College Football Week 5: Winners and Losers

As the fifth week of the college football season starts to draw to an end, it is clear that this week has seen its up and downs and taken certain teams and players with it.

What college football fans love about this sport is that every week means so much that any given game can shape the remainder of a programs schedule.

With much more football yet to be played through the rest of the season, here are some of the winners and losers from this week in college football.

Winner: Arkansas

One thing that will stand out about this week in college football is the game between Arkansas and Texas A&M.

After trailing by 18 at the half, Tyler Wilson and the Razorbacks stormed back and ended up pulling out a huge victory 42-38 and giving them a solid bounce back win after losing to Alabama.

Loser: Texas A&M

For the second week in a row, Texas A&M is on this list. Much like last year, the Aggies played outstanding in the first half and then were complete no-shows for the second half.

After jumping out to a 18-point lead, Texas A&M left everything in the locker room and found a way to lose this game, which could send them into a tailspin.

Winner: Denard Robinson's Heisman Stock

Despite the lack of strong competition early in the schedule, Denard Robinson has taken advantage and put up impressive numbers that once again have him in the Heisman Trophy talks.

This week, Robinson put up over 200 yards of total offense, three touchdowns and did not throw a pick. If he is able to keep this pace up against solid conference opponents, he will not fade away like last year.

Winner: LSU

Another solid performance from the LSU Tigers. After jumping the Sooners in the polls, they came out and played a complete game.

The Tigers got contributions from both sides of the ball and also got another workman-like performance from Jarrett Lee and continue to roll through their schedule.

Loser: Luke Fickell

While the idea of Luke Fickell keeping the Ohio State job was certainly a long shot, it took a major blow today as the Buckeyes were defeated at home by the Michigan State Spartans.

It certainly may have taken a magical season for Fickell to keep his job but so far this year is turning out to be an even bigger nightmare than expected.

Loser: Minnesota Fans

If you are a Minnesota Golden Gopher fan then you already know why you are on this list. For those that didn't see the 58-0 score from the Michigan and Minnesota game, the score speaks for itself.

Both offensively and defensively, the Gophers looked bad and turned in one of the worst performances I have ever seen.

Winner: Mark Richt

After a rough 0-2 start to the season, Georgia and Mark Richt have bounced back to go above .500 after a conference win over Mississippi State.

While Richt is a long way from being off of the hotseat, the coach and his team have responded to adversity and found a way to get things turned around.

Loser: Syracuse

After an awful call against Toledo last week helped Syracuse earn an overtime victory, karma came back around and saw the Orange loss this week to Rutgers in overtime.

The loss drops Syracuse to 3-2 and also starts them off on the wrong foot in conference play.

Loser: Mark Stoops

Four straight solid teams and four straight losses does not put Mike Stoops in an enviable position. With Arizona now 1-4 on the season, a bowl game is likely out of reach and Stoops may now be the newest addition to the coaching hotseat discussion.

Winner: Washington State

Ladies and gentlemen, the Washington State Cougars are 3-1 and looking pretty good.

As the 2010 season started to draw to an end, you could tell that Washington State was starting to put some pieces into place to get out of the conference basement and it appears that is just what they are doing.

Loser: Marcus Lattimore

In a matchup of premier running backs, Michael Dyer and Marcus Lattimore went head to head as the under card between Auburn and South Carolina.

While many would have taken Lattimore and the Gamecocks, Dyer and Auburn were the ones that ended up impressing many.

Lattimore finished the game with only 66 yards rushing while Dyer rushed for 141 yards and led Auburn to a 16-13 win.

Winner: Tyler Bray

Anyone who has not jumped on the Tyler Bray bandwagon should start to limber up now and jump on board.

While Tennessee was only going up against Buffalo, Bray was extremely impressive as he threw for 342 yards and four touchdowns and led the Vols to another victory.

If you are waiting to be sold on Bray for when he performs like this against a top opponent, you will get your answer over the next two weeks as the Vols face Georgia and LSU.

Loser: TCU Fans

For the past 22 home games, TCU fans have packed the stadium and cheered the Horned Frogs on to victory after victory.

Today, the TCU faithful witnessed their team erase a 16-point deficit and force overtime. Their joy was short-lived as they failed to get out of the first overtime and SMU left the field with a huge victory.

Winner: Dabo Swinney

After a less than impressive season last year, Dabo Swinney has the Clemson Tigers clicking in all phases of the game and they are taking the nation by storm.

Over the past three weeks, no team has been more impressive as Clemson. The Tigers have  posted victories over Auburn, Florida State and now Virginia Tech.

With tonight's victory, the Tigers are putting the conference and nation on notice.

Loser: Temple Football

After jumping out to a great start this season, Temple was separating themselves from the pack, becoming an off-the radar team that could have a great season.

That special kind of season took a hit today as Temple did not play up to their capabilities and lost to Toledo 36-13.

Loser: Big 10

With the addition of Nebraska to the conference, the Big 10 appeared like they were going to have a very strong showing in 2011. After everything happened in Columbus during the offseason, fans were still confident that the Buckeyes would be fine.

After the performance Ohio State turned in today, it has become clear that the Big 10 may have gained a strong team for the year but has also lost one.

Winner: Clemson

Not only was their win against Virginia Tech huge but it also was a win that should help them jump into the top 10 this week.

It has been extremely fun to watch the Tigers the past three weeks and their should be no reason they do not head into their game at Georgia Tech undefeated.

Loser: Virginia Tech

It seems like year after year, the Hokies end up losing a game early in the year and generally one they should not have lost. While this may not be such a huge upset, it shows the rest of the ACC that they are very much beatable considering how this game unfolded and did so at Blacksburg.

Loser: College Football's Rankings

It is a shame that college football's rankings are out so early because it causes teams like Oklahoma to go out and send a message.

In a game that they clearly had control of, Bob Stoops kept his first team offense in the game and scored touchdowns to make it 45-6 and then 52-6.

While it may not be said out loud, everyone in the nation knows this is a direct result from LSU jumping the Sooners in the polls.

Loser: Ball State

Ball State had to know that coming into this week they were in trouble. While certainly nowhere near the Sooners in talent, Oklahoma still came out and flexed their muscles by putting up 38 points in the first half and continuing to add to it throughout the second half.

Winner: The Red River Rivalry

By this time last year, Texas was already starting to fall apart but this year both Oklahoma and Texas head into this game without a loss and big expectations on their mind.

While Oklahoma will certainly be the favorite to win this game, the rivalry always produces outstanding games and this should be no different.