Quarterbacks rising and falling, questionable coaching decisions and a tsunami of fans characterise a wild Week Five of college football. Here’s a roundup of the week’s top games:

Florida State 38 @ 46 Virginia 2OT

Cavaliers conquer Seminoles to capture first ranking of season.

Players were immediately engulfed as fans flooded the field at Scott Stadium when Ja’Son Prevard picked off the desperate heave from Florida State QB Thomas Castellanos into the endzone. The defensive play clinched the first win against a top-10 ranked opponent for the Cavaliers since 2005 — when they also defeated the Seminoles.

“That’s what Scott Stadium is supposed to be like. That’s what I envisioned when I decided to take the job here,” Virginia coach Tony Elliott said of the atmosphere following the win. “It felt like a championship kind of game and that’s what we desire to be as a programme. That’s where we want to go.”

Virginia QB Chandler Morris, whose journey had seen him come into his own at North Texas before transferring to the Cavaliers, accounted for five total scores, with two through the air and three using his legs. After running in the touchdown that put the Cavaliers ahead in the second period of overtime, Morris was able to convert the two-point attempt to put them up by eight.

The Seminoles almost managed to pull themselves level when Castellanos found Duce Robinson in the endzone but his bobbled catch was (controversially from some points of view) ruled incomplete. This was followed by the aforementioned desperate attempt to save the game on fourth and twelve that was intercepted by Prevard and opened the floodgate of fans.

After their surprisingly strong start to the season, which had included a convincing win over Alabama, Florida State coach Mike Norvell was left disappointed by the turn of fortune.

“They started fast, took advantage of some of the mistakes we had early,” he said of the opposition. “We did not get off to the start that we needed to have — but I was pleased with the way our guys responded.”

Norvell’s players will need to respond positively to the defeat as they head into their toughest test of the season when they face a soaring Miami next week.

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LSU 19 @ 24 Ole Miss

Chambliss rises as Nussmeier’s inconsistency continues.

The red and black flags of Trinidad and Tobago have now become a common sight in Oxford, Mississippi, as Ole Miss fans employ the livery to display their love of the country’s namesake, quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, whose journey has been quite remarkable as he has taken the reins after stepping in for injured starter Austin Simmons.

As Chambliss outperformed LSU QB and preseason Heisman favourite Garrett Nussmeier at the weekend, Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin was ecstatic

“It’s just a really cool story,” he said. “A little short kid from Division II going against Nussmeier and the mighty Tigers of LSU… It was awesome.”

Kiffin showed that he trusted his young QB with the game on the line, even after he made the error of running out of bounds on third down when the Rebels were trying to bleed the clock and remove any opportunity for a Tigers comeback. Instead of punting, however, Kiffin relied on his guy to get the game-winning first down, and Chambliss repaid that trust with a completion past the sticks to tight end Dae’Quan Wright.

“That’s just how we play,” a belligerent Kiffin said after the game. “I’m saying that arrogantly. The book would tell you that too. Analytics… sometimes it works.”

Despite being undefeated coming into this game, LSU’s offense has looked disjointed throughout and Nussmeier has looked a shadow of the quarterback he was last season.

“Look, Garrett Nussmeier has got to play better,” Tigers coach Brian Kelly confirmed. “Every player on offense has got to play better… and then we have to be more consistent on defense.”

Nussmeier also acknowledged the need to improve.

“Obviously, I’m frustrated about the loss, but we’re going to get back, watch the tape and find ways to get better,” he said.

LSU will need to get better pretty quickly if they are to keep pace in a competitive SEC, with an upcoming gauntlet that includes Vanderbilt, Texas A&M and Alabama.

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USC 32 @ 34 Illinois

Fighting Illini bounce back from blowout loss with close victory over Trojans.

“I turned around and looked at Luke before our final drive. He gave me a head nod. That’s all I needed to see,” Illinois coach Bret Bielema said when discussing his confidence in quarterback Luke Altmeyer to drive his team down the field after USC took the lead with just under two minutes left to play.

Altmeyer had looked composed and confident throughout the game and did what he needed to put junior kicker David Olano in position for the 41-yard winner.

