College football Week 5 superlatives: Power rankings, playoff picture, Heisman chase

Clemson loses the No. 1 spot in the college football power rankings, the playoff picture is loaded with SEC contenders and the Heisman is a two-man race.

College football power rankings – Top 10 after Week 5

1. Alabama

The Crimson Tide has a new weapon for Tua Tagovailoa and that’s terrifying for the rest of the SEC and college football to hear. As if he didn’t already have enough of an arsenal with Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III on the perimeter, but now he’s got DeVonta Smith capable of taking games over. The No. 3 receiver had a career-best 11 catches for 274 yards and five touchdowns vs. Ole Miss.

I wasn’t worried about the Alabama defense and playing the Rebels offense is far from the type of threat they’ll see vs. LSU, Auburn and whoever they meet in the SEC Championship Game and College Football Playoff, but you gotta trust the process. Alabama’s offense is that scary they should be able to make any offense they play one-dimensional as they try to keep pace with Tua and his army. I”m not worried about the 21 points allowed late when the game was already decided.

2. Ohio State

How many teams could lose a Big Ten record-setting quarterback to the first round and their best defender in the top two picks and replace them with upgrades? That’s what Ohio State has done with Justin Fields stepping in for Dwayne Haskins and making things look effortless as he runs and throws his way into the end zone about four times per game. He’s been every bit as worthy of all the prodigious hype heaped on him in the offseason.

Chase Young broke out last year with Nick Bosa out and looks like the most unstoppable defender in the nation through the first five weeks. Oh yeah, Ohio State also replaced a three-time national champion and future Hall of Fame coach, Urban Meyer, with a first-time head coach, Ryan Day, and haven’t missed a beat. They are so much better than the second-best team in the Big Ten team it’s laughable.

3. Georgia

The Bulldogs had the week off after beating Notre Dame last week. It was a quality win but it wasn’t so much a quality performance. I don’t trust Kirby Smart in big games and I don’t trust him to unleash Jake Fromm. At some point, he’s going to let him loose and let him use his arm to beat teams. He coaches like a defensive-minded coach that he is and that’s good enough to clean up in the SEC East, but there’s a ceiling there if the offense isn’t explosive like the top four teams.

4. LSU

You’ve never seen an LSU offense look like what the Tigers have this year. Joe Burrow is throwing for 400 yards and six touchdowns in games and making it look easy. He’s got a great group of receivers who are big, strong and fast. LSU can still run the ball when they need to, but gone are the days when it was the only thing the offense could do.  The defense is still nasty. It’s hard not to look to November and their showdown with Alabama. I think both will be undefeated when they meet in Tuscaloosa on Nov. 9.

5. Oklahoma

Jalen Hurts is the front-runner for the Heisman Trophy. The level he’s playing at is going to top the seasons produced by Kyler Murray and Baker Mayfield at Oklahoma the previous two seasons. The drive, passion and relentless he is playing with are unmatched in college football. He had 485 yards and four touchdowns in three quarters vs. Texas Tech. After the game, he was in the gym trying to get better. What an animal.

6. Clemson

This may seem like a bit of a harsh overreaction after Clemson’s one-point win vs. North Carolina. But if you forget about preseason rankings for a minute and base this solely on the product on the field in 2019 and not about last year’s team or the potential they possess, it’s hard to justify them being above the other five. Dabo Swinney said Clemson was outplayed and outcoached for nearly 59 minutes vs. North Carolina. They were fortunate to escape with the win after an awful two-point conversion attempt by the Tar Heels was snuffed out by the Tigers defense. Credit Clemson for closing the game out and making a play when they needed it. But beating North Carolina by one on the road shouldn’t be rewarded, it should be penalized.

7. Auburn

I think any of the six teams above Auburn are capable of winning the national title. I don’t think I’m ready to say the same thing about the Tigers. At least not yet, but I might be convinced with a few more impressive performances from freshman quarterback Bo Nix. I am convinced Auburn has one of the best defensive lines in the nation and is championship-worthy. Freshmen quarterbacks are capable of getting to and winning championships too, but I need a larger sample size from Nix before going all in. But after one month, it’s clear there is a lot to like. Auburn also leads the SEC in rushing and JaTarvius Whitlow is coming alive so this is a dangerous mixture that makes Auburn a team capable of moving higher in these power rankings.

8. Wisconsin

The Badgers made a big move up the rankings last week with a dominating performance in their win vs. Michigan. This week, they had a bit of a hangover effect after trudging their way past Northwestern, 24-15. Wisconsin’s defense is one of the best in the nation and got two scores for the Badgers on a day the offense was extremely quiet. Jonathan Taylor can’t be contained often and they should remain the team to beat in the West but don’t sleep on Iowa who is also undefeated.

