The first Saturday in October was truly a delight and proves nobody knows anything about where this season will end. Four Top 10 teams lost, while a few others showed vulnerabilities. We thought Ohio State could make an easy run to the College Football Playoff, but the Buckeyes have shown weakness. Alabama’s dynasty was supposedly over, but it’s clearly not. Baylor and TCU were going to duel for the Big 12 again, but Oklahoma is here to prove that’s not true. UCLA was going to be the best team in the Pac 12, but Utah and California are the only undefeated teams in that league.
Week 5 nearly disproved every belief thought to be true about this season. And it was wonderful.
Here are four takeaways from this Saturday in college football:
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A shocking day in the SEC
In terms of margin of victory, that is.
Let’s start with Alabama, who looked like Alabama again. First lesson here, don’t make the Crimson Tide an underdog and try to fight them before kickoff. Because then they’ll beat you 38-10 in your own house, which is what happened to No. 6 Georgia. No. 13 Alabama, who should be back in the Top 10 this week, scored 21 points in the second quarter and Nick Saban got the best performance out of his quarterback Jake Coker, who went 11 of 16 for 190 yards and a 45-yard touchdown bomb in the first half that put his team up 24-3. The Tide may have one loss, but they also made the College Football Playoff with one last year.
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Then there was Florida, who looked like Florida again. Playing in The Swamp is one of the toughest road games for any team, so this was never going to be a cakewalk for No. 5 Ole Miss. But nobody expected this: Florida 38, Ole Miss 10. Quarterback Will Grier, who had been sick all week, went 24 of 29 for 271 yards and four touchdowns. The Rebels were able to put up 328 total yards and Chad Kelly threw for 258 yards and a touchdown, but the Gators’ defense simply didn’t allow points. They had four takeaways, four sacks and caused the biggest upset of the year so far. Jim McElwain’s team will surely surge in the polls.
Alabama-Florida SEC Championship anyone? Still too early for that, but keep it in mind. If the Tide get through Texas A&M and LSU, and the Gators through LSU and Georgia, maybe it happens.
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Should Ohio State be No. 1?
It’s been obvious all season that the defending national champion Buckeyes aren’t perfect. Flawed, in fact. There have been signs in every game, from Virginia Tech to Hawaii, Northern Illinois and Western Michigan. But it came to a boiling point in its Big Ten opener on the road against Indiana this week. If the Hoosiers didn’t botch their final chance on fourth-and-goal with nine seconds left to tie the game, who knows what could have happened? Instead, OSU came away with a narrow 34-27 win.
This victory would not have been possible without Ezekiel Elliott, who rushed for 274 yards and three touchdowns. Indiana put up 402 yards of offense, didn’t turn the ball over (Ohio State gave it away three times and ranks 101st with 13 lost this season), and was more efficient on third down. Can the Buckeyes truly be the unanimous No. 1 team in the country after these performances? A hiccup is one thing, but the mistakes are becoming habitual.
Then there was Michigan State, who sprinted out to a 21-0 lead on Purdue before it started raining. Then the Spartans play stalled and the Boilermakers made a comeback and the the second-ranked team in the country barely escaped with a 24-21 win. Meanwhile, Michigan is out there in conference play looking quite good with the second-best defense in the country, shutting out Maryland 28-0. Jim Harbaugh’s team could find itself in the polls for the first time this week. The Wolverines and Spartans play in Ann Arbor on Oct. 17.
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“Bring Your Own Guts”
The new best saying in college football and elsewhere. This phrase was said by Clemson coach Dabo Swinney after his team knocked off No. 7 Notre Dame 24-22.
Down the whole game, the Fighting Irish had a chance to win it at the end. Clemson missed a 45-yard field goal to seal the victory with 4:29 left, giving Notre Dame the ball back with plenty of time. The Irish fumbled on the Tigers 12-yard line, but then Clemson followed by going three-and-out. With about a minute left, DeShone Kizer led the Irish on a 6-play, 32-yard touchdown drive, but the two-point conversion to tie the game failed and Clemson won.
Tiger fans rushed the field as Swinney took a knee to embrace the moment. Then he gave the best post-game interview ever.
“Tonight it was BYOG, bring your own guts, and they brought some guts and some heart, and they never quit until the last play,” he told ABC. “This was for the Good Lord, and my dad, who was with me tonight … We told them, play this play. Don’t worry about screw ups. Win this play, win this down. Just happy they never quit. Again, great effort by Notre Dame.
“Let me just tell you: rain, sleet or snow, Tiger Nation, they showed, and they were here tonight. Great, great job. We’re gonna do the Whip and Nae Nae tonight!”
Until meeting divisional foe Florida State in November, Clemson has a manageable schedule that should keep them in the Top 10. The Tigers could make a run at the Playoff.
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To sum it up, we know nothing
If the College Football Playoff rankings came out today, it would be difficult to conclude who should be No. 1. How could it be Ohio State with the way it’s played against non-Top 25 teams? Michigan State only beat Purdue by three. TCU humiliated Texas 50-7, but the Longhorns are unranked and the Horned Frogs nearly lost to Texas Tech last week, a team that Baylor handled 63-35.
UCLA was supposed to be the best team in the Pac 12 and looked almost flawless with its true freshman quarterback against Arizona last week, but was upset by Arizona State this week; and Ole Miss and Georgia are both likely out of the Top 10 after crushing conference losses.
Maybe Utah is the best team in the country? The Utes were idle this week after trouncing Oregon 62-20 in Eugene last Saturday. Or maybe it’s Clemson?
The only thing that’s certain is the end of the season will be a beautiful mess.
