Week 5 takeaways: Real freshmen shine, Heisman-worthy performances

Sep 30, 2024, 08:30 AM ET With Heisman Trophy conversations starting to bring a little more weight, multiple performances today showed why particular players are already on the short list.In a season where real freshmen are shining in the spotlight, Oklahoma’s Michael Hawkins Jr. is another name to add to that list. The Sooners decided to begin Hawkins this past week, and the results promoted themselves in a roadway triumph Saturday.We also saw some high-stakes games in Tuscaloosa and South Bend, and continued success from some unexpected sources.Our college football specialists break down key takeaways from Week 5. 12-team CFP hasn’t decreased high stakes of routine season The new 12-team College Football Playoff is going to dramatically change how

the sport crowns its nationwide champ, however the month of September illustrated how vital the routine season remains. The new format took nothing away from the spectacular, high-stakes instant classic in between Alabama and Georgia, which provided the Tide the very best win this month and an edge in the SEC race. Two-loss Oklahoma State is now an afterthought in the Big 12 race and the national photo, and one-loss Notre Dame is under incredible pressure to win out and look excellent doing it after its spectacular home loss to NIU.While the expanded field is much more forgiving, Ole Miss took a real gut punch when it lost in the house to Kentucky

— not since it can’t pay for a loss, but since it has even more difficult games ahead and no longer has much wiggle room. Nonconference schedules still matter to the choice committee. Groups aren’t simply playing for their league titles– they’re jockeying for first-round byes and first-round home games. It may be possible the routine season now matters much more than in the past.– Heather Dinich Freeman’s aggressive method stimulates Notre Dame offense Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman played college football for Jim Tressel, who may have burned his favorite

sweater vest after viewing what Freeman did during Saturday’s win over Louisville.Despite a 10-point lead and Notre Dame’s offense having a hard time late in the 3rd quarter, Freeman elected to opt for fourth-and-1 from the Combating Irish’s 43-yard line, which the group converted. Then, 3 plays later, Freeman

chose fourth-and-3 from the Louisville 46-yard line. Notre Dame came up short, however Freeman made his point. On the Irish’s next possession, they scored what ended up being the winning touchdown.”I want our team to be aggressive,”Freeman said.”We have to be aggressive, an aggressive mentality. That [decision] was a reflection of that.”Editor’s Picks 2 Related Freeman trusts his defense, however he likewise wants to prod an offense that hasn’t found its groove for long stretches, especially at home. Notre Dame completed the Louisville game with very similar offensive totals to its Week 2 loss to Northern Illinois– other than for points, of course. After a hot start, the Irish still went more than 24 minutes without a score.”We have actually got to get an initially down, “Freeman stated of his second-half conversations with offending planner Mike Denbrock.”What we’re doing right now is not working. Let’s attempt something else.”An open week comes at a good time for Notre Dame, which will take a look at methods to improve its scheme.

Quarterback Riley Leonard played a primarily clean game Saturday, but he still hasn’t eclipsed 163 passing lawns in a Notre Dame uniform. Previously in the week, Denbrock informed ESPN that Leonard is”

still getting utilized to what it means to be the quarterback at Notre Dame.””We’re starting to roll, we’re beginning to get our confidence back,” Leonard said.”So broad view, we have actually got a great deal of capacity.”Notre Dame still has adequate capacity to be a CFP group. Perhaps Freeman’s pedal-down approach will assist the Irish realize how excellent they still can be.– Adam Rittenberg Heisman minutes on

complete screen Ashton Jeanty strikes the Heisman position after hurrying for 259 lawns and 4 TDs Saturday. Brian Losness-Imagn Images The Heisman Prize is expected to go to the very best player in the country, though usually it’s reserved for the best QB– or, at least, aexcellent QB on a very good group. To put it simply, the credentials are a bit nebulous. But one requirement that appears to exist each year is this: The winner ought to have his”Heisman minute.”Well, Week 5 was chock filled with them.There was Camera Ward, saving Miami on Friday night against Virginia Tech with one mystifying play after another, consisting of an absolute magic technique as he escaped from tackles behind the line of scrimmage, then shoveled a throw at the last second to Riley Williams that chose 26 yards and set up the winning score.There was Jalen Milroe, the Alabama QB who entirely controlled Georgia’s defense in the very first half, then provided the dagger in the final three minutes with a 75-yard touchdown heave to freshman Ryan Williams, whose shimmy far from protectors en route to the end zone may’ve been its own Heisman moment.There was Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty, who ran for 259 lawns and

