College football is unpredictable and delightful, which is why we live for what happens on Saturdays. And Week 5 certainly delivered, with the White Out game coming down to the final play at exactly the same time as Alabama beating Georgia in Athens.<\/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. Penn State still cannot win The Big Game.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s not much else to say at this point. Everyone knows the narrative. Everyone knows the statistic. James Franklin is now 4-21 against AP top-10 opponents. For most of Saturday night, the Nittany Lions looked like they could not field a functional offense. And this was the team that celebrated the return of its veteran quarterback and two players who were supposed to be the two of the best running backs in the country. Penn State went out and hired the most expensive defensive coordinator in the nation, and it added receivers from the transfer portal to try to address its deficiencies from a season ago. And yet.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Oregon game is a ‘big opportunity’ for Penn State<\/p>\n Nicole Auerbach and Joshua Perry discuss why Drew Allar and Penn State have an opportunity to prove themselves against Oregon while Dante Moore and the Ducks face a step up in a hostile environment.<\/p>\n Penn State had a White Out. The Nittany Lions were favored to win the game \u2014 against a young, inexperienced (albeit talented) Oregon team led by Dan Lanning. And they couldn\u2019t get it done. There\u2019s no way to change this story until you actually win one. Despite a furious fourth-quarter comeback, Penn State again fell short. And I don\u2019t know that we should be surprised at this point.<\/p>\n 2. We, collectively, panicked too early about Alabama. <\/p>\n Part of my job here on Saturday nights is to give you my knee-jerk reactions to the day that was in college football. So I, like most college football viewers, took Alabama to task for losing to unranked Florida State in Week 1. The sky was falling in Tuscaloosa after a fourth loss to an unranked team in less than two seasons \u2014 the same as Nick Saban had over 17 years at Alabama! And now it\u2019s not after a statement win at Georgia. As it turns out, Kalen DeBoer and Ryan Grubb still can coach. And Ty Simpson is one of the best quarterbacks in the country, which is something that\u2019s been obvious to anyone who has watched the Crimson Tide over the past few weeks. I think it\u2019s time to resume the usual conversation about Alabama \u2014 SEC contender, College Football Playoff participant, etc. Bama\u2019s back.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n How will Alabama respond against Georgia?<\/p>\n Nicole Auerbach and Joshua Perry preview the Alabama vs. Georgia matchup in Week 5, questioning how the Crimson Tide will handle the Bulldogs in a blockbuster matchup.<\/p>\n 3. Brian Kelly should answer for the LSU offense. <\/p>\n I know the LSU coach doesn\u2019t like getting questioned about it, but he really needs to be held to account for how poorly this offense is playing. The Tigers are completely one-dimensional because they cannot run the ball. At all. LSU accounted for 57 total rushing yards \u2014 averaging a putrid 2.6 yards per carry \u2014 against an Ole Miss rushing defense that ranked 122th in the nation entering Sunday. Garrett Nussmeier hasn\u2019t played well this season, either, but it\u2019s even more difficult to try to throw the ball downfield if your opponent knows that\u2019s all you can do.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Will LSU’s offense get on track vs. Ole Miss?<\/p>\n Nicole Auerbach and Joshua Perry break down the storylines in LSU vs. Ole Miss, particularly the play of Garrett Nussmeier and the potential of the Ole Miss defense.<\/p>\n The LSU defense is significantly improved. But the offensive line is a problem. The run game is a problem. And that creates a major problem for a team that entered the season with national title aspirations.<\/p>\n 4. The ACC race just got a whole lot more interesting.<\/p>\n Miami still looks like the team to beat in the ACC \u2014 the Canes\u2019 offensive and defensive lines are legitimately very good. But beyond Miami, who\u2019s the second-best team in the ACC? Florida State got upset by Virginia in double overtime in a stunner on Friday night, which resulted in the fastest field storm I\u2019ve ever seen in college football. Then, Georgia Tech nearly dropped a game at Wake Forest, needing overtime to escape with a still-unblemished record. Syracuse, the league\u2019s darling after a win over Clemson, just got shellacked by Duke at home.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Making sense of a chaotic ACC in 2025<\/p>\n Joshua Perry, Nicole Auerbach, Chris Simms and Ahmed Fareed discuss the unpredictable nature of the ACC in 2025, evaluating the outlooks of Miami, Duke, Georgia Tech and more.<\/p>\n Could Duke make a run after its nonconference losses? The schedule is favorable, with no regular-season matchups against Miami or Florida State. Could Virginia get rolling after its biggest win in six years and find success against a very manageable schedule? I won\u2019t write anyone off (expect Dabo Swinney and Clemson) or pencil anyone into the ACC title game just yet. Because it\u2019s impossible to know!<\/p>\n 5. It\u2019s a matter of when \u2014 not if \u2014 Arkansas moves on from Sam Pittman at this point. <\/p>\n The Razorbacks lost to Notre Dame at home by 43 points on Saturday. It was a game that was essentially over by halftime, as the Fighting Irish had piled up 420 total yards of offense (and four Jeremiyah Love touchdowns) by the break. It\u2019s not just that Arkansas lost to Notre Dame (because that result in itself is not shocking, as Vegas suggested) \u2014 but it\u2019s the way the Razorbacks fell. That game felt the same way that Oklahoma State\u2019s loss to Tulsa felt. Or Virginia Tech\u2019s loss to Old Dominion. Or UCLA\u2019s loss to New Mexico. While Notre Dame is far more talented than those opponents, the result felt the same in that there\u2019s no coming back from it.<\/p>\n Notre Dame’s 56 points are ND’s most points scored against an SEC team since beating Tulane (!) in 1947.<\/p>\n \u2014 Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) September 27, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n The only remaining question is when Arkansas makes the move. If the school opts to fire Pittman now, it will owe him 75 percent of his remaining contract (which would be about $10 million)<\/a>. If it waits a few weeks and Pittman\u2019s record since 2021 falls below the .500 mark, then that buyout drops to 50 percent (and about $7 million). I\u2019d argue that the money isn\u2019t worth the pain of waiting. Arkansas should act now.<\/p>\n