2017 Week 5 CFB Recap Comment Count

Alex Cook

troylsu17

I… I think it’s time to talk about the SEC.

It’s not that good. It’s a shell of its former self.

Sure, it’s strong at the top, same as it ever was. Alabama is still a ruthless, inexorable death machine – churning whichever poor fools are unlucky enough to be in the path of its maw into mulch. This week, they vaporized Ole Miss: 66-3 may not erase the memories of their two losses to the Rebels in recent years, but that Bama gave them a worse whoopin’ than what they’d give an FCS sacrifice suggests they wanted some measure of payback. Does this Death Star have a problematic exhaust port? Maybe. Will any of their regular season opponents be able to find it? Almost definitely not.

Georgia is all alone in that second tier, and with an authoritative 41-0 beatdown of Tennessee in Knoxville, the Dawgs are clearly the best team in the East and should be able to take the division to set up a matchup with Bama in the SEC Title game. Quarterback Jake Fromm pulled a Wally Pipp on Jacob Eason and UGA has been content to play it very safe in the passing game: he threw it just 15 times for 84 yards – and ran for two surprising touchdowns. The Georgia running game was excellent as usual, churning out almost three hundred yards between a cast of talented backs. The offense is functional, if unspectacular, as Smart is content to have his defense win games.

What they did to Tennessee was remarkable – from the first play, an interception by Tyrique McGhee that set up a short field for a field goal, the Bulldog defense was dominant. Some of that surely is due to the general derpiness of the Tennessee offense, which has become even worse post-DeBord, but that alone can’t explain how they got shut out at home with a few talented skill position players. The Vols had seven first downs on the game, had four turnovers, 3.5 yards per pass attempt, 2.1 yards per carry, and zero points. The Bulldog defense was amazing against Mississippi State the week before, and should be similarly excellent against the rest of their regular season schedule.

Alabama is Alabama, Georgia is quickly becoming a store-brand Alabama knockoff, and most of the rest of the league is thoroughly mediocre at best. Who’s the third-best team? It’s probably Auburn: the Tigers acquitted themselves well in a road loss to a likely playoff team in Clemson and revved up the offense on Saturday against a team with a pulse, winning 49-10 against Mississippi State (the Bulldogs are now 1-2 in blowouts over the last three weeks).

[I try to back up my #hot #take after the JUMP]

Beyond that though:

  • Florida might be the next-best team in the league, despite juggling between quarterbacks, pulling wins against Tennessee and Kentucky out of their ass, and just generally being plagued by the post-Meyer ennui that killed the Muschamp era and has made the McElwain era an interminable slog despite the modest success.
  • Butch Jones is a dead man walking after losing a six-touchdown shutout at home to a rival – Tennessee had been frustrating underachievers in the minds of their fans in the couple of seasons proceeding this one, but this weekend’s loss to Georgia was a disaster the likes of which can’t really be recovered from. Jones’s buyout is immense – and it still would be a shock to see him last in Knoxville past this season.
  • The have-nots in the East aren’t any good either. Kentucky almost upset Florida for the first time in three decades – and then beat Eastern Michigan by just four points. Vanderbilt started 3-0 and may be decent, but Alabama and Florida provided reality checks in the last two weeks. South Carolina is at least somewhat interesting – though they blew a fourth quarter lead at Texas A&M on Saturday. Missouri is a dumpster fire.
  • The West – outside of Bama, and to a much lesser degree, Auburn – is a shell of its former self. The odds that Ole Miss survives the Freeze fallout remotely intact as a program are pretty much nil. Kevin Sumlin’s tenure started out with incredible promise and has fizzled out into disappointment after disappointment; they’ve gone 4-1 after the spectacular implosion against UCLA in the opener, but his job security is tenuous at best. The Bret Bielema experience at Arkansas has been disappointing all the way down. The shine has come off Mississippi State, as they followed up a breakthrough beatdown of LSU with two losses and an aggregate scoreline of 90-13.
  • Speaking of LSU: what has been and should be one of the premier programs in the SEC hit a nadir on Saturday. They not only lost to Troy (a Sun Belt team), but trailed the Trojans 17-0 in the third quarter and needed a frenzied comeback to make the score even look respectable. The Tigers turned the ball over four times, panicked and briefly put in a freshman quarterback, didn’t convert a single third down all game, and gave up almost five yards per carry to a Group of Five squad. Les Miles had established a given level of success and provided more than a fair amount of frustration; Ed Orgeron seems to have all the frustration and none of the success. Firing him would cost LSU a ton of money (on the heels of Miles’s massive buyout) so it may not happen – it seems likely that they’ll slide into irrelevance as long as he’s in charge.

