College football is unpredictable and delightful, which is why we live for what happens on Saturdays. And Week 5 certainly delivered, with the White Out game coming down to the final play at exactly the same time as Alabama beating Georgia in Athens.
Each Sunday, I’ll publish my biggest takeaways from the college football weekend. I’ll highlight the most interesting storylines, track College Football Playoff contenders and specifically shout out individual and team performances that deserve the spotlight.
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1. Penn State still cannot win The Big Game.
There’s not much else to say at this point. Everyone knows the narrative. Everyone knows the statistic. James Franklin is now 4-21 against AP top-10 opponents. For most of Saturday night, the Nittany Lions looked like they could not field a functional offense. And this was the team that celebrated the return of its veteran quarterback and two players who were supposed to be the two of the best running backs in the country. Penn State went out and hired the most expensive defensive coordinator in the nation, and it added receivers from the transfer portal to try to address its deficiencies from a season ago. And yet.
Penn State had a White Out. The Nittany Lions were favored to win the game — against a young, inexperienced (albeit talented) Oregon team led by Dan Lanning. And they couldn’t get it done. There’s no way to change this story until you actually win one. Despite a furious fourth-quarter comeback, Penn State again fell short. And I don’t know that we should be surprised at this point.
2. We, collectively, panicked too early about Alabama.
Part of my job here on Saturday nights is to give you my knee-jerk reactions to the day that was in college football. So I, like most college football viewers, took Alabama to task for losing to unranked Florida State in Week 1. The sky was falling in Tuscaloosa after a fourth loss to an unranked team in less than two seasons — the same as Nick Saban had over 17 years at Alabama! And now it’s not after a statement win at Georgia. As it turns out, Kalen DeBoer and Ryan Grubb still can coach. And Ty Simpson is one of the best quarterbacks in the country, which is something that’s been obvious to anyone who has watched the Crimson Tide over the past few weeks. I think it’s time to resume the usual conversation about Alabama — SEC contender, College Football Playoff participant, etc. Bama’s back.
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3. Brian Kelly should answer for the LSU offense.
I know the LSU coach doesn’t like getting questioned about it, but he really needs to be held to account for how poorly this offense is playing. The Tigers are completely one-dimensional because they cannot run the ball. At all. LSU accounted for 57 total rushing yards — averaging a putrid 2.6 yards per carry — against an Ole Miss rushing defense that ranked 122th in the nation entering Sunday. Garrett Nussmeier hasn’t played well this season, either, but it’s even more difficult to try to throw the ball downfield if your opponent knows that’s all you can do.
The LSU defense is significantly improved. But the offensive line is a problem. The run game is a problem. And that creates a major problem for a team that entered the season with national title aspirations.
4. The ACC race just got a whole lot more interesting.
Miami still looks like the team to beat in the ACC — the Canes’ offensive and defensive lines are legitimately very good. But beyond Miami, who’s the second-best team in the ACC? Florida State got upset by Virginia in double overtime in a stunner on Friday night, which resulted in the fastest field storm I’ve ever seen in college football. Then, Georgia Tech nearly dropped a game at Wake Forest, needing overtime to escape with a still-unblemished record. Syracuse, the league’s darling after a win over Clemson, just got shellacked by Duke at home.
Could Duke make a run after its nonconference losses? The schedule is favorable, with no regular-season matchups against Miami or Florida State. Could Virginia get rolling after its biggest win in six years and find success against a very manageable schedule? I won’t write anyone off (expect Dabo Swinney and Clemson) or pencil anyone into the ACC title game just yet. Because it’s impossible to know!
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5. It’s a matter of when — not if — Arkansas moves on from Sam Pittman at this point.
The Razorbacks lost to Notre Dame at home by 43 points on Saturday. It was a game that was essentially over by halftime, as the Fighting Irish had piled up 420 total yards of offense (and four Jeremiyah Love touchdowns) by the break. It’s not just that Arkansas lost to Notre Dame (because that result in itself is not shocking, as Vegas suggested) — but it’s the way the Razorbacks fell. That game felt the same way that Oklahoma State’s loss to Tulsa felt. Or Virginia Tech’s loss to Old Dominion. Or UCLA’s loss to New Mexico. While Notre Dame is far more talented than those opponents, the result felt the same in that there’s no coming back from it.
The only remaining question is when Arkansas makes the move. If the school opts to fire Pittman now, it will owe him 75 percent of his remaining contract (which would be about $10 million). If it waits a few weeks and Pittman’s record since 2021 falls below the .500 mark, then that buyout drops to 50 percent (and about $7 million). I’d argue that the money isn’t worth the pain of waiting. Arkansas should act now.
