Week 5 of the 2015 college football season featured a couple of huge upsets as well as some predictable results.
Separation Saturday struck once again, as the contenders are emerging as true national powerhouses while the pretenders are licking their wounds.
These are the biggest takeaways from the action.
1. Michigan Wolverines playing out of their minds for Jim Harbaugh
You can’t call it hype any more, because the hype is real with Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan Wolverines (No. 22). For the second weekend in a row, Harbaugh’s defense pitched a shutout and his offense piled up the yards on the ground to keep those chains moving, beating Maryland 28-0 on Saturday afternoon.
It was the first road victory for the Wolverines after losing by a touchdown to Utah to open the season, and it’s becoming quite clear this team is completely sold out to the way Harbaugh is running his program.
Just like he had at Stanford and then in San Francisco, Harbaugh’s Wolverines are winning with defense — a fact senior linebacker Desmond Morgan appreciates.
“There’s definitely an attitude,” said Morgan, via the Associated Press. “There’s a D that we want to be, and that D is kind of nasty and mean and known for stopping the run and making big plays.”
With two shutouts in a row, Michigan’s defense will be tested once again in Week 6 when Northwestern comes to The Big House.
2. Wisconsin is not a Top 25 team, but Iowa could be
Week 5 wasn’t kind to Wisconsin (No. 19), as the Badgers were outmuscled by their Big Ten West rival Iowa Hawkeyes, who won 10-6.
This was a remarkably ugly contest, but consistently Wisconsin was overmatched up front as Iowa’s relentless big men — on both sides of the ball — won at the line of scrimmage. Iowa’s defense, in particular, was the star of the game, and cornerback Desmond King couldn’t be happier.
“Once our offense couldn’t get anything done, we knew the game was going to be on our defense,” said King. “Our goal was to keep them at a minimum scoring.”
It was a particularly poor showing by the Badgers on the ground, where they gained just 86 yards on 34 carries, averaging just 2.5 yards per carry. Making matters worse, quarterback Joel Stave threw two interceptions.
This was the second loss of the season for Wisconsin after being handled easily by Alabama in Week 1. The poor showing must certainly mean a trip out of the top 25 in the rankings. On the flip side, Iowa might draw some consideration, considering its 5-0 record.
3. Texas HC Charlie Strong should consider firing his special teams coach
For the third weekend in a row, the Texas football program suffered an embarrassing moment — and on Saturday it was a double-whammy — attempting to execute simple special teams plays.
In Week 3 it was a missed field goal in overtime to Cal. Last weekend it was a nightmare of a busted punt attempt that literally handed the victory to Oklahoma State. This Saturday, Texas managed to fail twice on routine plays.
Already down by a score of 28-0, the long-snapper shot the ball well over the head of punter Michael Dickson, into and then out of the end zone for a safety. Shortly afterwards, after the offense finally drummed up a decent drive, kicker Nick Rose shanked an easy chip-in, causing Longhorns fans everywhere to fall into despair.
Making matters worse, TCU absolutely destroyed the Longhorns, winning 50-7.
4. Ohio State has no business being No. 1 overall
Yes, Ohio State (No. 1) is still undefeated, and yes, Michigan State (No. 2) struggled, and yes Ole Miss (No. 3) was absolutely dismantled by Florida. Regardless of all their struggles, the Buckeyes haven’t played well enough in 2015 to retain the top spot in the rankings.
Period.
For the third time in five games, Ohio State’s offense failed to produce 40 yards of offense, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
Head coach Urban Meyer continues to stick with Cardale Jones, even though the young man has thrown just five touchdown passes in five games and has five interceptions, as well.
If not for a late surge by running back Ezekiel Elliott, who ended up with 274 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries, there’s a really good chance Indiana would have beaten the Buckeyes.
This is now three weeks in a row (four, if you count a very slow start in Week 2 against Hawaii), that Ohio State’s offense has failed to look anything like a typical Urban Meyer unit, and these poor showings are coming against teams that should have no business competing with the vaunted program.
For this, Ohio State needs to be dropped in the rankings to reflect its poor play.
5. Top spot Belongs to Baylor or TCU
As repulsive as the idea seems to be for so many football purists who view the Big 12 as a conference of gimmicks, either TCU (No. 4) or Baylor (No. 5) should be atop the rankings heading into Week 6. Both programs were unstoppable on Saturday while the other three top teams struggled with inferior opponents.
TCU made Texas look like a junior high school squad, piling up 604 total yards and corralling the Longhorns’ passing attack to the tune of just 122 yards, leading to a massive 50-7 blowout at home. In the process, quarterback Trevone Boykin, who had five touchdowns on the day, broke a TCU record for career touchdown passes, and receiver Josh Doctson had another big day.
Baylor looked pretty darn good, too, hosting an explosive Texas Tech team that took TCU to the limit in Week 4. From the opening whistle, it was clear which team was superior, as the Bears proceeded to completely pick apart the Red Raiders. Piling up 680 yards and nine touchdowns, Baylor ended up winning in a landslide, 63-35.
The 35 points allowed is actually quite good when you consider Texas Tech was averaging 53.8 points per game, which was No. 3 in the nation before Saturday.
