Saturday, September 27, 2025, will go down in the books as “put up or shut up” Saturday. A whole lot of teams that claim to be one of the nation’s best had a plethora of high-profile matchups, conference openers, and tough road tests that allowed them to prove (or not prove) that they are, in fact, as good as they say they are. Here’s what we learned in Week 5:
Alabama is still one of the teams to beat in the SEC
I will admit, I was a victim of this as well – but the pendulum swung way too far with the opinion of the Crimson Tide after their season-opening defeat to Florida State. However, in their 24-21 win over Georgia, Alabama demonstrated that they are indeed one of the top teams in the country. This was even a game where they could not run, and it was all on Ty Simpson to carry the offense. However, it must be noted that with four losses to unranked teams in the Kalen DeBoer era, as impressive as they are, they are still capable of laying an egg and getting upset on any given Saturday – which we saw in Week 1.
Kirby Smart is snakebitten against Alabama
In his time as Georgia’s Head Coach, Kirby Smart is 1-7 against his former employer, Alabama. Granted that one win was in the 2021 National Championship Game (which would not have been against Alabama had the Dawgs beaten them in the SEC Championship game), which was the biggest game of them all. But Georgia’s 24-21 loss Saturday night felt a lot like a lot of Georgia losses in the last 5 years – Georgia had the more talented team, but a lack of execution and preparation here, an overly fancy play call there, and a few dumb penalties later, and the better team goes home with a loss.
The “Big Game James” sarcastic moniker lives on
In the 1980s, James Worthy earned the nickname “Big Game James” thanks to a few legendary performances in the NBA Finals. In the 2020s, sarcastic college football fans refer to Penn State Head Coach James Franklin as “Big Game James” thanks to his reputation for coming up short in big games. In fact, Saturday’s double-overtime loss to Oregon moves Franklin to 4-27 against AP top-10 opponents in his time at Penn State (only one of which was in the regular season).
A classic trap game slashes Florida State’s CFP chances
It’s a tale as old as time. A tough road game, on a weeknight, matching up with a plucky underdog before playing your hated rival next week. To quote Admiral Ackbar in Star Wars Episode VI: “It’s a trap!” The ‘Noles fell right into it, and thanks to the wonderful, gritty play of Chandler Morris, Virginia was able to pull off the upset Friday night. And then immediately owed the ACC $50,000 for a world-class field storming. The Seminoles now essentially play for their CFP lives every week from here on out, starting with their rivalry game against Miami next week.
Jeremiyah Love: You may begin your tour of the Heisman House
In a year where no quarterback is ready to stand above the rest, why could it not be a year where another position wins the Heisman trophy? Jeremiyah Love jumped to the front of the line thanks to a 127 total yard, 4 total TD performance in Notre Dame’s 56-13 romp of Arkansas. It’s not time to sign a lease or pick up a key just yet, but Jeremiyah Love has clearance to tour the Heisman House and see if he wants the room next to Tim Brown or Derrick Henry.
Death, taxes, and Lincoln Riley’s teams refusing to play defense
In a game where the duo of Jayden Maiava and Makai Lemon was outstanding, the USC defense failed to make a clutch stop when needed, a recurring theme from last season. Credit to Illinois’ Luke Altmyer for playing one of his best games in an Illini uniform and leading the game-winning drive, but once again, a Lincoln Riley-coached team had its defense on the field with a chance to win the game with a stop and failed to come through.
Ohio State survives its first road test
After playing two opponents who had no legitimate chance to beat them, Ohio State had to travel on the road to open conference play against a very game Washington team in a tough home-field environment. The Buckeyes started slow, but used two second-half TDs to pull away from the Huskies. Ohio State may have also found its new running back, as redshirt freshman Bo Jackson rushed 17 times for 80 yards. Bo knows.
Ole Miss wins the Magnolia Bowl
I’m going to be honest, I had no idea that the LSU/Ole Miss rivalry had a name or a trophy until this week. It seems like both schools have much bigger fish to fry when it comes to rivalry games. But hey, I’m all for any game that has a trophy attached. Trinidad Chambliss threw for 300 yards for the second straight week, and the Rebels look like a real CFP contender. And now Whit Weeks probably feels just like I do when my father-in-law beats me at golf.
Texas A&M stays unbeaten in an ugly win
It was Le’Veon Moss, not Marcel Reed, who was the star for the Aggies in their 16-10 win over Auburn as he rushed for a career-high 139 yards. This was a game Texas A&M had no business losing, as they more than doubled Auburn in total yardage and did not allow the Tigers to convert a 4th down. However, the Tigers hung around and kept it interesting, and the Aggies made plays when needed to secure the win. Thankfully for them, there’s no audio/video on a CFP resume, and all that matters is that they won.
Georgia Tech remains undefeated, but not without controversy
The Yellow Jackets trailed Wake Forest 20-3 late in the 3rd quarter, but used a vintage 4th quarter from Haynes King to send the game to OT and sealed the win with an interception of Wake Forest’s potential game-winning two-point conversion. However, Georgia Tech was the beneficiary of not getting flagged for offside when, to my eye, they should have had one called on them while Wake Forest was trying to run the clock out in regulation. Conspiracy theorists who believe such sporting events are rigged would be quick to point out that the ACC would benefit from an 11+ win Georgia Tech playing an 11+ win Miami in the ACC Championship.