4 goals versus Washington State, consisting of an impressive 64-yard touchdown run on which he pinballed off– or through– a half-dozen protectors. And that may not have actually been his most excellent run of the day. He’s merely impossible to bring down.And then there was Travis Hunter, who ensured no one missed his Heisman minute,

selecting off UCF’s KJ Jefferson and striking the Heisman present to celebrate. Former NFL star Richard Sherman called Hunter” dull”on a podcast today, which seemed to be all the inspiration Hunter needed to add more fireworks to the already impressive show.It’s impossible to handicap the Heisman race with any real accuracy in late September– especially a race as non-traditional as this year’s– but what Week 5 revealed us exists’s no lack of elite prospects, and the ride to the podium in New york city is going to be very enjoyable.– David Hale Army-Navy is going to be a blast this year The Army-Navy game is a phenomenon every season, however the 2024 game has prospective to be a classic. Through four weeks

, both Army and Navy are 4-0, which hasn’t took place considering that 1945. The Black Knights stormed past Temple at Lincoln Financial Field on Thursday night 42-14. QB Bryson Daily led the charge for Army with 152 backyards and three touchdowns on the ground, while the defense sacked Temple quarterback Evan Simon seven times.For Navy, a 41-18

win at UAB continued what has been a dominant start to its season, including a 56-44 win against Memphis last week. Blake Horvath finished 9 of 11 passes for 225 yards and 2 goals Saturday, allowing him to lead the country in Overall QBR through this very first month-plus of the season.Their staying schedules aren’t especially frightening. There’s still a lot of football to be played prior to these two using Dec. 14 (including potentially the AAC champion on Dec. 6). But if they look anything like they have to begin this season, that game’s going to be a much more unique event than it currently is.– Harry Lyles Jr.Jeremiah Smith, Ryan Williams just keep improving So, we wrote about the effect freshman pass receivers growing throughout the nation recently. They’re all still outperforming their fellow first-year counterparts, however none are having freshman campaigns like the ones Jeremiah Smith and Ryan Williams are having.With the second of two incredible, one-handed grabs in the span of 23 seconds of game time at Michigan State Saturday, Smith became the very first Ohio State true freshman to tape-record a getting goal in

four straight games, per ESPN Research study. Through four games, he’s up to 19 receptions, 364 yards and 5 getting goals, on pace to break the

program freshman receiving records Cris Carter set for catches(41)

, lawns(648 )and scores (eight )in 1984. On the other hand, Williams released among the most destructive spin relocations you’ll see all fall and became the electrifying force in the most thrilling game to date in the 2024 season. Six catches for 177 lawns and a game-winning rating against No. 2 Georgia? Respectable. By the way, did you understand he’s just 17 years old?Already the most productive pass catchers in 2 of the nation’s most productive offenses, Smith and Williams are on their way to authoring two of the most respected freshman receiving seasons in recent college football history.– Eli Lederman Don’t forget about Noah Fifita After Arizona’s offense had a hard time in a 22-10 win versus FCS enemy Northern Arizona and a 31-7 loss to Kansas State, it would have been easy to cast aside the

Wildcats as a team that lost the magic it used to complete the 2023 season with seven straight wins. Things were … off. However despite the fact that their 23-10 win versus Utah on Saturday wasn’t an offending display, there sufficed minutes from quarterback Noah Fifita to remind everybody that he’s an unique player.There were 2 tosses, in particular, in the fourth quarter that effectively demoralized Rice-Eccles Arena. The first was a deep 41-yard strike to Devin Hyatt on third-and-11; the second, a 35-yard touchdown to Keyan Burnett 2 plays later on to go up 13 points. With the Utah offense struggling, there was little hope the Utes might erase

