2024 College Football: Week 5 Takeaways
Sometimes, you don’t have the chaos you want. If you were rooting for major upsets, you really only got one. (10) Utah losing without QB Cam Rising does not qualify, and I wouldn’t count (4) Alabama beating (2) Georgia as an “upset” either. That said, we saw plenty of other drama! A QB quit on his football team over NIL, the referees may have stolen a game from Virginia Tech, and one top-10 team did unexpectedly go down. There’s never a truly dull moment in college football. Let’s see what we can learn from all of these games in my week 5 takeaways!
Replay Review Breaks Virginia Tech’s Heart at (7) Miami
As a 17.5-point home favorite, Miami shouldn’t have needed to worry. Then again, Virginia Tech has lost two nail-biters and is probably better than a 2-2 team. I don’t know what it is with these Friday games, but they keep ending up as gems. On the opening drive of the game, Miami QB Cam Ward lost a fumble on a ball he never should’ve tried to throw. The Hokies converted the turnover into a TD, but the Hurricanes came back with a score of their own before Va. Tech QB Kyron Drones tossed an INT. The Canes turned that into 7 points, and then the defenses took most of the night off.
Neither team could really stop the other. You might’ve expected that from Miami, but Virginia Tech scoring and taking a 24-17 halftime lead was a surprise. Already up 27-17 in the 3rd quarter, Va. Tech got a great opportunity by picking Ward off for the second time. CB Kaleb Spencer took it 77 yards to the red zone. The Canes stiffened, setting up a 28-yard FG attempt…except the Hokies tried a fake and got stuffed. That was a reckless decision given that K John Love had made a 58-yard FG before halftime and was rock solid. The mistake was magnified when Ward scored a TD on every single remaining drive.
The WSU transfer QB has been the most impactful transfer this season. He completed 24 of 38 passes for 343 yards, 4 TDs, and 2 INTs; he also ran 10 times for 57 yards and another score. Already a Heisman contender, Ward saved his best for Miami’s final drive. Down 34-31 with 7:40 to go, Ward reached midfield but faced 4th and 3. He found WR Xavier Restreppo (5/60), but the receiver fell down. Despite that, he caught the ball while on his back, moving the chains. Ward’s biggest play was the snap right after the 2-minute warning. It was his potential Heisman moment.
He faced an immediate rush, broke away from a sack, and tossed the ball two-handed to TE Riley Williams while being pulled down by another defender for 26 yards. The poise he showed while under duress made that play, and it said up a go-ahead TD one play later. That left Drones (19/33, 189 yards, 2 TDs, INT; 10/43 rushing) with one chance to be the hero. The offense didn’t show enough urgency for my taste, but they did make it to the Miami 30 with 3 seconds remaining. Drones threw a Hail Mary, and WR Da’Quan Felton fought for it with a Miami corner. The refs conferred and ruled it a TD…until they didn’t.
After a nearly 10-minute review involving the ACC Command Center, the officials declared the pass incomplete, and Miami escaped 38-34. I thought it was a TD live, as Felton seemed to bring the ball down and land in the end zone on his backside before the corner ripped it out. At the very least, there wasn’t sufficient evidence to overturn the call. The ACC might have put their thumbs on the scale for the playoff contender, but that’s just speculation on my part. The Hurricanes are 5-0, but the defense did not earn this win. They have plenty to clean up before the schedule really heats up.
Virginia Tech did leave some meat on the bone, though not all of it was their fault. Before the fake FG, WR Stephen Gosnell dropped a pass that would’ve set up first and goal. Coach Brent Pry displayed bad timeout management at the end of the first half, calling one to stop the clock with 25 seconds instead of letting it run and kicking a last-second FG; Miami exploited that to score an FG of their own. The referees harmed them even more, taking a long TD off the board for a phantom holding call and failing to call a horse collar tackle on the game’s final drive. Still, I imagine they’ll have some regrets over this one.
