2018-2019 Week 5 College Football Review

Playoff Teams

Alabama (5-0)

Defeated Louisiana 56-14

Alabama beat a weaker team that they were expected to best and scored a lot of points doing it. It was good preparation for their game in Fayetteville this weekend.

Up next: at Arkansas

Oklahoma (5-0)

Defeated Baylor 66-33

Yes, the Oklahoma defense allowed 33 to Baylor the week before the Red River Rivalry. But Kyler Murray threw for 6 touchdowns, ran for one, and had only 4 incomplete passes in a game where he was held out of the first series because of breaking team rules. At this point in the season he has a higher pass percentage, more passing yards, and more touchdowns than Baker Mayfield had last year in his Heisman season. Yet Kyler is not getting any Heisman conversation. I think the so-called "experts" were so sure that this year would be a step back for Oklahoma that for the time being they are ignoring what Murray is doing. This week's game at Texas could change that if he has similar number.

Up next: against #18 Texas

Clemson (5-0)

Defeated Syracuse 27-23

Clemson escaped upset minded Syracuse after a wild week. After it was announced that Trevor Lawrence would become the starting quarterback, Kelly Bryant (not happy with being demoted) announced that he was transferring. During the game Trevor Lawrence was injured and it took their third string quarterback to bring the Tigers back for the win.

I do not and will not move teams up and/or down based on how they play as long as they win. Unlike the pollsters who somehow managed to Oregon up in the polls after they blew a lead on Stanford and then lost in overtime.

Up next: at Wake Forest

Georgia (5-0)

Defeated Tennessee 38-12

Georgia did what they were supposed to do and easily handled Tennessee, not much else needs to be said. They face Vanderbilt next and either they will absolutely blow them out or Vandy will keep it close. You can never tell with Vandy.

Up next: at home against Vanderbilt.

Next Two Up:

UCF (4-0)

Defeated Pitt 45-14

UCF once again is being held down by pollsters because they are not in a Power 5 conference. They currently hold the nation's longest winning streak to 17 games. They lost their head coach (and former Nebraska quarterback) Scott Frost to Nebraska and replaced him with (former Oklahoma quarterback) Josh Heupel yet continue winning. Despite that both major polls keep them out of top ten. I would stack up the Golden Knights with just about any team in the country and believe that they could win or the very least compete.

Up next: at home against SMU

Ohio State (5-0)

Defeated Penn State 27-26

Ohio State needed a huge comeback and shoddy play calling by the Nittany Lions to come out on top. I will be honest I am not sold on the Buckeyes. I am not sold on any of the Big Ten schools. However, Ohio State did defeat a top ten team at their place (even if it was another Big Ten school) so I will give them that credit.

As you probably saw last year I do not have any faith in the Buckeyes. Fortunately, they typically help me out by losing games they should not.

Up next: at home against Indiana

Rest of the Top 20

The inaugural top 20 for this year. Like last year as long as there are undefeated teams they will typically be at the top of the poll. Being undefeated, even against lower teams, is not an easy thing to do in college football. That alone should earn respect and not put them ranked under teams with a loss.

3. Notre Dame(5-0): Last week: Defeated #12 Stanford 38-17; up next: at Virginia Tech

4. LSU(5-0): Last week: Defeated Ole Miss 45-16; up next: at #17 Florida

5. West Virginia(5-0): Last week: Defeated Texas Tech 42-34; up next: at home against Kansas

6. Kentucky(5-0): Last week: Defeated South Carolina 24-10; up next: at Texas A&M

7. Colorado(4-0): Last week: Defeated UCLA 38-16; up next: at home against Arizona State

8. North Carolina State(4-0): Last week: Defeated Virginia 35-21; up next: at home against Boston College

9. Penn State(4-1): Last week: Lost to #2 Ohio State 27-26; up next: OFF

10. Washington(4-1): Last week: Defeated BYU 35-7; up next: at UCLA

11. Auburn(4-1): Last week: Defeated Southern Miss 24-13; up next: at Mississippi State

12. Stanford(4-1): Last week: Lost to #3 Notre Dame 38-17; up next: at home against Utah

13. Wisconsin(3-1): Last week: Defeated Iowa 28-17; up next: at home against Nebraska

14. Oregon(4-1): Last week: Defeated California 42-24; up next: OFF

15. Michigan(4-1): Last week: Defeated Northwestern 20-17; up next: at home against Maryland

16. Miami(4-1): Last week: Defeated North Carolina 47-10; up next: at home against Florida State

17. Florida(4-1): Last week: Defeated Mississippi State 13-6; up next: at home against #4 LSU

18. Texas(4-1): Last week: Defeated Kansas State 19-14; up next: against Playoff team Oklahoma

19. Michigan State(3-1): Last week: Defeated Central Michigan 31-20; up next: at home against Northwestern

20. Oklahoma State(4-1): Last week: Defeated Kansas 48-28; up next: at home against Kansas State

Game of the Week I

Playoff team Oklahoma vs #18 Texas (Red River Rivalry)

In the early 2000s this was considered one of the better rivalry games that ESPNs College Gameday went to every year. In most years whoever won that game typically went on to win the Big 12 South, favored to win the Big 12 Championship, and was considered to be a front runner for the National Championship. In the 2010s that diminished when Texas forced out Mack Brown and the Texas program suffered under Charlie Strong. Oklahoma is undefeated coming into this game and Texas has once loss. Of course, that one loss is to Maryland who is a mediocre team at best.

It is the Red River Rivalry so it should be a shoot-out. Oklahoma's offense looks unstoppable to date and Texas' defense is better than advertised. If Texas hopes to pull off the upset they need their defense at an A+. If the game becomes a shoot-out Texas will not be able to keep up with Oklahoma.

Game of the Week II

#4 LSU vs #17 Florida

This is the only other ranked game this week and honestly I have a feeling it is going to be a snooze fest. Neither offenses are going to break any records but it is an SEC game so expect it be highly hyped.

State of Arkansas and Nebraska football

Arkansas is 1-4 and Nebraska is 0-4. There really is not much else to say about that. Nebraska was dominated by a Purdue team that Scott Frost thought was a winnable game leading him to question the team's discipline. Arkansas fought back against Texas A&M but the special teams play is still killing the Hogs allowing a kick off return for a touchdown on the very first play of the game. There seems to be upside to Arkansas' woes and possibly a chance of 2-3 more wins this season(though they are only favored to beat Tulsa, while the game against Vanderbilt is essentially a toss up). Nebraska is only favored to win two of it's remaining seven games (against Bethune-Cookman and Illinois)