College football 2020: Thoughts around the nation from Week 5

A wild Week 5 sets the stage for future chaos in the world of college football. Here are some thoughts from around the nation.

Week 4 was wild and entertaining and everything we love about college football. Week 5 said “hold my beer”.

• TCU kicked the day off (no pun intended) with an upset win over Texas. It didn’t really have the look of an upset as TCU looked like the better team most of the game. TCU limited the big plays from the Longhorns, which was one of the keys for a Horned Frog win.

But those penalty problems — wow. Breaking the single game penalty record of 35 was possible and actually looked likely at one point. The teams combined for 26 penalties for 192 yards. That’s something both teams are going to have to clean up if they want to continue their run at the conference championship game.

• Later that day Oklahoma lost again, this time to Iowa State. It feels like just yesterday Iowa State was just a pesky team that puts up a decent fight against most teams.

Now, it’s hard to consider any Big 12 win for the Cyclones an upset. They’re not an 11 win team every year, but they’re also no longer the 4-8 team that most teams look past. If you look past Matt Campbell’s Iowa State, you’re in trouble.

That’s exactly what Oklahoma did. Oklahoma has Texas next week, but that’s not a valid excuse.

You’re going to see people start to question Lincoln Riley now. Right or wrong, the questions are going to begin as to whether Riley can properly develop a quarterback on his own. This is the first time in Riley’s head coaching career he hasn’t inherited a quality starter via transfer and Oklahoma has already lost as many times in 3 games as they had lost in each of the previous three seasons.

It doesn’t seem to be a fair criticism — yet. Spencer Rattler is seventh in passing efficiency, 10th in completions and sixth in passing yards. Rattler does have some pretty bad interceptions, especially in the Kansas State game. Time will tell what the true issue for Oklahoma is, but for now, let’s not put so much heat on Riley.

• That mess pretty much leaves the Big 12 wide open. Oklahoma State is now the lone undefeated in the Big 12, but it’s still anyone’s to take (except Kansas. Let’s be real here, Kansas is once again absolutely awful.)

Everyone has had their moments of looking really good. Kansas State, Iowa State, TCU all have quality wins. Kansas State and Iowa State both have some bad losses. If Texas Tech would play some defense, they could be dangerous. Oklahoma and Texas are still the big boys of the conference.

But watch out for West Virginia. They’re sneaky good. They Kansas State, TCU and Oklahoma later this season. Texas is on the road, but who really knows what to expect from them. West Virginia has a good defense, solid quarterback in Jarret Doege and underrated run game lead by Leddie Brown. They might not win the conference, but they’re certainly good enough to end someone else’s chances.

• It’s only been two games, but I’m failing to see the hype in North Carolina. They’ve looked ok, but I haven’t see the explosive offense that’s been promised.

Sam Howell has been somewhat of a disappointment so far. He’s completing 65% of his passes for 520 yards, but he’s only thrown for three touchdowns, which also happens to be the number of interceptions he’s thrown.

North Carolina has wins over 1-2 Syracuse and Boston College. Admittedly, I like what I’ve see. From Boston College this year. They have a solid foundation and could be a threat in the ACC in a few years. But right now, North Carolina shouldn’t have needed to escape with a four point victory.

At this moment, I would pick North Carolina as the weakest of the ACC’s unbeatens, below Clemson, Miami, Notre Dame and Virginia Tech. There’s a lot of time for that to change, and it’ll need to change quickly as North Carolina hosts Virginia Tech this weekend.

• The loss of UCF also opens the door in the Group of Five’s New Year’s Six race. I said a couple weeks ago that Marshall is firmly in the race, but right now I think 4-0 SMU is in the driver’s seat.

After a slow start against Texas State, SMU has blown out North Texas and Stephen F Austin and edged out a tough win against Memphis. SMU has the nation’s top passer, top receiver and No. 3 rusher. That’s a deadly proposition for any opponent. If SMU ever gets to play TCU this year, that’ll go a long way for the Mustangs.

So who else has a shot at the New Year’s Six? Marshall of course is a candidate. Don’t write UCF off yet either. The Knights have Memphis, Houston and Cincinnati left and a possible AAC title game. Remember, no divisions in that league this year. If UCF finishes second, a showdown against SMU may loom.

Cincinnati is a threat as well. Another solid and unbeaten AAC team, they have to be feeling the disrespect pour in. All they’ve done is win, but SMU is getting all the praise and UCF is still being looked at as the class of the conference. An angry Bearcats team isn’t someone you want to face.

Elsewhere, Boise State and Air Force out of the Mountain West and Buffalo out of the MAC may have something to say in that race. Boise State is no stranger to this situation. Air Force was great last year and they host Boise State on Halloween. Buffalo’s solid defense and elite (yes, I said it) rushing attack give the MAC their best shot since PJ Fleck was at Western Michigan.

• Last thought: I absolutely cannot believe the egg auburn laid against Georgia. We all knew the Georgia defense was tough, but they allowed nothing for the Auburn offense.

Auburn gained just 39 yards on the ground all game. Bo Nix looked terrible in what was probably his worst start yet.

Georgia was up 24-0 at half, and it wasn’t even that close. Georgia dominated every single thing they did. It was old school, smash mouth football. If Georgia keeps this up, and there’s no sign they won’t, next week’s showdown against Alabama will be the biggest game of the season.