QB Matthew Sluka Abandons UNLV over NIL Dispute
We discussed how NIL might affect the NFL draft a few months ago. It turns out that before any of that can happen, the new paradigm is impacting the college game right now. Riding high with a 3-0 start and ranked 23rd in the Coaches Poll, UNLV was rocked when QB Matthew Sluka suddenly left the team. The reason, according to the argument that has played out in public, is an unfulfilled promise of $100K in NIL money. For their part, the school says that no formal offer was ever made and that doing so would’ve violated NCAA rules. Sluka disagrees and says that he will take his redshirt year (he has not yet appeared in 4 games)
Let’s step back and dive into this. Sluka started for 3 years at Holy Cross (4 years total). He transferred to the Rebels this offseason, presumably for that financial commitment. Far more of a running threat than a passer, Sluka has a 43.8 completion percentage and just 318 passing yards through 3 games. He is not remotely a pro prospect, and he must know it, which is why he’s trying to extract as much cash out of his college career while he can. UNLV is a bit busy right now to be worried about all of this, but they had to pick a new starting QB (senior Hajj-Malik Williams) while addressing the fallout from this wild story.
I should note that Sluka wasn’t getting “nothing” from UNLV. The school gave him $3000 for moving expenses, as well as a scholarship that enables him to complete his degree. Therefore, it’s not a good look for Sluka to renege on his commitment to play in exchange for an education that so many high school kids would love to have. He had the right to make this choice though, and he’ll be on the move again for next year. The Rebels don’t look fantastic either, because even if they’re in the right here, other athletes might stay away rather than risk NIL deals of their own falling through.
Where you stand on this issue likely comes down to your stance on player empowerment versus commitment to a team and a school. To that point, his now ex-teammates appear unpleased, and you wonder what his next potential school will think. I personally think that we’re entering dangerous territory, and the system is out of control. In terms of football, UNLV has the easier job here; Williams (13/16, 182 yards, 3 TDs; 12/119/1 rushing) already exceeded Sluka in his debut, a 59-14 win. This will be a warning though: secure your agreements and have backup plans, because this type of situation is likely to occur again.
(4) Alabama Dominates, Struggles, and Holds on vs. (2) Georgia
This was projected to be the game of the week, with two SEC heavyweights battling it out. For a full half of football, we had a laugher. Alabama scored a TD immediately against Georgia’s vaunted defense, and that was the BEST the Bulldogs looked in the first half. The Crimson Tide scored a TD again on their second drive and then another after a Carson Beck INT. By the middle of the second quarter, Alabama led 28-0. QB Jalen Milroe (27/33, 374 yards, 2 TDs, INT; 16/117/2 rushing) could do no wrong. The offensive line held up, and the receivers, especially 17-year-old phenom Ryan Williams (6/177/1) got open with ease.
Beck, on the other hand, looked abysmal. He displayed terrible decision-making, including his choice to run sideways short of sticks on 3rd down. He threw 2 INTs in the first half and took a safety by committing intentional grounding in the end zone. UGA could muster only one TD drive in the first half and trailed 30-7 at the break. It could’ve been worse if Alabama hadn’t fumbled in the red zone. Whatever HC Kirby Smart did at halftime, it worked. Beck came out much more poised, and his accuracy improved. The defense also stiffened, limiting Alabama to 3 third-quarter points.
While Alabama struggled to score, Georgia chipped away at the lead. Beck (27/50, 439 yards, 3 TDs, 3 INTs, FUM) got WRs Arian Smith (6/132/1) and Dillon Bell (5/100/1) involved and cut the deficit to 5 with 5:39 left in the game. After one more Alabama punt, insanity arrived. Bell caught a 67-yard TD pass on a 1-play drive by snagging a deep ball and spinning away from defenders. That put the Bulldogs up 34-33 for their first lead of the night. Incredibly, on the very next play from scrimmage, Williams caught a 75-yard TD on a one-play Alabama drive! He too spun away from the secondary to break away for the score.
Now trailing 41-34 with 2:18 to go, Beck drove Georgia down the field and reached the Alabama 20. Alas, his next and final throw was corralled by CB Zabien Brown, ending the game. I don’t really know what to make of Georgia at this point. The defense only struggled here, so I can give them a mulligan. Offensively, this team has struggled in 2.5 of their 4 games. Consistency will be the key moving forward. On the other side, this was a program-defining win for new Alabama HC Kalen DeBoer. Replacing a legend like Nick Saban is never easy, but he’s excelling. At this pace, the Tide are on track for a playoff bye.
