McCreven’s Mashup: A college football week five preview 

There weren’t any backbreaking upsets this weekend. Five ranked teams lost – the second most of any week this year – yet four of those losses came to other ranked teams. USC dropped its Big Ten opener in the Big House, Nebraska was downed in its 400^th consecutive sellout by Illinois, Oklahoma State dropped its Big-XII opener to newcomer Utah and Oklahoma flopped on the national stage to top-ranked Tennessee. Instead of covering college football as a whole this week, this column will instead focus on the micro-power rankings inside of the top-25.  

Bull or Bear? Whose stock is up or down? 

Bear: Oklahoma – The Sooners gave out on the national stage, dropping the program’s SEC opener 25-15 against sixth-ranked Tennessee on Saturday night. Quarterback Jackson Arnold was benched in favor of freshman Michael Hawkins Jr., who led the Sooners on two touchdown drives in the fourth quarter to narrow the margin of defeat. The offense has averaged just 29 points per game through four contests, good for 77^th in the nation.  

Bull: Clemson – Following its embarrassing opening day loss against Georgia in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Clemson stock may have reached its all-time low in the Dabo Swinney era. In its two wins since the loss to the Bulldogs, the Clemson offense has averaged 62.5 points per game and 8.5 touchdowns per game, a mark rivaled only by the offenses of Ole Miss and Indiana, respectively. Clemson has re-emerged as an ACC frontrunner and the leading contender to top-ranked Miami.  

Bear: Kansas State – The Wildcats, sandwiched in-between Utah and Oklahoma State as the second highest ranked Big-XII team, lost by 29 –points late Saturday night, dropping their Big Ten opener in Provo 38-9. The Wildcats gave up the ball three times and allowed a 90-yard punt return touchdown as BYU ended the game on a 38-3 run. Avery Johnson threw two interceptions and DJ Giddens was stripped for a touchdown as the Wildcats struggled to produce any offense past the first quarter.  

Bull: Illinois – The Illini are 4-0 for the second time since 1951 after defeating Nebraska – in Lincoln – 31-24. Quarterback Luke Altmyer threw for 215 yards and four scores as the Illini scored the last 14-points of the game on Friday night. Cornerback Torrie Cox Jr. nabbed an all-important interception at the end of the first half to keep the Cornhuskers off the board, ultimately a critical point in the Illini’s overtime win.  

Bear: Syracuse – The Orange were out-performed by Stanford throughout the entirety of Friday night’s 26-24 loss in the JMA Wireless Dome.  The offense failed to sustain a drive until the fourth quarter as quarterback Kyle McCord (sacked four times) turned the ball over twice. The Orange grabbed defeat out of the jaws of victory, failing to put away a subpar Cardinal offense early, and slipping to 1-1 in conference play.  

Bull: Bowling Green – The only losing team to be featured in the “bull” category, Bowling Green stuck around at Kyle Station for much longer than Aggie fans anticipated, losing 26-20 against Texas A&M on Saturday night. This is the Falcons’ second one possession loss to a Power-Four team (34-27 @PSU). Tight-end Harold Fannin Jr. brought in eight balls for 145 yards and a score, as the Falcons, who had an opportunity to tie the game late in the third, missed a 28-yard field goal which spurred the Aggies to put the game away. Bowling Green has emerged as a fiery MAC contender behind quarterback Connor Bazelak. 

Conference debut game assessments  

USC: Oh, so close! Michigan’s Kalel Mullings’ last minute touchdown propelled the Wolverines over USC, 27-24 in the Trojans’ Big Ten debut. Holding the Wolverine offense to just 32 yards passing, the Trojan defense was gashed by the hardy U-of-M run game to the tune of 290 yards and three scores. Instead of rolling over and allowing Michigan – an offense designed to wear down a defensive front – to pummel the Trojan interior defensive line, the unit showed grit (unlike units of the past). Despite a loss in their conference opener, the Trojans showed the Big Ten attitude is in Southern California. 

Utah: The Utes marched into Stillwater and bullied the Pokes for three and a half quarters without star quarterback Cameron Rising, winning its Big Ten opener 22-19. Behind Isaac Wilson (brother to Denver Broncos’ Zach Wilson), the Utes built a 22-3 lead following two Brant Kuithe touchdowns. Utah forced two turnovers and allowed only 11 first downs but gave the ball away three times in its first Big Ten win. The Pokes continued to struggle unhooking running back Ollie Gordon II’s trailer, as the preseason All-American back totaled just 42 yards on 11 carries. A sign of offensive line failures for Oklahoma State or a testament to the strength of a formidable Ute defensive front? From the looks of the All-22, it appears the latter is more accurate.  

Cal: Following a legendary social media campaign leading up to its ACC-opener at Doak Campbell Stadium, the Golden Bears fell on the last possession to Florida State, 14-9 on Saturday night. Cal allowed seven sacks, including a game-sealing 12-yard loss of quarterback Fernando Mendoza on fourth and 16 from the Seminole 23. The Golden Bear offense scored no touchdowns, yet outgained the Seminole offense by nearly 150 yards. In what looked more like an exhaustive effort from the Golden Bears than a scheme issue, the byproducts of a cross-country trip every weekend may already be catching up to a young team in Berkley.