CFB Blitz: Takeaways from Week 5's biggest games

The weekly CFB Blitz is the spot to catch up on the most important developments from the day's action and examine their significance moving forward.

Miami's got a defensive front again

Miami led the nation in sacks and topped the ACC by a whopping 15-sack margin last season, producing one of the more talented defensive fronts in recent memory. While this year's focus has largely been on Darian Mensah, Malachi Toney, and the electric offense, Clemson learned in emphatic fashion that the Hurricanes' defense can still rip.

Tait Reynolds spent the entire night running for his life behind a besieged offensive line. Miami dropped the freshman quarterback six times, with Missouri transfer Damon Wilson II posting 2.5 on his own. The Hurricanes clearly sold out to stop the run and put the game on Reynolds' shoulders - something he's not capable of doing against any Power 4 team at the moment, let alone the national runner-ups.

Miami's offense was still a model of efficiency, topping the 40-point mark yet again. The Hurricanes are unquestionably a top-five team in the nation and a likely bet to make another deep playoff run, especially if this defense continues to resemble last year's terror squad.

USC wins in spite of itself

We're at the point where even wins are deflating for the USC fanbase. Yes, the Trojans beat Washington Saturday to end a three-game losing streak to the Huskies, but it was just about the least convincing victory imaginable. A rousing rebuttal to last week's disappointing home loss to Oregon was needed to prove USC should still be considered a playoff contender. Instead, Washington was throwing into the end zone as time expired while the Trojans clung to a four-point lead.

It wasn't all bad, as the much-maligned defense actually had some strong moments throughout. The Trojans held Washington to just 1-of-12 on third-down conversions and actually scored a 48-yard defensive touchdown thanks to Jahkeem Stewart. However, they still showed some unexplainable lapses that are far too normal for Lincoln Riley's teams.

USC's next two contests feature long flights to arrive at Penn State and Wisconsin. We saw how much the Trojans struggled with that at Rutgers. Then Ohio State and Indiana await with Maryland and UCLA to close the slate. That type of schedule suggests Riley and USC should enjoy that "1" in the loss column for now, because it surely won't last long unless we see a more focused overall product.

Deion has no answers for 'horrible' Colorado offense

We could give our opinion on how bad Colorado's offense has been this season, but it's easier just to go to the man in charge of the program for his take.

There's no disputing Sanders' take on his offense. They've been downright terrible all season. After scoring only one offensive touchdown in the past two games, the Buffaloes benched Julian Lewis in favor of Isaac Wilson for their home game against Texas Tech. It resulted in ... one offensive touchdown for the entire game.

We are now 17 games into life after Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter for Colorado and it's clear Coach Prime has no answers for the offense. Last year's unit ranked 117th nationally in scoring and brought in Brennan Marion to fix things. They are putting up the same amount of points per game as last year and are ahead of only four Power conference teams in scoring.

With no answers in sight - and no more future NFL quarterbacks in his family to bring to Colorado - it's hard to imagine any sort of turnaround for Sanders with the program, both this year and beyond.

Missouri reminds us CFB is random

Saturday's game at Missouri provided the latest evidence that college football might be the most random sport in the world. Florida has spent the season thumping anyone in its path with one of the nation's most electric offensive units. Conversely, Missouri came in winless (0-16) under Eli Drinkwitz against teams that finished SEC play with a winning record and hadn't beaten a top-10 program since 2013. Many expected a one-sided affair, and that's exactly what happened - just not the way we thought.

The Tigers boat-raced the Gators in the second half, putting up an outrageous 35 unanswered points to turn a tight SEC contest into a Mizzou party. The defense did what nobody had even come close to all year: stop Florida's Jadan Baugh. The Heisman hopeful entered with 600 rushing yards on the season, and he walked off the field with 613. A punishing defensive line held him to that total on 12 carries, frequently stopping him behind the line. The Tigers' defense finished with an eye-popping 11 tackles for loss and forced Aaron Philo to beat them through the air. That didn't go well, and the Gators eventually pulled him with the game out of reach.

