College Football Week 5 Live Winners and Losers: Maybe We Should Just Name Jeremiah Smith Permanent Winner
Updated at 9:15 p.m. ET Saturday
From the first days of spring, Alabama believed in quarterback Keelon Russell. He racked up four passing touchdowns in the Crimson Tide’s spring game, and receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams likened playing with him to “a video game.”
Then a funny thing happened: Russell became the rare Alabama quarterback to fly under the radar. Ole Miss’ Trinidad Chambliss and Mississippi State’s Kamario Taylor have caught the attention of the SEC, along with famed Texas gunslinger Arch Manning since his birth. However, following his performance on Saturday, Russell, along with his team, must be taken seriously.
Here’s hoping your team convinced its many skeptics in the middle of a clear Midwestern and rainy Southern afternoon. Welcome to the winners and losers of Week 5 (now live all day!).
Winner: Jérémie Smith
You know how the Allies of World War II get permanent seats on the UN Security Council? Maybe we should give Smith a permanent seat among the winners and losers, because it seems like he finds himself in the winner’s section every week. Here’s what the Ohio State receiver and Heisman favorite did against Iowa’s No. 1 defense in the country: caught 11 passes, rushed for 206 yards and scored two touchdowns. Nevada wide receiver Trevor Insley in 1999 is the only wide receiver with 2,000 yards in a single FBS season; if the Buckeyes play the Big Ten Championship and (say) two College Football Playoff games, Smith prepares to 2,469.
Loser: Florida after a hangover match for the ages
A Gators fall was inevitable after coach Jon Sumrall’s team against Ole Miss, but Missouri’s wire-to-wire domination of Florida was completely stunning. In beating the Gators 45-17, the Tigers a.) racked up 560 yards of offense, b.) held the Gators to 42 total rushing yards and c.) held Florida star running back Jadan Baugh to 13 rushing yards on 12 carries. The Gators face a South Carolina team in total freefall next Saturday – a great bounce-back opportunity. However, Florida’s defensive line can’t wilt like it did on Saturday against Texas and Georgia later this month.
Winners: Keelon Russell, Kalen DeBoer and Alabama
All kinds of wins for the Crimson Tide in a comprehensive 56-23 victory over the Bulldogs. For Russell: an announcement of his Heisman candidacy after distributing 10 passing touchdowns and 970 yards in his last three games. For DeBoer: another big game feather in his cap as he continues his years-long quest to win over the Alabama faithful. For the Crimson Tide as a whole: a 5-0 start that gives them some margin for error over the next five weeks, in which they see Georgia, Tennessee on the road and LSU on the road.
Loser: Michigan
The Wolverines, an object of fascination in college football this season, added another strange game to their resume Saturday against Minnesota. The Golden Gophers outscored Michigan 262-180, but came so close to losing, going up 20-14 with 13:44 left before putting together a tense fourth quarter. Wolverines quarterback Bryce Underwood, whose struggles are becoming increasingly difficult to excuse for his youth, completed just 10 of 21 passes with two interceptions. The team’s bye week couldn’t come at a better time, with a potential matchup against a mediocre Penn State team looming on October 17.
Winner: Wake Forest
Given that the Demon Deacons have played football in the ACC since 1953, establishing a conference margin of victory for the program is no small feat. Wake Forest did just that against Stanford on Saturday, blowing out the Cardinal 57-3 to improve to 4-1 on the season. As incredible as coach Jake Dickert has delivered this year, quarterback Gio Lopez’s improvement might be even more impressive: With two passing touchdowns against Stanford, he now has the same number (10) he had all last year for North Carolina. The Demon Deacons are an ACC title contender, period.
Loser: Massachusetts
The future looked so bright for the Minutemen after a program-altering 4-0 start that included double-digit wins over Rutgers, Sacred Heart, Stonehill and Sacramento State. And then…eastern Michigan. The Eagles, who had an up-and-down season under longtime coach Chris Creighton, threw their best punch at Massachusetts and cruised to a 38-14 victory. A major culprit for the Minutemen, now playing from behind in the MAC: allowing Eastern Michigan to go 11 of 14 on third down.
Winner: North West
The Wildcats opened their nine-figure gem of a new stadium on Friday by completely confounding the Nittany Lions, showing themselves to be potential movers and shakers in the Big Ten. The most shocking stat from Northwestern’s 34-13 victory: a 413-48 rushing yardage differential (the most rushing yards allowed by Penn State since 2022). Like Wake Forest, the Wildcats should move into the Top 25 in the near future. How long the Northwest will stay there is a different question, as a vicious Oregon-Iowa-Ohio State-Minnesota stretch begins Halloween.
Loser: Shane Beamer and South Carolina
It’s DEFCON-1 for the Gamecocks, losers of eight straight SEC games and light years away from the 2024 No. 19 national runners-up. Saturday’s gory details: A 17-0 lead turned into a 35-34 overtime loss to Kentucky, aided by seven penalties and two lost fumbles. South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers filled the stat sheet with quarterback Cutter Woods reportedly breathing down his neck; Sellers threw for 226 yards and ran for 147, but could not carry the Gamecocks beyond the finish line. The situation could deteriorate further in the near future with an angry Gators team on deck.
Winner: Dante Reno
Yale coach Tony Reno was a formidable presence in the Ivy League from 2012-25, winning five conference titles. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease forced him to resign in February, and he died Friday from a rare brain disorder at the age of 52. On Saturday, Bulldogs quarterback Dante Reno (Tony’s son) suited up for Yale and threw four touchdowns in a 41-24 victory. All there is to say about that performance is that it couldn’t have been easy.
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