“It was a dream come true, but it was just another kick, something we work on all the time,” Olano said after the game. “I know I kicked the winning field goal, but it’s the guys in the locker room who really won the game.”

The win was achieved in the face of another impressive showing from USC quarterback Jayden Maiava, who accounted for 364 yards and two touchdowns — but also his first interception of the season. Makai Lemon has emerged as one of the top receivers in college football right now, with 151 yards and two scores, whilst breakout running back Waymond Jordan’s 94 yards and two touchdowns highlighted the Trojans’ much-improved run game. However, it was not enough this time.

“We showed a lot of fight coming back to take the lead, but the reality is we squandered too many opportunities on both sides of the ball,” USC coach Lincoln Riley said after the game.

Whilst there were errors early in the game, a significant proportion of the blame for the loss was placed on Riley’s playcalling late on, notably when he dialled up a scoring pass when it may have been more pertinent to have called at least a couple of runs to reduce Illinois’ opportunity to get in range for the game-winning kick. Riley’s struggles against ranked opponents continue as he falls to 4-11 against teams in the Top 25.

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Oregon 30 @ 24 Penn State 2OT

Ducks notch 23rd consecutive regular season victory as Allar’s error sinks Nittany Lions.

Ducks quarterback Dante Moore was visibly emotional on the field after leading Oregon to what was the biggest win of his career since transferring from UCLA.

Whilst Moore and the offense drove the Ducks to victory in the second half, however, the fans that created the hostile environment of Beaver Stadium’s infamous ‘whiteout’ were witness to a defensive battle that saw the first half end tied at 3-3.

The Ducks jumped out to a 14-point lead in the second half, but progress was curtailed by consecutive Drew Allar touchdown passes to Devonte Ross that levelled the score and forced overtime. After trading touchdowns again in the first OT period, Oregon found the endzone to re-establish their lead and, this time, an Allar error ended the game as Dillon Thieneman intercepted his pass.

“We just talked all week about it’s about getting a cut — it’s death by 1,000 cuts,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said when discussing the final play of the game. “Eventually, that cut was going to be a jugular and that last interception was a jugular.”

Lanning followed up with praise for his team: “It’s as proud as I’ve been of our team playing well on both sides of the ball,” he noted. “The score maybe didn’t indicate that in the first half with our offense, but defense played really well in the first and, second half, offense really picked it up.”

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Alabama 24 @ 21 Georgia

Bulldogs’ home win streak broken at 33 as resurgent Alabama find form after early season wobble.

Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer recognises the progress his team is making after the opening game defeat to FSU that reinforced feelings of doubt around his leadership.

“It’s another step in the right direction,” DeBoer said. “They’re already talking, you know, that they’re not done with their improvement, and we’ve been really focusing on that, not getting caught up in anything else other than what we could control. And I’m super proud of them for that.”

And control the game they did, after taking a first quarter lead through Ty Simpson’s pass to Germie Bernard and not relinquishing it for the rest of the game. The Crimson Tide’s final touchdown was set up with an unconventional pass play to 366-pound tackle Kadyn Procter who ran for a first down before being pushed out of bounds just short of the goal line.

Alabama’s defense was able to force a punt on Georgia’s final possession before Simpson and the offense demonstrated poise and control as they kept possession of the ball for the final three minutes.

“I’m just so proud of the team and Alabama in general,” an effusive Simpson claimed. “I told them before the game, ‘It’s Alabama against the world’.”

By contrast, Georgia coach Kirby Smart may feel that he has the weight of the world on his shoulders as the Bulldogs continue to struggle.

“We did not play well on third down, and it pretty much showed all night,” Smart said, as the Bulldogs slide down the rankings as they enter their bye.

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AP Poll Top 25 (entering week six):

1. Ohio State

2. Oregon

3. Miami

4. Ole Miss

5. Oklahoma

6. Texas A&M

7. Penn State

8. Indiana

9. Texas

10. Alabama

11. Texas Tech

12. Georgia

13. LSU

14. Iowa State

15. Tennessee

16. Vanderbilt

17. Georgia Tech

18. Florida State

19. Missouri

20. Michigan

21. Notre Dame

22. Illinois

23. BYU

24. Virgina

25. Arizona State