College Football 2024: Winners and Losers from Week 5
College football's Week 5 was an absolute thriller, starting with two Friday night games between Washington-Rutgers and Virginia Tech-Miami that both came down to the wire.
On Saturday, even the noon slate had drama, featuring No. 4 Ole Miss going down to Kentucky at home, and No. 12 Michigan surviving a late rally from Minnesota, winning 27-24.
The afternoon slate didn't disappoint either, as No. 21 Oklahoma came-from behind to beat Auburn 27-21, No. 13 USC handling a scrappy Wisconsin team 38-21, and No. 16 Notre Dame surviving No. 15 Louisville 31-24.
The evening slate features No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 2 Georgia, No. 9 Penn State vs. 19 Illinois, and No. 14 LSU vs. South Alabama among several other matchups across the country.
Let's run through the winners and losers from an exciting Week 5 of college football.
Loser: Slow Start to the Jedd Fisch Era in Washington
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The Jedd Fisch era in Seattle has gotten off to a bit more of a slower start than many anticipated. The Huskies sit at 3-2 on the season, after a 21-18 loss on the road against Rutgers on Friday night. The close score doesn't tell you how many self-inflicted penalties and mistakes the Huskies had on the night.
Washington had six penalties for 69 yards on the night, including one in the second quarter that could have avoided going to the locker room down double digits. UW got flagged for an illegal substitution after a successfully blocked Rutgers field goal. No, the Huskies didn't attempt a substitution late—it was because redshirt freshman Vincent Holmes entered the field of play to celebrate the blocked field goal. On the very next play, Rutgers scored a touchdown and went to the half up 14-3.
"I told the team in the locker room, 'You can't play two teams,'" Fisch said via The Seattle Times after the game. "You can't play ourselves and our opponent."
Three of Washington's penalties were personal fouls, too. Husky kicker Grady Gross also struggled a lot on the night, missing three field goals, including the 55-yarder that would have forced overtime.
This isn't the first time this season the Huskies have lost a game with a lot of penalties—the 24-16 loss to rival Washington State featured 16 penalties for a whopping 135 yards on the day.
Sure, Washington's 3-2 record isn't horrible, but it's clear that this Fisch team is pretty undisciplined. We'll see if the Huskies can get the penalty issues cleaned up during a remaining schedule that includes No. 12 Michigan next week, at Iowa and Indiana to close out October and a November slate with road trips to No. 9 Penn State and No. 8 Oregon.
Winner: Miami Survives Its First Real Scare of the Season
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Miami's first four games have been quite uneventful, with the average margin of victory coming by an average of 42 points. But Virginia Tech came to Miami and gave the Canes their first real scare, just in time for Spooky Season as October is fast approaching.
On Miami's first possession of the game, Canes quarterback Cam Ward fumbled the ball and set up a VT touchdown on the very next possession. Miami at the end of the first quarter, but the Hokies scored 17 points in the second quarter to go to the locker room with a 24-17 lead.
The second half was equally back-and-forth and Virginia Tech didn't go away, and nearly pulled off a miracle on the game's final play. The Hokies offense drove down to Miami's 30-yard line with three seconds left. On a Hail Mary attempt, VT quarterback Kyron Drones heaved a pass to Da'Quan Felton in the end zone. Initially, the play was called a touchdown and immediately went to the booth for review. Upon review, the call was reversed, and was ruled an incomplete pass to give Miami a thrilling victory. Here's a look at the final play:
Per ESPN's Pete Thamel, the ACC stated that the ruling came as a result of the loose ball being touched by a Canes defender:
"During the review process of the last play of the Virginia Tech at Miami game, it was determined that the loose ball was touched by a Miami player while he was out of bounds which makes it an incomplete pass and immediately ends the play."
The Canes are considered the favorite to come out of the ACC and avoiding an early upset will give Miami fans a sign of relief but also could mean this may not be the last scare the Hurricanes have this season.
Winner: Kansas State Puts Itself Back in the Big 12 Title Race
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Kansas State had an impressive rebound performance against Oklahoma State, just one week after a disappointing 38-6 loss at BYU. The Wildcats beat Oklahoma State 42-20 at home, and with the victory, put themselves back in the hunt for a Big 12 title berth.
