CFB Blitz: Early Week 5 takeaways

College Football Blitz recaps the most important developments from the day's top games and examines their significance moving forward.

Auburn wasting money on offense

Imagine paying three highly respected chefs millions of dollars to run your restaurant and then equipping the kitchen with an oven that doesn't work and a fridge that won't keep food cold. Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to Auburn's offense. There aren't many offensive players in the country collecting more NIL money than Jackson Arnold, Cam Coleman and Eric Singleton Jr. this year, but their talents are being wasted due to an offensive line that can't block anybody. A week after allowing 10 sacks in the loss to Oklahoma, the Tigers gave up five more in a narrow 16-10 loss to Texas A&M on Saturday.

Just how bad did Auburn's offense look on the road? As Jesse Palmer said on the ESPN broadcast during the second half: "If Auburn's offense had just stayed at the hotel, I think they would still have a chance to win."

That's both a shot at the offense and a nod to how incredible the defense performed drive after drive. Even the Tigers' lone touchdown came from an interception that put them at the 2-yard line.

Auburn grabbed preseason headlines with the news that it would implement three different play-callers on offense - one for each down. Clearly whoever is calling the plays on third down needs to be stripped of their duties, as the unit went 0-for-13 versus the Aggies.

Notre Dame shows tough Love to Arkansas

Two things we already knew were confirmed early Saturday: Jeremiyah Love is the best running back in college football, and the Razorbacks' defense is arguably the worst at the power conference level. Notre Dame absolutely torched Arkansas on the road, leaning on Love during a ridiculous first half that featured him reaching the end zone four times.

Given the state of the Razorbacks, let's not make sweeping conclusions on how good quarterback CJ Carr might be. Ah, forget that. He's unquestionably on track to be the first pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. Okay, maybe not, but his brilliant play in just his fourth career start has added a passing element to the Irish attack that we aren't accustomed to seeing. With 354 yards and four touchdown passes Saturday, Carr is now averaging 272 passing yards on the season and has a 9-to-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Having two losses already, the Irish might need some help to make the playoff. However, their offense is capable of taking out anybody in the country.

Speaking of being taken out - that's exactly what will happen to Sam Pittman as the head coach at Arkansas. It's officially a matter of when, not if, he's relieved of his duties following another embarrassing loss. His tenure started with such promise, but it's clear that change is needed in the program.

Ohio State might be allergic to upsets

The logic of 'it's college football, upsets are a virtual guarantee' likely doesn't apply to Ohio State this year - expect maybe when it faces Michigan, but that almost doesn't count as an upset at this point. The Buckeyes' defense simply will not allow it - with the performance against Washington on the road Saturday supplying the latest evidence. Ohio State held Demond Williams Jr. and the Huskies' offense to just 234 total yards, sacking the talented quarterback six times and posting nine tackles for loss. Caden Curry and Kayden McDonald lived in the backfield, combing for five sacks and a whopping eight tackles for loss.

With the defense nearly pitching a shutout, Julian Sayin didn't need to do much on offense in his first collegiate road start. You'd never know he hadn't done it before, as the former five-star recruit completed 22 of 28 passes for 208 yards and a touchdown. Sure, it helps throwing to freaks like Jeremiah Smith, Carnell Tate and Brandon Inniss, but Sayin's pocket presence resembles that of an NFL veteran, not a first-year starter.

New year, same USC

You didn't think USC had changed, did you? The faces may differ year to year, but once again the Trojans' defense simply couldn't secure a crucial victory. This time, the defeat came at the hands of Illinois, a team fresh off a 53-point beatdown loss to Indiana. The Illini ran up over 500 yards of total offense on the Trojans before kicking a game-winning field goal at the gun.

There's no question Lincoln Riley is an offensive genius who could probably get 250 passing yards and two touchdowns out of you or me. His latest star quarterback, Jayden Maiava, took advantage of a depleted Illinois secondary with 364 yards through the air. It didn't matter. Wideout Makai Lemon again showed he's a virtual cheat code with 11 catches for 151 yards and two scores. It didn't matter.

Whether it was Luke Altmyer's 328 passing yards or the Illini rushing for 171 on the ground, time and again the Trojans couldn't get stops. That was never more evident than during the final drive, as they allowed 55 yards in the last 1:51 to set up the winning kick.

The Trojans will score plenty of points this season, with Maiava and Lemon sure to garner Heisman attention. However, as long as the defense remains a liability, that's the only hardware they'll have a shot at.

Elliott-Morris marriage a dream for Virginia

It might've taken three full seasons, but the Tony Elliott hire appears to be paying off for Virginia. Elliott jumped to the Cavaliers following a highly successful run as Clemson's offensive coordinator with the promise of lighting up scoreboards in Charlottesville. That's finally happening, thanks to transfer quarterback Chandler Morris. After hanging 46 points on Florida State on Friday, Virginia is now 11th in the nation in scoring, having put up at least 45 in all four home games thus far. Morris' addition has completely changed the trajectory of the program after the offense ranked outside the top 90 in scoring each of the past two seasons. Anything can happen in the ACC, but the Cavaliers have a dream schedule the rest of the way with zero ranked teams on the slate. Perhaps the only thing more impressive than their offense is the efficiency in which the student body storms the field.

Don't bail on Florida State

Look, does it stink to go on the road and get field-stormed in conference play? Absolutely. But if you were high on Florida State before Friday's loss, you should remain firmly in your seat on the Seminoles' bandwagon. If Duce Robinson holds onto a perfect toss by Tommy Castellanos in overtime, we might be having a different conversation now. However, we should have a discussion about how much Castellanos is too much Castellanos.

Gus Malzahn's offense has always leaned heavily on its quarterback, but there's no world where 32 passing attempts and 14 rushes is a winning mix for the starting QB. Not surprisingly, the increased number of passing attempts led to two interceptions by Castellanos. With Miami's vaunted pass rush coming to Tallahassee next week, look for Malzahn to emphasize the ground game in an effort to bounce back.