Week 5 - Sunday Storylines

DeBoer’s dramatic debut - Rarely do the college football gods shine such a light upon us. A light so pure, so bright, so beautiful, that it makes you want to embrace your brother, your friend, your neighbor, your seatmate.

Tonight’s Alabama-Georgia game was not about stats. It was not about X’s and O’s. And it most certainly was not about the head coaches.

This game embodied the cathartic energy that makes college football beautiful. In a blow-for-blow, bar-for-bar street fight, it was Alabama that reigned supreme in the most dramatic of ways. Long heave after long heave, it was a deceptively smart play on defense that sealed the deal for the Crimson Tide and new head coach Kalen DeBoer.

41-34 does not do this game justice. This was the type of game you tell your kids about, and that you do not soon forget. It was a knives out-level street fight with the best in the business going blow for blow. I stood in my living room. I paced around with my hands on my head. My jaw was ajar multiple times. It was a delightful interpretation of the beautiful game.

Earlier this week in The Call Sheet, I wrote this about the Alabama game.

Shot plays and Milroe runs were massive for the Crimson Tide. Milroe finished with 117 yards on the ground with two touchdowns to his name. But it was his shot-throwing ability, and Ryan Williams’ ridiculous 75-yard TD catch late in regulation, that put the Tide over the top. Wiliams, a 17-year-old, is not yet old enough to legally buy a vape or serve in the United States Army but was just old enough to kill Georgia under the lights of Bryant-Denny Stadium.

It’s hard to undersell the impact of this game on both this season and DeBoer’s tenure at Alabama as a whole. Alabama opened up a can of whoop ass on Georgia in the first half, no if, ands, or buts about it. This was a whitewash of a primetime game.

Alabama dominated the line of scrimmage. Alabama dominated the game within the game. And Alabama dominated the vibes.

But credit where credit is due. Georgia answered the bell and turned this game into an all-timer. Georgia quarterback Carson Beck had a fantastically awesome/bad game. He was great until he wasn’t, and vice versa.

Traditional wisdom suggests Georgia will be fine moving forward, but it does have a date with Texas on October 19. Could UGA really be one more loss away from being knocked down the pecking order in the SEC?

Mark Stoops Masterclass - A Mark Stoops-led Kentucky Wildcats team took a meat tenderizer to the knees of No. 6 Ole Miss, stunning the Rebels 20-17 in Oxford.

A few weeks removed from hanging tight with Georgia, this time the Cats finished the job. Highlights from the fourth quarter included a 63-yard Brock Vandagriff go-route heave with under four minutes to play. Minutes later, the Wildcats fumbled the ball crossing the endzone but received a fortunate bounce and recovery combo to score the game-winning touchdown.

Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart had a late-game heave to put the Rebels in field goal range. But the Rebels kicker shanked a 49-yard game-tying attempt with under a minute to play.

In typical Stoops fashion, the Cats turned this one into a sloppy, drag you in the ditch and rip off your muddy shoes-style game and the plan worked to perfection. This is a statement, a program-defining win for a football school like Kentucky.

Outlasting former Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari and then knocking off a top-10 team on the road makes for a tremendous six months for Mark Stoops.

Penn State prevails - The Nittany Lion defense put on a show against the upstart Illini en route to a 21-7 victory in Happy Valley. Offense be damned, this was all about the suffocating nature of the Penn State defense.

That defense allowed just 77 rushing yards on 25 carries, forcing the Illini into a ton of inopportune passing downs. PSU running back Nicholas Singleton did enough on the ground, finishing with 94 yards and a touchdown.

Luck of the Irish - Notre Dame used a first-half forced fumble and interception to jump out to an early lead and never looked back against a good Louisville team. I desperately want to dislike this Notre Dame team, but the defense is too awesome.

Xavier Watts is the real deal and is extremely fun to watch. 31-24 over a No. 15-ranked Lousiville team is a good win and keeps the Irish somewhat in the running for a College Football Playoff berth.

Jeanty for Heisman - Hey, can we get Ashton Jeanty to the Heisman Trophy ceremony yet?

Jeanty dominated against Wazzu, finishing with 259 yards and four touchdowns.

He deserves a spot in NYC, bar none.

Kansas State cruises - Let me start by saying this, Kansas State is an extremely watchable and fun team. The Wildcats hit hard and fly around on defense and the offense is a jolt of lighting type of excitement with quarterback Avery Johnson at the helm.

