College Football Week 5 Recap

Let's examine my Week 5 Bold Predictions to see how I did:

1. Underdogs prove victorious in at least 3 out of 5 clashes between ranked teams

There were a number of upsets in the top 25, including four in the top 10.  Three of those qualified for this prediction, as Georgia and Ole Miss were easily handled by Alabama and Florida, respectively, and Clemson held on to beat Notre Dame.  Oklahoma and Texas A&M cruised to double-digit wins against their respective lower ranked opponents, but the aforementioned games were enough to get this one right.

2. Eastern Michigan keeps Leonard Fournette under 200 rushing yards

So much for LSU having an easy time with the Eagles.  The Tigers were only up by 8 points heading into the fourth quarter, and leaned heavily on Fournette throughout the entirety of the game.  The result was 26 carries for 233 yards for the running back, foiling this prediction.

3. Ohio State puts up 50+ points on the Hoosiers

For the second straight week I got half the score prediction exactly right for the weekly OSU prediction, as Indiana scored 27 on the Buckeyes.  But for the other half of the score, and the main part of the prediction, I was way off.  Ohio State's offensive struggles continued, as they managed only 6 points in the first half.  They came away with a victory behind Elliott's huge second half, but it wasn't pretty.  There are three major issues plaguing this team right now, in my opinion: turnovers, penalties (on offense and defense), and poor red-zone offense (mostly due to turnovers and penalties).  If Meyer gets these problems addressed, the Buckeyes should be fine.

4.  Big Ten openers feature blowouts, with average margin of victory exceeding 20 points

This was another one where I was way off.  Michigan won big at Maryland, and Northwestern had a surprising blowout win over Minnesota, but the rest of the Big Ten's conference games were all decided by a touchdown or less.  Top dogs Ohio State and Michigan State both struggled against teams from Indiana, while Iowa and Illinois notched close upset victories.  With so many of these games being closer than expected, the resulting average margin of victory was only 11.7 points.

5. Oregon finally figures out who fielded that punt

I think it's safe to say they now know it was Boobie Hobbs who caught the ball and took it back for a touchdown in Utah's blowout win over the Ducks.  But did Oregon know they still had a game to play Saturday against Colorado?  The Buffaloes brought the game within 7 points in the 4th quarter before Oregon finally pulled away, closing out the game with 10 unanswered points.  The Ducks still have time to salvage their season, but will need flawless play from here on out, and I just don't see that happening after getting embarrassed by Utah.

Week 5 record: 2 - 3
Overall record: 6 - 19

Other headlines from week 5:

Virginia Tech continues free-fall with loss to Pittsburgh

Things haven't been the same for the Hokies since quarterback Michael Brewer got injured in the season opener against Ohio State.  They rebounded after the loss to the Buckeyes with wins over Furman and Purdue, but have now dropped back-to-back games to East Carolina and Pittsburgh.  To make matters worse, their All-American cornerback, Kendall Fuller, will miss the rest of the season.  Brewer might be back in the lineup as early as this week, so things may be looking up for Virginia Tech.  But if his return doesn't provide a spark for this team, they may be looking at another 7-6 season... or worse.

Extra points are kind of a big deal at Iowa State

The Cyclones' placeholder gets really excited for every successful PAT.  Like, really excited.  Good for him - I doubt there's much else to get pumped about at Iowa State.

This is why we can't have nice things, UCLA

Arizona State clinched their victory over the previously unbeaten Bruins on Saturday with a ridiculous touchdown run by Kalen Ballage.  UCLA players were obviously trying to strip the ball, rather than tackle the ball carrier, but the play still deserves mention, as Ballage traveled a good 20 yards after contact... backwards.