Week 5 of the college football season lived up to the hype of being one of the best Saturday Slates in recent memory. From overtime finishes, to upsets, Saturday had a little bit of everything for college football fans. Let's take a look at 5 takeaways from the week that was in college football.
1. Lane Kiffin Deserves to be Held in High Regard
Since taking over at Ole Miss in 2020, Lane Kiffin has compiled a 49-18 record overall, and has the Rebels off to a 5-0 start this season after beating LSU this weekend, 24-19 in front of a jam packed Vaughn Hemingway Stadium. A proven recruiter, Kiffin's ability to connect with his players is evident through out his social media presence, as well as his success on the field. Often referred to as a "straight shooter", Kiffin should be on the short list for any high profile job that may present itself.
2. Kalen DeBoer May Have Bought Himself Some Time
The old adage in coaching is "You never want to be the guy, to follow the guy". DeBoer has done just that. Being the coach who takes over for Nick Saban is no easy task. Alabama went from college football royalty, to just another team in the ever crowded SEC. After a bad Week 1 loss to Florida State, the Alabama faithful were all but done with the DeBoer experiment, but after a thrilling 24-21 victory over #8 ranked Georgia yesterday, the Crimson Tide have thrusted themselves back into the thick of the NCAA Playoff conversations. The Tide have a gauntlet of a schedule coming up in the coming weeks, but a win over the Bulldogs is likely to make that seat a little less hot.
3. The Ducks are For Real
Cross Country Travel. Hostile Environment. White Out. 100,000 plus screaming Penn State fans. Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks had every excuse in the world to come to State College and play poorly if they needed one, but they didn't. The Ducks and Nittany Lions battled it out in an instant classic with Oregon coming out victorious with a 30-24 win in double overtime. Lanning and his team get the week off this week, but will welcome in the red hot Indiana Hoosiers on October 11th for what could be a Top 10 showdown.
4. You Have to Believe in Pavia, Commodores
The Vanderbilt Commodores are 5-0 for the first time since the 2008 season. The 18th ranked Commodores won in convincing fashion this weekend, beating Utah State by the score of 55-35. Vanderbilt quarterback, Diego Pavia has proven himself to be one of the top quarterbacks in the SEC, throwing for 890 yards, 8 touchdowns, and only 2 interceptions so far on this young season. A major test awaits, however, as Vanderbilt takes a trip to Tuscaloosa this weekend to take on a formidable Alabama team.
5. We Need Tuesday Night MACtion, Now
There's something to be said for coming home from work on a Tuesday night, nestling in, and watching a couple of MAC teams battle it out in front of a couple thousand (maybe), raucous fans. Football season is in full swing, but these MAC teams are getting lost in the Saturday shuffle with so many high end games being played week in and week out. With over a month until our favorite Tuesday Night conference starts playing in the middle of the week, we are going to have to figure out a different way to occupy our Tuesday nights until November 4th.
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