Simon Clancy casts his eye over the good and bad of Week 5 in the college game, including the after-effects of two huge games with playoff implications…

LEAD OFF
It was another terrific week of action, capped by two superb games on Saturday night that will go a long way to deciding who ends up in the College Football Playoff.

We’ll get to South Bend shortly and weigh up what the playoff committee might decide if faced with an unbeaten Notre Dame, but there’s plenty more to go at, including the Kelly Bryant conundrum, the biggest fourth down of Chase Brice’s life, why Memphis only ran Darrell Henderson seven times in defeat to Tulane, Kentucky powering on in the SEC East, the Dan Mullen Bowl, what’s happened to Nick Fitzgerald, the re-birth of Kyler Murray, the suspension of Mark Whipple, what to do about UCF and the frightening numbers from Tua Tagovailoa….

But we start with Penn State and the fateful decision that James Franklin and offensive co-ordinator Ricky Rahne made late on in Happy Valley that decided the outcome of the Nittany Lions’ game with Ohio State.

Faced with a crucial fourth-and-five at the Buckeyes’ 43 with a minute and twenty-two left, they blew the biggest moment of the game. In Trace McSorley, they had a quarterback who’d vaulted himself into the Heisman race with a monster night, accounting for 461 total yards. Yet, after they called a pair of time-outs either side of an OSU stoppage, Franklin and Rahne decided to take the ball out of their best player’s hands and give it to running back Miles Sanders, who was stuffed for a two-yard loss by sophomore sensation Chase Young.

Game over.

On Monday, Rahne admitted, in the understatement of the year so far, that he “didn’t give the guys the best chance to succeed”. The loss knocks the Nittany Lions from the ranks of the unbeaten, while Franklin tries to come to terms with losing a game his side dominated. The video of him having to be restrained when he was confronted by a fan as he walked down the tunnel only adds to what was a terrible night for Penn State football. There seems to be little they can do to make the playoff now…

For Ohio State, the plaudits should go to Ryan Day, who made the crucial half-time adjustments that slowed down the PSU pass rush and enabled a below par Dwayne Haskins to make enough plays to win the game.

THIS AND THAT
Two weeks ago, we warned you about Notre Dame’s defensive tackle Jerry Tillery in our NFL Watch section. The big defensive tackle was a vital cog in shutting down Bryce Love and the Stanford run game as the seventh-ranked Cardinal fell 38-17 in South Bend. Offensively, Ian Book has given the Irish a new dimension and his ability through the air – 278 yards and four touchdowns – as well as his contribution on the ground – 47 yards – eased Notre Dame past a Stanford team that struggled to get to the QB all night and conceded ground in the run game to a revitalised Dexter Williams.

Stanford’s playoff race is run, especially as Washington look so dominant in the Pac-12 North, with their only defeat coming by just five points on opening weekend on the road against Auburn. The Irish, meanwhile, look to have a playoff place all but sewn up if they can win out against a very average schedule. The number six team in the nation face only one more ranked opponent – this weekend against Virginia Tech – and it would seem unlikely that the playoff committee would keep Notre Dame from the final four, especially if Michigan and Stanford keep winning, given how they dominated those teams…

One school that could fall from the top four is Clemson, who haven’t looked themselves for much of the season. On Saturday, after Trevor Lawrence was knocked out of the game and with no Kelly Bryant to call on, they needed an heroic effort from redshirt freshman Chase Brice to get over the line against previously-unbeaten Syracuse. The win came in large part to a 94-yard drive at the end of the game and 203 yards rushing from Travis Etienne…

Speaking of Lawrence, doctors confirmed that his injury was a neck sprain and not a concussion, so he could be back this weekend as the Tigers take on 23rd ranked NC State…

As for Bryant, his future seems up in the air. Head coach Dabo Swinney refused to answer questions on his former starter, who announced he was leaving school after Lawrence was named the incumbent. One rumour gaining pace is that he could switch to the SEC and head to Arkansas to be reunited with HC Chad Morris, who recruited him to Death Valley…

Elsewhere, Kentucky powered past South Carolina to keep pace with Georgia at the top of the SEC East. Mark Stoops continues to do a tremendous job with that team and, in Benny Snell, they have one of the best backs in college football. They face another test this weekend in Texas A&M, before a 3rd November showdown with the Bulldogs in Lexington, which should decide the division title…

Jimbo Fisher grabbing the facemask of Tyrel Dodson on national television wasn’t a good look. The Aggies new head coach said he was trying to prevent Dodson from getting himself kicked out of the game, but his actions led to many calls for him to be reprimanded…

Memphis’ defeat of Tulane was an upset in itself. The fact that the hottest back in the nation, Darrell Henderson, had just seven carries is an enduring mystery, especially as he ripped off a 47-yard touchdown on the first play of the game…

If James Franklin made a bad decision in the Penn State/Ohio State game, at least he has plenty of goodwill in the bank because of how he’s turned that programme around. Not so for Bobby Petrino, who made a fairly ridiculous call late on in Louisville’s defeat to Florida State. Up by three with two minutes left and a first down at the FSU 21, all the Cardinals needed to do was run the ball three times, force the ‘Noles to burn their final two time-outs and kick a FG to force Willie Taggart’s men to drive the field with hardly any time left in search of a winning touchdown. But, inexplicably, Petrino called a first down pass play from erratic QB Jawon Pass that was picked off by AJ Westbrook and, five plays later, the ‘Noles won it…

There were big road wins for both Michigan and Texas and neither side – despite opening game defeats – is mathematically out of the playoff race. The bell will toll for Tom Herman’s Longhorns this weekend, however, in the Red River Showdown against unbeaten Oklahoma…

