College Football Scores Week 5: Winners That Failed to Impress
Upsets were hard to find during Week 5 of the college football season, but that doesn't mean there weren't a handful of Top 25 favorites that failed to impress.
This past weekend's action was highlighted by, you guessed it, more SEC dominance. Still, a pair of powerhouse programs from the nation's best conference managed to raise concerns in the process of earning victories.
Let's highlight some winners that failed to impress us in Week 5.
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No. 3 LSU 38, Towson 22
A week after barely escaping Auburn with a two-point win over the rival Tigers, LSU struggled with another group of Tigers on Saturday night in Baton Rouge.
LSU actually trailed FCS opponent Towson, 9-7, late in the second quarter. Despite being a proud Towson alumnus, even I was shocked that the Bayou Bengals were struggling to move the ball against my Tigers. A game that should have been over by halftime was still in doubt as the fourth quarter began.
Clearly, if any team left Tiger Stadium feeling good about themselves Saturday night, it was the defending Colonial Athletic Association champion Towson Tigers, who proved that they are still the best the CAA has to offer.
LSU may have won, but once again, it failed to impress, fumbling the ball three times and surrendering 22 points (Towson missed two extra points) at home to an FCS team.
No. 5 Georgia 51, Tennessee 44
If you're like me, then you have serious questions about Georgia's defense after it gave up 44 points at home to Tennessee. The Volunteers recorded 478 yards of total offense on Saturday afternoon in Athens, and nearly put up 50 on the No. 5-ranked team in the country.
Just two weeks ago, I watched the Florida Gators hold Tennessee to a paltry 20 points at Neyland Stadium. For Georgia to surrender more than twice as many points at home makes me wonder if it can contain fellow SEC East teams South Carolina and Florida later this season.
With Alabama playing unrivaled defense and setting the pace on that side of the ball in the SEC, Georgia has some serious work to do before it can be considered a legitimate threat in the conference.
No. 19 Louisville 21, Southern Miss 17
The Cardinals improved to 5-0 and sent the Golden Eagles to 0-4 on Saturday, rallying from a 17-6 deficit to win 21-17 on the road in Mississippi.
Still, that comeback performance failed to impress, if you ask me. Southern Miss was winless coming in and had been beaten by teams like Western Kentucky and East Carolina. For the Cardinals to be trailing by two points with six minutes left is outright unacceptable.
They should be stripped of their ranking after that performance.
Charlie Strong's squad certainly didn't look worthy of being the No. 19-ranked team in the country this past weekend. Two turnovers and just 85 passing yards summarized the dreadful performance the Cardinals turned out in Week 5.
Top 25 Week 5 Scoreboard
No. 1 Alabama 33, Ole Miss 14
No. 2 Oregon 51, Washington State 26
No. 3 LSU 38, Towson 22
No. 4 Florida State 30, South Florida 17
No. 5 Georgia 51, Tennessee 44
No. 6 South Carolina 38, Kentucky 17
No. 8 Stanford 13, Washington 17
No. 9 West Virginia 70, No. 25 Baylor 63
No. 12 Texas 41, Oklahoma State 36
No. 14 Ohio State 17, No. 20 Michigan State 16
No. 15 TCU 24, SMU 16
No. 17 Clemson 45, Boston College 31
No. 18 Oregon State 38, Arizona 35
No. 19 Louisville 21, Southern Miss 17
No. 22 Nebraska 30, Wisconsin 27
No. 24 Boise State 32, New Mexico 29
*All scores courtesy of ESPN.com.
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