Penn State faces Groundhog Day as Oregon, Alabama ace tests: College football Week 5 takeaways

And now, 20 Final Thoughts from college football’s Week 5, when Oregon and Alabama ruined the nights of a combined 200,000 home spectators.

1. It doesn’t seem to matter how much the people who run college football try to screw up college football. The product itself remains undefeated. Never was that more evident than between 11:10-11:15 p.m. ET on Saturday, when the Oregon-Penn State and Alabama-Georgia showdowns were decided almost simultaneously, the former in double overtime, the latter with a minute left.

My condolences to anyone who doesn’t have a multiview option, or doesn’t own a second TV, or, worst of all, were stuck at a wedding reception watching on your phone.

2. For three-plus quarters, it looked like Penn State coach James Franklin had turned his school’s White Out into a screening of “Groundhog Day” for 111,000 people. Another top-10 game, another no-show from his offense, as No. 6 Oregon (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) built a 17-3 lead on its third-ranked hosts. But then the oft-criticized Drew Allar threw a beautiful touchdown over the top to get it to 17-10. Then the Nittany Lions scored another touchdown to tie it, and yet another to start overtime. The home team was up 24-17 and had all the momentum.

And it still somehow ended with Allar throwing an interception and Franklin falling to 4-21 against top-10 foes at Penn State. Even Bill Murray’s character thinks that’s cruel.

3. Before piling on Franklin and Allar, let’s heap some praise on Oregon quarterback Dante Moore and his coach, Dan Lanning, following their thrilling 30-24 double-overtime road win.

Moore (29 of 39 for 248 yards, three TDs and no interceptions), the former five-star recruit and UCLA transfer, was unflappable. He converted three fourth downs, including his 3-yard run to keep the Ducks alive in overtime. He hit Gary Bryant Jr. for a go-ahead 25-yard TD to start the second OT.

His two-point conversion did get intercepted by Dani Dennis-Sutton, which could have been a problem — except on the very next play, Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman leapt and picked off Allar to seal the biggest win yet of Lanning’s thus-far 40-6 tenure.

4. Yes, bigger than beating No. 2 Ohio State at home last season, because winning on the road carries a higher degree of difficulty. Bigger than beating Penn State in last year’s Big Ten championship, because the Ducks were expected to win that one. They were underdogs in Happy Valley, playing in one of the most intimidating atmospheres you’ll find anywhere in college football. And despite blowing a two-touchdown lead, despite falling behind in OT, they got the W.

Lanning is now 12-0 in Big Ten games, not counting the fact Oregon lost (badly) to a Big Ten team in last year’s College Football Playoff quarterfinal. Turns out he was prophetic back in January 2024 when he said of the Ducks’ new conference: “At the end of the day, the Big Ten is going to have to prepare for us.”

5. Both Penn State’s 27-24 CFP semifinal loss to Notre Dame last January and this loss were evenly matched, down-to-the-wire games decided on Allar interceptions. (The Irish drove down and kicked a game-winning field goal.) While he deserves credit for bringing the Nittany Lions back, he did little to temper his critics, finishing 14 of 25 for 137 yards.

I picked Penn State (3-1, 0-1) to win the national championship before the season because it retained so much of its core from last year’s 13-win team. But now, I see the “Groundhog Day” thread continuing for the Nittany Lions: They’ll lose at No. 1 Ohio State, win their other games, make the CFP, but lose to the first higher seed they face.

6. While Franklin was busy living down to expectations, Kalen DeBoer was reminding Alabama fans why athletic director Greg Byrne hired him. Bearing almost no resemblance to the team that lost by two touchdowns at Florida State in Week 1, the No. 17 Tide (3-1, 1-0 SEC) went to Athens and ended No. 5 Georgia’s 33-game home winning streak with a 24-21 win. DeBoer, who is now 6-1 against AP top-10 teams, and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb had a creative gameplan that frazzled Kirby Smart’s defense in the first half while building a 24-14 lead.

The Dawgs shut them out in the second half but never caught up. Credit Alabama QB Ty Simpson (24-of-38 for 276 yards, two TDs, no INTs), who cooled off after a hot start, for converting a game-sealing third down at the end.

7. DeBoer’s rocky start as Nick Saban’s successor has been defined by brutal road losses, at .500ish Vanderbilt and Oklahoma last season and in Tallahassee to start this one. But Saban himself likely appreciated Bama’s composure against UGA. Simpson shredded Wisconsin two weeks ago, but this was a significantly tougher test, and he aced it.

Mind you, the Tide were still largely ho-hum in the running game (117 yards on 38 attempts), while their own defense allowed a not-great 6.9 yards per attempt. But no one at Bama should lose any sleep. The Tide are the first team in six years to win in Athens.

Now, DeBoer has to show he can instill some consistency, because the Tide have to turn around and host a 5-0 team: Vanderbilt.

8. Scientists are at a loss as to why one opponent continues to be kryptonite for Georgia’s Smart, who since 2017 has gone 99-8 (!) against teams not named Alabama … and 1-7 against the Tide. Those “A” helmets bring out some weird decisions, like passing on a 25-yard field goal that would have tied the game early in the fourth quarter and instead rushing his team to the line to run another play, only to watch Alabama’s LT Overton toss running back Cash Jones into the backfield.

