Week 5 Who’s Hot And Who’s Not?

WHO’S HOT Summa Cum Laude 

Georgia Southern 
The Eagles are acclimating nicely to life as a member of the Sun Belt Conference, thanks to the running of QB Kevin Ellison and RB Matt Breida. With a rout of longtime rival Appalachian State Thursday night, they moved to 2-0 in league play, and 3-2 overall. And Georgia Southern’s two losses came to NC State and Georgia Tech in games it led late in the fourth quarter. 

Maryland 
It’s never easy winning on the road, yet the Terrapins have already done it three times in 2014, including Saturday in Bloomington in their inaugural Big Ten game. Maryland’s only loss so far was a three-pointer to West Virginia on Sept. 13, setting the stage for an intriguing visit from Ohio State this Saturday. First, though, the team must determine the status of QB C.J. Brown, who injured his left wrist in the 37-15 blowout of Indiana. 

Colorado WR Nelson Spruce 
If Spruce isn’t the most underrated wide receiver in America, he’s on a very short list. In a game marked by record-breaking offensive performances and awful defensive efforts, Spruce rose above the rest with 19 catches for 176 yards and three touchdowns. With a game left before reaching the halfway point of the season, the junior already has 56 receptions for 694 yards and 10 scores. 

Ohio State QB J.T. Barrett 
No, the competition hasn’t been otherworldly, but Barrett is gradually getting more comfortable as the triggerman of the Buckeye offense. Over the last two games with Kent State and Cincinnati, the redshirt freshman has thrown 10 touchdown passes and just one interception. On Saturday night, he went toe-to-toe with Gunner Kiel, guiding OSU to a 50-28 win in a game that looked tricky on paper. 

Offensive Coordinator of the Week: Tony Franklin, Cal 
Okay, so Colorado was playing defense, and the game extended into double-overtime. Still, Franklin’s kids, along with help from Sonny Dykes, are executing very well on offense. In the 59-56 win over the Buffaloes in Berkeley, the Bears cranked out close to 600 yards of offense. And the attack is more these days than just QB Jared Goff, who threw seven touchdown passes. RB Daniel Lasco is evolving into a dangerous all-around weapon, and WR Stephen Anderson enjoyed the best game of his Cal career. 

Defensive Coordinator of the Week: Mark Snyder, Texas A&M 
It’s not always about the final box score, rather the in-game adjustments, that make for a successful defensive effort. Sure, the Aggies struggled with the Arkansas ground game early on, but they learned from their mistakes, with Snyder as the professor. A&M gave up only seven points and fewer than 100 yards after halftime, providing a platform for the offense to rally for a crucial comeback win in overtime. 

Stockpile more shares in … NC State QB Jacoby Brissett 
Brissett did about all he could in Saturday’s 56-41 loss to Florida State. He could not play defense, unfortunately. The Florida transfer, who must have Gator fans green with envy, completed 32-of-48 for 359 yards and three touchdowns. Beyond just the numbers, though, Brissett was spectacular at times in his attempts to elevate the Pack. With another left, he could be one of the nation’s best quarterbacks by 2015. 

Madden Cover Material: Georgia RB Todd Gurley 
If not for the heroics of Gurley, where might the Dawgs be this season? In a year when running backs have had a reemergence of sorts, he’s been the cover boy, rushing for 208 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday’s narrow escape of Tennessee. Gurley is a force on the ground, who’ll be needed to prop up a Georgia defense and passing game that’s suspect. 

Bucking for a promotion: Colorado State coach Jim McElwain 
If you can turn around the Rams, it’s going to capture the attention of athletic directors. McElwain is turning heads for the work he’s doing in Fort Collins, not an easy place to win. Leaning on a deep stable of backs headed by Dee Hart and Treyous Jarrells, Colorado State has beaten three straight Power 5 opponents, capped by Saturday’s upset of Boston College in Massachusetts. 

He’s how young?! Clemson QB Deshaun Watson 
Coming off the bench against Florida State two weeks ago, it was evident Watson was ready for an expanded role. In his first career start this past Saturday, the true freshman left no doubts. He tossed a school-record six touchdown passes on 27-of-36 passing to help throttle Carolina, 50-35. There’ll be the usual ups-and-downs, but Watson should continue to evolve as he gets reps and a better feel for his equally youthful receivers. 

He’s how young?! Stanford OLB Peter Kalambayi 
Few schools develop pass-rushing outside linebackers better than the Cardinal, who have a budding star in Kalambayi. The redshirt freshman is coming off the bench these days, but he has the production of a starter. Kalambayi plays with great explosion and upper body strength, notching three sacks and six tackles in Saturday’s defensive gem versus Washington. The Cardinal allowed just 179 yards, as the D rebuilds at warp speed in 2014. 

Can I be your agent … Lorenzo Mauldin? 
For four quarters, Louisville’s hybrid of a defensive end and an outside linebacker simply overwhelmed the Wake Forest front wall, notching three of the team’s eight sacks. He also forced a fumble and was instrumental in pressuring John Wolford into three interceptions. Mauldin is athletic and ferocious until the whistle, characteristics that bode well for his future on Sundays. 