that deficit and the stadium began to clean out. Utah coach Kyle Whittingham pointed to Fifita as the difference in the game.What’s even more motivating for Arizona is that while Tetairoa McMillan had 6 catches for 50 yards, this was far from among his better games. The Wildcats have needed others to step up around him and they got that from Burnett– a high school colleague of Fifita and McMillan– and the running game(Arizona ran for 169 on 6.5 backyards per bring). The K-State loss was a nonconference game, so the win means Arizona is 1-0 in Huge 12 play with a chance to make a statement the next 3 weeks with games against a trio of teams that have actually begun 2-0 in the league: BYU, Texas Tech and Colorado.– Kyle Bonagura Sooners have found their QB Oklahoma’s Michael Hawkins Jr. passed for 161 lawns and hurried for a goal in his very first start at quarterback. AP Photo/Butch Dill Through the very first month of the season, Oklahoma had been frantically searching for an offensive trigger. In a 27-21 win at Auburn, the Sooners didn’t just discover a stimulate– they found their quarterback of the future in true freshman Michael Hawkins Jr.In his first start changing Jackson Arnold, who was benched recently, Hawkins produced 230 lawns of offense. That consisted of a 48-yard scoring dash on the opening drive, and later a 60-yard strike to J.J. Hester, establishing another goal that fired up OU’s biggest fourth-quarter comeback since 2021. On Auburn’s ensuing drive, Kip Lewis returned an interception 61 backyards for the winning touchdown, prompting Brent Venables to call the triumph his “first experience with Sooner Magic as a head

coach.” A loss to Auburn would’ve hinted a long season for OU in its very first year in the SEC. Instead, the Sooners now have a young quarterback who’s proving to be as fearless as he is talented.– Jake Trotter Ashton Jeanty is must-watch television For those who did not make the choice to stay up late on Saturday night, what you might have missed out on was the latest edition of the Ashton Jeanty program. It did not disappoint.Facing undefeated Washington State, Jeanty could not be dealt with. Actually. For the second time this season, Jeanty crossed the 200 rushing backyard mark with ease and added 4 goals to his tally, which now sits at 13. No running back has had that numerous through four games because 2020. He is the only FBS player in the previous 20 years to have at least 10 hurrying goals and average 10 lawns per rush through 4 games in a season, and he’s also balancing over 200 lawns per game. He is a one-man offense, and so far, it’s working marvels for the Broncos,

who remain on the list for the Group of 5 playoff spot.Don’ t let yourself be swayed by gaudy numbers alone. What makes Jeanty special is the experience of viewing him turn protectors into mere bumper cars before hitting his stride and outrunning anybody else who attempts to try to capture him. At any time it appears he will be downed, he is in some way able to get away and gain more backyards than the play warranted. He never ever stops moving.This season, Jeanty already has five runs of 60 backyards or more. Nobody else in the nation has more

than 3. The totality of Jeanty’s résumé– and the experience of watching him do it– has actually Heisman written all over it.Boise has, up until now, 2 more late games coming up: a 10:30 ET kickoff versus currently undefeated UNLV in 2 weeks and an 11 ET kickoff at Hawaii the week after that. Get your coffee all set.– Paolo Uggetti Time to accept the QB1 debate?If you had to assemble a 2025 mock NFL draft today, who’s going No. 1? That question crossed my mind Saturday night while viewing Alabama’s thrilling 41-34 win over Georgia. Carson Beck had actually never ever tossed two interceptions in any of his very first 17 starts for the Bulldogs. We had never ever seen him have a hard time to the degree he did against Kane Wommack’s Alabama defense, completing 27 of 50 passes and ending up with 4 turnovers.It’s obviously way too early to write off Beck, whose 439 passing backyards fueled an incredible resurgence effort, but it is reasonable to wonder how that

performance will impact the conversation around who’s QB1 in the 2025 draft. Because Beck has a terrible great deal of competitors at the moment.Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders has actually been outstanding because the loss to Nebraska, throwing for 941 backyards with nine goals and one interception over his past 3 games to push the Buffs to 4-1. Alabama’s Milroe is showing a great deal of growth in Kalen DeBoer’s system and went 27-of-33 through the air versus Georgia, raising his completion percentage to 73 %on the year. Ward set out to prove he’s a first-round talent at Miami and continues to be incredibly productive.And don’t forget Quinn Ewers and the dominant performance he created in Texas ‘road win at Michigan. When he’s healthy and back on the field, he belongs in this conversation. We have actually got a long way to go, however it’ll be remarkable to see how scouts measure and sort these QBs moving forward.– Max Olson