College football week 4 is in the books. After every week fans can take away things from what happened on the field. Here are 5 things learned from college football week 5.
1. Cincinnati Will be Considered for the CFP
The Cincinnati Bearcats came into the season with high hopes of making the College Football Playoff. It is a tall ask for a group of five team, as a team from outside the power five conferences has not really come close to making it. That may change this year after Cincinnati defeated Indiana and now Notre Dame on the road.
There is still a long way to go in the season, but so far college football has been crazy with 34 different top 25 teams losing already. Cincinnati will need some more help to make the playoff, but they have set themselves up well with a good pair of road wins. It was going to take a good schedule and some chaos for a group of five team to get into the CFP. The CFP Committee may still keep Cincinnati out, but they will at least get some serious consideration this season if they win out.
2. Georgia’s Defense has a Chance to be Historically Great
Georgia had a big game this weekend that many expected to be close, especially when the Bulldogs were forced to start their backup quarterback Stetson Bennett at quarterback. The Bulldogs completely dominated Arkansas, who was ranked eighth going into the game, winning 37-0. Once again it was the defense who impressed by not allowing a single point.
Through five games, Georgia is allowing 4.6 points per game. They won’t break the record for that, as Duke and Villanova allowed 0.8 points per game in the 1930s, but Georgia still has played great for the modern era of football where the game is spread out and the rule changes have favored the offense. There is still a lot of football left, but Georgia’s 2021 defense might be one that people remember for a long time.
3. Nick Saban Still Dominates his Assistants
Nick Saban has never lost to one of his former assistant coaches. It is a record that will likely be broken at some point, but not yet. Lane Kiffin had his Ole Miss team looking like they could maybe give Alabama a game after starting the season undefeated, but they lost 42-21 in a game that wasn’t ever really close.
Saban doesn’t lose very often, so this stat isn’t too surprising, but the hype surrounding the Ole Miss game was unmistakable. When Alabama goes up against a former Saban assistant it seems like they take their game to the next level. Alabama will have to do so later in the season if they play Georgia in the SEC Championship.
4. Mark Stoops is Still Underrated
When Mark Stoops took the Kentucky job, they were coming off a two-win season. He followed that up with a two-win season himself before steadily improving. In the last five seasons they have made five bowl games, which is highlighted by their 10-win season in 2018, which was capped off by a win over Penn State in the Citrus Bowl.
This season Kentucky looks bound for another season that is reminiscent of the 2018 season. The Wildcats upset Florida, who was ranked 10th in the country, on Saturday night. Beating Florida improved Kentucky’s record to 5-0. There is reason to believe that Kentucky could finish the regular season with only a loss or two. Stoops has done an amazing job and deserves to be recognized as one of college football’s good coaches.
5. Pac-12 Officially Out of the College Football Playoff Race
Each week, things just seem to get worse for the Pac-12. This week, Oregon lost to Stanford and UCLA lost to Arizona State. Both teams were Rose Bowl contenders and Oregon had hopes of making the College Football Playoff. Now, the Pac-12 is a mess with no clear playoff contender and no teams that stand out above the rest.
Oregon should still be favored to win the conference, but having a loss so early in the season won’t help. Arizona State remains undefeated in the conference. They have a loss to BYU out of conference though. UCLA now has two losses overall and one in the conference with a lot of football left to play. The Pac-12 is out of the CFP race and things don’t look great for the conference overall.
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