College football winners, losers in Week 5: Superstar WRs come to forefront

Conference play is fully underway for college football’s powers, and the return of rivalries has already brought chaos. Six AP Top 25 teams fell, including three AP Top 5. This is the earliest that three top-five teams have fallen on the same day since 2008. 

But even more than the losses, even more highly-ranked teams went through major battles. Eight ranked teams picked up victories in one-score games, with many of the biggest stars in the sport coming up big in the most important spots. No. 17 Alabama and No. 6 Oregon will vault themselves into the national conversation following upsets against No. 5 Georgia and No. 3 Penn State. 

Here are the biggest winners and losers of Week 5 after a loaded weekend of games. 

Winner: Alabama

Welcome back to the national stage, Kalen DeBoer. In a must-win road game against No. 5 Georgia, the Crimson Tide showed why so many thought they could contend for a national championship in a 24-21 win. Quarterback Ty Simpson was sensational, throwing for 276 yards and two touchdowns as the program built a 14-0 lead in the first half it would never surrender. 

The Crimson Tide have tended to play up (or down) to their competition, but the road trip in Athens was an especially notable one. Kirby Smart is 1-7 in his career against the Crimson Tide, including 0-2 against Alabama since DeBoer took over last season. Both games involved Alabama coming out with a great game plan and Georgia needing to play from behind. 

There are many difficult games remaining on the schedule, which only amplified the importance of pulling an upset. Now, the 2025 Tide have a chance to succeed where 2024 failed. There’s little question that Alabama has the talent to compete at the highest level. 

Loser: Penn State coach James Franklin

Year after year, we keep having to have this same conversation about James Franklin. After the devastating double-overtime loss to Oregon in the annual White Out game, Franklin is now 2-21 against AP top 6 opponents. That’s the second-worst mark by any coach in FBS history and a stunner for one of the most successful coaches of the 21st Century. 

This should have been the moment where everything changed. The Nittany Lions were playing at home, where they had won six straight White Out games. Oregon had several new pieces to integrate, and relied on freshmen at several key positions. Instead, it was the Nittany Lions that shriveled and looked unprepared for game time. 

Penn State still has a path to the College Football Playoff, but it involves beating either No. 11 Indiana or No. 1 Ohio State on the road. Franklin convinced several key pieces to spurn the NFL Draft and return for a final year of college football. Wasting this roster would be a travesty. 

Loser: Arkansas coach Sam Pittman

The coaching carousel has already started churning, and the Razorbacks’ Pittman looks like the next on the chopping block. Arkansas had a historically terrible defensive performance in a 56-13 loss to No. 22 Notre Dame that ended with Pittman receiving boos as he left the field from a largely empty stadium. 

Notre Dame obliterated Arkansas to the tune of 641 yards. Running back Jeremiyah Love alone posted 127 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns, while CJ Carr threw for career highs of 354 yards and four touchdowns. Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green played hard with 288 total yards, but the rest of the roster managed a cool 77. 

After the game, Pittman acknowledged that fans are right to be angry with him. The loss to Notre Dame could be a final nail in the coffin. 

Winner: Superstar receivers

There’s a receiver out in Columbus who gets a lot of spotlight (for good reason). That said, all the attention on No. 4 is hiding a tremendous wide receiver class across college football. 

Arizona State receiver Jordyn Tyson got things started on Friday, posting eight catches for 126 yards and two touchdowns — including a game-winner — in a come-from-behind win against No. 24 TCU. USC receiver Makai Lemon was painfully close to replicating the feat, posting 11 catches for 151 yards and two touchdowns. His apparent game-winner was later overrun after Illinois drove down for a game-winning field goal. 

Elsewhere, Kansas wide receiver Emmanuel Henderson posted the first Jayhawks’ 200-yard game since 2017. Louisville’s Chris Bell looked like the new top target for the Cardinals with 10 catches for 135 yards and a score against Pittsburgh. With Texas A&M’s Mario Craver sidelined for a stretch, KC Concepcion came up big with seven catches for 113 yards. 

