Graham’s team looked like a team that can compete after being overwhelmed the first few weeks. The statement made is that ASU is a team to be aware of, not a doormat.
TRENDING DOWN
Bear Down----While Arizona uses this phrase in a good way, it’s not going well for them. The Wildcats lost their second straight conference game in two weeks, making a chance to win the conference all but impossible. The Wildcats looked lost against Stanford without LB Scooby Wright III and QB Anu Solomon. The defense allowed 55 points while the offense only mustered up 17. It could be a long season for the Wildcats.
Goal Line Gaffes-----Notre Dame may want to take a look at their play calls at the goal line. Two years in a row, the Irish have had controversy with a call inside the opponent five yard line. In 2014, the Irish ran a pick play for what appeared to be the game tying touchdown. It was called back due to offensive pass interference. This year, they ran a similar pick play to get the touchdown, but there wasn’t a flag on the play. They went for two in a game where running the ball came at a premium because both teams were stacking the box. Kelly called a designed quarterback run that was stuffed, bringing up many questions as to why he didn’t pass, or why C.J. Prosise was not given the ball.
PERFORMERS OF THE WEEK
Brandon Doughty, Western Kentucky----Doughty is ignoring people who say his team doesn’t play anyone good. He’s just doing what he’s supposed to do: shred the defenses that line up against him. He can’t do anything about the schedule, so he just worries about his play on the field. The senior threw for 409 yards and four more touchdowns to lead his team over Rice in a blowout.
Leonard Fournette, LSU----The Tigers will eventually figure out they’re better off not throwing the ball ever. Fournette is showing that he will shred any team that thinks they can stop him. This week’s victim: Eastern Michigan. While the game was closer than necessary for a while, the Tigers finally pulled away for a 44-22 win behind Fournette’s 233 yards and three scores.
Treyvone Boykin, TCU----Poor Texas. Imagine if they didn’t choke two weeks in a row. Two wins would have done wonders for this team coming into this game at TCU. Unfortunately, they didn’t and Boykin gave them another welcome to reality. The senior threw five touchdown passes and 332 yards on his way to a 50-7 win against a Longhorns team that had players tweeting about transferring……….at halftime!
Ezekiel Elliott, Ohio State----In part 2 of “why is your team passing?”, the Buckeyes should be thankful they have Elliott in their backfield. Without him, Indiana may have pulled an upset which would have all but knocked Ohio State out of the playoff. Elliott ran for 274 yards and three touchdowns to keep Buckeye nation from jumping ship.
Shock Linwood, Baylor----The Bears finally played someone noteworthy in Texas Tech. Then, they made the Tech defense looks helpless. Linwood ran all over the field for 221 yards and two scores which added to his team’s 340 yards rushing for the game. Tech had no answer for Linwood or the rest of the Bear’s offense, as it seemed that the only stops the Red Raider defense got was due to the Bear’s making a mistake.
GAME BALL: Elliott. Lots of big numbers were put up this week, but none were more important than Elliott’s. He ensured the Buckeyes stayed perfect (record wise) and prevented a monumental upset at Indiana.
WEEK 4 PREDICTIONS
My pick: Georgia 28 Alabama 24 ACTUAL: Alabama 38 Georgia 10
Georgia’s quarterback situation seemed to have been solved before this week. Now, they are re-evaluating the position after getting destroyed by Alabama. The Tide were out for blood from the first whistle, and dominated every facet of the game. While Tide QB Jake Coker didn’t look spectacular (11/16 for 190 yards and 1 TD) he did enough to contribute to the offensive production besides handing the ball off the Derrick Henry (148 yarsds). The Alabama defense suffocated the Bulldogs offense to build a 24-3 halftime lead. The Bulldogs need to do some soul searching if they are going to compete in the SEC.
My pick: Notre Dame 31 Clemson 20 ACTUAL: Clemson 24 Notre Dame 22
These teams were better off putting a slip-n-slide on the field and playing on that. Weather conditions were less than ideal, but the football was surprisingly entertaining. Clemson got off to a fast 14-0 start and had the Irish reeling. Notre Dame settled down and had a chance to tie the game with a two point conversion. While many question the play call, the Irish were a yard away from tying the game. Both quarterbacks shook off the rain and played well in different ways. DeShone Kizer threw for 321 yards and two scores while running for 60 yards and another touchdown, and DeShaun Watson led his team by rushing for 93 yards with a touchdown and making timely throws when he needed to. No one expected the stats to pop out, but the quality of football was unexpected. The Tigers showed they can handle to big stage and belong in the playoff conversation.
My pick: Oklahoma 31 West Virginia 21 ACTUAL: Oklahoma 44 West Virginia 24
While Baylor and TCU have made headlines from missing the playoff last year, Oklahoma is quietly reminding everyone they are a force to be reckoned with. Baker Mayfield is making a case not only for top quarterback in the Big 12 but the Heisman as well. He threw for 320 yards and three touchdowns, leading the Sooners to a comfortable win over an upstart West Virginia team. The Mountaineers kept Samaje Perine and Sterling Shepard in check, so Mayfield took matters into his own hands. The transfer from Texas Tech is making Sooner fans forget about Trevor Knight, and is making his own name known. Oklahoma is putting its name in with the Bears and Horned Frogs, and Bob Stoops is proving that he can adapt to the times and still compete.
My pick: Texas A&M 35 Mississippi State 17 ACTUAL: Texas A&M 30 Mississippi State 17
Watch out for the Aggies. The Kyle Allen-Tra Carson duo was on display Saturday to lead the Aggies to a 13 point win. The Bulldogs had no answer for the duo and had trouble getting its offense in gear. A&M now has two much needed weeks to prepare for their trip to Tuscaloosa to play a Tide team that made a statement of their own. This will be a measurement of how much the Aggies will contend this year. If Allen keeps hitting his receivers and Carson keeps bulldozing defenders, they figure to be a top team in the SEC this year.