For years, the SEC was held up as the gold standard for college football – and it was. Beyond the string of consecutive national championships, it was the consistently depth of the league that made it so strong. The Alabama dynasty remains, Georgia is very good, Auburn could realistically fall anywhere from “okay” to “very good” (we don’t know yet), and that’s it. Florida has fallen off considerably, LSU has fallen off even more, Tennessee is still wandering in the wilderness (and just took a brutal loss on the chin), and there are no upstarts to be found anywhere this season. Consider Bama’s SEC schedule prior to the Iron Bowl: @ Vandy, Ole Miss, @ A&M, Arkansas, Tennessee, LSU, and @ Mississippi State. Not great.

wsuusc17

Washington State 30, USC 27

This weekend’s best #Pac12AfterDark game came on a Friday night contest that ended after 2:30 Eastern Time; it was a treat for anyone who managed to stay up that late, as Washington State edged USC in a close battle of undefeated teams in Pullman to enter the picture as a darkhorse playoff contender. USC had struggled somewhat throughout the early part of the season – having trouble with Western Michigan, barely beating a not-very-good Texas team at home – but with Sam Darnold, a well-hyped NFL prospect, at the helm, the Trojans were receiving plenty of respect from the college football intelligentsia. The Trojans are still the favorites to win the Pac-12 South (the Arizona schools are bad, UCLA has no defense, Colorado is off to an 0-2 start in league play, Utah travels to Los Angeles to face USC), but their playoff hopes took a big hit with the loss.

Darnold didn’t play well against Wazzu: he threw a pick (his eighth! of the season), had just 5.7 yards per pass attempt, and even though he scored two rushing touchdowns on zone read keepers, it was a mediocre night overall for the highly-touted quarterback (fortunately for USC, tailback Ronald Jones returned from injury to pick up the slack). Darnold was outplayed by his counterpart Luke Falk, who threw for 340 yards on 51 attempts, had two touchdowns on catch-and-run plays, and had an interception of his own. Falk continued his ascent up the Pac-12 career leaderboards, setting the record for completions in a career on Friday. The interception he threw in the second quarter was extremely unfortunate: defensive end Uchenna Nwosu broke off his pass rush, batted the ball in the air, it ricocheted off an offensive lineman’s face mask, and fell into his hands inside the Wazzu five-yard line. At the time, USC was up four and could have made it a two-score game, but the Cougar defense held up and forced a field goal. A long Washington State touchdown drive at the end of the half made it 17-17 heading into halftime.

The third quarter was uneventful, as each team notched a field goal and traded punts for most of the period on several three-and-out possessions. Washington State got the ball to start the fourth and converted two third downs in their own territory with medium distance before facing a fourth-and-two at the Trojan 34. Falk completed a pass to Kyle Sweet to get the first down, and followed that up with a shovel pass to Jamal Morrow for the go-ahead touchdown. USC responded with an impressive drive of their own – one that was extended by an impressive throw from Darnold to a well-covered Tyler Vaughns on fourth-and-thirteen – and capped it with Darnold’s second rushing touchdown of the night to tie the game with five minutes remaining. Morrow popped a long run to get into field goal range and Wazzu hit a field goal with less than two minutes left to produce the game’s decisive score; Darnold was stripped on a sack and the Cougars recovered to seal the win a few plays later.

