Week 5 College Football Top 4


Reid McEowen 

This past week had some games that very few have ever seen. Top 15 teams losing to 30-point underdogs. Oklahoma dropped a spot after their scare against the west-coast style of Army. The LSU Tigers have now jumped up from #25 to #5, but the Top Four teams in the land still remain unbeaten. Although every team in this list have unblemished records, I believe there should be some shifting in this week’s top four, and I will give you a breakdown of their upcoming matchups.

from wikipedia

#4-Clemson Tigers

The Tigers are still ranked at #3 in the official AP rankings, but with 4 consecutive weeks of underwhelming score lines and underperforming quarterback play, I feel the need to move them down to #4. Clemson won again last week against Georgia Tech, 49-25. Freshman Trevor Lawrence threw for 176 yards and four touchdowns with one interception. The Tigers also scored 2 rushing touchdowns with a big day for Travis Etienne, who had 122 rushing yards of his own. Although Clemson won by 24 points, they continue to struggle at quarterback and have refused to give Trevor Lawrence all the snaps. That should no longer be problem because the Tigers’ apparent backup quarterback, Senior Kelly Bryant, announced he will be transferring schools, giving lone-possession to the true freshman. The former Tiger has yet to announce where is final destination will be for this season. The Tigers try to put that news aside as they will travel to Wake Forest this Saturday and hope to sure up their play against conference opponents. I expect them to have no trouble winning, but for me to call it a good outing for the Tigers, I’d like to see them put a few more points on the board and not allow Wake to score over 20 points.

#3-Ohio State Buckeyes

I believe that the Buckeyes are the third best team in the land after they are coming off a very convincing win against the Tulane Green Wave. The final score was 49-6, as Sophomore Dwayne Haskins made another statement to the Heisman voters, with a 304-yard day and five touchdowns to his name. Although the Buckeyes came off an impressive win against the Green Wave in head coach Urban Meyers season debut, Ohio State was no doubt looking ahead to this Saturday, as they travel to Happy Valley to play undefeated #9 Penn State. This will be a big test for the Buckeyes defense. After a scare from Appalachian State in week one, Penn State has trounced their proceeding opponents, winning every game by at least 39 points. The Nittany Lions’ quarterback, Senior Trace McSorley, will look to continue his impressive season against the Buckeyes, with an almost even split of passing and rushing touchdowns, at eight and six respectively on the season. The quarterback also has over 1000 yards of total offense so far and has only turned over the ball twice. I expect, with this being a showdown between two Heisman front runners, for the score to be relatively high. I think it will come down to which defense can cause the most mistakes, and I’m honestly not leaning one way or the other in this one. If the Nittany Lions can pull off an upset, I will heavily consider moving them into the Top 5, but if the Buckeyes can grab a win in this one, I will feel compelled to put them at the #2 spot for next week.

#2-Georgia Bulldogs

The Bulldogs had their toughest game yet, with traveling to an unbeaten Mizzou Tigers who have one of the most explosive offenses in the SEC. The Tigers fought back near the end of the game, and at times has a chance to cause a real scare for the Bulldogs, but by the end, the Bulldogs had a comfortable 13-point lead, 43-29. Sophomore Jake Fromm had a rather impressive game, with 260 yards passing and 3 touchdowns. Fromm was able to out-play Tiger’s quarterback, and NFL prospect, Drew Lock, who threw for 221 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. The Bulldogs defense did a good job of putting pressure on Lock, and Georgia’s special teams also helped in the score column, with a punt-return for a touchdown. Georgia gets to head back home this Saturday, as the Tennessee Volunteers come to town. The Volunteers are coming off a tough loss to the Florida Gators, and I don’t really expect this score line to be any different for in this one. I think the Bulldogs will win this one handedly, but if they have a scare, don’t be surprised if I move the Buckeyes ahead of the Bulldogs if Ohio State manages to get a win in Happy Valley. 

#1- Alabama Crimson Tide

I said it last week and I’ll say it again this week, I think this is the most talented Nick Saban team I have ever seen. I just don’t see anyway a team with that much speed and that much size on both the offensive and defensive lines can lose. The Crimson Tide beat the Texas A&M Aggies with ease, 45-23. In just three quarters of work, Bama’s Sophomore quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, racked up 387 passing yards and 5 total touchdowns against an Aggies team the gave the #3 Clemson Tigers a fit. Tagovailoa is the clear Heisman favorite for me as he has now thrown for 1033 passing yards, 12 touchdowns and zero interceptions. He also has two rushing touchdowns to his name. Alabama takes a break from their SEC campaign, as they go into Saturday as 49-point favorites over the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns. I obviously don’t expect Bama to struggle much against the Ragin Cajuns, and I only expect Tagovailoa to play one-to-two quarters this Saturday. This will be a good confidence booster for the Crimson Tide, although they may not need one at the moment. I really don’t expect the Tide to be tested until later in the season, so expect them to stay a top both the AP Poll and mine own. That is unless the Ragin Cajun can pull of the biggest upset in NCAA history, which is highly unlikely. 

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