Best of Week 5: Kentucky, Texas A&M the brand-new SEC
- David Hale, ESPN Personnel WriterSep 30, 2023,
- 07:17 PM ET Close ACC reporter.Joined ESPN in 2012.
- Graduate of the University of Delaware.Here’s possibly
the single most complicated concern of September: Is Georgia still great?Oh, the Bulldogs are 5-0 since they’ve played some bad teams, and they have some great players. And they’re still No. 1 in the polls because everyone viewed the past 2 seasons of college football.But that does not attend to the core issue that, five games into this season, we have actually yet to see Georgia play anything close to a really outstanding game.The Bulldogs began slow against UT-Martin
in the opener, with a goal three seconds from the break the only reason a 17-0 halftime score didn’t look much uglier.They started sluggish against Ball State, stopping working to score in the very first quarter.They routed
South Carolina 14-3 at halftime in Week 3.
They didn’t pull away from UAB in Week 4 till midway through the 3rd quarter.Editor’s Picks 1 Related And Saturday, the Bulldogs went to the wire versus an Auburn team with one of the most anemic offenses in the country.In fairness to Georgia, Apple designed the alarm clock on its phones so the “snooze “button is even more popular than the” off”button.Carson Beck has been … fine.
He tossed for 313 yards and a TD in the win.The ground game has been … fine. Daijun Edwards scored twice versus Auburn.The defense has actually been … fine.
Payton Thorne and Robby Ashford got some lawns with their legs, however Auburn’s death game couldn’t strike water if it fell out of a boat.It’s all fine.
But we have actually pertained to expect a lot more from the Bulldogs, the two-time safeguarding champs, winners of 22 straight games. And in a year in which the SEC is one huge pile of meh, it’s entirely jarring to see Georgia follow suit.Of course, the SEC may be just playing possum– the exact same method Georgia has throughout the first halves of nearly every game it’s played so far.Part of the college football world was sleeping on Kentucky more like
it had just finished a 2nd hot brown and was entering into hibernation for a while. But Big Blue looks to be for real.The other part of the college football world has been patiently waiting to see Texas A&M enter its unavoidable doom spiral, when Jimbo Fisher fires Bobby Petrino for having a play card that doesn’t consist of footnotes, 6 addendums and a foreword by Gay Talese. But the Aggies are plugging along, and they appear like they may in fact be a player in the West.On Saturday, Kentucky and Texas A&M made declarations: Overlook at your own risk.In fairness, the SEC has appeared like a miasma of mediocrity that has everyone below the Mason-Dixon Line a little shocked. Yes, Georgia remains the No. 1 group in the nation, but the Bulldogs seem interested in playing big-boy football for just a couple of drives a week.The rest of the league is one huge mixer of who-the-heck-knows, and the SEC appears a week or more away from changing its name to”others getting votes.”Yes, 7 groups were ranked heading into Week 5, but 5 of those seven have a loss, and four of them were ranked in the 20s, located precariously in between Duke and Kansas.And regardless of all
of that, 4-0 Kentucky discovered itself outside the leading 25, which needed to have actually felt like a huge insult, like calling UK a basketball school. Undoubtedly, the last time an SEC team began 4-0 and wasn’t ranked going into Week 5 was Missouri in 2013. Thirty-seven SEC teams have started 4-0 after that, and all were ranked … other than the Wildcats.Funny thing, though: That 2013 Missouri team finally made a number beside its name in Week 6, then beat a top-10 Georgia team en route to an SEC national championship appearance and a No. 5 ranking in the last AP poll.Kentucky? The Wildcats will definitely be ranked next week, when they get– wait for it– Georgia.On Saturday, Ray Davis absolutely demoralized a Florida group that, quite honestly, had no organization being in the leading 25.
Davis showed up simply shy of the school record for hurrying backyards, however still finished with 280 on the ground. He ended up being the very first SEC player to run for 250 lawns and score four times in a conference game given that Nick Fitzgerald did it in the 2016 Egg Bowl.