Florida's defense was the one question mark through four games, and Missouri supplied the answer: the Gators still have a long way to go. Austin Simmons continued his breakout season with 340 yards through the air, but Jamal Roberts' 211 yards and three scores on the ground flipped the game.

Missouri's offense can keep it in any contest, and if the defense can make Saturday's performance the norm, the Tigers could be a problem in the SEC. Florida's still on track for a CFP push, but the blueprint for beating the Gators is now live - stop Baugh, and you stop the offense.

Kentucky-South Carolina the ultimate vibe check

The vibes around Kentucky and South Carolina couldn't have been more different entering Saturday's matchup. Positivity surrounds the Wildcats, as Will Stein has instantly injected life into the program after upsetting Texas A&M earlier this season. On the other side, Shane Beamer is on perhaps the hottest seat in the country and fresh off suspending star defender Dylan Stewart. The game result will only ramp up both sides of that equation.

Kentucky's walk-off two-point conversion winner capped the largest road comeback in the program's history after South Carolina built a 17-0 lead earlier in the game. It's the latest sign that Stein is different, and Kentucky should have hope for both the present and future. For the Gamecocks fan base, this was an all-too-familiar result under Beamer. South Carolina has now blown 16-0 and 17-0 leads at home in just two weeks. We also aren't too far removed from Beamer's team famously blowing a 27-point lead at Texas A&M last year.

The only question left from Saturday's game is whether it'll be Beamer's last at home as South Carolina's coach.

Jeremiah's triple crown

No program in the country has a better claim to being "Wide Receiver U" than Ohio State, but even with the star-studded list of players coming through Columbus, none hold a candle to Jeremiah Smith. The junior standout now holds the triple crown of all-time program records, leading the Buckeyes in catches, receiving yards, and touchdowns. He entered Saturday needing two TDs against Iowa to stand alone with the record, and he comfortably hit that number with a 57-yard score in the second half.

We've officially reached the point where it'll be a surprise if Smith doesn't win the Heisman Trophy, no matter how rare it is for a wide receiver.

Build the whole team outta Aiden Flora

Fifty-five players hit the transfer portal after Matt Campbell left Iowa State for Penn State in the offseason. That kind of turnover is nearly impossible to replace, but you could do a lot worse than the Cyclones' current plan of building the whole damn program around Aiden Flora. The running back - and we stress that he's listed as a running back - is one of those who stayed in Ames and rewarded Iowa State with an all-time performance Saturday. Flora not only rushed for three touchdowns, but he threw two as well, as the Cyclones dialed up a pair of running back pass-option plays.

Fleck's masterpiece adds to Michigan's misery

P.J. Fleck's coaching philosophy - other than smearing his players' blood on his face and yelling about rowing the boat - is to slow the game to a snail's pace and dominate time of possession. Consider Saturday's second half versus Michigan his Mona Lisa.

Fleck's Golden Gophers entered the third quarter trailing by a touchdown and proceeded to peel off a 12-play drive that took 7:38 off the clock ... and went only 33 yards. Do you know how hard it is to run 12 plays, take almost eight minutes off the clock, and not even go 40 yards? Still, it turned out to be effective because Michigan muffed the ensuing punt, setting Minnesota up on the Wolverines' 17-yard line. A field goal would bring the Gophers within four.

Two plays later, Fleck's offense got the ball again after an interception off Bryce Underwood. Take another five minutes off the clock with an eight-play, 34-yard drive, and add another field goal to cut the deficit to one.

The very next play:

A second straight interception sent Michigan's defense back on the field, and Minnesota scored the eventual game-winning touchdown three plays later.

Fleck's teams don't hide their motive and are proudly among the slowest in the nation in pace. While that can be damning to watch at times, when done properly, it can produce results that see Minnesota punch well above its weight. That was the case Saturday with the program's first home win over Michigan since 1977.

