College football is unpredictable and delightful, which is why we live for what happens on Saturdays. And Week 5 absolutely delivered, from fireworks at the new stadium in Evanston to the statement made by Mizzou in CoMo.<\/p>\n
Each Sunday, I\u2019ll publish my biggest takeaways from the college football weekend. I\u2019ll highlight the most interesting storylines, track College Football Playoff contenders and specifically shout out individual and team performances that deserve the spotlight.<\/p>\n
1. Miami might be the best team in the country, but we won\u2019t know for sure for another month.<\/p>\n
No offense to Wake Forest. Some offense to Clemson. But Miami hasn\u2019t been truly challenged yet (unless you count injury luck). And as fun as it is to watch Darian Mensah have as much time as he needs to throw the ball, it\u2019s also not teaching us much about the \u2018Canes overall. Miami\u2019s schedule is weaker than Notre Dame\u2019s \u2014 which is being held up as the example \u2014 which means that the Hurricanes really are not expected be challenged by an ACC foe at any point. Perhaps Pitt? Maybe Duke? I don\u2019t know. I truly don\u2019t think we\u2019ll know just how good Miami is until we see that team against Notre Dame in South Bend.<\/p>\n
2. Alabama\u2019s offense is scary good.<\/p>\n
Now that\u2019s what a Kalen DeBoer team is supposed to look like. We all remember what Michael Penix Jr. looked like throwing to all those future NFL draft picks. It was an insanely fun and creative offense, and there were just so many different receivers who could break a game open. This year\u2019s Alabama offense reminds me of that, led masterfully by quarterback Keelon Russell.<\/p>\n
The Crimson Tide have scored 45 or more points in their first five games. It\u2019s the first time Alabama has opened its season with five games of 45 or more points since 2018. That team was pretty good, too, huh?<\/p>\n
3. Week 5 was a mixed bag for coaches on the hot seat.<\/p>\n
Mike Norvell entered the season on the hottest seat in the country and then watched as his athletic director was fired mid-September. Norvell was a big winner on Saturday, as Florida State beat Virginia, 38-7. Meanwhile, Luke Fickell\u2019s Badgers crushed Michigan State, 31-3, to improve to 4-1. Fickell\u2019s seat has cooled considerably, and this Wisconsin team is definitely better than it\u2019s been.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Shane Beamer and Mike Locksley saw leads evaporate and their teams suffer painful losses (South Carolina in overtime, Maryland to an eventual blowout). And may I suggest a new name for the hot-seat list? I\u2019d like to nominate Cal first-year coach Tosh Lupoi. I know, I know. It\u2019s just his first season. But after losing to UNLV, Cal is just 2-3 with an offensive coordinator who had never been an OC or play-caller at the college or professional level before.<\/p>\n
4. Eli Drinkwitz and Missouri finally got their big win.<\/p>\n
All week, everyone wanted to talk about whether Missouri deserved to be ranked. Hand up \u2014 I didn\u2019t rank the Tigers! I didn\u2019t think they deserved to be ranked. And now I do, because they completely shut down a previously explosive and prolific Florida offense. Austin Simmons also torched a rather suspect Florida defense to the tune of 340 passing yards and two touchdowns. So, I ranked Missouri. It\u2019s Eli Drinkwitz\u2019s first regular-season win over a top-10 team in 11 tries. \u201cIt\u2019s a good win against a really good team today. That\u2019s all it was,\u201d Drinkwitz said, downplaying past struggles against the SEC\u2019s \u2014 and college football\u2019s \u2014 elite. \u201cNobody in our locker room could care less about that. I couldn\u2019t care less about that. I really couldn\u2019t care less. The SEC is a hard league, and yeah, I\u2019m done with that.\u201d<\/p>\n
5. Chip Kelly was the most important coordinator hire of the offseason.<\/p>\n