The bigger issue for Smart is that it’s only two games into SEC play and Georgia is already living dangerously, barely surviving at Tennessee, then losing this one at home. This does not appear to be one of his vintage defenses. QB Gunner Stockton, the hero of that win in Knoxville, was largely a non-factor against the Tide (13-of-20 for 130 yards), outside of his 38-yard TD to Colbie Young. The Dawgs can still reach the CFP, but they might be a spectator for the SEC Championship Game for the first time in five years.

9. It turns out that Baton Rouge reporter who pressed LSU’s Brian Kelly about his offense a couple of weeks ago was ahead of the curve. The fourth-ranked Tigers’ (4-1, 1-1 SEC) issues were fully exposed in their 24-19 loss at No. 13 Ole Miss (5-0, 3-0). An O-line with four new starters has struggled against all three of its Power 4 foes (Clemson, Florida and Ole Miss). The Tigers, missing starting RB Caden Durham, managed just 59 rushing yards. And veteran QB Garrett Nussmeier (21 of 34 for 197 yards, one TD, one INT) is missing open receivers.

While Nussmeier is struggling, Rebels QB Trinidad Chambliss (23 of 39 for 314 yards passing, 14 carries for 71 yards rushing) has been outstanding since taking over for an injured Austin Simmons in Week 3. It’s his team now. And Lane Kiffin’s team now has a clearer path to the CFP than Kelly’s. Though that path includes back-to-back road trips to Georgia and Oklahoma in a few weeks.

10. While LSU fans are one loss from entering crisis mode, Auburn fans must be full-on apoplectic today. A week after their controversy-marred loss at Oklahoma, the Tigers (3-2, 0-2 SEC) managed just 177 yards of offense in a 16-10 loss at No. 9 Texas A&M (4-0, 1-0). The Aggies were far more efficient (6.0 yards per play) but couldn’t get out of their own way at times, what with 13 penalties for 119 yards and a Marcel Reed interception that Xavier Atkins returned 73 yards to the 2-yard line, setting up Auburn’s lone touchdown.

We saw what Reed and the offense are capable of in their Week 2 win at Notre Dame, then the defense delivered this one. The Aggies, 4-0 for the first time in nine years, look like one of the SEC’s most complete teams.

11. No. 22 Notre Dame (2-2) had its share of issues exposed during an 0-2 start, but quarterback was not one of them. First-year starter CJ Carr has looked readymade from Day 1, and he showed off all his tools Saturday against struggling Arkansas (2-3). The redshirt freshman went 22 of 30 for 354 yards and four TDs in a 56-13 demolition of the Razorbacks. It helps to have Jeremiyah Love, who had a combined 127 rushing/receiving yards and four TDs.

The jury is still out on Notre Dame’s defense, which played its first good game, but Carr, Love and Jadarian Price (14 carries, 57 yards and two TDs) should continue to cause fits for defenses.

12. Meanwhile, sixth-year Arkansas coach Sam Pittman may have jumped to the front of the “next coach to be fired” line. The Razorbacks losing to Memphis one week and getting run out of their own stadium by Notre Dame the next was less than ideal. Pittman is 32-34 overall, but, more pertinently, 29-27 since 2021. An unusual contract clause allows Arkansas to pay a lower buyout ($6.9 million, rather than $9.8 million) if that record since 2021 falls below .500. Will AD Hunter Yurachek sit back and wait for a few weeks to try to save $3 million?

If Arkansas does make a change in-season, the most logical choice for interim coach might be … OC Bobby Petrino. Only in the SEC.

13. Washington’s best chance of knocking off No. 1 Ohio State was going to be if young Buckeyes QB Julian Sayin struggled in his first career road start. That did not happen. Sayin was poised and efficient, shaking off a slow start to finish 22 of 28 for 208 yards, two TDs and no turnovers in his team’s 24-6 win over the Huskies (3-1). Meanwhile, Matt Patricia’s defense put on another clinic, notching six sacks (three from Caden Curry) and limiting dangerous Huskies QB Demond Williams Jr. to 145 yards of offense.

The Buckeyes (4-0) are going to be tough to beat if Sayin remains this composed all season, because they’re also finding a running game behind true freshman Bo Jackson (17 carries, 80 yards), and that defense is filthy.

14. Virginia’s Tony Elliott, 11-23 in his first three seasons, has gone from hot seat to ACC championship hopeful in the span of five games. Behind a powerful offense that has improved from No. 111 in 2024 to No. 8 (45.6 points per game), the Cavaliers (4-1, 2-0 ACC) earned the program’s biggest win in decades Friday night, topping No. 8 Florida State 46-38 in double overtime.

Virginia provides yet more evidence that nearly any team is one great portal class from a breakthrough. Elliott landed former TCU and North Texas QB1 Chandler Morris, hidden gem RB J’Mari Taylor (North Carolina Central), WR Cam Ross (James Madison) and seven offensive linemen. Elliott credited guard Kevin Wigenton II (Illinois) and center Drake Metcalf (UCF), a transfer last year, in helping the Hoos run for 211 yards against the Noles (3-1, 0-1), the same defense that shut down Alabama.

