Week 5 College Football Report

The dust has cleared and week 5 is in the books in College Football. There were several upsets that trickled in late out west, to add to others throughout the day. Five exciting, unpredictable weeks, are in the books and let’s see some things we know at this point in the season.

No.1: ALABAMA AND GEORGIA: It is obvious that these two teams are distancing themselves from everyone else. However, I want to emphasize that our conclusions come from only 5 weeks! There is a long, long way to go. But based on what we are watching, and what they did to Ole Miss and Arkansas last Saturday, there can’t be much debate on their dominance at this point. Everyone else is playing for No.3 and the right to get the crap beat out of them by either one of these two.

No.2: THERE ARE 17 UNDEFEATED TEAMS GOING INTO WEEK 6. Let’s examine them conference to conference and see who has the best chance to finish undefeated based on what we know so far. The odds of three making it through the season with no losses is pretty slim.

AAC: This conference has two undefeated teams, Cincinnati and SMU. They play each other on Nov. 20th in Cincinnati so obviously one of them is going to lose. They also could have a rematch a couple of weeks later in the Conference Championship game. Overall, the conference is not as strong as it was supposed to be at this point. But, the Houston Cougars are 4-1 and are playing well. SMU has to play them in Houston and they aren’t on the Cincinnati schedule. Cincinnati’s Chances of Going Undefeated: 85% SMU: 30%

ACC: There is only one undefeated team in the ACC after five weeks and it is not Clemson. If you follow the sport casually, you would never guess who it is. Wake Forest is 5-0 and as messed up as this league is they could finish 12-0. However, they have 7 games left in the regular season and five of them are on the road. They are potent on offense but a little shaky on defense. Not a good combination. Wake’s Undefeated Chances: 15%

BIg-10: This conference has been impressive through 5 weeks and there are 4 undefeated teams, Penn State, Iowa, Michigan, and Michigan State. Because they all play each other and they have a Conference Championship game, only one has a chance to finish undefeated. Penn State is currently ranked the highest and they play at Iowa this week ,which will eliminate one of the four. The Wolverines and the Spartans clash on Oct.30th and that will knock out another one. The odds of any of these teams making it all the way through undefeated are slim. The big wild card in all of this just happens to be Ohio State, who has an early loss to Oregon, but until proven otherwise, is the best team in the league ,and will be the favorite against any of these teams in a head-to-head matchup. These Four Teams Chances of Going Undefeated: Penn State 25%, Iowa 25%, Michigan 20%, Michigan State 10%

Big-12: Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are still unbeaten. Again, only one team has any chance of finishing 12-0 on the regular season and at this point neither one is playing that well. Chances of Going Unbeaten: Oklahoma 30% Oklahoma State 25%

SEC: There are three teams still with a chance of going unbeaten into the playoffs. As, in all of the other leagues, only one can be there at the end. The surprising Kentucky Wildcats have a fairly easy schedule, but they would have to beat Georgia in Athens. Georgia has to play at Auburn this week and has the annual battle with Florida. Then, there is Alabama, which goes to Texas A&M this week and has a date with Auburn to close the season. Chances to Finish Unbeaten for These Three Teams: Alabama 75%, Georgia 50%, Kentucky 5%

The Rest of the Unbeatens:

BYU: The Cougars have the best shot of anyone because they don’t belong to a conference and don’t have to mess with a conference title game. They have road games at Baylor and USC as their most dangerous games left. Chance to Go Unbeaten: 65%

Coastal Carolina: They have a good shot with only a tough game left at Appalachian State. But, that won’t be easy. Unbeaten Chances: 65%

San Diego State and Wyoming: Both of these teams are 4-0 but they haven’t played any of the top contenders in a pretty good Mountain West Conference. Chances to go Unbeaten: San Diego State 10% Wyoming 5%

UTSA: The Roadrunners play in the weak Conference USA and they have a shot. They have to go to Louisiana Tech and have a home game against UAB. Chances to Go Unbeaten: 50%

NO.3 BIGGEST WINS OF THE SEASON (so far):

1. Cincinnati over Notre Dame: Might propel the Bearcats into the playoffs.

2. Oregon over Ohio State: Meant a lot more before the Ducks lost to Stanford, but it also has hurt the Buckeyes.

3. Kentucky over Florida: Big win for the Wildcats, killer for the Gators.

4. BYU over Utah and Arizona State: These two wins have given the Cougars a chance to go unbeaten.

5. Penn State over Auburn: This non-conference win will look even better if they win at Iowa this week and Auburn knocks off Georgia.

NO.4 WORST LOSSES SO FAR:

1. Notre Dame losing to Cincinnati: This isn’t a bad loss but it knocked the Irish out of the playoffs in all probability.
2. Oregon losing to Stanford: Terrible loss that ended Oregon’s chances one would think.
3. Texas losing to Arkansas: That was such a blow-out that even if Texas comes out and wins the Big12, it severely damages their chances.
4. Liberty losing to Syracuse: They needed every win they could get over a Power 5 school to get into a major bowl game.
5. Clemson losing to NC State: This loss ended any hopes the Tigers might have had to get in the playoffs.