Georgia and Penn State Have problems! (WEEK 5)
The week we all were waiting for did not disappoint. We had multiple top ten upsets, top teams being pushed to the brink, great crowd environments and we finally got into conference play. It feels like any given team on any given week can win. The parity in college football has grown to the highest level, and it just gives us fans an excuse to watch more football. The days of having the same “powerhouses” are over!
Home win streaks come to an end
The Washington Huskies lost to the Ohio State Buckeyes ending their 22 game win streak at home. The Huskies despite having the streak were not favored in this game. Even though they came up short, I believe the Huskies will be able to upset some good teams this season as they are trying to build off last year's success.
The Georgia Bulldogs were upset by the Alabama Crimson Tide snapping their 33 game home win streak. The Bulldogs were favored in this game but much like the Tennessee game, they got off to a slow start. Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart falls to a 1-8 record against Alabama and I believe it has changed him. Multiple decisions in this game have been scrutinised due to the fact that he doesn’t usually make those types of calls. Smart opted to go for it on 4th down early in the fourth quarter instead of attempting a field goal to tie the game. If you have watched the Bulldogs under Smart you know that he believes in his players resilience and plays pretty conservatively when behind in games. Did the pressure get to him? The Bulldogs may be in some trouble this year as they still have lots of matchup games remaining on their schedule. Georgia’s defense has struggled against conference opponents thus far particularly early into games. As we learned last night, the offense will not be able to play from behind every game if they want to have success. The offense is struggling as well as receivers still seem to be dropping passes. Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo likes to rotate in lots of receivers and running backs during drives and I wonder if this is hurting the team. Some guys need to feel the flow of the game before they get to their full potential and the rotation could be stunting that.
Is Penn State ever going to win the big game? James Franklin falls to 4-21 against top ten teams after losing to Oregon last night in double overtime. The final score looked closer than what actually played out. Once again, under Franklin the defense always seems to show up in these big time matchups. It has always been the offense that is holding him back. Going into the season we all had high hopes for quarterback Drew Allar. Last night, Allar was looking to change the narrative about winning and playing well in big games, but he struggled once again. Until late into the fourth quarter the Nittany Lions were struggling to get anything going but were able to come back to take the game into overtime. Allar threw an interception to start their double overtime possession and the Ducks were able to come out victorious. Penn State has once again put themselves in a tough position as they have a weaker schedule this season. A majority of their players returned this year because they had “unfinished business” and this is not the way they wanted to start out. James Franklin will be put on the hot seat by fans, media and maybe even the athletic director if he can’t figure out a way to win these games fast. Their toughest games left on their schedule: Ohio State (in Columbus), and Indiana (at home). They will at least need to go 1-1 in those games to have a chance at their goals.
The SEC is the most unpredictable league right now. If you told me two months ago that Oklahoma, Ole Miss and Texas A&M would be leading the charge, I would say you're crazy. That’s what’s transpired so far, one full week into conference play. If I was the commissioner of the SEC, I would be frightened. All of these teams will have to play each other and who knows who’s going to be left standing. When you have a league that has some much parity it can cause good teams to have a skewed record in a bad way. Hopefully, the committee is able to differentiate how good teams are without having a stellar record or else a lot of SEC teams will be left out this year.
My Top 10 rankings after week 5
Ohio State
Miami
Oregon
Oklahoma
Ole Miss
Texas A&M
Alabama
Penn State
LSU
Indiana
*these rankings are based off of what I have seen so far (eye test)
Some teams are very close but it can change week to week even in wins!
