In Week 5 of college football, there were not many surprising losses. However there were a few games that furthered the disappointment of struggling teams.
In previous weeks, we have seen good teams be upset by much worse opponents. For example, last week, Virginia Tech lost in a stunning away game against Old Dominion. However, this week, the majority of the favored teams won their games. Within the college football top 25, every team that had a higher ranking than their opponent won, with the exception of No. 8 Notre Dame beating No. 7 Stanford, and No. 23 Mississippi State losing to unranked Florida (who is now 4-1 and ranked).
There were some teams that lost, again, and we simply continue to shake our head in disappointment.
3. Louisville vs Florida State
The Louisville Cardinals lost their second ACC game in Week 5 against a struggling Florida State team. While most would agree this was a pretty evenly matched game, with the Seminoles winning 28-24, Louisville lost a good opportunity to earn a solid win at home against a conference opponent. The Cardinals were out scored 21-3 in the second half, which is why they make the list of bad losses.
Louisville looks to be lost after the departure of Lamar Jackson. It was expected for the Cardinals to take a slight drop in performance after Jackson left, but a 2-3 record is much worse than most predicted.
Maybe we can call it a rebuilding year for the program, but that would be a stretch. Bobby Petrino is a good coach, and I would not be surprised if he left Louisville after this year before a total collapse of the program.
2. UCLA woes continue
The UCLA Bruins have shocked everyone so far this season…at how bad they are. The hype for the return of Chip Kelly was through the roof. However, we have all been terribly let down. The Bruins are now 0-4 on the season, and look to be one of the worst teams in the Pac-12. The worst part about that statement is that the Pac-12 is already one of the worst conferences in college football this season.
The Colorado Buffaloes beat UCLA, 38-16, to give Colorado their fourth win on the season. Sure, nobody really expected UCLA to win, however, they didn’t even put up a fight. Colorado was in complete control for the entire game.
Part of the reason the Bruins have been struggling is their lack of a decent quarterback. Freshman, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, has been under center for UCLA for the majority of the year. We can assume, Chip Kelly is simply enduring the growing pains associated with a young, inexperienced quarterback, in hopes that he is better for the future. But for now, the Bruins will just have to continue to struggle to get their first win on the season.
1. Scott Frost’s biggest regret
Just like UCLA, the Nebraska Cornhuskers lost, again. A 0-4 start to the season is definitely not what Coach Scott Frost had in mind when he agreed to leave UCF before the end of last season. The UCF Knights are still undefeated, and many are starting to question how much of an impact Frost really had on last year’s team.
In Week 5, Nebraska lost at home to conference opponent Purdue. After the first quarter, the game wasn’t close. At the end of the game, the score read, 42-28, and the Nebraska fans officially began to start losing trust in Frost.
Nebraska is now 0-2 in Big Ten conference play, and they will be adding another mark in the loss column this coming Saturday. The Cornhuskers will travel to face No. 16 Wisconsin, in a game that is sure to be a blowout. We can effectively write-off Nebraska for the rest of this year. However, with one full season under his belt, look for Frost to make waves in the Big Ten, and college football as a whole, starting next year.