One of the arguments those who were against expanding the College Football Playoff often made, was that it would diminish the regular season.
Did Georgia at Alabama last night feel less important to anyone?
The players cared.
The coaches cared.
The fans cared.
And as an added benefit, just because Georgia wasn’t good enough yesterday to win a September game in Alabama; doesn’t mean they won’t be in the National Championship fight come December.
Week 5 Quick Hits
Texas 35 Mississippi State 13 – Another start, and impressive performance from Arch Manning. The Bulldogs were held to under 300 yards.
Miami 38 Virginia Tech 34 – The ending obviously could been reversed, and ended as a Hurricanes loss. Instead, they get another W. Sometimes you need to be unexpectedly pushed. Cam Ward is showing up each week. My concern here if I was a Miami fan would be the defense. 206 yards on the ground for the Hokies.
Rutgers 21 Washington 18 – Rutgers improved to 4-0, and the Huskies suffered their first Big Ten loss. Washington outgained Rutgers 521 to 299 in total yards, but were just 2 of 12 on 3rd down.
Alabama 41 Georgia 34 – The Tide rolled out to a big lead, and Georgia showed pride coming back. Jalen Milroe is up to 18 total TD’s on the year. Carson Beck threw his first 3 picks of the season for Georgia. Georgia was 5 of 5 on 4th down, but lost the turnover battle 4 to 1.
Ohio State 38 Michigan State 7 – The Buckeyes nearly doubled up the Spartans in total yardage, and led this game 24-7 at halftime.
Kentucky 20 Ole Miss 17 – Kentucky nearly beat Georgia, and does beat Ole Miss. Kentucky dominated time of possession, holding the ball for 39 minutes, 43 seconds. It’s not a death blow for Ole Miss’ CFP chances, but their margin of error has been reduced.
Oregon 34 UCLA 13 – Oregon’s first Big Ten win is against their former Pac 12 foe. The Ducks held UCLA to 172 total yards, and limited the Bruins to 1 of 10 on 3rd down.
Penn State 21 Illinois 7 – The Nittany Lions beat previously unbeaten Illinois. PSU wins with Drew Allar throwing for just 135 yards. Penn State did have 241 yards rushing.
Arizona 23 Utah 10 – Arizona rebounds from their 31-7 loss at Kansas State, and gets a big road win at Utah. The Utes were in the drivers seat in the Big 12 Conference. Now it looks like more of a fight.
Michigan 27 Minnesota 24 – The Gophers outscored the Wolverines 21-3 in the 4th, but Michigan holds on. 241 total yards for Michigan, including just 86 passing. They did hold Minnesota to 38 yards on 25 carries.
USC 38 Wisconsin 21 – USC with a 28-0 second half. 308 yards, and 3 TD’s for Miller Moss.
Notre Dame 31 Louisville 24 – The Fighting Irish were outgained by 150 yards, and just 2 of 10 on 3rd down, but get the win.
Clemson 40 Stanford 14 – Cade Klubnik has the Tigers looking as good as anyone else in the ACC.
Iowa State 20 Houston 0 – Iowa State is now 4-0. Houston is now 5-12 overall in Big 12 play since joining the conference last year. Their 12-2 2021 season feels like a long-time ago right now.
Kansas State 42 Oklahoma State 20 – After losing at home vs. Utah, the Cowboys allow 300 rushing yards at K-State. The only remaining ranked team on the Wildcats schedule is Iowa State in the season final.
Oklahoma 27 Auburn 21 – Auburn dominated time of possession, total yards, and Oklahoma had more penalties. But the Sooners outscored Auburn 17-7 in the 4th, for their first SEC win.
BYU 34 Baylor 28 – The Cougars are 5-0 overall, and 2-0 in the Big 12. Number of competitive games left for BYU, but the only ranked team on their schedule is Utah.
Texas A&M 21 Arkansas 17 – Arkansas had 3 turnovers, while A&M had 0. The Aggies moved to 4-1 overall, and 2-0 in the SEC.
Boise State 45 Washington State 24 – 278 rushing yards for the Broncos, as RB Ashton Jeanty goes for 259 on 26 carries, with 4 TD’s.
Week 6 Games Of Note
Michigan State at Oregon – The Ducks get to tune up for Ohio State vs. Sparty.
Syracuse at UNLV – The Rebels starting QB Matt Sluka eft the program because of an NIL dispute. New QB Hajj-Malik Williams had a big day vs. Fresno State. UNLV is now ranked. Syracuse is 3-1, only loss being a 2 point game vs. Stanford.
Missouri at Texas A&M – #9 at #25. Either Missouri further pads their resume, or A&M wins their 5th in a row, and likely gets a decent bounce entering Week 7.
SMU at Louisville – A classic ACC match-up. SMU is 4-1, their only loss being a 3 point game to BYU.
Rutgers at Nebraska – These teams are 9-1.
Tennessee at Arkansas – Arkansas is a 13.5 point dog here, and ESPN’s Match-up Predictor gives the Volunteers a 82.1% chance of winning.
Ole Miss at South Carolina – South Carolina is a 10 point dog, and ESPN’s Match-up Predictor gives the Rebels a 75.3% chance of winning.
Miami at California – Did Virginia Tech catch the attention of the Hurricanes? Cal is 3-1, and coming off a bye. Miami is a 12.5 point favorite.
Owner
Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.