It wasn’t the type of mayhem and anarchy that has grown to define the #PAc12AfterDark games, but it was a compelling, close matchup with high stakes between two quality teams. Washington State has historically had very little success in games against both USC and highly-ranked teams, so it was easily the best win of the Mike Leach era. He has his quarterback and a host of exciting playmakers, the defense is in coordinator Alex Grinch’s capable hands, and the season finale in the Apple Cup against Washington should again be a pivotal contest with conference title and playoff implications, perhaps on both sides. Washington State has still yet to play a road game, and five of their last seven games (including at Washington) are away from home, so the remaining schedule is difficult, but Leach’s Cougars definitely entered the national picture with that win over USC.

clemvt17

Clemson 31, Virginia Tech 17

The final score doesn’t accurately depict how this game went – from the beginning, it was clear that Clemson was the far better team, and they spent most of the game on cruise control before giving up two touchdowns in the fourth quarter (one came on a two-yard drive at the beginning of the fourth following an impressive Greg Stroman punt return, the other was on Virginia Tech’s last drive of the game). The Tigers set the tone early: their first possession was a methodical, chain-moving march for a field goal, and their second ended on a quick touchdown on a long wheel route to an uncovered running back, Tavien Feaster; their defense started the game by forcing four straight points and only conceding one first down in that span.

A conservative Virginia Tech offense – that was rightfully fearful of giving up turnovers – was able to gain some traction towards the end of the first half, stringing together consecutive drives that resulted in field goal attempts (they missed one). Unfortunately for Tech, they conceded a touchdown on the Clemson possession between those two drives; Kelly Bryant hit Deon Cain for two long passes to set up a short touchdown run. The score was 17-3 headed into halftime, and for the second time in three weeks, Clemson had completely taken hold of a marquee road game at night against a ranked opponent.

The Hokies started the second half with great position after moving the Tigers backwards on a three-and-out drive, but star defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence forced a fumble (recovered by linebacker Dorian O’Daniel) near midfield to get the ball back; five minutes of game time later, Clemson worked the ball down the field, converted a few third downs, and punched the ball into the end zone with a Feaster touchdown run on fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line to make it a three-score game. Tech then opened up their offense with redshirt quarterback Josh Jackson: they were able to move the ball a little better (he threw for 251 yards), but he threw two picks – one of which was bobbled by a receiver, plucked away by O’Daniel, and returned for a touchdown.

Clemson was actually outgained by Virginia Tech (mostly due to garbage time, but still), and the offense wasn’t exactly great – they managed just 3.4 yards per carry and, outside of Bryant, their running game was ineffective. The defense was so dominant that it didn’t really matter. They’ve now won three games against teams ranked in the Top 15 at the time, and with Florida State’s injury at quarterback and general disappointment, the rest of the schedule sets up nicely for a third consecutive playoff run. A trip to NC State could be tricky and they did drop an unexpected game last season, but Clemson has the most impressive resume of any team by far through five weeks – and a championship-level defense can give Bryant and the retooled offense a large margin of error.

Could we be in for a national championship rubber match between the Tigers and Alabama? It sure seems like a strong possibility.

