One piping hot take for every Top 10 team after Week 5 that saw Alabama barely break a sweat while Ohio State and Penn State delivered an instant classic.
The first month of the 2018 college football season has come and gone and the prime time action in Week 5 might have been the best since the opening weekend.
Penn State and Ohio State battled in an instant classic from Happy Valley where the road team came away with a one-point win behind Dwayne Haskins, J.K. Dobbins and an opportunistic defense that stepped up late. Down the dial, Notre Dame and Stanford competed to see who won the SAT Bowl, and it was over early as Ian Book continues to shine since taking over as the Irish quarterback.
Now, let’s take a whip around the rest of the Top 10 teams and offer up one piping hot take(away) for Alabama, Georgia, Clemson and the teams hoping to compete for the National Championship later this year.
Week 5 takeaways for every Top 10 team
1. Alabama – There is no other team playing as well right now as Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide. That’s nothing new, but the way they are playing is. This is the best offense Saban has ever had at any team on any level. I don’t think that’s even a hot take, it’s a certifiable fact.
2. Georgia – I’ve already crowned Georgia as SEC East champs this year and next year, but they haven’t looked like world-beaters the last two weeks, albeit in wins against Tennessee and Missouri. It’s not that it’s disappointing, it’s more about waiting for the switch to go on, which I’m sure it will.
3. Clemson – No, Kelly Bryant isn’t coming back to Clemson after Trevor Lawrence was injured. Instead of blaming him for doing what was in his best interest, or blaming Dabo Swinney for not keeping him the starter despite Lawrence clearly outplaying him, I’m going to credit Chase Brice for some gutsy plays in the fourth quarter to help lead the Tigers to the win over Syracuse. This will serve as a wake-up call for the rest of the team as they hope and pray Lawrence won’t have to miss any extra time.
4. Ohio State – The Buckeyes struggled offensively for the first stretch this year vs. Penn State but Dwayne Haskins, K.J. Hill and J.K. Dobbins took over late for the comeback win in Happy Valley. I don’t think this team is losing in the regular season. Who’s gonna beat them? Michigan State? No. Michigan? Get outta here! And Wisconsin doesn’t want this smoke from Ohio State. The Buckeyes are going to the Playoff.
5. LSU – Ole Miss used to be a game that could cause problems for LSU, but not this year. LSU jumped on the Rebels early and took a 28-6 lead into the break. It was over at that point but the final score. Joe Burrow had 292 yards passing with three touchdowns and 92 yards and a score on the ground for the best game of his collegiate career. Granted it came against the porous Ole Miss defense, but still, this was the best performance by an LSU quarterback in a long time and I can’t wait to see how he fares against a suddenly-not-so-bad Florida team next week in The Swamp.
6. Oklahoma – Kyler Murray didn’t start for disciplinary reasons, but he threw for six touchdowns, two more than the number of incompletions he had on the day, and ran for another. Murray had 432 yards through the air to keep his spot at the top of the Heisman hierarchy.
7. Stanford – The Cardinal should have lost last weekend before Mario Cristobal gifted them a win on a silver platter. There was no such gift this week as Stanford went to Notre Dame and got stomped. Adding injury to insult was Bryce Love injuring the same ankle he hurt last year. If he’s not 100 percent, there’s no chance of Stanford running the table, which is necessary, to contend for a Playoff berth.
8. Notre Dame – I am a believer in Ian Book who has accounted for nine total touchdowns in the last two games since taking over for Brandon Wimbush as the starting quarterback. The offense is so much more efficient, vibrant and explosive with him under center. Notre Dame is a legit contender for the Playoff with Book.
9. Penn State – Trace McSorley isn’t going to win the Heisman Trophy, but he’s the most valuable player in college football. The Nittany Lions quarterback ran for a career-high 175 yards and threw for 286 to account for 93 percent of Penn State’s offense in the loss to Ohio State. It’s a shame his coaching staff let him down with a fourth-and-five handoff from the Ohio State 43 that Ohio State was ready for and stuffed in the backfield. They should have kept the ball in his hands, and they are likely celebrating all week in Happy Valley. Alas, that’s not the case.
10. Auburn – This is a real nice defense Auburn has on The Plains this year, but I keep waiting for the offense to show up. I thought Jarrett Stidham would be lighting up the scoreboard in his second year in this offense, and while he hasn’t been bad, it hasn’t been exactly great either. If they don’t look out, they’re gonna get hit with a loss in the SEC West that derails any hope of finishing second in the division.