It’s safe to say that football fans around the country have experienced another thrilling week of college football, and boy was Week 5 one of them. But, it always seems pretty challenging to begin explaining every college football week because everyone knows there’s always going to be rivalries, upsets, highlights, the whole nine yards. Although it’s only week five and multiple weeks are remaining, tensions are beginning to rise, and not to mention we’ve already reached one-third into the 2022-23 season. Now let’s look at some key highlights from the fifth week.
Undefeated Programs Will Start to Narrow Down
Sixteen programs remain undefeated so far after this nail-biting week 5. Disregarding the size and level of each team, I believe all should be recognized for their hard work and dedication. But here’s my question, which I’m guessing some of you are wondering as well, which of the sixteen teams will stand out for the rest of this football season? Well, to list the obvious powerhouses, programs such as Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan, and Clemson remain to have a perfect 5-0 record.
I don’t believe that any of these teams will fall short of their first loss next week, but some notable matchups could lead to a surprising upset. For example, in #1 Alabama vs. #8 Tennessee, both of these teams are two of the sixteen undefeated programs. Disregarding Alabama’s starting quarterback Bryce Young’s shoulder injury, it looks like the Roll Tide is adapting to this missing complication.
On the other half, Tennessee has a promising future in their program, unfortunately, cornerback Warren Burrell is out for the season with an upper-body-related injury. All Tennessee has to focus on for this game is their passing defense and zone coverage, but this depends on Alabama’s quarterback situation.
Another game that will terminate one’s perfect record will be #17 TCU (4-0) versus #19 Kansas Jayhawks (5-0). The TCU Horned Frogs is the fan and spread favorite against the Kansas Jayhawks, although TCU has the upper hand. The Horned Frogs are the second-ranked offense combining a total of 549.5 yards per game and 48.5 points a game. Unfortunately, the Jayhawks’ offense cannot compare to TCU, so they’re gonna have to depend on a heavy blitz defense.
Upset Alert: Mississippi State defeats the #17 Aggies, Georgia Tech narrow victory over #24 Pitt
It’s no surprise that notable upsets occur every week in college football, especially last Saturday when two unranked programs (Mississippi State & Georgia Tech) outplayed their ranked opponents (#17 Texas A&M & #24 Pitt). Here’s a brief review of the two stand-out upsets from Week 5.
Davis Wade Stadium, MS – In my opinion, Mississippi State vs. Texas A&M was one of my nominees for game of the week. Not only was this a monumental upset, but this game ended with an eighteen-point differential. It’s hard to believe that the first half of the game was nearly scoreless when in the second half, both sides miraculously scored a combined 52 points.
Bulldogs quarterback Will Rogers finished the game with 3 touchdowns, 329 passing yards, and a QB rating of 84.6, and wide receiver Dillon Johnson had 14 carries, 68 yards, and 1 touchdown. Max Johnson, quarterback of the Texas A&M Aggies threw for 1 touchdown, 203 yards, and a QB passer rating of 62.5. This Saturday, the Bulldogs match up against the #17 Kentucky Wildcats for a season-changing outcome. For Texas A&M, they lost their ranking in the top 25 and will go against the #1 seeded Alabama looking nothing but a miracle.
Pittsburgh, PA – A couple of hours after the Mississippi State upset, Pitt hosted the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets last Saturday night. For the Yellow Jackets, it seemed as if the odds were against their favor, including their inferior starting record and the dismissal of their former head coach, Geoff Collins.
The first half was a slow pace when Pitt had a one-point lead at the time until Georgia Tech scored seventeen points in the fourth quarter alone. Sophomore kicker, Gavin Stewart kicked 4 for 4, supplementing the Yellow Jackets’ 12 points the whole game, while Quarterback Jeff Sims threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to E.J Jenkins to seal the deal.
The unranked Pitt Panthers are so far in sixth place in ACC Coastal, facing Virginia Tech this Saturday. Meanwhile, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are going to Durham, North Carolina to match up against the Duke Blue Devils.
Week 5 gave us a lot of highlights and a proficient amount of underdogs, but I think that Week 6 will present more of an exciting presence and atmosphere for programs, players, coaches, and fans around the country. Who knows what we can expect from the biggest and smallest schools, but what we can say is how exhilarating college football is. All of us cannot wait, especially yours truly, so sit back, relax, and enjoy some college football all day Saturday! Also, make sure to stay tuned for next week’s review.
