Week 5 of the 2019 season is in the books and it gave us another weekly batch of chaos. There were no jaw dropping upsets this time around, but there were a lot of, ‘Almost an upset’ type of games.
The top tier teams separated themselves from the pack and a lot of programs got exposed. Here are the top studs and duds from Week 5.
Stud: Notre Dame’s Defense
The Fighting Irish were coming off a tough road loss against Georgia, but they bounced back in a huge way against the ranked Virginia. Ian Booke and the offense were sluggish all afternoon and the team trailed heading into the second half, but then the team’s defense took over the game. Notre Dame forced five turnovers and sacked Virginia quarterback Bryce Perkins eight times.
Dud: Mack Brown’s Two-Point Conversion
For most of the game it looked like Mack Brown and the UNC Tarheels might make the “studs” section of this list with No.1 Clemson on the ropes. But then the fourth quarter happened. After scoring a touchdown with less than two minutes left to pull within one point, Brown elected to go for two and win the game. The logic made perfect sense, but the play he called was a poorly drawn up option that Clemson easily blew up.
Stud: Jalen Hurts
He might not be as good as Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray were, but Jalen Hurts still looks electric with the Oklahoma Sooners offense. Against Texas Tech, Hurts threw for 417 yards, ran for an additional 70 yards, and was responsible for five total touchdowns. The Sooners are still very much a playoff threat.
Dud: The Virginia Tech Hokies
The Virginia Tech Hokies look to be in for another long season after an embarrassing home loss to the Duke Blue Devils. Duke had no notable individual performances, but completely demolished Virginia Tech in a 45-10 route. The ACC outside of Clemson looks worse every week.
Stud: Tanner Morgan
The Minnesota Gophers are off to a 4-0 start thanks to a great offensive performance against the Purdue Boilermakers. Quarterback Tanner Morgan threw for 396 yards and tossed four touchdown passes. Minnesota has a tough schedule ahead with the likes of Iowa, Wisconsin, and Penn State on their radar, but don’t be surprised if P.J. Flecks’s squad sneaks their way into the AP Poll at some point.
Dud: The Maryland Terrapins
Maryland was hoping to bounce back after an upset loss at Temple, but the Terrapins were blown out and embarrassed in all phases Friday Night against Penn State. Capital One Field at Maryland drew a record crowd Friday Night only to watch their team get shutout. The Nittany Lions meanwhile scored 59 points with 619 yards of offense and forced three turnovers. In their last three matchups with Penn State, Maryland has been outscored 163-6.
Stud: Texas A&M’s Fourth Quarter Comeback
Saturday saw Texas A&M and Arkansas once again got locked in a thrilling matchup in which the Aggies narrowly came out on top. A late defensive stand helped the Aggies bounce back from a brutal loss to Auburn and likely save their status in the AP Poll.
Dud: Northwestern’s Offense
The Northwestern Wildcats have already suffered their third loss of the season due to yet another inept offensive performance. The Wildcats have pulled together some great defenses over the last few seasons, but their offense has taken a new low. Against Wisconsin they managed only 255 yards of offense (almost all of it coming in garbage time) and turned the ball over three times.
Stud: The Arizona State Sun Devils
Herm Edwards and the Arizona State Sun Devils continued their bipolar 2019 campaign with a big upset over the No.15 Cal Bears. The team followed their upset win on the road against Michigan State with a crushing home loss to Colorado. They have now bounced back from that by beating No.15 Cal on the road 24-17. Eno Benjamin ran for 100 yards and a trio of touchdowns while the defense made key stops in the fourth quarter.
Dud: Matt Fink
Matt Fink, USC’s third quarterback of the season, was given a ton of praise after last week’s upset win over Utah, but he looked terrible against the Washington Huskies. Fink threw only 163 passing yards while also throwing three ugly interceptions in the Trojan’s 28-14 loss.
Stud: The Baylor Bears
Baylor is 4-0. Seriously. The Bears were a team many forgot about heading into the season, but a 23-21 upset win over Iowa State has the Bears primed fora chance to compete in the Big 12. They blew a 20 point lead that almost landed them on the “duds” section of this list, but a last second field goal gave them their biggest win in quite some time.
Dud: The Nebraska Cornhuskers
Remember when everyone thought Ohio State was on upset alert this week against Nebraska? Well after a 48-7 thrashing from the Buckeyes, I doubt Cornhuskers fans will be getting very confident heading into the rest of Big Ten play. Scott Frost was expected to bring the team back to glory in year two, but it is clear that Nebraska football is not in fact, ‘Back’.
Stud: Brian Lewerke
I cannot believe I am praising an offensive player on the Spartans, but Michigan State quarterback Brian Lewerke balled out against the Indiana Hoosiers. Michigan State crawled their way back into the AP Poll this week but were in a tough spot and trailing against Indiana in the fourth quarter. Lewerke however pulled together an epic game winning drive and racked up 300 passing yards, 78 rushing yards, and tossed three touchdowns.
Dud: The Kansas State Wildcats
Kansas State made headlines when they shockingly snuck into the AP Top 25 last week, but any hype surrounding the Wildcats was quickly snuffed out in Week 5. Kansas State was handled by Oklahoma State in a 26-13 loss that was never truly as close as the final score indicates.
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‘Davis Ender’an innuendo for his attempt at football analysis.
Bent himself over for his brothers he hopes will never Ender, leave his analysis behind.