Start designing the Fathead of … Nebraska RB Ameer Abdullah 
After shredding the Illinois defense for 208 yards on just 22 carries, Abdullah extended his streak of games with at least 100 yards from scrimmage to 17, the longest in the country. The senior navigates holes with outstanding leverage and intensity, making it difficult for defenders to wrap him up. Nebraska isn’t getting much from the passing game, but it hasn’t caught up to the team because of the consistent production of No. 8. 

Team of the Week: UCLA 
Brett Hundley played like a Heisman contender in his return from an elbow injury. The offense produced three plays of at least 80 yards. And the defense and special teams generated timely touchdowns, both from electrifying junior CB Ishmael Adams. After slogging through the first three games, and becoming a critic magnet, the Bruins finally showed the flashes of potential that made them such a trendy offseason team. 

WHO’s NOT? Summa Cum Lousy 

Is it December yet? Army 
Ivy League teams are on the schedule to make reaching bowl-eligibility one step easier. However, that did not apply to the Black Knights, which fell in overtime to Yale, 49-43. It was the Bulldogs’ first win over an FBS team since they dropped down a level to what was then known as I-AA in 1982. The culprit in New Haven was an Army defense that yielded 625 yards, including five rushing touchdowns to Tyler Varga. 

Being Voted Off College Football Island: Kansas head coach Charlie Weis 
Literally. Although Weis had gotten exposed as an overrated head coach in five years in South Bend, the Jayhawks decided to give him a chance anyway. A chance they undoubtedly now regret. The plug was surprisingly pulled on Weis Sunday after Kansas was shutout by Texas, 23-0. The coach leaves Lawrence 6-22, with lagging attendance, another hefty payout and absolutely no one who’ll miss his presence within the program. 

Heisman Nopeful: Pitt RB James Conner
For the first time this season, Conner was pedestrian by the lofty standard he set during the first month of the season. And even worse, the brick wall he hit on Saturday was decked out in the school colors of the Akron Zips. The sophomore was held below 100 yards for the first time since last November, toughing out 92 yards on 25 carries in a deflating 21-10 loss. If QB Chad Voytik can’t provide better cover, Week 5 won’t be the last time Conner gets hemmed in. 

Start evacuating the bandwagon of … Arizona State 
The curtain finally got pulled back on the Sun Devils Thursday night, and it was not a pretty sight. And oddly enough, first-time starting QB Mike Bercovici was not the big issue. Bercovici played relatively well, throwing for 488 yards and three scores, but the makeshift Sun Devil D too often was lost. Testament to the work that’s ahead for the entire staff, ASU allowed five 80-yard plays, one run, two passes, one pick and one kick return. 

You emit a foul and unpleasant odor: The Vanderbilt offense 
Good news? The Commodores’ six non-offensive touchdowns are more than any other FBS team. The bad? That’s one more touchdown than the offense has produced in five feeble games. Vanderbilt became the first SEC team to lose to Kentucky since Dec. 26, 2011, thanks to an attack that managed just 138 yards, eight first downs and no red-zone trips in Lexington. 

Needing a vote of confidence: Carolina co- defensive coordinators Dan Disch and Vic Koenning 
Never before in the history of Tar Heel football had this program allowed 50 points in consecutive games … until Saturday night. After true freshman QB Deshaun Watson got done throwing a Clemson-record six touchdown passes, Carolina had yielded 120 points since last Saturday annihilation at the hands of East Carolina. Against Clemson, the Heel defensive backs were out of position on most of Watson’s long connections. 

Football in Pennsylvania 
It’s never a good sign when a Temple win over Connecticut is a state’s highlight of the weekend. It was an ugly afternoon for the Keystone State, whose two marquee programs acted like Keystone Cops. Penn State’s dearth of talent, especially up front, was glaring in an ugly 29-6 loss to Northwestern, its worst home defeat in 13 years. Pitt has now dropped two straight after inexplicably getting by Akron, 21-10. 

Florida State 
Each week brings more indisputable evidence that the Seminoles aren’t the same team that won the national championship a year ago. They keep winning, yes. But they’ve been eminently vulnerable, including Saturday in Raleigh. Kudos to Jameis Winston and the offense, which stormed back from an early deficit with seven scores in the final three quarters. The D, though, played poorly by allowing more than 40 points and 500 yards for the first time in six years. 

The SEC East 
The East is wide-open, and not in a good way, like it’s brethren over in the SEC West. South Carolina already has a pair of league losses after falling again at home, Georgia is flawed on both sides of the ball, and Mizzou lost to Indiana just a week ago. Forget just two losses. At this rate, the winner of the Eastern half of the Southeastern Conference could have three losses by early December. 

Team of the Weak: Michigan 
The fans are disgusted. The players look disinterested. And the staff is preparing for the inevitable. Nothing is working in Ann Arbor, especially on offense, where the Wolverines averaged eight points in three games with Power Five opponents. On Saturday, Michigan suffered its worst home loss to Minnesota since 1962, routinely sputtering with the ball. At this rate, it’s fair to wonder if Brady Hoke’s kids even qualify for a bowl game this year.