2022-23 NCAA Football (Week 5)

Games I saw (some of):

(22) Wake Forest 31-21 (23) Florida State

Two weeks in a row now I've watched Wake Forest and I keep being...hmmm....impressed?....by the QB: again, I can't imagine him being any good as an NFL QB but I can totally see him being a clipboard jockey for years and years. The way their offense just kinda glides along is pretty good, I think Wake Forest is a good squad. Kept waiting for Florida State to get it going and they had a stretch in the 3rd quarter where they confidently moved the ball and got some stops, but they just couldn't sustain it. Oh well. Wake Forest is the better team and I'd say a top 25 kinda team. 

(9) Oklahoma State 36-25 (16) Baylor

Fun game. Two good squads just taking at it each other for 60 minutes, good stuff. I like both of these squads, they both move the ball well and show some explosiveness. I think Oklahoma State is really good and the better of the two teams, but Baylor doesn't suck (I expect them to finish ahead of Texas and Oklahoma, for example). Don't be surprised if the Cowboys nab OU's traditional spot in the BCS this year. 

(radio) (7) Kentucky 19-22 (14) Mississippi

Ole Miss started off pretty good but their offense kinda wound down to not much, while Kentucky started slow but then couldn't convert their opportunities. Felt like UK was the better side but they didn't score the points today, so they'll be flipflopping in the polls, I reckon. Good W for the Rebels, disappointing L for the Cats.

Top 25

Handled their business

(2) Alabama, (3) Ohio State, (4) Michigan, (5) Clemson, (6) Southern Cal, (9) Oklahoma State, (11) Penn State, (12) Utah, (13) Oregon, (14) Mississippi, (19) Brigham Young, (22) Wake Forest, (25) Kansas State

Won but did not impress

(1) Georgia. UGA having to storm back in the 4th quarter against Missouri shows that this team is either not as good as last year or not as focused on the little things as a champion needs to be (or both). Not the end of the world, they got the victory but they had to work much harder than they should've and that is worrying. Got Auburn next week, were they looking ahead (and, if so, why? Auburn isn't any better than Missouri)? This is the top of the argument that perhaps Ohio State should sneak ahead the defending champs. 

Bad beat

(7) Kentucky. The Wildcats missed a FG, an extra point (which led to missing a 2-pt later on) and had 3 turnovers in Ole Miss territory. Feels like they were the better team but they didn't get the W. Hey, man, a loss on the road to an SEC West team is not a terrible loss but it feels like they should've won and that's disappointing.

(10) North Carolina State. I thought Clemson was the better team and (unlike some years) they came to play on this day. Clemson isn't great but they're pretty good and getting better. Disappointing loss but not a season-ender. 

(16) Baylor. I am convinced that Oklahoma State is a legit good team (since Utah, Notre Dame, Florida, Miami, Oklahoma, LSU, Auburn, and Wisconsin are basically done, could the Cowboys get to the final four?) and though Baylor put up a good fight, they went down to a better team. Losing in the conference is always disappointing but Okla St is a good team.

(20) Arkansas. Come on, man, Alabama is better than Arkansas. You know it, I know it, the American people know it. 

Not so good

(15) Washington. I didn't have much faith in the Huskies but they had their chance to make some noise and they seem have to blown it. On the other hand, UCLA might actually be kinda good this year (so perhaps this is a bad beat). 

(17) Texas A&M. The season was probably already over (especially since their one signature win is Miami, who has already disappeared) but getting toasted at Mississippi State should pretty well finish off their season (oh, they're at Bama next week....good luck with that). 

(18) Oklahoma. Wow, they got trucked by TCU, just blasted, they were never in this game. Is Oklahoma the next Nebraska? (That scary thought is in all Norman minds at this point)

(21) Minnesota. Purdue has a way of removing the air from everyone else's balloons, don't they? Minnesota is plucky, they could bounce back--but in a season where Wisconsin and Iowa are nothing special...the Gophers had their shot. 

(23) Florida State. They had a moment in the 2nd half where it felt like they had figured some things out and were ready to roll. And then it passed and they lost. I got no faith in the Seminoles.

(24) Pittsburgh. Loss at home to Georgia Tech? Not a good look. 

Next week's intriguing matches:

(8) Tennessee @ (25) Louisiana State (we'll see if LSU feels hanging around, see if UT actually belongs here)

(17) Texas Christian @ (19) Kansas (wait....what...?)

Texas @ Oklahoma (both currently unranked, we'll see who can make it back into the rankings by season's end)

Auburn @ (2) Georgia (UGA hasn't been shining out lately, was this the anticipation of Auburn the reason why?)

(11) Utah @ (18) UCLA (a fun west coast match)