Sunday, October 2, 2016

Week Five College Football Winners and Losers

             Week Five featured plenty of games with impactful implications regarding the college football playoff. Plenty of teams will be knocked out of the running or have their hopes damaged with a loss. Who got the big win and who took a step back?

Winner: Washington Huskies: In a big Pac-12 game, the Washington Huskies proved they are for real with a resounding 44-6 win over #7 Stanford. They nearly stuffed the box, holding Christian McCaffrey to just 49 yards and got eight sacks on the night. With the Big 12 imploding, the chances of a Pac-12 team, particularly Washington, getting in look even better. However, the Huskies can't overlook their next opponent in Oregon. Washington has lost 12 straight matches to the Ducks.
Winner: Tennessee/Georgia: The last minute of this game was one of the more dramatic finishes that you'll see. A 47-yard touchdown reception by Riley Ridley with ten seconds left put Georgia ahead 28-24. However, a Hail Mary pass from Joshua Dobbs was caught by Juaun Jennings as the #11 Vols shocked the #25 Bulldogs by a score of 31-28. Considering that this was a divisional game between two SEC East schools, this finish carries extra weight.
Winner: Dalton Sneed: Watch Dalton Sneed avoid a safety and break out for a 91-yard touchdown in a game against Fresno State. One of the few moments where you should never say, "die".
Loser: Florida State: Losing on a last-second field goal to North Carolina broke the Seminoles' playoff chances into nothing. This game has just been a culmination of the disappointment that Florida State has experienced this season, with the latest being a heartbreaker. Their kicker Ricky Aguayo missed all three field goal attempts while the secondary let Mitch Trubisky throw for 405 yards and three touchdowns.
Loser: Texas Longhorns: The Big 12's running out of options with regards to its postseason hopes. Baylor barely survived against a lowly Iowa State team and now Texas falls to Oklahoma State. While Texas gained 568 total yards, it also allowed 555 total yards on defense with 392 of those yards through the air. The reason for Texas being in the 'loser' category isn't for the fact that they lost. Oklahoma State on the road is always going to be at least a trap game. It's mainly based on the fact that the Big 12 is running out of contenders for the playoff and this loss hurts the conference's chances even further.
Loser: Michigan's kickers: The Michigan kickers are lucky that the Wolverine defense held up nicely against Wisconsin. Kenny Allen missed two field goals, one from 31 yards and another by 43 yards, while Ryan Tice missed a 40 yard field goal for a chance to take the lead late in the third quarter. The game didn't look as close as the final score (14-7) indicated. It was just the kickers missing kicks that made it seem like a nailbiter.

Other Winners: Clemson, last-second wins, Greg Ward Jr., Colorado
Other Losers: Michigan State, Iowa State's upset bid against Baylor, San Diego State, East Carolina in the fourth quarter

My Playoff Teams:

  1. Alabama
  2. Ohio State
  3. Clemson
  4. Washington

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