Five Things Feeding My Soul: Week 5 Takeaways
Week 5 wasn't the weekend college football's hierarchy was overturned. It was the weekend the gap between the contenders and everyone else started becoming clearer.
One SEC team's revival was snuffed out before it got going, a fallen champion looks like it is returning to genuinely contend and we are in no doubt as to who is the greatest player in college football. The SEC is unpredictable and two of the Big Ten's traditional powers are slipping.
Here's what fed my soul in Week 5:
1. Florida’s revival lasted a week
No. 25 Missouri 45, No. 8 Florida 17
A week after Florida put 52 points on Ole Miss in one of the most shocking results of the season so far, the Gators travelled to Columbia with a top-ten ranking under their belts and were comprehensively dismantled by Missouri.
Jadan Baugh entered the weekend as one of the most dangerous running backs in college football. He left Missouri with just 13 yards from 12 carries. The Tigers unleashed their own ground weapon. Jamal Roberts produced one of the performances of Week 5, rushing 24 times for 211 yards and three touchdowns.
In an odd twist of irony, Austin Simmons, a close season quarterback transfer from Ole Miss, the team Florida had thrashed the week before, completed 23 of 30 passes for 340 yards and two scores as Missouri accumulated 560 yards of offense.
A game that was tied at 10–10 late in the second quarter became a rout as Missouri scored 35 unanswered points before a late Florida consolation. We're now asking a very different question about the Gators.
Which Florida team can we expect to see for the rest of the season?
2. Uh oh. Alabama look like Alabama again
No. 7 Alabama 56, No. 16 Mississippi State 23
The most ominous result of Week 5 came in Starkville.
No.16 Mississippi State entered the game 4-0, their best start to a season in years after an impressive win over Missouri in Week 4. Alabama left the game having put 56 points on the Bulldogs.
Alabama have coasted to 5-0 this season without seeming to have broken a sweat. In freshman quarterback Keelon Russell, the Crimson Tide have a talent capable of catapulting Alabama from playoff contender into a national championship winner.
Russell completed 16 of 22 passes for 285 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, averaging almost 13 yards every time he put the ball in the air, outshining his opposite number, the gifted but raw Kamario Taylor.
Alabama finished with 483 yards, averaged 7.9 yards per play, sacked Taylor five times and forced Mississippi State into four turnovers.
Georgia, Alabama's next opponents, will be the measure of the Crimson Tide's progress in what promises to be the pick of the Week 6 slate. On this form, don't bet against Kalen DeBoer's team making a statement win.
3. Jeremiah Smith is the best player in college football. No arguments.
No. 5 Ohio State 31, No. 14 Iowa 14
It's getting harder to think of new superlatives for the 6'4", 223lb Ohio State receiver.
A week after torching Illinois for 217 yards and four touchdowns, Jeremiah Smith caught 11 passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns against Iowa, including a 57-yard third-quarter score that effectively broke the game open.
The Buckeyes' rising star is averaging 164.6 receiving yards after five games. He became Ohio State's all-time leader in touchdown receptions and overall receptions in this game, just under halfway into his junior season. When you think of the depth of talent that has emerged from Columbus - Marvin Harrison Jr., Terry McLaurin, Jaxson Smith-Njigba and Garrett Wilson in recent years - then Smith's accomplishments are all the more extraordinary.
Ohio State were comfortable on the road at Kinnick Stadium. Julian Sayin threw for 324 yards and three touchdowns without an interception, but the headline belonged to Smith.
We already knew Smith was the best receiver in college football. Is there a better player in the college game?
4. Is it time to believe in Miami?
No. 4 Miami 41, Clemson 13
It's been a regular script in the college football season.
Miami start well. Expectations rise. And then something strange happens. This version of the Hurricanes doesn't seem to be following the script.
Miami didn't just beat Clemson. They dominated them in their first victory at Death Valley for 16 years. Duke transfer Darian Mensah threw for 227 yards, Mark Fletcher Jr. rushed for two touchdowns and Cooper Barkate produced 98 receiving yards, including a 61-yard touchdown.
Miami produced 419 yards, didn't turn the ball over and harassed Clemson quarterback Tait Reynolds throughout the evening.
The Hurricanes are now 5–0 and sit at the top of the ACC. There is a long way to go, but last season's beaten finalists look like a genuine contender.
5. Michigan stumble again as Minnesota reclaims the Little Brown Jug
Minnesota 20, No. 15 Michigan 14
Michigan’s season is beginning to unravel.
A week after suffering their first defeat against Iowa, the Wolverines fell again, this time as Minnesota reclaimed the Little Brown Jug with a 20–14 victory. It was the Golden Gophers’ first home win over Michigan since 1977.
Freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood endured a difficult afternoon, completing just 10 of 21 passes for 101 yards with two interceptions as Michigan’s offense struggled to find any rhythm. The Wolverines were held to 226 total yards and have now started Big Ten play 0–2 for the first time since 2014.
The Wolverines weren't the only traditional Big Ten power suffering a setback.
Matt Campbell's Penn State were thumped 34–13 at home by Northwestern, dropping to 3–2 and adding another unexpected result to a weekend that suggested the old Big Ten hierarchy might be shifting.
Ohio State and Indiana look increasingly like genuine national championship contenders and Oregon are returning to form. Michigan and Penn State, meanwhile, are struggling to keep pace.
The updated AP Top 25 rankings actually reinforce the argument we started with yesterday. Texas stayed No. 1 despite their bye week. Georgia, Notre Dame, Miami and Ohio State complete an unchanged top five. Alabama moved up to No. 6, Indiana sits seventh, BYU is now eighth, Ole Miss ninth and LSU tenth.
The most fascinating storylines remain in the SEC. As FOX neatly pointed out, the conference has produced the most random set of knock-on results:
Alabama beat Mississippi State. Mississippi State beat Missouri. Missouri beat Florida. Florida beat Ole Miss and Ole Miss beat LSU.
Only in college football. You can't take your eyes off it. Roll on Week 6.
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