okstttu17

Other Notable Results

  • Oklahoma State 41, Texas Tech 34. The Cowboys recovered from a loss to TCU by going on the road to Lubbock and pulling out a close win against a feisty Red Raider team with Mason Rudolph scrambling for a late, go-ahead touchdown. Rudolph played well against an improved Tech defense (though he did throw a 95-yard pick six in the first half) – almost ten yards per attempt and three passing touchdowns. The Tech defense has improved considerably from last season, but it was torched by Oklahoma State’s explosive offense for most of the night. A second consecutive loss could have put the Cowboys in an insurmountable hole in the Big 12 title race, so it was crucial for them to overcome a Tech comeback and escape with a win.
  • Miami 31, Duke 6. Believe it or not, Duke had been pretty good entering this game, but they were no match for Miami – a team that could eventually be a foil for Virginia Tech in the ACC title game (somehow, the Canes have never won the Coastal and made it). It was an impressive defensive showing for The U against Duke: the Blue Devils were able to move the ball decently enough, but were stopped on downs in the red zone on the opening series of the game, were held to two field goals on time-consuming drives, and turned it over twice. The game was somewhat close until big play touchdowns broke the game open in the fourth quarter for Miami. After a two-week layoff following Hurricane Irma, Miami had sort of a tough time with Toledo, but recovered this week; they face Florida State next in a pivotal matchup for both teams. Speaking of FSU, they escaped with a road win against a then-undefeated Wake Forest team on Saturday, but their leaky offensive line could put skinny freshman quarterback James Blackman in trouble against their rivals.
  • Wisconsin 33, Northwestern 24. It was a weird game in Madison for the overwhelming Big Ten West frontrunners: the Badgers fumbled on the first play of the game, Alex Hornibrook threw two deep interceptions in the first half, and Northwestern took a 10-7 lead into halftime. Wisconsin woke up in the second half, scoring two touchdowns on their first two possessions – the first was set up by a bomb from Hornibrook to Quintez Cephus, the second was set up by a Northwestern punt that netted nine yards following the return and a personal foul penalty. Clayton Thorson threw a pick-six early in the fourth to make it a three-score game and it looked like Wisconsin had sealed the result, but two quick touchdowns put the Wildcats in range of potentially sending the game to overtime. They got the ball back down seven with just over a minute left and had to go the length of the field; Thorson was sacked in the end zone for a safety, which ended the game.
  • Auburn 49, Mississippi State 10. Circling back to the SEC briefly before the end: Auburn looked really good against Mississippi State and the offense finally broke out against what’s probably a quality defense (the Tigers’ 51 points the week before against Missouri should be taken with a giant grain of salt). Jarrett Stidham was excellent in the win over MSU – he threw for 16.5 yards per attempt, had two passing touchdowns, and made it a three-score game early in the second quarter with a long pass to Will Hastings, one of four completions that went for over 40 yards. Running back Kerryon Johnson was impossible for the Bulldog defense to stop; he had over a hundred yards and punched in three touchdowns. On one hand, Mississippi State might not be any good now that we know their big win over LSU didn’t mean a whole lot, but it was an impressive showing for Auburn nonetheless. The Tigers host Georgia and Alabama late in the season, and are the likeliest loss for both of those teams.

Comments

ak47

October 4th, 2017 at 2:22 PM ^

No because the bottom of the big ten is complete ass and the middle more or less doesn't exist.  Who is the second best west team? Iowa? Purdue? the 4th best east team might be msu?  The big ten has 4 good teams but the rest of the league is no bueno. Good coaches at a lot of schools could change that but not this year.

Magnum P.I.

October 4th, 2017 at 2:49 PM ^

Top to bottom, I think the Big Ten is better than the SEC, though:

 

Alabama > Penn State

Georgia > Michigan

Ohio State > Auburn

Wisconsin > Texas A&M

Purdue = Florida

Michigan State > Mississippi State

Maryland > Kentucky

Iowa > Vanderbilt

Indiana > Arkansas

Minnesota = LSU

Northwestern = Tennessee

Nebraska = South Carolina

Illinois = Ole Miss

Missouri > Rutgers

 

Discuss!

In reply to by ijohnb

TrueBlue2003

October 4th, 2017 at 3:04 PM ^

they were destroyed by a not-very-good Duke team.  I buy that they're approx = Tenn (who before this week hadn't actually looked that bad with a win over GT and a near win at Florida).

ijohnb

October 4th, 2017 at 3:15 PM ^

don't disagree with that, but he has Georgia > Michigan.  It is possible, but if you are going transitive properties, Michigan blew out Florida who Tennessee lossed to in the last seconds.  Georgia then blew out Tennessee.  So, all we know for sure is that Michigan and Georgia are far better than Tennessee or Florida.  I'm not sure what indicates that Georgia is better than Michigan at this point.  They both have NFL caliber d-lines and impressive front sevens.  I would probably want to wait to see O'Korn for a game or two before making that call.

In reply to by ijohnb

TrueBlue2003

October 4th, 2017 at 3:29 PM ^

so much as evaluating a complete resume to try to determine how good any particular team is as well as one can after 4-5 games.

UGAs destruction of Tenn was on the road and it was more complete for the entire game than ours was against Florida, and their two wins @ND and against Miss St are both far more impressive than our 2nd and 3rd best wins.

I think it's close between us and UGA, but I buy that they've been better than us so far.  If JOK represents an improvement on offense that we think is sustainable, then we'll have closed the gap.

dragonchild

October 4th, 2017 at 3:03 PM ^

The bottom of ANY conference is ass so that's not saying anything.  Meanwhile, the B1G's middle is larger than it's been in years.