9. Florida

The Gators might be the quietest 5-0 team in the country, which is extremely odd to say for one of the best programs of the last 30 years. The real test is with Georgia but so far Kyle Trask has passed every test put in front of him since replacing the injured Feleipe Franks vs. Kentucky. Not that Towson is going to strike fear in the Gators but shutting them out is exactly what you want to see from a unit facing an inferior opponent.

10. Notre Dame

The Irish had a great second half vs. Virginia when the defense came alive and made things miserable for Virginia quarterback Bryce Perkins. It was Perkins who lit up the Irish in the first half and had them leading at halftime but credit the Notre Dame defense for picking up the offense and getting a hard-fought win. Penn State, Texas and Iowa are nipping on their heels for the No. 10 spot but for at least one more week, Brian Kelly’s team remains in the top 10.

College Football Playoff picture

I dropped Clemson all the way down to No. 6 in my power rankings, but I’m not foolish enough to think they won’t make the College Football Playoff. Clemson learned a valuable lesson vs. North Carolina and I think that wake-up call will serve as a blessing in disguise. They won’t overlook any of the ACC opponents remaining on their schedule despite everyone saying how weak it is and how they have a cakewalk to the playoff.

I don’t think Ohio State is losing to anyone in the Big Ten. I think Penn State is their toughest remaining opponent on a schedule that also has Wisconsin, Michigan State and Michigan remaining. Still, I don’t think anyone is slowing the Buckeyes.

We know the SEC champion is in and I still maintain it will be Alabama. I have Alabama beating LSU in the regular season so that should eliminate the Tigers. I then have Alabama beating Auburn in the Iron Bowl and Georgia for the SEC. That eliminates Auburn. Georgia is eliminated by Oklahoma running the table in the Big 12 to win that league behind Jalen Hurts.

Playoff predictions: Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson and Oklahoma.

Heisman hierarchy

1. Jalen Hurts, QB, Oklahoma – Hurts had 415 passing yards and three touchdowns and 75 rushing yards and a score in three quarters. He is unstoppable.
2. Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Alabama – Last year’s runner-up had 418 yards passing for six touchdowns. He added a seventh score on the ground, tying an SEC record. I really think it’s a two-man race between Tua and his former Alabama teammate. The two keep throwing out insane stat lines every week and I like to think the two are motivating each other along the way. I hope we get to see them play each other in the playoff.
3. Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State – 284 total yards (72 rushing) and four total touchdowns (3 pass, 1 rush) in the 48-7 win vs. Nebraska. This game was over in the first quarter so he didn’t have to do much more than that.
4. Joe Burrow, QB, LSU – With 1,520 yards and 17 touchdowns through four games, Joe Burrow is on pace to shatter LSU single-season passing records. As long as LSU keeps winning and he keeps putting up numbers, he’ll stay in the race.
5. Jonathan Taylor, RB, Wisconsin – It wasn’t a monster game for Jonathan Taylor vs. Northwestern but he had 119 yards and a touchdown. That’ll keep him in the running but for a running back to actually win, he’s going to need some 200-yard games to stay afloat.

Stat of the week

We saw something for the first time not seen in college football since Nov. 6, 2010. That was the last time both Alabama and Clemson were trailing at the end of the first quarter. Alabama trailed Ole Miss and Clemson trailed North Carolina early with fans around the nation tweeting their screenshots of the box score for posterity. At the time, few imagined it would last, but it lasted much longer than anyone would have imagined with Clemson not leading until the fourth quarter vs. the Tar Heels. Alabama quickly dispatched the Rebels en route to another blowout win.

Punters are people too play of the week

Rich Eisen would love this play by Western Carolina punter Caleb Ferguson. With his team trailing in the fourth quarter and deep in their own territory, he got to run every punter’s dream, a fake punt. Ferguson took the snap and hit the afterburners on a play that showed off he might need to get some snaps on offense because my man was flying.

Wendy’s brings new life to tailgating

If I was a recruit and I saw what was going on at Washington this weekend, it would be hard to say no. That’s all because there is an actual Wendy’s on a boat in Husky Harbor that serves nuggets and burgers. Who needs tailgating when you have sailgating with Wendy’s?! Seriously, this is the coolest thing to happen to Washington since Chris Petersen left Boise State to come to Seattle.

The feel-good story of the week

Six years ago during Nebraska’s spring game, Jack Hoffman got the opportunity to run a play and he took it to the house for an emotional touchdown. Today, the brain cancer survivor was in attendance for Nebraska’s game vs. Ohio State. It wasn’t the result Jack was hoping to see, but him being at the game is a win. Not only is Jack healthy and thriving, but he’s playing football for his eighth-grade team. Jack talked about his spring game moment with College GameDay’s Maria Taylor to make us feel all the feels.

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