With a full slate of top-25 matchups coming into the week, college football fans knew Week 5 would not lack excitement. One of the most anticipated games of the week was No. 3 Penn State University Nittany Lions’ “White Out” faceoff with the No. 6 University of Oregon Ducks at Beaver Stadium.
Following a slow start where both sides traded field goals in the first half, the game ended in a 30-24 double overtime shootout, with Oregon securing the victory after an interception thrown by Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar. The loss leaves more unanswered questions about the ability of Penn State Head Coach James Franklin’s ability to win significant victories. Franklin is 4-21 against top-10 ranked teams during his time at Penn State (as of Oct. 5) and fans are skeptical to believe whether he is the man who can lead Penn State to a championship.
The first major week of Southeastern Conference (SEC) inter-conference play saw the dismantling of two top-5 teams. At Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, Lane Kiffin’s No. 13 University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) Rebels scored an upset over the No. 4 Louisiana State University Tigers, in a 24-19 defensive showdown. The Ole Miss rush defense limited the Tigers to just 57 rushing yards, their lowest figure this year. Over in Athens, a matchup of bluebloods took place between the No. 5 University of Georgia Bulldogs and No. 17 University of Alabama Crimson Tide. The Bulldogs, seeking to get their first win over Kalen DeBoer, instead fell 24-21 to receive their first loss of the season. The wins catapulted both the Rebels and Crimson Tide into the AP top-10, at No. 4 and No. 8, respectively, whereas the Bulldogs and Tigers both received the inverse treatment, dropping to No. 10 and No. 11, respectively.
The rest of the SEC saw multiple teams potentially place themselves in playoff contention. In front of 108,000 fans at College Station, No. 9 Texas A&M University secured a key 16-10 victory over the Auburn University Tigers, extending their record to 5-0 on the season (as of Oct. 5). No. 18 Vanderbilt University and No. 20 University of Missouri both joined Ole Miss with five wins, scoring comfortable wins over Utah State University and University of Massachusetts, respectively.
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) saw similar patterns of action as the No. 8 Florida State University fell in dramatic fashion, with a double overtime loss to the University of Virginia Cavaliers 46-38. This loss to an unranked side dropped FSU to the last spot on the AP Poll, and slowed the roll of the Seminoles heading into a Week 6 showdown against rival No. 2 University of Miami.
Pivoting back to the Big Ten, the No. 1 Ohio State University Buckeyes beat the University of Washington Huskies by a score of 24-6. Despite Washington possessing an explosive offense which averaged 55 points per game throughout their first three matchups, five combined sacks from Caden Curry and Kayden McDonald left the Huskies without a spark on the offensive end.
While not as abundant in high-stakes showdowns, Week 6 also included plenty of upsets and exciting matchups for fans. Most notable was the top-25 ACC interconference rival showdown between the Miami Hurricanes and Florida State Seminoles. The Hurricanes came out to a quick lead and held off a 19-point rally by Florida State to win 28-22.
Penn State continued their downhill slide with a disappointing 42-37 loss to 0-4 University of California, Los Angeles. Despite the best efforts of quarterback Allar, who threw 19/26 with two touchdowns, as well as an impressive contribution to the running game, the Nittany Lions defense was picked apart by UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who racked up 5 touchdowns between his throws and ground game, handing Penn State their second loss in a row.
University of Texas at Austin’s Arch Manning once again proved underwhelming, throwing two interceptions and causing the now unranked Texas Longhorns to fall 29-21 to the unranked University of Florida Gators. For a player who was cast as a preseason Heisman frontrunner, Manning must find a rhythm if he hopes to salvage the Longhorns’ playoff hopes, especially with a significant matchup against No. 6 opponent University of Oklahoma in week 7.
Elsewhere in the SEC, Alabama solidified their position as a top-10 team with a statement 30-14 victory over No. 16 Vanderbilt. Up north, Ohio State beat Minnesota by nearly 40 points and continued their undefeated streak. Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Texas Tech University all secured their own wins, cementing themselves as playoff contenders as conference play heats up.
Just weeks away from the release of the College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings, a few notable stories are beginning to take shape. First, the Big Ten and SEC championships are wide open. With the exception of Ohio State, no teams have truly solidified themselves as true championship-worthy teams. The door is open for a team like Indiana University Bloomington or Vanderbilt University to take a conference championship off of the bluebloods. Second, the Group of Five has no notable squads — yet. While the University of South Florida Bulls are best regarded in the polls, the Group of Five lacks a true playoff contender at the moment. Lastly, Penn State and Texas no longer control their own destinies. With challenging schedules and underwhelming recent performances, the Nittany Lions and Longhorns will require a good bit of luck if they hope to sneak into the CFP this year.
With a notable hole opened by the dismantling of multiple top-10 squads, the playoff picture looks wide open as we enter the bulk of conference play.