Speaking of the Sooners, QB Kyler Murray is right back in the Heisman hunt after his seven-touchdown performance against Baylor. He could jump to the top of the pile with a monster performance on Saturday…

If it’s arrow up for Murray, it’s definitely arrow down for Mississippi State passer Nick Fitzgerald. Touted as an NFL prospect coming into the season, he’s struggled to pick up an offense that many thought suited him perfectly and, in the home defeat to Dan Mullen’s Florida, there were even calls to replace him with sophomore Keytaon Thompson…

In one of the dumbest head coaching moves of all time, UMass suspended Mark Whipple for a week without pay after he compared his team’s performance in its defeat to Ohio on Saturday to sexual assault. “We had a chance there and they rape us, and he picks up the flag,” Whipple said…

Self-pronounced ‘national champions’ UCF have the longest win streak in college football after they hammered the only Power 5 school on their docket, Pittsburgh, at the weekend. But the weakness of their schedule will undoubtedly see them miss out on a playoff spot, regardless of whether they go unbeaten or not. The Knights case would seem to strengthen calls for an expanded playoff which would allow you to place them in an eight-team format…

A word for UCF QB McKenzie Milton, who really should be seen more on a national stage. He went off against the Panthers to the tune of six touchdowns and 328 yards through the air…

The best performance of the weekend, however, came from Arizona State’s Eno Benjamin, who ran for 312 yards and three touchdowns on 30 carries against Oregon State…

GAME OF THE WEEK
I mentioned it in ‘This and That’, but there’s not much that tops the Red River Rivalry. Although Texas lead the series 61-46-5, it’s Oklahoma that come in as favourites in a game that, should the Longhorns win, would cement their return to the top drawer of college football.

They held the Sooners to their lowest points total of 2017 in this game last year, but the multi-dimension ability of Kyler Murray could be enough to get Oklahoma across the line. The question for Texas is whether they can mirror what Army did two weeks ago and keep Lincoln Riley’s offense off the field for great swathes of time, limiting the big play capabilities of that attack? A defeat for Texas would rule them out of the Big 12 race, especially with unbeaten West Virginia ranked eighth in the polls. However, should Tom Herman’s men overcome then, not only are they back in the race for the conference, they could be in a strong position when it comes to the playoff.

BACK-UP GAME OF THE WEEK
There’s three games featuring match-ups between Top 25 teams this weekend. Intriguing game of the week could be #21 Colorado against Arizona State, whilst #5 LSU against #25 Florida has merit too. But Notre Dame’s final big test of the season, against 24th-ranked Virginia Tech, is a goody too. Expect the Irish to polish off the Hokies.

However, I’m actually going to plump for 13th-ranked Kentucky against Texas A&M as my back-up game. The Aggies have given Clemson a torrid time and were competitive for a while with Alabama. The game could hinge on the play of LB Josh Allen, who’ll be a first round pick next April. The UK senior won his third SEC Defensive Player of the Week award in just five weeks at the weekend, underlining his domination, and his ability to get to the QB against an offensive line that is the worst in the conference could be the difference.

NFL WATCH
Instead of giving you a lot of names, I thought we’d just concentrate on three this week, and they all come in the Red River Showdown. The crucial game within the game will see Oklahoma WR Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown matched up on Texas CB Kris Boyd, with safety help from arguably the player in the Big 12 with the highest ceiling, SS Brandon Jones.

Brown, a former roller-coaster operator during his time in junior college, is the Tyreek Hill of the conference, flashing tremendous deep speed and the ability to separate down the field. His YPC average is a filthy 20.2 and he already has five touchdowns this season. Undersized at 5’10 and 170lbs, he’ll thrive in an NFL offense such as the one Andy Reid runs in Kansas City, Adam Gase runs in Miami or Sean McVay operates in LA. On Saturday, he’ll be matched up with Boyd one-on-one. The Longhorn is long-limbed and sticky in man coverage, and he’s also not afraid to bring the lumber in run support. Offering help over the top will be Jones, who’s a Patrick Chung/Minkah Fitzpatrick type who can line up in the box or play deep centre-fielder, as well as cover in man or zone. His downhill pursuit and open-field tackling are serious plusses. At 6’0 and 205lbs, he’s another top 40-pick should he declare.

HEISMAN FIVE
Want a remarkable stat on Tua Tagovailoa which underlines why a) he should continue to be top of our Heisman pile and b) why he may well miss out, in one easy sitting?

By quarter statistics:
1st: 30-42-596 yards-8TDS
2nd: 24-27-337 yards-4TDS
3RD: 12-19-228 yards-2TDs
4th: 0-0-0 yards-0TDs

The fact he hasn’t played into the fourth quarter yet this season, or shown his mettle when the chips are down, is the only reason why he’s not running away with it.

The big mover this week is Kyler Murray after his remarkable showing against Baylor. Will Grier remains steady with another 370-yard, three-touchdown performance, and there’s a first appearance for Trace McSorley, who was phenomenal in defeat. Justin Herbert is showing week in and week out why he’s increasingly likely to be a top three pick should he declare in April, but he remains the wildcard. The fallers are Darrell Henderson, through no fault of his own, and Dwayne Haskins, who struggled in a statement game for the Buckeyes in a victory that was down as much to Ryan Day’s adjustments and Penn State’s coaching.

1. Tua Tagovailoa – Alabama (1)
2. Kyler Murray – Oklahoma (5)
3. Will Grier – West Virginia (3)
4. Dwayne Haskins – Ohio State (2)
5. Trace McSorley – Penn State (-)

Wildcards: Justin Herbert – Oregon (-), Benny Snell – Kentucky (-)
Dropping out: Darrell Henderson