Ohio State is kind of performing below expectations but remains a terrifying machine.  Michigan, Penn State and Wisconsin all have problems but could probably hang with almost anyone in the country just on strength of defense.  I mean, if you can beat any of them, you deserve to be ranked, which by definition is good.

Below that, the teams aren't good, but I'd call a number of them at least mediocre.  Maryland is underperforming because they're out of QBs but that's bad luck; otherwise Durkin seems to have them trending up.  From quite a low, but they're better than they were.  Michigan State is a surprise, punching above their weight for the problems they should be having.  Indiana and Minnesota, stock down, but their defenses are still good enough to win some games.  We just gave Purdue a reality check but their new coach has given them a shot in the arm.  Northwestern and Iowa are. . . well, they are what they are.  They've lost their rabbit's feet and now get what you'd expect from their talent and scheme, but for the most part they're winning the games they should.  That there are games they should win is saying something.

So no, it's not like the B1G is loaded, but there's a lot of respectable mediocrity in the middle, if there's such a thing, and I say there is, because there's going 7-5 or 6-6 and walking ass-first into a mid-December bowl, and then there's getting dominated by Troy.

Ron Utah

October 4th, 2017 at 2:49 PM ^

Yes, the winner of the B1G will have faced a tougher schedule than 'Bama, but not Clemson.  Clemson has beaten three top-15 teams.  Sure, some of those teams were overrated, but Clemson is, IMO, the best team in the country right now.

'Bama beat anFSU team that lost their QB in the game and has since lost to NC State.  Their other opponents have been tomato cans, and, while they've stomped said cans, there isn't a ranked team on their schedule until their final game (Iron Bowl).  We'll see if Auburn really deserves their ranking.

Clemson, on the other hand, has already bested the meat of their schedule and really could only slip-up at NC State or when they host FSU.  But let's not forget that this is college football, and Pitt knocked-off the eventual MNCs last season.

The B1G is loaded.  OSU, PSU, Wisconsin, and Michigan get the most chatter, but other legimate football teams include Northwestern, Maryland, and, to a lesser degree, Purdue, Iowa, Minnesota, and maybe even MSU.  That's 10 out of 14 teams that don't suck.  There is no other conference that can make that claim.

If Michigan makes it to the playoff, they will probably defeated at least four ranked teams to do so--Florida (check), PSU, Wisconsin, and OSU, and then whoever wins the west.  They could drop one of those games and still get into the CFP, but if they run the table, that would be five ranked teams, three of who are currently top 10.

Sorry SEC, you're just not the best anymore.  Wait, I'm not sorry.  Suck it, SEC.

funkywolve

October 4th, 2017 at 3:40 PM ^

Francois got hurt late in the game.  Bama had pretty much controlled the game when Francois was playing.  The fact that Francois got hurt and when he got hurt in the Alabama game had very little impact on the outcome of the game.

TrueBlue2003

October 4th, 2017 at 3:06 PM ^

they're in a pretty decent ACC division, they played one of two good teams from the other division (VT) and their non-conference schedule is stellar with games against Auburn and @South Carolina.

That probably puts them on equal schedule footing as us this year, considering we played a not horrible SEC team in non-conference (but no one else decent, RIP AFA), have the toughest division in football to navigate, and crossover against Wisconsin.

We will have played a tougher schedule than Alabama through the regular season.

Chitown Kev

October 4th, 2017 at 2:17 PM ^

what Jaw'ja almost always does against Florida and find an obscene way to lose...they ARE good, I give them that and they are the second best team in the SEC...

EDIT- Texas A&M might have an interesting choice to make...they could very well go anywhere from 8-4 to 10-2...I don't think that I would fire Sumln under those circumstances as I don't see any other coach doing any better there...if they get another Johnny Football maybe they can compete for a NC or at least get to the SEC CCG...but with Alabama, Auburn and LSU in their division...maybe not...

dragonchild

October 4th, 2017 at 2:44 PM ^

The SEC's woes seem to be more bad coaching than bad players.  The SEC does whatever the hell it wants with the NCAA's blessing, and remains as talented as ever.  But the coaches coasted on reputation and ill-gotten talent, and a few years ago everyone woke up and realized it's a one-team conference.  Outside of playing Alabama, no one's scared of the SEC anymore.