Kentucky Gets Desired Upset over (6) Mississippi
Two weeks after coming up short in their upset bid against Georgia, the Kentucky Wildcats had to go on their road for their next challenge: Ole Miss. For them to win this game, the Wildcats had to make it a defensive struggle. Kentucky is not built to compete in shootouts, but stopping the Lane Kiffin-led Rebels seemed like a tall order. As in the Georgia game, Kentucky was up to the task. UK actually led 10-7 at the half by forcing Ole Miss to punt on 3 of their 4 drives to that point. Offensively, Kentucky didn’t do a ton, but they did hold a nearly 20-minute time of possession advantage, which shortened the game.
After trading third-quarter field goals, Mississippi finally took a 17-13 lead at the end of the quarter with a Jaxson Dart (18/27, 261 yards, TD) TD pass. Dart played decently, but not well enough to put away this unranked foe. Both defenses were stellar after the score, as the teams combined for 4 straight punts. With 4:04 left and with Kentucky trailing by the same score, HC Mark Stoops made a fateful decision. He had his team go on 4th and 7 at the UK 20, and he dialed up a deep shot. QB Brock Vandagriff (18/28, 243 yards, TD) fired a 63-yard bomb to WR Barion Brown (5/88) to move the chains. Stoops’ next decision nearly cost him.
Facing first and goal at the 6, Stoops put backup QB Gavin Wimsatt into the game for a read option play. Wimsatt gained 4 yards but coughed up the football. TE Josh Kattus happened to be standing there, and the ball fell into his lap. He ran it in for the go-ahead score with 2:25 remaining. Following that massive stroke of luck, the Rebels gave themselves a chance. Dart drove them down to the UK 31, but K Caden Davis shanked his 48-yard FG attempt. Kentucky escaped with a 20-17 win, and it was their first win in Oxford since 1978. The Wildcats should feel good despite a slightly disappointing 3-2 record.
Obviously, that was a poor result for Ole Miss. The SEC is brutally difficult, and you have to win the relatively easier games if you want to compete. Based on this game, the Rebels are still not in the top tier with Alabama, Georgia, and maybe even Tennessee. This team always seems to have one of these clunkers each year. The new 12-team playoff helps them in a big way, but LSU and Georgia remain on the Rebels’ schedule. I can easily see this team finishing with 3 or more losses based on their remaining opponents. That would mean that, as usual, Mississippi is very good…just not quite great.
Houston Probably Regrets Move to Big XII
When the Houston Cougars jumped from the AAC to the Big XII, it was a big deal. The conference was expecting good football and basketball teams, while Houston anticipated a major windfall from their new conference’s media package. Financially, the Cougars got what they wanted. Basketball ended up being pretty neutral, as conferences don’t mean as much in that sport, and Houston remained very strong after the switch. In football, however, this move has been nothing short of a disaster. Five games into the Cougars’ second season as a Big XII member, we can now start to evaluate how everything has played out.
Simply put, Houston seems very overmatched. They finished 8-5 in their final AAC season but plummeted to 4-8 in 2023 after joining their new conference. More importantly, Houston went just 2-7 in conference play, barely scraping by West Virginia and Baylor. They weren’t even particularly competitive with fellow newcomers Cincinnati and and UCF, losing by double digits to both. Their worst loss was a 41-0 drubbing against Kansas State, which showed us how far they were from success. Fast forward to 2024, and the situation is no better. If anything, this team is even worse under new HC Willie Fritz.
The Cougars are 1-4, with their lone victory coming against a poor Rice team. They played Oklahoma tough (16-12), but we’ve since learned that Sooners aren’t as good as most thought. We should have known what this season would look like back in week 1, when UNLV stomped Houston 27-7 at home. Houston looked even worse over the past two weeks. They suffered back-to-back shutouts, losing 34-0 to Cincinnati on the road and falling 20-0 at home against (18) Iowa State. As you can see, this isn’t just about Houston losing; it’s about how they’re losing.
The main problem is the lack of any semblance of an offense. QB Donovan Smith is simply not very good, and the offensive line is not blocking anyone. Houston is running for just 3.5 yards per carry as a team, and Smith has been sacked 12 times. Discouragingly, he stayed clean against ISU but still couldn’t score a single point. All of this has led to a tired defense; ISU earned 17 of their 20 points in the second half. This is essentially the opposite of complementary football, and it shows. Fritz did a great job at Tulane, but he has his hands full turning the Cougars around. I’ll preach patience here, but life was much better in the AAC.