On Saturday, the 22nd-ranked Wildcats dismantled No. 20 Oklahoma State 42-20. Avery Johnson led the way for KState, finishing with three touchdowns in the air and two more on the ground.

Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordon II got going in the first quarter but was ultimately limited to just 76 yards on 15 carries. What a bummer of a season this has become for a truly awesome player.

Bounce House ballin’ - Look, it sort of pains me to admit this, but Colorado is much improved. Today was a triumphant 48-21 road victory over UCF.

Shedeur Sanders looked the part and might be slowly playing himself into the first quarterback-drafted conversation. On the other hand, Travis Hunter, what more is there to say? If Jalen Milroe isn’t the Heisman Trophy favorite, it must be Hunter.

What an absurdly good football player.

Taco Bell Game - This was a Taco Bell Game for Nebraska. The Huskers won, but they probably don’t feel great about it. What a shitburger by both Nebraska and Purdue. Good for Rhule that his team avoided losing to whatever was standing on the Purdue sidelines.

Fight On - In a strange game from start to finish, No. 13 USC outlasted Wisconsin 38-21. USC quarterback Miller Moss was great again - which is a welcome sign for the Trojans moving forward. The Trojans just have a great advantage with its wealth of wideout depth and talent on the outside.

Chaos in Coral Gables - There’s just something about Friday night college football that welcomes a healthy dose of chaos. This week was no different.

In a matchup between dueling cousin quarterbacks with Miami’s Cam Ward and Virginia Tech’s Kyron Drones, things got nutty in Coral Gables.

Ward left-hand shovel passed the Canes into taking a lead before the Hokies grossly mismanaged the clock down the stretch. But with three seconds remaining, Drones heaved a prayer and the replay gods were forced to intervene.

A scrum in the back of the endzone ensued. Both a Miami defender and a VT receiver simultaneously came down for the ball. Miami celebrated, thinking it won the game. The call was later ruled a touchdown in favor of the Hokies. A lengthy replay later reversed the call, giving Miami a nail-biting 38-34 victory.

Mormon Magic - About 15 minutes into this game, I was workshopping a ‘Baylor has quit on Dave Aranda’ take. Fortunately, the Bears clawed themselves back into this game but still lost 34-28 at the hands of a now 5-0 BYU.

BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff is the best quarterback you’ve never heard of. Retzlaff was a bit up and down with a pair of INTs but also chipped in with three touchdowns. Baylor rushed for just 63 yards on 28 carries. Woof!

Let’s keep an eye on the Dave Aranda getting fired space.

Mensah Mania - I’m officially ready to declare Tulane as the best G5 team in America.

Led by livewire quarterback Darian Mensah, the Green Wave demolished a good USF team 45-10. Mensah finished with an extremely efficient stat line of 18/22 for 326 yards and three touchdowns. He’s blossoming into a truly delightful quarterback and I am here for it.

Two Idiots Fighting - *insert the two idiots fighting meme*

Good for Oklahoma for beating Auburn 27-21, I guess. I suppose when a true freshman quarterback goes on the road and wins that’s a good thing.

Check out this funny chart depicting just how badly Auburn, once again, massively blew a football game.

No Sluka, No Problem - After a week of controversy, UNLV dominated Fresno State 59-14. Great win for the Rebs! No Matthew Sluka (or 100k), no problem.

WIndiana - Indiana wins again, putting the Hoosiers at 5-0 on the season. God bless, new head coach Curt Cignetti. What a job he has done in a short time in Bloomington!

America’s Team - Womp, womp, womp.

My beloved Bobcats from Texas State massively choked away a rivalry game to Sam Houston State by a score of 40-39. The Bobcats were up 22 in the first quarter, but the well ran dry.

The Bearkats knocked down a field goal with just seconds remaining to seal the comeback win. Huge win for SHSU and a big loss for Texas State.

Buckeyes ball out - Ohio State dogwalked Michigan State. Great teams take care of business.

Florida State fails again - I’m done talking about FSU. This is a terrible zombie team not worth writing about. What a shame. Good win for you, SMU!

Texas Tech triumphs - Hey, look, Texas Tech is 4-1 after its 44-41 win against Cincinnati. That is not nothin’. Good for Joey Maguire.

-1 units entering the week

-13 Army vs. Temple - +1 unit

-13 Iowa State vs. Houston - +1 unit

+7 Washington State vs. Boise State - -1 unit

Overall: 0 units

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