TrueBlue2003

October 4th, 2017 at 7:34 PM ^

I'm asking if there is objective proof that they have the same level of talent as 5-10 years ago, which was your claim.

You're correct that if they operate around the rules and still recruit 30 guys a year, than the new rules wouldn't have impacted talent.  And I just asked if that's the case, and pointed out that if indeed the new rules have reduced class sizes, then they objectively have less talent than with larger class sizes.

I do completely agree that coaching seems to be down in the league.  Urban is gone, Spurrier is gone, Les and Franklin (yeah, they aren't great, but better than their replacements) are gone.  That is certainly part of it, and may also contribute to worse talent if they're not recruiting as well.

Genuinely curious as to whether class sizes have declined with the new rules.

 

MMBbones

October 4th, 2017 at 2:23 PM ^

+1 for the use of "acquitted themselves well."  Very Harbaugh-speak of you.

But I'm excessively drunk for a Wednesday afternoon.  When I sober up I might be less impressed...

Edit:  Oh, wait, I see I can't +1 an op.  You'd think I'd know that after 9 years on this board...

Indiana Blue

October 4th, 2017 at 2:35 PM ^

will likely be very cautious re: bagmen, lady escorts etc ... which will reduce talent level for those abusive schools.  I assume the Alabama game of "medical redshirts" is still in full gear producing a continuous supply of NFL talent recruiting ... as 1 year scholarships are the easiest method to upgrade recruiting talent. Someday ... hopefully the Alabama cheat method will be fully disclosed.

Go Blue!

 

MadMatt

October 4th, 2017 at 2:42 PM ^

I don't care how it happens.  Saban retiring.  Their bagmen network exposed.  Unfortunate injuries coinciding with with their thinnest personnel groupl.  Or, just plain terrible turn-over luck.  This GD team has combined undeniable excellence with the most unbelievable run of good luck we've ever seen.  I can't wait to see their fan base have to deal with the downs as well as the ups of college football, for the first time this frickin' century.

TrueBlue2003

October 4th, 2017 at 3:20 PM ^

The DuBose - Shula years were pretty bad.  They had their RR-Hoke era. Not that that makes them deserve this dynasty because it's been acheived through shady practices, but let's not pretend this is a program immnune to downturns.  It's a program that's only as good as it's current coach (as is the case for all teams in the modern era in which exposure is ubiquitous).

There are only two programs that have avoided an extended stretch of mediocrity this century, because they've avoided poor coaching hires: OSU (F them) and OU (we'll see if Lincoln Riley can maintain the recruiting level of Stoops - but he seems like a good hire so far).

Georgia and LSU (before this year, but their downturn has now arrived as well) are close to this list as they had managed to be in that Lloyd Carr/Phil Fulmer/Bo Pelini range of 9-3 but just not good enough for their fan bases.  Better than mediocre, but not good enough, is the worst they've been this century.

MadMatt

October 4th, 2017 at 2:35 PM ^

Just a contrarian thought: I don't know if Clemson is really as formidable as their resume would lead you to believe.  From the sounds of it, their offense is good but not explosive, and their ferocious defense has relied on turnovers.  There is a high luck component to those (in addition to the skill of the DBs in making interceptions), and what happens when they run into an offense that is not afraid to run it's high risk/high reward plays?  (Like, oh say...Penn State?)

Yes, Clemson is elite, but I would recommend to their fans that they hold off on buying no-refund airline tickets to the NC Game.

lhglrkwg

October 4th, 2017 at 3:40 PM ^

Clemson handled good Louisville, Auburn, and Virginia Tech teams with relative ease. The CFP race right now looks like Bama and Clemson are in a class of their own. Dabo really seems to have his program at the "we don't rebuild, we reload" point

gte896u

October 4th, 2017 at 6:37 PM ^

the Coastal is coming down to the same game it always comes down to. when in doubt, go with the best QB in the division. currently, thats TaQuon Marshall :)

UM Griff

October 4th, 2017 at 9:03 PM ^

A lot of cannibalization by the end of the season - the joy of being in the Big Ten East.

Wisconsin’s path to the West championship looks pretty secure.