"Week 5 Recap”
Written by Wendi
Compared to week 4, week 5 wasn’t as brutal and most of us scored over 40 points but that doesn’t mean there weren’t any upsets. After a big win over Ole Miss in week 4, Florida fell flat against Missouri on the road. Missouri trounced the Gators 45-17, snapping a nine-game losing streak against ranked opponents and handed Florida its first loss of the season. The Tigers completely dominated the trenches piling up 560 total offensive yards while holding the Gators to just 325 yards, which most of that came well after the game had already been decided. Just before halftime, Missouri took the lead 17-10 and with a touchdown before the half, it sparked an unanswered 35-point scoring onslaught by the Tigers that blew the game completely open. What’s next for the Gators?
Elsewhere in the SEC, Alabama went on the road to Mississippi State and crushed the life out of the Bulldogs. In a battle of undefeated SEC teams, the Tide extended their winning streak over the Bulldogs to 17 consecutive games. Alabama’s explosive offense scored touchdowns on all seven of its red zone attempts, while their defense completely stifled Mississippi State’s ground game, limiting them to a mere 18 rushing yards on 30 carries. Alabama led 28-17 at the half but slammed the door shut in the second half, outscoring the Bulldogs 28-6 to turn the ranked matchup into a blowout. Final score was 56-23. Is the Bama "dynasty” back?
Kentucky pulled off a stunning 35-34 overtime victory against South Carolina even after trailing 17-0 early in the game. This marked the largest come-from-behind road win in program history, sealing the matchup when head coach Will Stein opted to go for a game winning 2-point conversion in overtime rather than kicking a tying extra point. The Gamecocks dominated the first half, but Kentucky slowly chipped away and took their first lead late in the third quarter. The fourth quarter morphed into a back-and-forth thriller. Why does South Carolina always blow big leads?
Entering the game as slight underdogs at home, Florida State routed Virginia 38-7. Virginia struck first, capitalizing on a quick 63-yard opening drive that ended with a touchdown. However, Florida State’s offense woke up in the second quarter and completely dominated all three phases of the game with QB Ashton Daniels putting on an individual scoring clinic on offense. I guess Florida State has a defense after all?
Iowa State edged West Virginia 45-42 in a wild, high scoring Homecoming thriller. The two teams traded blows in a back and forth meet. The Cyclones held a 21-14 lead at halftime but the Mountaineers roared back in the second half, twice erasing deficits to take a 42-38 lead late in the fourth quarter. With the game on the line, Iowa State executed a clutch 74-yard touchdown drive with under 2 minutes left in the game to recapture the lead. West Virginia attempted a final game winning drive, but the Cyclones stripped the ball after a completion and recovered the fumble to lock up the dramatic victory.
Air Force fought off Navy 14-9 in a gritty defensive slugfest that served as the emotional opening matchup for the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy chase. This also allowed the Falcons to snap a brutal five-game losing streak in service academy matchups. Air Force controlled the tempo early on with a punishing ground game. Navy found a spark in the second half with an explosive 68-yard touchdown strike but failed on the 2-point conversion. The Falcons’ defense slammed the door shut late in the fourth quarter with a big sack that led to a Navy punt to seal the victory.
Ohio State handed Iowa its first loss of the season with a decisive 31-14 victory. The Buckeyes controlled the clock and dominated the air behind a historic performance from Jeremiah Smith. Ohio State set the tone early leading 17-6 at halftime. Iowa struggled to generate offense (not a shocker), failing to reach the end zone until the fourth quarter.
Oregon State dominated Colorado State on the road 56-26. Racking up 625 offensive yards, the Beavers outscored the Rams 42-12 after a second quarter tie. The game also featured major off-field news as first year Ram’s head coach Jim Mora Jr. relieved defensive coordinator of play-calling duties during the first half. The Defensive Coordinator left the field and was dismissed from the team entirely. Yikes! How do you get fired mid-game?
The last two matchups of the night between BYU/TCU and USC/Washington were a little too close for comfort. We all had big points riding on those games and Chris really needed Washington to win badly. BYU gutted out their hard-fought victory over TCU in a low scoring affair 17-10 in the rain and USC rallied past Washington 25-21 overcoming a double-digit deficit in the second half.
On to Pick’ems...
Kim, Rick and Sean are still hanging on to the top 3 spots. How long can they sustain the pressure? I am starting to think there are some shenanigans going on out on the west coast. Jacob and Noah are on their tails with Sam not far behind.
Chris and Evelyn are fighting over last place like they are fighting for the last piece of fried chicken at the Golden Corral buffet. At some point, one of them will decide to have a good week, right? Right?
I am just glad that this week wasn’t a blood bath like in week 4. Mike and Adam are having a hard time recovering from week 4’s aftermath and are stuck at the bottom keeping Chris and Evelyn company at the kid’s table. And for those of us that are in the middle of the pack, we can only hope that the top tier starts falling (like Sam did) or we just need to be a bit more aggressive on our picks. Who will survive week 6?
Most points for the week: Noah scored 47 points and took home the $20 this week. Pretty sure David kept the money to make Noah pay him back for his entry fee.<Editors note: David took half>
Least points for the week: With 36 points, Marc was the unlucky winner of this category.
Best pick of the week: Christian and Adam picking Missouri over Florida meant a bunch of us losing out on some big points.
Worst pick of the week: Sam’s 5 points on Mississippi State hurt him a lot. If you go for the upset, go low. Good thing I talked him into lowering that pick. He originally had 7 or 8 I think.
Letters to the Editor:
We still want to know why Sam left the group chat…
I am sure he was a little salty dropping his first 3 games of the day. He is still beating 10 of us adults so not sure why he got that mad?????
So, Florida is NOT back?
Uh…no
What is happening to Penn State?
The Penn State Cyclones? It’s not looking too good.
Predictions for Michigan’s record at the end of the season?
Same answer as above. It’s not looking too good. 6-6 if they are lucky.
Are there any refunds on the entry fee? Asking for myself a friend…..
It won’t hurt to ask, right?
Here are the rankings after Week 5:
1. Kim – 221 points
2. Sean – 221 points
3. Rick – 220 points
4. Jacob – 218 points
5. Noah – 218 points
6. Sam – 210 points
7. Wendi – 209 points
8. David – 207 points
9. Marc – 201 points
10. Cindie – 200 points
11. Teddy - 196 points
12. Christian - 195 points
13. Adam - 187 points
14. Mike H - 186 points
15. Chris – 173 points
16. Evelyn – 167 points
There is a 54-point difference between 1st and last place
