The last week of September is when college football really starts to go crazy. Every team is in the middle of conference play, and the first notable game of league play has our attention.
Luckily for No. 2 Georgia and No. 4 Alabama, the Tide shocked the Dawgs 41-34, resulting in one of the most entertaining regular season battles in years. It was given to me. In fact, in Week 5, the No. 6 ranked team fell.
Amidst the turmoil, we introduce you to the biggest winners and losers of Week 5 of college football, including a coach who rose to the elite level, a receiver who entered the Biletnikov race, and a staff who once again pulled defeat from the jaws of true victory. Fashion like never before.
Winner: Alabama coach Karen DeBoer
SEC fans are skeptical of outsiders, and with good reason. Karen DeBoer, who has never coached further southeast than Carbondale, Illinois, had a few questions. Consider all those questions answered after the Tide took a 28-0 lead and held on to defeat the powerhouse Georgia Bulldogs 41-34 in the Game of the Year so far. Sho.
DeBoer is an elite quarterback coach, but Jalen Milroe has exceeded expectations. He became the first quarterback in Associated Press poll history to record 300 yards passing, 100 yards rushing and two rushing scores against a top-five opponent. While Georgia managed to get back on track in the second half, Kane Womack’s defense held the Bulldogs to 3.1 yards per carry and forced three interceptions from Carson Beck. That included the game-clinching hit in the end zone by freshman Xavien Brown.
Certainly, DeBoer will need to take some lessons from this fight. He tends to let off the gas early and get his team back into the game. That doesn’t work in the SEC. Saturday almost cost him. But now, DeBoer has an impressive record as a power conference coach, going 30-3 and 6-0 against Kirby Smart, Steve Sarkisian and Dan Lanning. Welcome to the elite coaching tier, Karen.
After last week’s loss to Arkansas, Auburn coach Hugh Freeze insisted he believes if the team plays nine more games, they can win each time. Perhaps he feels the same way after the Tigers’ shocking 27-21 loss at home against Oklahoma, where they blew a 21-10 lead in the fourth quarter. Auburn outgained Oklahoma by nearly 200 yards, but Peyton Thorne’s No. 6 pick in the fourth quarter cost the game.
Under Freese, Auburn has put together a masterclass in dropping winnable games over the past two years. So far this year, the Tigers have likely outscored California, Arkansas and Oklahoma, only to lose. A year ago, the Tigers suffered a 31-4 loss to Alabama and a three-touchdown loss to New Mexico State. Auburn is already a bad team. The last thing they need is to lose a game in which they actually played well. It will be very difficult to get just two more wins on the schedule. The defense is in jeopardy, having its worst season since Gene Chizik was fired.
Oh, and by the way, it’s no wonder Alabama replaced the greatest coach of all time with a new legend. Freese is on track to become the first Auburn coach to post three consecutive losing seasons since Earl Brown from 1948-1950.
The Running Rebels became the talk of college football for some strange reason after starting quarterback Matthew Sulka was ruled out for the remainder of the season just days before a big game against Fresno State. It turns out UNLV backup Hajj Malik Williams was ready to be in the spotlight.
UNLV took out all its frustration against the Bulldogs, defeating FSU 59-14 behind a near perfect Williams for 300 total yards and four touchdowns. The Rebels led 21-0 at the half and never looked back to re-establish themselves as the Mountain West’s favorite to take on Boise State. More importantly, it erased any doubts about whether the program was ready to remain in the College Football Playoff race after the quarterback change.
The Rebels invested heavily in their 2024 roster, resulting in a No. 6 national ranking. It all came crashing down in one match against a talented opponent. The Rebels took the lead in the fourth quarter and missed a field goal that could have forced overtime to end a 10-game winning streak at home dating back to Nov. 24, 2022.
While the team’s performance has been disappointing, the path the team is setting is far worse. Suddenly, a road trip to South Carolina and No. 14 LSU feels much more difficult. The home game against No. 2 Georgia will not be easy. The Rebels have little margin for error to stay in the elite team conversation.
The expectations for Smith entering his first season at Ohio State were unexpected. Smith exceeded expectations in his first Big Ten game, a 38-7 win over Michigan State. The freshman and former No. 1 recruit played his way for the Spartans, making two highlight-reel one-handed catches and adding 19 yards rushing for a touchdown. Ohio State entered the season with a hole next to receiver Emeka Egbuka, and Smith had already stepped into that hole. The next game against Iowa will be the real test of whether Biletnikoff or he can be in the Heisman race.
Loser: Baylor coach Dave Aranda
The Bears suffered a truly heartbreaking overtime loss to Colorado in Week 4. Unfortunately, an emotional hangover cost them a must-win game against No. 22 BYU. The Cougars went up 21-0 in the first quarter, but the margin proved too large in the end, losing 34-28 at home. The Bears had two chances for winning drives late in the game, but they ended in turnovers on downs and interceptions. The Bears have certainly improved from last season, but the same bad trends continue to show up in key moments for an Aranda team. The Bears, who started 2-3, have a wide lead over the eight-ball in terms of making it to a bowl game. Next week’s trip to No. 18 Iowa State could be the nadir moment for Aranda’s tenure.
Indiana coach Curt Cignetti talked about big games every time he took over, but the results have come sooner than anyone could have dreamed. The Hoosiers shocked Maryland 42-28, reaching 5-0 for the first time since 1967. The list of opponents doesn’t jump off the page, but Indiana’s advantage is clear. Coming off a two-touchdown victory over the Terrapins, Indiana outscored its FBS competition by 26.3 points per game. With games against Northwestern, Nebraska, Washington State and Michigan State coming up, the Hoosiers have a chance to get into the win column ahead of their biggest matchups at the end of the year against No. 12 Michigan and No. 3 Ohio State. There is a chance to add. To call this effort a best-case scenario would be an understatement. Indiana has surpassed that size.
Winner: SMU
The Mustangs’ first ACC conference game against league powerhouse Florida State at Gerald Ford Stadium went smoothly. SMU tight end RJ Maryland caught Kevin Jennings for two touchdowns in the second half and the Mustangs won 42-16 to start their power conference tenure 1-0. Since Brashard Smith took over at running back, the Mustangs have been able to run the ball much more consistently. Smith completed 129 yards and scored a touchdown as part of a 200-plus yard rushing effort against a strong FSU front. Perhaps just as encouraging is that BYU’s 2-0 start in the Big 12 makes SMU’s only non-conference loss look a little more palatable. If Louisville falls out of the rankings, the Mustangs will not have a single ranked opponent on their schedule and will not have a chance to compete with Miami and Clemson for a spot in the ACC Championship Game.
Winner: Army
Don’t look now, but Army and Navy are well accustomed to playing in the same conference for the first time in history. The last time both programs started 4-0 was in 1945 at the end of World War II. In AAC play, Navy defeated UAB to improve to 3-0, while Army reached its goal with a 42-14 win over Temple on Friday. Both have very manageable schedules going forward. Could we see two unexpected iterations of Army and Navy in consecutive weeks?