Anderson's Takeaways from Week 5 of College Football

Week five of college football presented a lot of dogfights and upset-destined matches. The expectations were exceeded for this weekend's slot of games. The Heisman race is suddenly having new contestants, and clear favorites for conference titles are emerging. The freshman quarterback in college football isn't who you think he is. Just like with any other week during the football season, there is breaking news and new surprises; every weekend feels like it's a birthday for college football fans everywhere. Here are my takes based on what shocks I have witnessed from this weekend in college football.

Ole Miss is the Best Team in the SEC

No matter who the quarterback is for the Ole Miss Rebels, they are going to win the game or die trying. Ever since Lane Kiffin took the head coaching job for this program, the Rebels have been one of the most dangerous teams in college football year after year. His genius has become more evident after the statement win over LSU last Saturday. Playing against one of the toughest defenses out there with a Division II transfer quarterback. Well, they beat the 4th-ranked LSU Tigers, 24-19. They did it with a well-balanced attack, gaining 484 total yards of offense against a defense that has allowed just 293.3 yards per game this season. They mixed up the pass and run effectively enough to exploit the holes in the Tigers' defense.

The Rebels' offense moved the chains at will by spreading out the defense and beating the blitz with shorter route patterns. Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss threw for 314 yards and rushed for 71 yards. Running back Kewan Lacy had himself a field day as well by rushing for 87 yards on 23 carries and scoring a touchdown. Ole Miss's defense had no problem cuffing down LSU's offense as they held Garrett Nussmeier to just 187 yards passing, while sacking him once and intercepting him once. They also permitted just 59 rushing yards to LSU's entire run game. The team's many strengths were on full display last Saturday against their most supreme SEC opponent yet, making them a standout in the conference.

Georgia Has Lost its Defense

No other coach in the SEC has a bigger resume to brag about than Georgia's Kirby Smart. Three conference titles and two national championships definitely make you the conference's top dawg. This season, he has a defense with few returning starters from last season. The negative impact of the key losses clearly shows during the last two games against Tennessee and Alabama. Allowing a combined 893 total yards of offense and eight touchdowns between the past two games. Last Saturday, against Alabama, was the second straight game in which they allowed a quarterback to score three or more total touchdowns. Ty Simpson threw two touchdowns and ran in for one against Georgia.

Ty Simpson was throwing 7.3 yards per pass and completed 63.2 percent of his passes. It could've been higher if Ryan Williams hadn't dropped his 38-yard moonshot pass during their first drive of the game, which was a wide-open touchdown. Their secondary couldn't lay a finger on Alabama's pass catchers. They were running circles trying to cover their wideouts. They allowed the Crimson Tide to turn their field into a track meet after allowing Tennessee to put up 41 points and four touchdowns through the air the previous game. Their defense has several flaws that need to be addressed and improved before they face other explosive offenses, such as Ole Miss, Texas, and Georgia Tech.

Dante Moore is the Heisman Favorite

The Heisman stock and draft stock have all skyrocketed for Dante Moore after his game-winning performance for the Oregon Ducks against the Penn State Nittany Lions in Happy Valley on White Out Night. He remained cool, calm, and collected throughout a tense football game. The rush from Penn State's defensive front was heavy on Moore, but Moore, like the great quarterback he is, kept eyes on his targets and just delivered. Eluding the rush, throwing on the run, and tucking the ball down to take the positive yards himself. Doing whatever to keep the football as much as they could. He made so many crucial plays during a tight ballgame, I don't know which one was the best.

Maybe the one he made in the third quarter on third down with the score being tied at three. When he scrambles towards the right sidelines while two Nittany Lion defenders were as close as they ever could to sacking him, and slings the ball 23 yards towards the middle of the field to tight end Kenyon Sadiq. If not, then perhaps his third touchdown pass of the game in the second overtime period. He saw Penn State edge rusher Dani Dennis-Sutton freely charging off the edge from the right and just juking to the left of him. Then, he scrambled to the right and threw the touchdown pass to Gary Bryant Jr. for the lead. Dante Moore is the number one quarterback in the nation, playing for the number one team in college football right now.

The Seminoles are Down, Not Out

The Florida State Seminoles felt like world beaters again, coming into Virginia as a top 10-ranked team, facing the 3-1 Cavaliers. They fell behind early, 14-0, and then scored on three straight possessions to take a 21-14 lead. They would go into a shootout battle with Chandler Morris and the Cavs' offense, eventually forcing it into double overtime. A blow-for-blows night between Morris and Thomas Castellanos, who would combine for 483 passing yards and seven total touchdowns for the night. Castellanos was about to have a second touchdown pass in the second overtime period to Duce Robinson in the right corner of the endzone to extend the game and win the game. But Robinson couldn't gather the pass in by the time he stayed in bounds to make the clean catch for the possible tying score. Castellanos would throw an interception the next play, and Florida State would lose to Virginia, 46-38 in double overtime. There are some positives to take into account from this upset loss.

Ignoring the two interceptions, Thomas Castellanos performed greatly for the Seminoles. Leading the offense down to redzone territory eight times and scoring on five of those possessions. They missed a 45-yard field goal on one of those red-zone drives. They averaged more yards per pass and rush than Virginia and outgained them in total yards by a 74-yard difference. Three turnovers that could have been avoided disrupted their progression towards a 4-0 start. One of them took place in the red zone, off a bad error throw by Castellanos, becoming a tipped interception. Their first one was a fumble that happened on their second drive of the game, and their third one would never have had a chance of happening if Robinson had cleanly caught Castellanos' pass in the second overtime. Their defense allowed the scoreboard to explode on them with 46 points, but they did intercept Chandler Morris three times and sack him twice. Now falling from 8th to 18th in the AP Top 25, it's their turn to ruin the top 10 rankings again when they face the 4th-ranked Miami Hurricanes this Saturday.

Freshman QBs Dazzle

From this recruiting class, everyone couldn't and still can't keep their mouths shut about Michigan's Bryce Underwood. The number one recruit in this freshman class has the Wolverines alive and running again with a 3-1 record and a national ranking. His skills aren't hard to see, and he still has plenty to learn. If people aren't talking about him, they might be talking about Maryland's true freshman Malik Washington or California's true freshman Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele. They both have their teams off to successful starts. The Golden Bears are 4-1, thanks to the talents of Sagapolutele. His 1,242 passing yards are the best among freshman quarterbacks. Washington has thrown eight touchdown passes to just one interception through four games. His play is the reason why the Terrapins are one of just four undefeated teams in the Big Ten right now.

Another true freshman quarterback who has their team being unbeaten is Bear Bachmeier from BYU. The Bear has the Cougars have started the season 4-0 for the second consecutive season and are ranked inside the top 25 for the second season in a row. His latest performance was a 277 all-purpose yards display in their 24-21 win over Colorado last Saturday night. Passing for 179 yards while rushing for 98 yards. He also threw for two scores. He was the team's leader in both passing and rushing that night. It has been four games into the season, and he still has yet to throw an interception. His statistics aren't impressive, but his skills and football IQ are what make him stand out from the other quarterbacks in his class. He has a fullback's body but can run like the halfback he once was and can sling the football accurately, precisely, and carefully. When you watch him play, he almost reminds you of a young Ben Roethlisberger. A winning foundation is being established at BYU with Bachmeier, and he is still light-years from reaching his full potential.

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