K-State quarterback Avery Johnson, who threw two interceptions against BYU, did throw an interception in the first half, but had a solid day. He finished with 292 yards passing with three touchdowns, including another 60 yards with two scores on the ground. Wildcat running back DJ Giddens added 187 yards rushing with a touchdown in the win, too.
Although Oklahoma State managed to put up 490 yards of offense, Kansas State's defense forced three turnovers on the day. Cowboys quarterback Alan Bowman threw two interceptions, and the Wildcats were able to capitalize on two of them by scoring touchdowns on the ensuing possessions.
For Oklahoma State, which has two losses to Utah and Kansas State, a trip to the Big 12 title game looks pretty tricky, barring some major chaos. Kansas State, however, is right back in the hunt, sitting at 4-1 overall and 1-1 in the conference. The current leaders in the Big 12 standings include BYU, Utah, UCF, Colorado and Cincinnati.
The rest of Kansas State's conference schedule features home games against Kansas, Arizona State and Cincinnati, with road trips to Colorado, West Virginia, Houston and Iowa State. With a number of teams looking like contenders early, the Big 12 should be one of the more exciting conference championship races in the country. It should be a blast to see how it all shakes out.
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Loser: Ole Miss' Playoff Resume
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The high expectations for Ole Miss' 2024 season took a big hit on Saturday, as the No. 4 Rebels got upset at home by Kentucky. Just two weeks removed from nearly knocking off then-No. 1 Georgia at home, head coach Mark Stoops' Wildcats finally pulled off the upset. Ole Miss had a chance to force overtime with a 48-yard field goal attempt, but Rebel kicker Caden Davis badly hooked it.
Kentucky quarterback Brock Vandagriff put together a brilliant late-game drive that included a jaw-dropping fourth-down conversion.
Kentucky just needed two more plays to punch the ball in the end zone and take the three-point lead that held through the end after Ole Miss missed the game-tying field goal attempt.
This is no doubt a huge win for Stoops and Kentucky—it marks the highest-ranked victory for him as a head coach. It's also the highest-ranked road win for the Wildcats since 1977.
But it also says a lot about this Ole Miss team, which entered with SEC title game and College Football Playoff aspirations. Obviously this loss doesn't necessarily knock the Rebels out of either of those goals just yet, but it does add some cracks to their resume.
For starters, Ole Miss still needs to go on the road to play South Carolina, No. 14 LSU, Arkansas and Florida in SEC play. The remaining home games include No. 21 Oklahoma, No. 2 Georgia and Mississippi State. Even if Ole Miss loses to Georgia, a playoff bid could still be in the cards, unless we have multiple one-loss teams standing at the end of the season.
With the loss, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin also dropped a 26-game win streak as a double-digit favorite on Saturday.
Winner: No Matt Sluka, No Problem, UNLV Stays Undefeated
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It's been quite the eventful week for UNLV. Earlier this week, starting quarterback Matt Sluka announced he was leaving the Rebels after "certain representations" allegedly promised to him were not upheld. The news came as a shock, given UNLV's undefeated record and playoff hopes still alive.
In the days that followed, Sluka's father told ESPN that a UNLV assistant promised him $100,000 last winter, and all the quarterback received instead was $3,000 for a relocation stipend.
Then came numerous public statements from the NCAA, UNLV's NIL collective, and the school itself, which stated that "no former offers" were made to Sluka. It added that despite attempts from the collective to make good on these financial demands, the school believed this violated the NCAA's pay-for-play rules. As my colleague Adam Kramer pointed out, the whole saga represents a microcosm of the numerous problems college football is currently facing.
Despite all the controversy, the Rebels still had a game to play this week, facing Fresno State at home. UNLV turned to senior Hajj Malik-Williams at quarterback, a transfer from CAA Campbell University.
Did all the drama and distraction get to the Rebels and cause them to drop their first game of the season? Nope, not at all, as UNLV had no problems beating the Bulldogs, leading 21-0 at halftime and ultimately winning 45-7. Malik-Williams finished going 13-of-16 with 182 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions.
Winner: Travis Hunter's Heisman Campaign Has Some Real Momentum
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A two-way college football player hasn't won the Heisman Trophy since Charles Woodson did so for Michigan back in 1997. It's been 27 years since then, and we could have ourselves a two-way player capable of winning it in Colorado receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter.
