College Football-Week 5 Recap

A Michigan State victory over undefeated Michigan in East Lansing highlights an exciting Week 5

Written by: D. Wash.

#4 LSU holds off against #21 Georgia.

Through the third quarter, it looked like a traditional SEC matchup with defenses dominating the game. Then early in the fourth quarter, Joe Cox led the Bulldogs 60 yards down the field to score on a 1-yard TD pass and Georgia took the lead 7-6. The suspense built as LSU couldn’t score on two straight drives and the seconds peeled off the clock.

Finally, with 7 minutes left, the LSU Tigers momentarily changed their offensive philosophy to end their scoring drought. Instead of running the ball down Georgia’s throat, they decided to depend on their quarterback to win the game. Their faith in Jordan Jefferson would pay dividends. Jefferson completed 4 passes for 54 yards and also was able to reel off a 26 yard run to put the Tigers in Georgia’s red zone. A few Charles Scott runs later and LSU regained the lead with less than 3 minutes left in the game.

Georgia answered with their passing game, as their superstar wideout AJ Green caught one over an LSU defender for a touchdown. Down again, LSU needed a quick scoring drive to win the game and stay undefeated. After an impressive kick return put the Tigers up on the Georgia side of the 50, Jordan Jefferson made the kind of decision that separates winning quarterbacks from losing ones in games like this. Instead of going for the glory himself and passing the ball down the field, Jefferson convinced the coaches to allow him to hand it off to star tailback Charles Scott. On the second play of the drive, Scott made Jefferson look like a genius as he busted loose for 33 yards to score a touchdown and put the Tigers ahead once and for all.

With only seconds left in the game, Georgia was in desperation mode. Despite the stellar game that he was having, Joe Cox won’t be happy with his performance because of the interception he threw on this last drive of the game that sealed the victory for LSU. This win sets up a great game next week between the LSU Tigers and the Florida Gators. Though previous poor performances had given people reason to doubt LSU, this win on the road over a good Georgia team should fill people with confidence. LSU has the potential to beat the Florida Gators.

#8 Oklahoma loses to #17 Miami.

In what was essentially an elimination game as far as national titles are concerned, The U showed that their wins over Florida State and Georgia Tech weren’t just flukes. The Hurricanes were able to hold an Oklahoma offense that had gained 1093 yards in the past 2 games to only 341 yards.

Landry Jones, who threw for an Oklahoma record 6 touchdowns two weeks ago, only threw for 188 and 1 score against Miami’s speedy defense. While Miami’s offense wasn’t overly productive, it was efficient enough. Javarris James ran for 150 yards, embarrassing the OU front seven. Jacory Harris executed a 200 yard performance, and his 3 touchdowns were the scores that sealed the game for ‘canes. Oklahoma now has only one role to play the rest of the season, spoiler. They can still ruin the Texas Longhorns season with a win on October 17^th and Kansas’s season on the 24^th.

Two losses will be insurmountable and will keep them out of any BCS bowl game. Miami on the other hand still has a chance to make a BCS bowl, most likely the Orange Bowl, if they are able to go undefeated throughout the rest of their schedule.

#7 USC at #24 Cal (It Was Over at The Half…)

This was supposed to be the year that Cal beat the Trojans. They were playing them at home, where their defense has excelled. They have the best running back in all of college football.  Their receivers are skilled and experienced and should’ve been able to clear up the box for the dominant Cal running game. Well… there’s always next year.

Though they marched the ball down the field on their first possession of the game, USC stud safety Taylor Mays was able to intercept the ball in the back of the end zone.  This killed Cal’s rhythm. When the Trojans got the ball, they executed their offense almost to perfection. Joe McKnight ran for 119 yards, including a highlight reel score early in the first quarter. Matt Barkley threw for almost 300 yards, with 100 of them going to star receiver Damian Williams. This game was already a snoozer at the half. 

It has to make you wonder what would have been if Kevin Riley hadn’t thrown that interception on the first possession of the game. How would the game have ended up? Would Cal’s offense gain confidence and continue to execute? Would the Trojan defensive swagger been crushed by the ease of which Cal scored? Unfortunately, no one knows. All we know is how it did end up, and that was a dominant 30-3 USC victory.

#22 Michigan at Michigan State University (Spartans! Prepare for Glory!)

Michigan looked good this year with an exciting dual threat quarterback and plenty of speed on offense. Michigan State looked bad with three losses in their first four games. It didn’t matter. Michigan State redeemed themselves with a big win at home against their biggest rival, Michigan. They took control early in the game and had an impressive 20-6 lead early in the fourth quarter. Michigan looked to mount a late game comeback as they had the past few weeks against Notre Dame and Indiana, and it looked like they could pull it off once again.

First, UM quarterback Tate Forcier completed a 60 yarder for a score to Darryl Stonum. Then, after holding MSU to a 3 and out, Forcier led the team down the field and threw another touchdown pass with 2 seconds left in the game to send it into overtime. It looked like all the momentum was on Michigan’s side and the Maiz and Blue looked as if they could get another win over their rivals. But then, Forcier threw an interception on Michigan’s forst possession of the overtime. Three plays later, Michigan State running back Larry Caper ripped off a 23 yard run for a touchdown to get the Spartans the win. East Lansing went crazy and the Wolverines trotted off the field, deflated and disappointed.

Michigan is still a solid team, but their tendency to allow subpar teams (like this squad from MSU) to get ahead early finally cost them their undefeated record and top 25 ranking. They better put this loss behind them quick and fix their mistakes if they expect to have any chance against #12 ranked Iowa next week.

#6 Virginia Tech at Duke (The Hokies Get Back in it)

With a win at Duke, The Hokies of Virginia Tech have quietly snuck back into the national title picture. Tyrod Taylor pulled off his very first 300 yard passing performance on Saturday and threw two touchdown passes. Taylors most important stat isn’t the amount of yards he threw for or the two scores. His most important stat was the big zero in the interception column. He’s looked very mobile in the pocket, not surprise considering his athleticism, and seems to have overcome his old interception habits. The Hokies were also able to hold Duke’s rushing offense to a measly 38 yards on 31 carries. The Blue Devils were able to throw for 359 yards, exposing some weaknesses in the VT defense. If they can limit any mistakes in the passing defense and stay flawless throughout their schedule, they should be able to get to a BCS bowl later this year.

Washington at Notre Dame (Jimmy Clausen: The Dark Horse of the Heisman Race)

With 422 passing yards on the day, Notre Dame needed Jimmy Clausen to play like a Heisman candidate and wide receiver Golden Tate also had to play out of his shoes with his 244 receiving yards to lock up this victory. I'll recognize that it should never have been that close of a game, but that was the fault of the Notre Dame defense, not the offense.

And did someone mention Heisman? With Bradford’s injury and Jahvid Best’s poor performances the past two weeks, there is an opening as the number three Heisman candidate. A number of people are vying for this spot, including Jimmy Clausen. Clausen has already thrown for over 1500 yards and 12 touchdowns this year, despite being out for much of the Purdue game. He leads college football in passer rating, and has the potential to break 4000 yards on the season if the Notre Dame running game continues to struggle. Does that make him a Heisman candidate? Possibly. Heisman voters must at the very least consider the kid in South Bend for the prestigious award. If Tebow or Mccoy slip up then Clausen may be able to sneak into one of the top two spots and be considered a front-runner for the most esteemed trophy in all of college football.

Credit the AP for all photos included in this and previous posts