An outstanding start to the college football season continued in week five with some incredible matchups and thrilling outcomes that went down to the wire. While Clemson earned the biggest win of the week by holding on for a close victory over Louisville at home, they definitely weren’t the only team to record a monumental win.
It was really a week of coming out parties. A number of college football teams emerged as serious contenders and that will change the landscape of the season. As the calendar has finally flipped to October, here is a look at the top four winners from week five of the college football season.
Clemson Tigers
The defending ACC champion and national title runner-up Clemson managed to hold on for a crucial 42-36 win over No. 3 Louisville under the bright lights on Saturday night. Quarterback Deshaun Watson had his best game of the season as he threw for 306 yards and five touchdowns with another 91 rushing yards to help the Tigers clinch the victory. Clemson improved to 5-0 and moved up to No. 3 in the AP Top-25.
What’s even better for them is that Florida State – the team that was considered to be their chief contender in the ACC – also lost on the weekend. That means they’re now at 0-2 in ACC play with losses to Louisville and North Carolina, and Florida State is currently in last place. Only Miami is still undefeated in ACC play and Clemson shouldn’t have many problems with them if they are to meet in the ACC Championship Game.
The Tigers are back in the driver seat in the ACC and will look to build off the big win now that they are back on pace to get back to the playoff.
Tennessee Volunteers
The Vols are a top-10 team thanks to a thrilling comeback in the final seconds of their 34-31 win over Georgia. The Bulldogs scored a go-ahead touchdown with 10 seconds left on the clock, but that was just enough for Joshua Dobbs to have one more shot at the comeback. Dobbs threw a 43-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass to Jauan Jennings on the final play of the game to put Tennessee ahead for good as they stole a critical victory over an SEC East rival.
The Vols have cut it close a number of times this season but so far, they are still undefeated and that’s all that matters. There are a couple of other teams in the SEC that are undefeated with them and that’s Texas A&M and Alabama. That’s decent company. Tennessee has proven it can win big games in clutch fashion and it will be very interesting to see where they go from here after improving to 5-0.
North Carolina Tar Heels
Clemson isn’t the only ACC contender that registered a big win over the weekend as North Carolina came through in the final minute of regulation for a 37-35 win over Florida State. Down 35-34 with 23 seconds left, Mitch Trubisky led the Tar heels down the field and Nick Wieler nailed the game-winning field goal to pull out the shocking win. Trubisky threw for 405 yards and three touchdowns while North Carolina snapped the Seminoles’ 22-game home winning streak. That leaves Clemson with the longest home-winning streak in the nation.
The Tar Heels are back on the radar at No. 17 in the country with another key showdown versus Miami right around the corner. Head coach Larry Fedora deserves plenty of credit for turning this college football team into a contender.
Washington Huskies
A 44-6 blowout win over Stanford was the type of statement Washington needed to make to prove that it is ready to be a force on the national stage this season. Jake Browning completed 15 of 21 passes for 210 yards and three touchdowns while running back Myles Gaskin exploded for 100 yards and two scores on 18 carries in an outstanding performance for the Huskies. Washington was considered a sleeper team in the Pac-12 by most experts heading in to this season and at 5-0 with a couple of important wins over Arizona and Stanford they are standing alone at the top of the Pac-12 as the fifth-ranked team in the country.
