Anderson's Takeaways from Week 6 of College Football

Chaotic results that caused two supposedly playoff contenders to be eliminated from the top 25. Penn State and Texas are both unranked for the first time in about three years, following their shocking losses last Saturday. Another traditional football power was expected to collapse like the Egyptians, but instead regained power in the Southeastern Conference. While another football empire has been rising back from the dead, little by little. Here comes the emergence of new contenders, as this championship chase is becoming more chaotic by the week. Here is what I saw from how week five of the college football season unfolded.

Roll Tide Roll

The Crimson Tide ensured they wouldn't repeat history, defeating Vanderbilt to complete their revenge for last year. Vanderbilt ruined their season by defeating them 40-35 around this same time last season. Just like this year, it was a week after Alabama beat Georgia. Alabama has opened up conference play with two straight wins over a ranked opponent. The first one was over the 5th-ranked Georgia two Saturdays ago, and then over the 16th-ranked Vanderbilt this past Saturday. They did it by confusing Diego Pavia with disguised coverages, making him feel the need to improvise on every play. Forcing him to an interception in the fourth quarter while he and the offense were deep into scoring range, trailing by just six points. They held a Commodores' offense that had averaged 49 points per game for the season to no more than 14 points for the game.

The offense did their part with Jam Miller rushing for 136 yards on 22 carries and scoring a touchdown in the process. Ty Simpson continued his efficient passing with a 340-yard, 2-touchdown day. All while completing 23 out of 30 passing attempts and averaging 11.0 yards per throw. Their superb receiving trio of Ryan Williams, Germie Bernard, and Isaiah Horton each caught at least four passes, produced over 60 yards receiving, and averaged no less than 16 yards per catch. Both Williams and Bernard caught a touchdown, and Williams got himself out of his early-season slump by catching six passes for 98 receiving yards. With the offense and defense operating at an efficient level of play, there is no doubt that Alabama can take back the SEC crown this season.

The U can be back if...

Ignoring how they almost allowed a late-game comeback to Florida State after having a 28-3 lead. The Miami Hurricanes have proven that they have everything it takes to win not a conference title, but a national title. They have a vicious, ball-hungry defense, an overpowering offensive line, a running game that can easily keep the chains moving, and a solid passing attack. Head coach Mario Cristobal and the rest of Miami's coaching staff must find more ways to utilize this talented group. Like continuing to move edge rushers Ruben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor along the line of scrimmage more, who are both clearly unblockable on every snap. Their top wideout, CJ Daniels, needs to get the football more often for more positive yardage, as he is clearly one of the most dynamic playmakers in college football. Their biggest issue from last Saturday's win over the Seminoles was the lack of carries their running backs had.

Mark Fletcher Jr. came into Saturday's game with a run of two consecutive 100-yard games. By the end of the game, he rushed for 40 yards on 12 carries, his lowest total of the season. Backup running back CharMar Brown was coming off a game where he rushed for 80 yards and scored two touchdowns on 18 carries against the Florida Gators. Against the Florida State Seminoles, he received the ball only eight times and rushed for 19 yards. For a wide receiver like CJ Daniels, five catches aren't enough. You always want to involve your playmakers in the game as often as you can. As well as putting them in better positions to make big plays. No matter how great a defense is, any defense can only hold off an offense for so long, not forever. That's why you kill time with an effective offensive game plan.

The Nittany Lions and Longhorns are done

Falling to teams with losing records, both the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Texas Longhorns are doomed to fall completely out of the championship race. Both teams entered the season opener ranked in the top four. Now, they are ranked nowhere in the top 25. Texas was the preseason number one-ranked team in America, and Penn State was ranked number three in America just two weeks ago. They already play in conferences that are congested with so many teams that are legitimate enough to be a playoff team. The playoffs are still mathematically possible for both teams, but considering the issues they each have, the playoffs should be the impossible dream for them.

Penn State usually defeats teams like the 0-4 UCLA Bruins at the greatest of ease. But got ambushed by a suddenly resurrected Bruins' offense that totaled 446 yards of total offense and 42 points. A team that hasn't had a lead for one second in any of the games they lost was on top of the Nittany Lions on the scoreboard for the whole game. Nico Iamaleava threw for two touchdowns and ran for three more against Penn State. Texas was also caught off guard by a team with awful quarterback play that suddenly turned into solid quarterback play. DJ Lagway threw for 298 passing yards and two touchdowns against the Longhorns. Outperforming the disappointing Arch Manning, who threw his two best touchdown passes of the season but threw two awful interceptions in the fourth quarter.

Both Penn State and Texas are in trouble, primarily due to their quarterbacks not meeting expectations. Drew Allar and Arch Manning were two highly touted prospects and attractive Heisman candidates before the season started. They have compiled poor statistics and put their teams in unfavorable positions during crucial moments. Their head coaches haven't been putting out their best game plans to set them up for success, either. These teams can make adjustments, but they have little time to do so before they have to face the rest of their brutal schedules.

Texas Tech, Big 12's Best

The Red Raiders are proving that money can buy a good team. They are a good team that is on the verge of becoming a great team. Two straight wins away from home against a conference opponent with a winning record of at least three games above five hundred. After defeating the then 17th-ranked Utah Utes 34-10 in Utah on FOX. They defeated the 4-0 Houston Cougars in Houston on ESPN, 35-11. Many skeptics have been calling their undefeated start an illusion and were waiting for them to fall back to earth. Anticipating the Red Raiders to lose these two road games. For the second straight game, they have impressed a nationally televised audience by beating a solid conference opponent in double-digit margins. Doing so with the perfect mix of efficient passing, a ground-pound rushing attack, and a suffocating defense.

One of college football's rising stars, Behren Morton, returned from a minor injury with another superb performance, passing for 345 yards and two touchdowns against Houston last Saturday. J'Koby Williams rushed for 107 yards on 19 carries and scored two touchdowns. Cameron Dickey took some load off of Williams by rushing for 98 yards on 21 carries. Dickey also caught a touchdown pass from Morton that went for 69 yards. Their biggest transfer grab was edge rusher David Bailey from Stanford, who had two sacks and three tackles for loss last Saturday. This is the fifth straight game in which Bailey recorded a sack for the Red Raiders, and he continues to be one of the main reasons for Texas Tech's defense becoming one of the most improved units in college football. After being 5-0, they have scored the second-most points per game in the nation (49.8 points scored per game) and permitted the fourth-lowest points per game to their opponents (11.2 points allowed per game).

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