2024-25 NCAA Football (Week 5)

Games I watched (some of):

(2) Georgia 34-41 (4) Alabama

Okay, hard to imagine there's going to be a better game in NCAA this year. This game had all the thrills, the chills, the ups and downs, backs and forths. Alabama dominated the 1st half, I thought QB Millroe was amazing, truly in control against a defense that has been smothering planet Earth for half a decade, Bama moved the ball with ease and ran up the offense quickly. Too much too soon, it appears, because UGA dominated the 2nd half (and, yes, I thought Bama contributed mightily to the comeback by slacking off), even took the lead, forcing Bama to steal it back, and then the game ended with UGA coming up just short on another comeback. I thought QB Beck was brutal in the 1st half but made some real plays after halftime and the UGA offense in general came alive, too, this Bama offense might be suddenly revitalized by this. I fully expect UGA to still be around by season's end. Millroe is probably the top of the Heisman pool just like that and wouldn't be surprised if Bama was back at #1 on Monday. Still a lot of season left. 

Kentucky 20-17 (6) Mississippi

Ole Miss was lined up for a big season: returning QB everyone loves, a good collection of veterans on both sides and an SEC schedule that dodges Alabama, A&M and Missouri (and catches Oklahoma, LSU and Florida in vulnerable positions). But you cannot--REPEAT: CANNOT!--lose to Kentucky. Especially at home. A sluggish game, which was the first clue that Kentucky was in it, felt like Ole Miss was the better team but also felt like UK might keep them down. Also, UK's offense was not bad, it was consistent and ate up enough clock that Ole Miss's woes were magnified. A coupla plays: a long bomb on 4th down that set up the fumble recovery to the end zone and next thing you know, the Wildcats are stealing it away from the Rebels. Then Ole Miss goes wide left on the tying FG and suddenly, there's no OT, just a big ol' L. Now the Rebels have to go to South Carolina, not gonna be easy, they better get their offense back pronto. I don't know if Ole Miss vanilla-ed their offense or just had a bad day, but they need to pull out all stops from here on (and beating Georgia would be nice, too) and that starts next week. As for UK, they've got a good L (Georgia) and a good W (@Mississippi), I dunno, that's not bad for UK, but I'm not forecasting wins at Knoxville or Austin.

(19) Illinois 7-21 (9) Penn State

This was pure sludge. Each team scored a confident early TD, then not much happened outside of missed FG's all over the place, until Penn State (sorta) blew it open late. Penn State has a serious meatgrinder of a defense but that offense still isn't overpowering (re: the Buckeyes have a real pain in the ass game coming, but they should win), so puncher's chance against the top tier is the best I can give them. The Illini are nice but they're not gonna beat the tippity top teams. 

(21) Oklahoma 27-21 Auburn

Auburn came out hot, but once the Sooners put it together, they flew past the Tigers. This is not a vintage Auburn side. The Sooners aren't great either, but I think they're pretty good and going in the right direction.

Top 25

Handled their business

(1) Texas, (3) Ohio State, (4) Alabama, (8) Oregon, (9) Penn State, (13) Southern Cal, (14) Louisiana State, (16) Notre Dame, (17) Clemson, (18) Iowa State, (21) Oklahoma, (22) Brigham Young, (23) Kansas State, (25) Boise State

Won but did not impress

(7) Miami. I always think of Friday night as the show-off spot and if Miami was better than Va.Tech, they really should've come in louder and prouder here. They did well to claw back the W but they had a good shot at a convincing thumping and they did not do that. 

(12) Michigan. Finishing off a conference foe usually impresses me, but Michigan is ranked too high to not dispatch Minnesota decisively. Being the defending nat'l champs is a major burden for this squad, remaining in the playoff chase is not gonna be easy. 

(24) Texas A&M. I dunno, man, grudge match with Arkansas shouldn't faze me but the Aggies just don't look that strong to me. Their schedule is gonna start delivering body blows from here. 

Bad beat

(2) Georgia. I ain't worried about UGA, they are still firmly in the top 12, still in for a shot at top 4. And as weird as this game was, I think there's some good stuff for UGA in there, this could be a real shot in the arm for this squad. 

(15) Louisville. Came up short on the road. Played well, would've been nice to get the W in South Bend. 

(19) Illinois. Penn State just choked this offense out. The Illini are nice but the Nittany Lions got a killer D. 

(20) Oklahoma State. Yikes! The Cowboys still have opportunities on their schedule but they got obliterated in Manhattan, suggesting that K State is the stealth power in this conference. 

Not so good

(6) Mississippi. You don't understand: losing to Kentucky is two losses at once. Bad L, disappointing home conference L, but, man....it was Kentucky!

(10) Utah. Getting trucked by an Arizona team that has not looked good this season is a surprising outcome. At home, they were never in this game. 

Next week's intriguing matches (huh, a whole slate of games that seemed like they would sound great, like, 3 months ago--looking at you, Clemson-Florida State! Instead, this NCAA's helpful reminder to clean out your garage and winterize the lawn mower. I'm cool with it, I need a baseball weekend):

(9) Missouri @ (25) Texas A&M (dang, even this one seems tarnished already but they are both ranked, so it'll make a difference)

(12) Mississippi @ South Carolina (interesting to see how Ole Miss bounces back from a disappointing home loss and whether the Gamecocks can get back on track with a good W)