College Football Week 5 overreactions: There will be no unbeatens; Wisconsin and Iowa need changes

Remember the 2007 college football season?

College football fans always will. That was the year Appalachian State opened the season with a shocking upset against Michigan, and the roller coaster didn’t stop until two-loss LSU won the national championship. 

Does it feel like 2007 yet? After all, ESPN’s “College GameDay” will go to Lawrence, Kan., in Week 6 for a matchup between unbeaten Kansas and TCU instead of the Red River Rivalry or the grudge match between No. 2 Alabama and No. 17 Texas A&M. Nobody had any of that scripted in August. 

Week 5 almost featured more chaos. Alabama’s Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young left with a shoulder sprain in the first half against No. 20 Arkansas, which then ripped off 23 straight points. Missouri had a 10-point lead with under 10 minutes left against defending national champion Georgia. The Crimson Tide won 49-26, and the Bulldogs rallied for a 26-22 victory. 

PLAYOFF PICTURE: Alabama loses no ground despite loss of Bryce Young

It’s not 2007 yet, but it does feel a lot like 2017. That was the only year of the College Football Playoff that did not have an unbeaten team at the end of the regular season. How many teams will go undefeated in 2022?

There are 16 unbeaten teams remaining after five weeks, a mix of the usual CFP suspects and Sun Belt surprises such as Coastal Carolina and James Madison, which is ineligible for the postseason.

Will anybody go unbeaten? This feels like a one-loss pile-up at the end of the road. 

Unbeaten FBS teams remaining after Week 5

No. 5 Clemson has the best chance. The Tigers flexed in prime time against No. 10 N.C. State with a convincing 30-20 victory, and that extended their home winning streak to 37 games. The only other unbeaten ACC team is Syracuse. Clemson also has that trip to Notre Dame on the schedule on Nov. 5, but the playoff path is negotiable. 

If Saturday is any indication, then Georgia won’t have it as easy as 2021. Alabama still has road tests at No. 8 Tennessee and No. 14 Ole Miss; the other unbeaten teams in the conference. While 12-0 vs.12-0 is still on the table for the Bulldogs and Crimson Tide, we are guessing one of those teams hit a pothole in the regular season and neither makes it to 13-0. 

The Big Ten will have a round robin among No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Michigan and No. 11 Penn State — all which have survived in an otherwise weak conference. Each team has one home game and one road game in that setup. The Buckeyes remain the next-best bet to run the table in the FBS with that elite offense, and the runner-up in the Big Ten East could slip in the CFP at 11-1. It is a close setup to 2016, except Penn State does not have a non-conference loss this time. 

No. 9 Oklahoma State, Kansas and TCU are the remaining unbeaten teams in the Big 12 while No. 18 Oklahoma and Texas have two losses each. The problem here is there is a guaranteed rematch in the Big 12 championship game. Which team can survive that league without two losses? It is hard to pick one. 

No. 6 USC and UCLA — schools that are leaving the Pac-12 for the Big Ten soon — are the last Power 5 unbeaten schools. The Pac-12 hasn’t had a CFP team since 2016, and with the new rule the top two teams will make the conference championship game. No. 12 Utah and No. 13 Oregon — teams that lost in Week 1 — will factor in here. 

Is there an unbeaten team here? Last year, Cincinnati was the only unbeaten team in the CFP, and that was a two-year process for the Bearcats. This year it does not feel like any team is a 100 percent lock. At least not yet.

That is good for college football, especially in a four-team chase. 

‘$9 million for Jimbo Fisher and Mel Tucker?’

Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher and Michigan State coach Mel Tucker are both members of the $9 million-a-year salary club among FBS coaches. Their respective fan-bases might be questioning that after yet another loss in Week 5. 

Texas A&M, which opened the AP Preseason Poll at No. 6, lost 42-24 at Mississippi State in a game that once again showed the Aggies’ limitations on offense in the SEC West. Max Johnson (18 of 25, 201 yards, TD) could not keep up with Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers (31 of 45, 329 yards, 3 TDs). The Aggies now have lost five of their last seven games against SEC West opponents dating back to last season, and if not for ugly victories against Miami and Arkansas, would be 1-4. 

There is no reason a team with that much talent should average 21.4 points per game, and Alabama will not show mercy next week. 

Michigan State, which opened No. 12 in the AP Poll, lost 27-13 at Maryland. The Spartans have averaged 60 rushing yards per game through losses against the Terps, Minnesota and Washington the past three weeks, and the defense has allowed an average of 500 yards per game in those losses. That will not cut it next week against No. 3 Ohio State, and that rivalry game against No. 4 Michigan on Oct. 29 went from potential top-10 showdown to the Spartans strictly playing the role of spoiler. 

This is not what the Aggies or Spartans envisioned in September, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if they end up playing each other in a lower-tier bowl game.

‘TCU will win the Big 12’

We’re not going to talk about Oklahoma, not after allowing 668 yards in a 55-24 loss to TCU. The Horned Frogs (4-0) remained unbeaten under first-year coach Sonny Dykes and announced their arrival in a wide-open Big 12 race. 

The Horned Frogs have a quarterback capable of keeping them there. Max Duggan, who entered the weekend with the highest passer efficiency rating in the FBS at 216.03, put on an offensive clinic in the first half with 281 passing yards, 70 rushing yards and four total TDs. He finished with 418 total yards (302 pass, 116 rush) and five total TDs. The Horned Frogs had 361 rushing yards in the most-stunning result from the noon window. 

TCU quarterback Max Duggan is now the first player this season to have a 60-yard passing touchdown and a 60-yard rushing touchdown in the same game 🐸pic.twitter.com/MxhOnOTRPO

— 247Sports (@247Sports) October 1, 2022

Insult to injury for Oklahoma? Garrett Riley, the younger brother of former Sooners coach Lincoln Riley, was calling the plays for TCU. 

MORE: Dillon Gabriel leaves with head injury against TCU

‘Paul Chryst and Kirk Ferentz must go’

Which Big Ten West program feels worse right now? 

Michigan exorcised its Kinnick Stadium demons in a 27-14 victory that dropped the Hawkeyes to 3-2. Iowa averages 16.4 points per game under longtime coach Kirk Ferentz. Michigan out-gained the Hawkeyes 236-91 in the first half and limited Iowa to 1.5 yards per rushing attempt. This was not the formula for top-five upsets in the past and served as another reminder of the outdated offense in Iowa City. 

There are larger issues in Madison. Former Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema returned with Illinois and routed the Badgers 34-10. Wisconsin had 14 rushing yards on 14 attempts at halftime and now drops to 2-3. 

Who has it worse? Wisconsin, without question. This program has the sixth-best record among Power 5 programs since the College Football Playoff era started, but they are now 15-10 since 2020. The 52-21 loss at No. 3 Ohio State illuminated the fact the Badgers are not getting closer to playoff contention. Iowa is a little better at 19-9 since 2020, but the Wolverines have now shown them the distance to a Big Ten championship twice in a calendar year. 

The convenient criticism is to blame Spencer Petras and Graham Mertz, but within those vanilla offenses, what are those quarterbacks supposed to do? If you’re good with eight or nine wins and a second-tier Big Ten bowl, then everything is fine. 

By the way, Bielema — who played at Iowa and coached at Wisconsin — has a team that is just as capable of winning the Big Ten West as everyone else.