College football takeaway of the week 5

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The hype of Notre Dame is real: Outside of Alabama, no team in the country is as well placed as it is today to play in the college football playoffs. Yes, you heard right. Now a warning. Things can change. The evils happen. Injuries kill the seasons. Strange things change the landscape every year. But right now, everything is set for Notre Dame after crushing Stanford, 38-17

With the first 25 wins of the bank against Michigan and Stanford, the Irish already have some weight on their resume. And considering what's left on the schedule, they will be favored in each remaining part. If Notre Dame goes 12-0, it will be in the playoffs. The real question is: can the Irish afford a loss? After all, it's hard to go 12-0. The Irish can be cut off somewhere, and next Saturday's match at Virginia Tech seems like a logical stumbling block. Maybe at Northwestern or Southern Cal to finish the season. Apart from that, will they really lose to Pitt, Navy, Florida State or Syracuse? Nothing is guaranteed, but it could not be better prepared for the Irish.

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Clemson finally showed fire: I confess that I've somewhat abandoned Clemson's chances of coming back against Syracuse when quarterback Chase Brice, a third member of the team last week, launched an interception in the middle of the third quarter while the Tigers were already facing nine players. point deficit. It was not just because Clemson's attack was stuck with Trevor Lawrence outside, it was the general lack of juice and passion on the touch and in the body language of the players. It was not the kind of day Clemson could sort of go through and win because it was the most talented team. It took deep digging, and Clemson finally showed this sense of urgency in the fourth quarter in a 27-23 comeback victory.

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Given how the week went, with former starter Kelly Bryant transferred and Lawrence suffering a concussion early in his career, Brice will be hailed as a hero. And if Clemson makes the playoff, we will remember the fourth and sixth pass that he converted into a season.

But regardless of the situation of the quarterbacks, this game brings to the surface the same concerns about Clemson that have been in the background throughout the year. If the Tigers had lost, they should have just as much to blame for the sloppy penalties, a massive mistake from the special teams and poor play in high school. If they really want to be a competitor, they must be better and play cleaner football. Maybe this fourth quarter will start a fire under them.

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Jimbo Fisher's helmet should not have happenedThe dividing line between "old school coaching" and abusive behavior towards players can be a very thin and subjective distinction. But for coaches of all levels, keeping your hands on the players is a rule that should be pretty black and white. No matter how much Texas A & M coach Jimbo Fisher was upset by linebacker Tyrel Dodson, who had been involved in pressure against Arkansas. The message you are trying to send does not matter. You can assert your point of view without pushing the guy's mask, as Fisher did with two quick and angry brushstrokes.

While some fans will no doubt attribute this controversy to the softening of America, many former NFL players such as Sean Salisbury, Mark Schlereth and Emmanuel Acho, who are now working in the media, have criticized Fisher on Twitter.

Here is a good rule to follow: if grabbing a face mask is not allowed in the game, it should not be acceptable in the margin. Fisher has lost his temper and it is difficult to tackle a player this way.

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Keep an eye on Justin Fields: For most of the season, the first-class quarterback in Georgia was a bit of an afterthought. Kirby Smart put it in the game here and there, but it was never a good thing because Jake Fromm was very good and the victories of Georgia were pretty simple. But the Bulldogs' use of the Fields seemed more judicious in a 38-12 win over Tennessee. While he was still mixed over and over, it seemed like Georgia was increasingly looking to use its dynamic ability to run the ball. Although Georgia scored well with a few late touchdowns, it was only a 12-point game with 11 minutes to go and the Dawgs appeared to have been offensive. If this trend continues, do not be surprised if Georgia starts giving Fields more opportunities to get things moving.

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Bad old back in Mississippi: Four years ago, at that time, the country was amazed by the way Mississippi schools had reached the peak of college football. But now, we have the impression that we are in the midst of a market correction to return to the historical norm. Ole Miss's problems are well known so far, but no one really expects the head coach's transition to Mississippi to unfold so badly. When Dan Mullen left for Florida, the consensus around college football was that Joe Moorhead would slip in quite transparently – at least for this year – as he inherited many pieces back from a 9-4 team, including quarterback Nick Fitzgerald, who seemed like a crisis in the offense that he brought from Penn State.