The level of wide receiver play in college football is going through the charts. 

Loser: LSU offense

After LSU’s 24-19 loss to No. 13 Ole Miss, Brian Kelly might owe WBRZ sports director Michael Cauble another apology. Kelly erupted at Cauble for asking about offensive struggles in a win over Florida — and especially failure to run the ball. All of those concerns came to fruition in the Tigers’ first loss of the year. 

Ole Miss shut down the No. 4 Tigers’ offense to the tune of only 254 total yards. The Tigers failed to score 20 offensive points for the third time in three games against Power Four opponents, and the running game mustered only 57 total yards on 22 attempts. 

But most critically, the offense simply couldn’t stay on the field. LSU’s first seven drives went five plays or fewer. By the time the unit started to find some consistency in the second half, it was too late. LSU simply can’t get away with getting bullied in the trenches to this level and expect to contend in the SEC. 

Cincinnati has been brutal in close games under Scott Satterfield, losing nine of their last 10 single-score games. Even in Week 1, the Bearcats blew a close game against Nebraska. After sneaking by a talented Kansas squad in a 37-34 victory, the vibes seem to be shifting. 

The Bearcats went down by four points with only 1:45 remaining, but underrated quarterback Brendan Sorsby led a 10-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a game-winning run from Tawee Walker. Sorsby was sensational in the win, throwing for 388 yards, rushing for 52 yards and scoring two touchdowns. 

Cincinnati has been painfully close under Satterfield. Could the tide suddenly be turning? 

Rumors of the No. 8 Seminoles’ return to prominence seem to be greatly exaggerated. In a trap game spot before a game against No. 2 Miami, Florida State collapsed 46-38 against Virginia in double-overtime. The Cavaliers scored two touchdowns early to take a 14-0 lead, and trailed for only about two minutes across the evening. 

Florida State’s resurgent defense looked like 2024 against a rising UVA squad, giving up more than 200 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. Virginia quarterback Chandler Morris scored five touchdowns to make up for his three interceptions, the final of which was a run to the end zone in double-overtime that clinched the game. 

The opener against Alabama still buys the Seminoles some credibility, but wins against East Texas A&M and Kent State don’t move the needle. The matchup against No. 2 Miami suddenly becomes a must-win, especially as Clemson and Florida fall out of the AP Top 25. There can be no more hiccups.  

Winner: Survival

There are weeks to put up style points, but sometimes, getting an addition to the win column is enough. No. 11 Indiana followed a demolition of Illinois by needing a late interception to survive Iowa, 20-15. No. 16 Georgia Tech had an even closer scare, forcing overtime with two seconds remaining and getting a stop on a two-point conversion to beat Wake Forest 30-29. No. 1 Ohio State shook off a slow start to outlast a hungry Washington team 24-6, while No. 23 Illinois drove for a late field goal to beat No. 21 USC 34-32. Picking up wins — even ugly ones — count just the same in critical conference title races. 

No. 14 Iowa State has been a slight afterthought in the Big 12 conversation, but a massive 39-14 win over an improving Arizona squad stands out in a weekend where many struggled. The Cyclones jumped out to a 22-0 lead and never looked back as quarterback Rocco Becht exploded for three rushing touchdowns in the win. There are only four undefeated teams remaining in the Big 12, and No. 12 Texas Tech appears to be the only other superpower. The Cyclones have a serious chance to return to the Big 12 Championship Game for a second straight season.

Virginia Tech was blasted in its first three FBS games, including a 19-point loss to Old Dominion. It was enough that coach Brent Pry was fired only three weeks into the season. However, NC State slipped up on the big opportunity and lost 23-21 to hand the Hokies their first FBS win of the year. While the score was close, the Wolfpack gave up more than 400 yards to a struggling unit and failed to hit 300. The Hokies gave up more than 150 yards per game on the ground. Against NC State, they allowed only 59. NC State coach Dave Doeren will be hearing about this miserable performance for the rest of the year.