15. Iowa did a tremendous job luring high-flying Indiana into a characteristically muck-it-up Iowa game, but you can’t keep Curt Cignetti’s 11th-ranked Hoosiers (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) down for 60 minutes. After the Hawkeyes (3-2, 1-1) missed a go-ahead 42-yard field goal with 2:01 left, Fernando Mendoza picked up a blitz and threw a quick strike to star WR Elijah Sarratt, who broke it for a 49-yard TD. Indiana won 20-15.

Some might see the close call as a letdown performance for the Hoosiers, but tell that to all the teams that have gone to Kinnick Stadium over the years and lost 16-13 or 13-10. If you can escape Iowa City with a W, it means you’re pretty good. And IU is now 16-2 under Cignetti. Let that sink in for a second.

16. No. 21 USC going from a late-night home game last week to a 9 a.m. Pacific time kickoff at No. 23 Illinois had the makings of a classic body clock loss. But the Trojans (4-1, 2-1 Big Ten) did the opposite of wear down when they rallied from a 31-17 fourth-quarter deficit to go up 32-31 with 1:55 left. Stud receiver Makai Lemon caught touchdowns of 19 and 16 yards and a two-point conversion to take the lead. But that left Illinois enough time to set up a game-winning David Olano 41-yard field goal for a 34-32 Illini victory.

Credit to Illinois (4-1, 1-1) for bouncing back from last week’s 63-10 rout by Indiana, but this was a missed opportunity for Lincoln Riley to build some momentum. Illini QB Luke Altmyer (20 of 26, 328 yards, two TDs, no INTs) torched a USC defense that will face Michigan’s Bryce Underwood, Notre Dame’s Carr and Nebraska’s Dylan Raiola over its next three games.

17. This week in officiating gaffes: Wake Forest led No. 16 Georgia Tech 23-20 with 1:54 left when the ACC crew missed an obvious offside call on a third-and-5. It should have been a first down, at which point Wake likely would have run out the clock. Instead, it had to punt. So of course, the Jackets, who were down 20-3 at one point, used that reprieve to kick a field goal to send the game to overtime, then intercepted a Robby Ashford two-point pass to pull out a 30-29 win.

While Georgia Tech (5-0, 2-0 ACC) is off to its best start since 2014, Wake (2-2, 0-2) has now coughed up two double-digit leads (the first against NC State). The Demon Deacons are much-improved under former Washington State coach Jake Dickert, even if the record doesn’t show it.

18. It looked like BYU might be in trouble this summer when it unexpectedly lost incumbent QB Jake Retzlaff, who left for Tulane to avoid an Honor Code suspension, and replaced him with a true freshman, Bear Bachmeier. But Bachmeier has the No. 25 Cougars off to a 4-0 start following a 24-21 win at Colorado. The freshman threw for 197 yards and two TDs and ran 15 times for 98 yards in just his fourth career start.

Conversely, Deion Sanders’ Buffs (2-3, 0-2 Big 12) are off to a rough start to the post-Shedeur Sanders/Travis Hunter era, going 0-3 against Power 4 foes (Georgia Tech, Houston and BYU). Next week, they visit No. 24 TCU (3-1, 0-1) for the first time since their 45-42 upset to open the 2023 season in Coach Prime’s CU debut. Not loving their chances in this one.

19. Veteran Cincinnati QB Brendan Sorsby has gone largely overlooked nationally, but he entered the weekend ranked No. 6 in pass efficiency (194.4). And then he delivered his signature moment to date. After the Bearcats (3-1, 1-0) fell behind at Kansas 34-30 with 1:45 left, Sorsby (29 of 43 for 388 yards) led his team 75 yards in barely a minute to earn a 37-34 Big 12 road win. The Jayhawks (3-2, 1-1) managed to lose despite a pair of unbelievable performances from QB Jalon Daniels (19 of 28 for 445 yards, four TDs, no INTs) and WR Emmanuel Henderson Jr. (five catches, 214 yards, two TDs).

Scott Satterfield’s team beat eventual Big 12 champ Arizona State last season but failed to build on it, losing five straight to finish 5-7. They have a golden opportunity next week when No. 14 Iowa State (5-0, 2-0) comes to Nippert Stadium.

20. Finally, last week I wrote about a fierce race in the works in the American and mentioned four teams — Memphis, Tulane, USF and North Texas — but inadvertently left out Navy. Clearly that was a mistake, given the 4-0 Midshipmen are already 3-0 in league play following their 21-13 win over Rice (3-2, 1-1). Blake Horvath and company have a great chance to get to at least 7-0, with their next three games coming against Air Force (1-3), Temple (2-2) and FAU (1-3).

Meanwhile, North Texas is 5-0 for the first time since … 1959! The Midshipmen and Mean Green meet Nov. 1. Now that we know Penn State-Ohio State that day won’t be an undefeated showdown, I look forward to watching “College GameDay” live from Denton.

(Top photo: Isaiah Vazquez / Getty Images)

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