Hunter has been having the best season of his career this year at Colorado. On the season, he has accounted for 37 receptions for 472 yards and five touchdowns at receiver. On defense, he's added 14 total tackles, an interception, and a game-sealing forced fumble last week that helped Colorado beat Baylor in overtime.
His impressive season continued on Saturday with the Buffs' 41-21 victory over UCF. Hunter finished with nine receptions for 89 yards and a touchdown, two tackles and this diving interception:
Hunter knew the play was so good that he felt compelled to flash the Heisman pose after this pick:
Speaking of Woodson, the former Wolverines star even posted (NSFW-ly) about Hunter flashing the famous Heisman pose during the game.
The other impressive fact about Hunter's season so far? Since he plays both ways, he isn't taking many plays off. Take a look at his snap numbers from today:
Sanders has talked about how much Hunter is playing could make his two-way abilities translate to the NFL, too.
"Yes, because a lot of teams are tempo, so he don't get a lot of rest," Sanders said earlier this month as transcribed by On3 Sports. "And just think about this. I just got finished talking to scouts about this, about what he can and cannot do. Pros go to huddle. So he's even getting more time to rest. So most teams you play, they run some type of a tempo or the transition is much greater than pros from snap to snap.
"So with him getting that amount of rest, he cannot help but be a great pro. Practices are limited. There's barely no contact. You can't even hit a receiver downfield in the NFL no more. So I think he's a great compliment to that game, and he could continue to do what he's doing now."
If Hunter keeps playing like this the rest of the season and Colorado has a better season above-.500, there's no question an invitation to New York could be in the cards for him.
Loser: Auburn Can't Get out of Its Own Way
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Auburn has lost the plot folks, and it's not even October. The Tigers dropped to 2-3 on the season with a 27-21 loss to Oklahoma at home on Saturday. Despite leading 14-10 entering the fourth quarter, the Tigers completely imploded in the fourth quarter to lose at home for the third time this season.
Early in the game, it looked like Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze's pregame decision to switch back to quarterback Payton Thorne a week after benching him paid off. He threw two touchdown passes in the second quarter to give the Tigers a halftime lead, and had another touchdown throw early in the fourth quarter to put his team up 21-10.
But as the quarter went on, Auburn's offense stalled just as Oklahoma's offense came alive. The Tigers missed a 51-yard field goal, the Sooners responded with a touchdown drive to make it a one-score game.
On Auburn's next possession, Thorne helped lead the Tiger offense down to Oklahoma's 43 yardline. But on third down, Thorne's pass was picked off by Oklahoma's Kip Lewis, who returned it 63 yards for a touchdown.
On Auburn's last two possessions, Thorne completed just four passes, was sacked three times and had one incompletion. Oklahoma scored a field goal with 57 seconds left to make it a six-point lead.
For the Sooners, it was a great bounce-back win following Oklahoma's disappointing 25-15 loss to Tennessee last week. For Auburn, this was yet another massive collapse by both the Tigers and head coach Hugh Freeze.
The head coach's seat is getting increasingly warmer as this season goes on. Freeze, who has an 8-10 record overall at Auburn, blamed his players for losses earlier in the season. Following last week's 24-14 loss to Arkansas, Freeze said inexplicably a few days later that if his team played Arkansas nine more times, they'd beat them nine times. Also, there's this:
If the Tigers limp through another season, it's hard to see what momentum Freeze can point to justify performances like blowing a fourth-quarter lead at home. Auburn certainly doesn't want to go through another coaching search for the third time in four seasons. But you can't blame the school for considering it if the season keeps going on like this.
Loser: Mack Brown Is Probably Done at North Carolina
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It's hard to believe, but Mack Brown, one of the few active college football head coaches with a national championship, is probably done at North Carolina. Just one week removed from James Madison hanging 70 points on the Tar Heels at home, UNC blew a 20-point lead against Duke, losing 21-20.
The Tar Heels led 20-0 with 8:23 left in the third quarter in what seemed to be a bounce-back win for Mack Brown after the devastating JMU loss. But the Blue Devils scored 21 unanswered points in the last two quarters, and Duke head coach Manny Diaz's defense took over in the final two quarters.