Instead, the state of Mississippi has been absolutely inept in attacking and is now effectively out of the SEC race at 0-2 after a 13-6 loss to Florida. This loss was painful for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, Mississippi State fans were thirsty for the opportunity to take revenge on Mullen for abandoning the program he had designed for the Gators. Instead, Mullen reminded them of how special a coach was, because the Gators seemed a lot better than last year under Jim McElwain.

But the biggest problem for Mississippi State is that it only managed 202 yards of offense, a week after being manhandled by Kentucky (seven points, 201 yards). There is no way to do that or to excuse, especially with such an experienced team. Although Fitzgerald's weaknesses as a smuggler have been revealed a bit, the Bulldogs' offensive line and receivers also fall short of expectations. To say that Mississippi State fans are panicking is a euphemism.

Shea Patterson needs to be more specific: We can say with certainty that Patterson, the transfer of Ole Miss, represents a significant improvement as a quarterback compared to what Michigan previously had under Jim Harbaugh. Still, is there enough of an upgrade to do what Michigan aspires to do? It was obviously important for the Wolverines to dig in a 17-0 hole Saturday and defeat Northwestern, 20-17. A team without the margin of error could not afford this kind of loss.

Nevertheless, they could use more precision from Patterson, who completed 15 passes for 196 yards, but left some points in the field, as he simply missed missing receptions a few times in key situations. who could have maintained the speed. or turned the field goals into touchdowns. Michigan can not give points when it plays against Penn State or Ohio State.

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It does not make any senseA week after the epic Virginia Tech, we had a regression to the average. While the Old Dominion lost 37-35 to East Carolina, the Hokies got a bit lost by eliminating Duke in Durham, 31-14. Sometimes unstable things happen in this sport.

Bobby Petrino lost the hand: If you thought Oregon coach Mario Cristobal's decision to run the ball instead of going after Stanford was bad, Petrino said "Hold My Playbook" Saturday in the final minutes against Florida State with a three-point lead. Before the most inexplicable playoff this season, Louisville seemed to have won. After a first run down the Seminole 21-yard line as the clock came down within two minutes of the end, things seemed pretty simple. While Florida State only had two minutes of play, Louisville had to throw the ball twice and, at worst, score a shot on goal with about a minute.

Instead, Petrino inexplicably called his quarterback Jawon Pass to start and throw the ball first. It turned into an interception and the Seminoles – whose offensive had accumulated only 289 yards to that point – took advantage of the gift while Nyqwan Murray beat Louisville high school for a touchdown of 58. yards.

"I think I should have run the ball," said Petrino, whose game genius has long been his best asset, told reporters after the match.

In simple terms, this seems to be a turning point in the Petrino era. The fact that Louisville fell off a cliff this season from an attack in fifth place with Lamar Jackson in 125th place (before this weekend) without him caused much consternation around the program.

Even though the state of Florida is currently in a delicate situation (it may not win one or two more games this season), there seems to have been some improvement for Louisville, especially with an attack that turned 10 of the 19 finished with 306 yards passing. But when you have a 10-point lead on the fourth quarter and you get out of the way, bad luck can outweigh any progress.

West Virginia should be taken seriouslyAlthough the game became a little strange and uncomfortable at the end, the first half of West Virginia reunited at Texas Tech was exactly what a good team is supposed to do. While the Mountaineers took a 35-10 lead, their defense was spectacular. Although Texas Tech came very late, thanks to third and fourth place conversions, West Virginia passed its first test against legitimate competition and seemed to be doing quite well. Quarterback Will Grier also played 27 games out of 41 for 370 yards and three touchdowns. It would have been even more unheard of on the part of its recipients. I was skeptical about pre-season love for this team, but the way they handle the business has made me take the bandwagon. The way the calendar is evolving, West Virginia is expected to be 7-0 in Texas on November 3rd.