6. Georgia experienced a “little brother” moment with SEC rival Alabama
The Georgia Bulldogs (No. 8) thought they could intimidate SEC rival Alabama (No. 13) even before the first whistle. A minor scrum developed as the Crimson Tide, clad in white, ran onto the field. Some of the Georgia players started mouthing off and got a bit physical before the refs broke up the fray. And at first it appeared the tactic paid off.
Georgia appeared the more aggressive team in the first quarter until late in the first quarter when Alabama finally got three points on the board. From that moment on, the game was over. The Crimson Tide went on a 35-0 run, absolutely burying the Bulldogs in their own house.
Alabama’s offense performed admirably. Quarterback Jake Coker was sharp and the running game, led by Derrick Henry, who had 148 yards and a touchdown on the ground, wore down Georgia’s normally rock-solid defense.
There is no doubt which team rules this rivalry after this 38-10 blowout, as the Bulldogs were taught a lesson in humility, courtesy of the Crimson Tide.
The only real positive to come out of the contest for Georgia was Nick Chubb, who tied Herschel Walker’s all-time school record rushing for over 100 yards in 13 consecutive games. Chubb finished with 146 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries.
7. Florida makes national statement in shocking win over Ole Miss
If ever there was a weekend for Ole Miss (No. 3) to move up into the top spot in the rankings, it was Week 5 against Florida (No. 25). With Ohio State looking quite stagnant and Michigan State looking no better, a big win would have solidified this team as the top in the nation.
Things didn’t work out according to plan for Hugh Freeze’s Rebels, though, who found poisonous bogs instead of wide open spaces down in The Swamp.
The Gators did what no other team has been able to accomplish so far in 2015 by completely shutting down Chad Kelly and the dynamic Rebels offense. The junior quarterback was harassed all night long and suffered four sacks in the contest after being brought down just five times in the previous four games.
Ole Miss couldn’t generate anything on offense. Whether through the air or on the ground, the Rebels ran into nothing but brick walls until the fourth quarter when Kelly started to come alive — well past the point of no return.
In the end, the scoreboard read 38-10 in favor of Florida. The Gators made a major statement to the rest of the SEC, improving to 5-0 on the season with a big win over the No. 3-ranked team in the nation. The Rebels will likely see a significant downgrade in the rankings after this humiliating loss
8. Texas A&M is legitimate playoff contender, but ‘Bama looms
The Aggies (No. 14) entered the season as an unranked program, but since dominating Arizona State in Week 1 (ASU was No. 15 at the time) they have been on a steady climb towards a top-10 ranking.
Saturday’s outstanding showing against Mississippi State (No. 21), resulting in a 30-17 victory, only further established the legitimacy of Texas A&M’s early run.
Quarterback Kyle Allen has been stellar all year, and after throwing two touchdowns and remaining turnover-free through the air on Saturday he’s working with a 13-to-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio for the season.
Featuring a dynamic, yet balanced offense and a defense that is limiting opponents to 21 points per game, Kevin Sumlin’s program has established itself as a true playoff contender as we get close to the second half of the season.
After the big win at home against the Bulldogs, the Aggies are now in a tie for first place in the SEC West with LSU. Things don’t get any easier in Week 7 after the bye next weekend, though, as Texas A&M hosts Alabama, which also came out of Week 5 with a huge win.
9. ASU stuns UCLA, which is no longer in the driver’s seat in the Pac-12 South
Arizona State put on an offensive clinic on the road, shocking UCLA (N0. 7) at the Rose Bowl with a huge 38-23 victory. Racking up 465 total yards and dominating the time-of-possession battle nearly two-to-one over the Bruins, the Sun Devils took control of this game in the second half and never relented until the final whistle.
Quarterback Mike Bercovici matched highly touted freshman Josh Rosen throw for throw, as both quarterbacks had two touchdown passes and an interception. The biggest difference in the game was ASU’s ability to consistently run the ball effectively and shut down the running game of the Bruins.
On that note, the loss of inside linebacker Myles Jack was agonizingly apparent, as the Sun Devils attacked the squishy middle of UCLA’s defense all night long, at one point embarrassing Jim Mora’s pride and joy on this ridiculous pile-pushing touchdown.
After the stunning defeat, the Bruins will now take a back seat to Utah in the Pac-12 South and will certainly fall out of the top 10 when the new polls comes out.
10. Notre Dame made too many mistakes to win in Death Valley against Clemson
Whether it was DaShone Kizer’s horrible interception late in the fourth quarter, head coach Brian Kelly’s unbelievable decision to go for two points at exactly the wrong time — for the second year in a row, no less — or his decision to run into the teeth of a defense that stuffed the run all night long on the game’s most critical play, Notre Dame (No. 6) made too many mistakes to pull out a win in Death Valley against Clemson (12).
From the early going, it was clear Kelly’s young team was overmatched. Clemson’s speed on offense overwhelmed Notre Dame’s normally dynamic defense, prompting a 21-3 run to open the game before Irish quarterback DaShone Kizer finally got his bearings.
Playing in one of the most hostile environments in college football, Notre Dame came to the party just a little too late to make an impressive national statement. While the 18-point surge late in the game was fun to watch, it was Clemson that made the biggest statement on Saturday night.
Sophomore quarterback Deshaun Watson made the most of his limited chances to pass the ball, finishing two drives with touchdown passes while adding a rushing score. Kizer matched him in every way except for the bad timing of his interception, which killed momentum in the fourth quarter.
When the rankings come out, don’t be surprised if these two teams end up swapping spots.