Kentucky won quickly despite throwing for just 69 yards.The Gators, by the way, had enabled just 328 yards rushing in their first 4 games of the season. They handed 329 to Kentucky on Saturday.Meanwhile, Texas A&M entered into Hog Country also unranked. The early-season loss to Miami felt like an emphatic statement that the Aggies were, as soon as again, all hype and no substance. The season-ending injury to starting QB Conner Weigman only made matters worse. However Max Johnson, who we’re relatively particular is really a middle-aged daddy of 3 with a Volvo, a home loan and a comfy task selling life insurance coverage, threw for 210 yards and 2 touchdowns, and the Texas A&M defense made short work of what Dan Enos ensures us is, in truth, Arkansas’offense
and not a sophisticated useful joke.In other words, Saturday opened with seven ranked SEC teams that no one is in fact sure are all that good, even the protecting champ, and a minimum of 2 more that used the early slate to scream from the rooftops that they, too, belong in the conversation.After an incredibly frustrating start to the season in which Clemson dropped its first 2 ACC games, the Tigers lastly figured things out Saturday with a 31-14 win versus Syracuse.Figured out their kicking problems? Well, no. That’s still a problem. Jonathan Weitz, the kicker Clemson managed the beach 2 weeks earlier, was just 1 of 2 in basket attempts, and Clemson has now missed five kicks this year, routing just future fellow ACC member Cal.Figured out its red zone problems? Well, Cade Klubnik was sacked on a fourth-and-2 at the Syracuse 5-yard line. In all, Clemson was in Syracuse area on 12 of 14 drives, but discovered completion zone on simply 4 of them. play 0:37 Cade Klubnik airs it out for a 47-yard TD pass Cade Klubnik airs it out and finds Beaux Collins wide-open down the field
for a 47-yard Clemson TD.Figured out their turnover concerns? The Tigers got in the game having enabled the fifth-most points off turnovers in the country(36 ), more than they allowed in any of the past 3 complete seasons. Fortunately is they just included seven more to that overall Saturday.Figured out concerns on the O-line? Ah, Syracuse did have 13 takes on for loss in the game, the most Clemson has allowed in a game considering that 2013. However found out how to get the other group to make an entire lot of mistakes so they can lastly win an ACC game? You betcha!Syracuse had nine
charges, turned the ball over 3 times and gave up a short-field TD after an unusual decision to try a 57-yard basket near the end of the very first half– all sufficient to hand Clemson the game.Where does this leave the Tigers? Klubnik continues to improve, tossing for 263 backyards and 2 touchdowns. Freshman Tyler Brown appears like an emerging superstar after taking 151 yards, and the defense held Syracuse to less than 300 yards.It might not have been the most beautiful win, however for Clemson, any win is an excellent one.Buffs show treacherous for USC play 1:52 Caleb
Williams tosses 6 TDs in win over Colorado USC QB Caleb Williams goes off in a 48-41 win over Colorado with 6 touchdowns.No college football team had more
style than Colorado for the first 3 weeks of the year, but over the previous two games, Oregon and USC have been more than delighted to play the role of antihero, overthrowing the Enthusiasts ‘wildest dreams.Heisman folks might still say”Welcome to New
York” to Shedeur Sanders, who represented 421 yards and 5 goals, but it was Caleb Williams who revealed he was all set for it Saturday, throwing for 403 lawns and six touchdowns in USC’s 48-41 win. Still, is the Trojans’D trouble for Lincoln Riley?Regardless, the Buffs’hot start
has actually become a terrible summer season– er, fall– with back-to-back losses, and Coach Prime
might now wish for the
buzz
he had in August. The media gaze can be fragile, however Prime’s not listening
to anyone who says he requires to relax. Due to the fact that there’s a formula for regaining all that early buzz, and it didn’t need a mad return win Saturday.Coach Prime just needs a bit more Taylor Swift in his life.Buffs games have been jam-packed with celebs on the sideline, but they’ve all been there to bask in Prime
‘s state of grace. As we saw at last week’s Kansas City Chiefs game, however, Tay raises everyone’s profile.So, with that said, here’s our effort to inject Colorado with a bit of the Swiftie bump to get this once-promising season to start again.He just desires guys who can play Informs others not to stay That’s what people say That’s what
people state Used to be lightning on his feet Now he only keeps receipts At least that’s what individuals state That’s what individuals state On Twitter ranked his boys Then lost to USC and Oregon But he’s got all this media hype stating Prime’s gon na be alright He’s in every Geico advertisement Wears sunglasses and a hat And that’s why they get mad That’s why they get mad So the Trojans might be fantastic, fantastic, great, great, great However next is Arizona State, State, State, State, State Prime’s just gon na shake, shake
, shake, shake, shake Shake it off. Shake it off.Did you know they’re 5-0? Maryland The Terps thumped Indiana 44-17 on Saturday to remain undefeated behind five goal passes from Taulia Tagovailoa. Regretfully, their finest operate in the game showed unsuccessful.Maryland football
‘s distraction attempt throughout Indiana’s extra point stopped working, but was a good one. pic.twitter.com/MIB7JKfI6W!.?.!— Wesley Brown(@W_Brown21 )September 30, 2023 Louisville The Cardinals tripped over their own shoelaces for much of Friday night’s game against NC State, however a 53-yard field goal by Brock Travelstead(whose surname, remarkably,
is the exact same as a website to get great deals on hotels and rental cars and trucks) for the win. Louisville is the 15th ACC
team to start 5-0 in the playoff
era. Eleven of the previous 14
made it to the league’s title game.James Madison JMU sure knows how to make things intriguing. They’re 5-0, with 4 wins vs. FBS competition coming by 1, 2, 7 and 8 points– the last a 31-23 success over South Alabama on Saturday. The Dukes are just the 5th FBS
group in the playoff era to open 5-0 with four wins coming over one belongings. In the past 3 calendar years, JMU has played 4 football seasons at two different levels and posted a 32-6 record.Penn State
OK, you most likely did know the Nittany Lions