In between Duke's three scores, the Blue Devils held North Carolina's offense to just 12 plays and 34 total yards, forcing punts on all three possessions. Diaz, who is coaching his first season in Durham, used to be an assistant under Brown at Texas. The win for Duke snaps a six-game losing streak to the Tar Heels, beating UNC for the first time since 2018. Now, Duke is 5-0 for the first time since 1994, in a sensational start for Diaz in his first head coaching job since leaving Miami in 2021.
It's tough to see how Brown, who has been the Tar Heels head coach since 2019, returns to Chapel Hill next season. Following the loss to JMU, Brown reportedly told his team that he would retire if the team felt like he was holding it back from winning.
"What I said," Brown said earlier this week via the Raleigh News & Observer Monday of his postgame comments after the James Madison defeat, "is if you all don't feel like I'm the leader you need, then I'll do something else."
Although he coached the team as usual this week, per the Inside Carolina 247 report the comments put UNC "in flux" as administrators weighed the next steps. It sure feels like Brown, who is 73 years old and has a 20-12 record the last three seasons in Chapel Hill, is coaching his final season at UNC.
Winner: Bama Freshmen Show Out on Big Stage
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What an incredible game we had between No. 4 Alabama and No. 2 Georgia. Although Alabama had a 30-7 at halftime, the Dawgs stormed back and scored 27 points in the second half to take the lead with 2:31 left in the game. Alabama responded with a 75-yard touchdown pass from Jalen Milroe to true freshman Ryan Williams to give the Tide back to lead at 41-34.
Georgia's offense got the ball back and immediately started driving downfield. On a drive that started from their own 25, Beck led a masterful drive that got the offense all the way down to Alabama's 20. On first down, all signs were pointing to Georgia tying it up and forcing Alabama to overtime.
But true freshman cornerback Zabien Brown had other ideas. On a pass intended for Dawgs senior receiver Colbie Young, Brown made an incredible game-sealing interception to give Alabama the win:
The game and wild finish was fitting for yet another incredible game between Alabama and Georgia. And the best news? We could get a rematch of this game either in the SEC Championship or in the playoff come December and the freshmen for Alabama will be ready. Can't wait.
Winner: Boise State's Ashton Jeanty Is Putting the Country on Notice
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We talked earlier about how Colorado's Travis Hunter has a legitimate case for the Heisman Trophy as a two-way player. Well one player who seems to have already booked his tickets to New York for December is Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty.
During the Broncos' 45-24 victory over previously unbeaten Washington State, Jeanty rushed for 259 yards and four touchdowns. His third score of the night was this incredible 54-yard rush that he refused to give up on until he got in the end zone:
With the performance, Jeanty now has four career games with over 200 yards rushing, which is tied for a Boise State school record. Jeanty currently leads the nation in rushing yards per game, averaging 195.33 per contest.
Jeanty is even out-gaining entire teams on the ground this season:
If he keeps playing like he has early while helping Boise State earn a playoff bid, a trip to New York seems almost certain for the standout running back.
Loser: Utah Stumbles Early in Big 12 Title Race
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Entering the 2024 season, the Utah Utes were the preseason favorite to win the Big 12, moving to the conference from the Pac-12. A veteran head coach in Kyle Whittingham with a talented roster, picking the Utes to win the conference their first year playing in it didn't seem too far off. Early on, the Utes jumped out to a hot start, with wins over Baylor and Oklahoma State.
But Arizona decided to upend the conference title race with an impressive 23-10 road victory over the Utes. The Wildcats, under first-year Arizona head coach Brent Brennan, took an early 3-0 lead in the first quarter and never relinquished that lead the whole night. The closest Utah came to a comeback was its fourth-quarter touchdown that pulled the Utes within six.
But Arizona's offense refused to let off the gas. The Wildcats took a commanding 23-10 lead off an incredible throw from quarterback Noah Fifita to receiver Keyan Burnett:
Utah's loss also makes the Big 12 race pretty wide open. BYU, Colorado and Texas Tech are currently undefeated in conference play. But one-loss conference teams like Utah, Arizona State and Kansas State are still very much in the mix. It should be a fun conference title race to see play out come October and November.
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