Notre Dame's a wagon

We aren't privy to Marcus Freeman's locker room conversations with Notre Dame, but you can probably bet that he's told the Irish that a victory doesn't count unless it's by double digits. It was interesting for much of the contest Saturday, but even the combo of the Tar Heels and torrential rain couldn't stop Notre Dame from again winning by at least 10 points. That makes it 15 straight double-digit wins for Freeman's program, an explosive run that's almost unheard of over the past 50 years of college football.

CJ Carr may have taken a back seat in the Heisman race after being the preseason favorite, but a five-touchdown performance against the Tar Heels in the driving rain will certainly remedy that.

So when will this double-digit Notre Dame run end? Considering next week's opponent, Stanford, - which lost 57-3 to Wake Forest on Saturday - it's probably a safe bet to hit 16. The next contest will be a true litmus test of how great this Irish team is, with a road trip to BYU on deck.

Alabama's a morning program

We all have an annoying friend in our life who is up at the crack of dawn and has accomplished more before 9 a.m. than most people do all day. In college football circles, that "morning person" is Alabama, and early kickoffs continue to be its time to thrive. With a blowout of previously red-hot Mississippi State on Saturday, the Crimson Tide improved to an outrageous 33-0 since 2008 in games that kick off before noon, Central Time.

The leader of this year's morning crew is undoubtedly Keelon Russell, who may have entered the contest with slightly less hype than Mississippi State's Kamario Taylor but left it having leveled that conversation and then some. Russell put up over 300 yards of total offense with four touchdowns as the Crimson Tide hung 56 on the home team. That's the most points Alabama has ever scored against a ranked team on the road, according to ESPN Insights.

Anytime you're hitting numbers the Nick Saban machine didn't touch, you know it's a good day.

Friday games

Campbell, Penn State off to rocky start

If last week's loss at home to Wisconsin ended the Matt Campbell honeymoon at Penn State, Friday's debacle at Northwestern might be sending the fanbase and new coach to couples therapy. How ugly did it get for the Nittany Lions? Wildcats coordinator Chip Kelly went full service academy offense with elements of the Wing T and piled up 413 yards rushing.

If that sounds like an absurd number of rushing yards, well, it is.

Penn State is now 0-2 in Big Ten play and the Campbell hire is already being questioned. The search process was about as sloppy as it gets, and Campbell seemed far from the first choice for the gig. Athletic director Pat Kraft wanted to land a big fish rather than an up-and-coming young coach. That strategy saw names like Pennsylvania native Bob Chesney end up elsewhere, and the former James Madison coach is now sitting 4-0 with UCLA.

Early returns suggest Campbell might be out of his depth in the Big Ten, and the 24 Iowa State players he brought with him haven't exactly hit the ground running. Campbell has the benefit of one of the easiest schedules in the conference on his side, with Penn State avoiding Oregon, Indiana, and Ohio State this year. However, the last two games have shown this version of the Nittany Lions can lose to anybody on the schedule.

New location, same Franklin

With Penn State getting run off the field at Northwestern, Friday had the potential to be an all-time James Franklin revenge night in college football. All he needed was for his Virginia Tech team to hold on to a 14-point lead at home against Pitt's backup quarterback. Easier said than done.

We can debate whether the last-second field goal was actually good or not, but regardless, the Hokies missed a golden chance to notch an early signature win in Franklin's tenure due to one thing: turnovers. Pitt's defense took the ball away on three of the first four drives in the second half to turn a four-point deficit at the break into an 11-point lead.

You can insert your own joke about Franklin's teams shrinking in big moments, but that was certainly the case once again Friday. Virginia Tech still made a great hire, and there's little doubt Franklin will turn around that program, but he didn't make any strides in shedding the narrative on his big-game issues versus Pitt.

As for the Panthers, it's time to listen to Pat Narduzzi and rank them.