WSU had a bye week in week five, but many teams nationwide did not. Even though they did not play, they moved from the No. 16 team in the nation to the No. 13 team, thanks in part to the team they just beat, Oregon State, getting a big win over then-No. 10 Utah.
In week five, five matches stood out, including the previously mentioned OSU-Utah bout, as other parts of the country, the SEC had a classic college football shootout between LSU and Ole Miss. In another SEC battle, No. 1 Georgia had a scare, Washington nearly fell in yet another season to Arizona and Duke tried to prove its worth against Notre Dame.
Oregon State vs. Utah
The first half of this game saw a single TD and not much else to write home about. At home, the Beavers scored in the first quarter and maintained a 7-0 lead into the half. DJ Uiagalelei finished with 204 yards, a TD and a pick and Damien Martinez had 65 yards on the ground and a score.
Both these defenses stifled the other team. Oregon State, after giving up 404 yards and four TDs through the air to Cam Ward in week four, allowed Utah QB Nate Johnson to just 101 yards and a completion percentage of 34.8%.
Coming in ranked No. 10, the Utes, with the 21-7 loss, fell down the ranking ladder and partially led the Cougs to move into the top 15.
LSU vs. Ole Miss
The opposite of Oregon State and Utah, the Tigers and Rebels had an old-fashioned shootout. The score was 31-28 at half, 34-42 after three quarters and ended with a 55-49 Ole Miss win. LSU, another team ranked ahead of the Cougs to lose, helped WSU move ahead one more spot, getting them to their No. 13 ranking.
Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart and LSU QB Jayden Daniels both wanted to win this game, with Dart going 26-of-39 for 389 yards and four TDs and Daniels finishing 27-of-36 for 414 yards and four TDs.
The SEC West is looking like a dog fight with every team having one loss on their record at least.
Georgia vs. Auburn
The SEC East does not look much easier; Georgia, Kentucky and Missouri are all 5-0 and Tennessee and Florida are no pushovers.
Against Auburn, the Bulldogs’ year-plus of winning got put to the test. The Tigers only had 19 attempts from Payton Thorne, with most of those coming in the fourth quarter. While they usually have a tough defense, Auburn had 219 rushing yards and only lost 27-20.
With Georiga facing off against Kentucky and an elite running back in Ray Davis, it may be the first loss for the defending champs in quite some time.
Washington vs. Arizona
Somehow, Arizona always gives UW a fit when they travel to Tucson. After a quarter, the Huskies led 14-0 and at half they led 21-10. But the Wildcats outscored the supposed national title contender 14-10 in the second half and came within one score of taking them down in the 31-24 finish.
Michael Penix Jr. completed 75% of his passes for 363 yards, but did not have a passing TD, a fact that will likely greatly affect his bout for the Heisman trophy, especially given other statistical outputs from across the country.
Despite winning, Arizona proved that Washington is vulnerable, especially on the road. With ranked games against Oregon, USC, Utah, Oregon State and Washington State left on their schedule, it will be incredibly difficult for UW to finish undefeated.
Notre Dame vs. Duke
After losing earlier in the year to Ohio State, Notre Dame will need to win out for a chance to make the College Football Playoff, and Duke nearly crushed that dream. In a weird game, the Fighting Irish scored in every quarter, seven, three, three and then eight points to win 21-14.
They out-passed Duke and kept the rushing battle close, but struggled to the tune of 3-of-15 on third down. With 12 penalties, Notre Dame was shooting themselves in the foot every time they looked to gain momentum.
Just like how they only had 10 men on the field against Ohio State at the end of the game, mental errors nearly spelled disaster yet again for a team trying to compete for it all.
