Is Ohio State No. 1? Time to worry about Georgia?
Here are the top overreactions from Week 5 in college football, including notes on a couple of playoff hopefuls and a few words of caution for some teams on hot streaks.
Ohio State should be No. 1
The Buckeyes have had no issues since pulling away from Notre Dame late in Week 1. While Alabama and Georgia have had close calls, Ohio State has rolled along.
But as Han famously said to Luke, “Great, kid. Don't get cocky.” The Buckeyes haven't had to leave the friendly confines of the Horseshoe, and their first road trip to Michigan State next week isn't likely to test their mettle, either, as the Spartans are now on a three-game skid. We aren't likely to learn how this team handles adversity until the end of the month when the Buckeyes visit Penn State.
Yes, of course the Buckeyes are in the playoff hunt as we figured they would be, but being voted No. 1 in the polls does not confer a particular advantage when facing elite competition once the postseason arrives.
Don’t worry – Georgia is fine
Good teams find ways to win, as the adage goes. The Bulldogs were able to do that at Missouri, coming up with a pair of late TDS to win.
But the Georgia team that went through the motions against Kent State before the narrow escape at Mizzou bore little resemblance to the passing attack that fueled the Week 1 rout of Oregon. There's time to iron things out, of course, but when the standard is competing for national championships, the rumbles and grumbles following a close call are inevitable. If Georgia looks at all ordinary next week against Auburn, a program with myriad issues of its own, the Bulldogs' fans will have ample cause for concern.
Cincinnati should be ranked
It seems the voters gave up on the Bearcats when they came up just a touchdown short in Week 1 at Arkansas. They came close to returning to the coaches poll this week, finishing just a point behind those same Razorbacks for the No. 25 position.
Cincinnati probably will get back into the Top 25 as long as it keeps winning. A return to the playoff is off the table, but the Group of Five's New Year's Six bowl slot remains very much in play for the Bearcats. Road dates at SMU and Central Florida at the end of October figure to be their biggest obstacles.
UCLA among Pac-12 favorites
Friday night's explosive performance against an equally hot Washington squad landed the Bruins in the Top 25. But we shouldn't pencil UCLA into the conference championship game yet.
The next two weeks will tell us a lot more about that. Utah comes calling to Pasadena, then the Bruins must head up the coast to take on Oregon. A split of those two would at least keep UCLA in the mix.