College Football Week 5 Reaction Show Recap
The College Football Experience on the Sports Gambling Podcast Network continues its college football Week 5 reaction show with Pick Dundee, Ryan McIntyre and Troy Chewning going through every big result from Friday night through the late Saturday window.
Is the Chip Kelly offense at Northwestern the most fun thing in the sport after 415 rushing yards against Penn State? How on earth did Mississippi Valley State beat Prairie View? C.J. West Virginia stop anybody after Iowa State hung 45 on them? Is it time for Colorado to move on from Deion Sanders after a 29-7 loss to Texas Tech? And how did San Diego State beat Texas State while getting outgained 565 to 239? We talk it all and more on this episode of The College Football Experience.
The College Football Week 5 Reaction Starts On Friday Night
Friday night set the tone, and it was rough on the betting card early. Western Kentucky got drilled by three touchdowns in Las Cruces despite a yardage edge. So the Hilltoppers fall to 1-4, and a bowl trip is now a real question. Then North Texas and Tulsa produced what might be the worst call of the season. A deflected pass was ruled a catch with the receiver well out of bounds, and replay upheld it. The game then ended on a two-point try for the win. But no camera was lined up on the goal line, so nobody could overturn the call. That one also cost a small Tulsa ticket on the show.
Pitt and Virginia Tech delivered the best atmosphere of the week in Blacksburg. Pitt won the clash of 4-0 teams, but Mason Heintschel is now out for the season. The final kick was a coin flip on replay, and the guys split on it. Also, lining up a right-footed kicker on the right hash drew plenty of criticism. And college rules demand the kick be definitively good, unlike the NFL. Then Liberty took over in the trenches after Minucci never played. That made the line dropping to 6.5 even stranger. Cam Davis ran 17 times for 147 yards and two touchdowns. So the Liberty futures stay alive, with roughly $5,000 tied up in win total and conference tickets.
Northwestern then ran Penn State off the field with 415 rushing yards. Chip Kelly’s offense mixed Wing T and flexbone looks with a little spread, and Penn State had no answers. The guys are buying stock, because Ball State and Michigan State come next before Rutgers. Penn State, meanwhile, sits at 3-2, and Temple is its best win. So the panel argued Iowa State’s resume is better right now. Even so, nobody expects Matt Campbell to miss a bowl. Northwestern was also the only weekday winner on the host’s card. Then Idaho, 0-4 coming in, upset Montana State after a baffling Bobcats timeout with one second left.
Hot Seats, A Charlotte Collapse And A Shootout In Ames
Saturday opened with Memphis beating Charlotte 59-8, and the hot seat talk started right there. The 49ers lost by 51 at home, so Tim Albin’s seat is heating up fast. One of the guys called it an eight or a nine if the contract is only $2.5 million total. Then Syracuse beat UConn in overtime in the wildest finish of the early window. They converted a fourth and 20 for a touchdown and then won it on a two-point try. That was the worst beat of the day for the host, who was laying six. Also, former Kennesaw quarterback Amari Odom threw for 335 yards and five touchdowns. But the panel came away unsure it learned anything about either team.
Iowa State beat West Virginia 45-42, and one of the guys drove about 13 hours each way to watch it. The Mountaineers defense gave him nothing for the trip. Iowa State ran for 265 and threw for 312, almost 600 yards from a bottom-20 passing offense. A walk-on ran for 200-plus yards and then threw two touchdowns on trick plays. The offense is real, because Michael Hawkins and Cam Cook can carry a team. But the host already tweeted that West Virginia has the worst defense in the Power Five. So the Big 12 ticket on the Mountaineers looks shaky, with Arizona and Fifita up next. Firing Rich Rod in year two is still a non-starter, though.
Houston survived UCF, and the final margin hides how close it was. UCF led for most of the game, so the first-half moneyline cashed along with the 11.5 or 12.5. But a defensive lineman’s interception swung it, and Willie Fritz is now 4-1 heading to Kansas State. Then Kansas covered and went over against Middle Tennessee, a top-five play on the Vosin show. It never got locked on the picks page, though, so the host spent a few minutes defending the record. Also on that slide, Derek Mason’s seat was rated an eight before the season even started.
Alabama Rolls And Minnesota Finally Gets Michigan
Alabama covered the 6.5 in Starkville and looked like a title team doing it. Kamario Taylor opened with a fumble and a pick six, but the Tide would have covered anyway. Russell, meanwhile, finally looked comfortable on the road, and Georgia is next. Then Wake Forest buried Stanford 57-3, and a Miami rematch down the road suddenly looks realistic. Navy plus 3.5 was the painful one. Air Force outgained Navy by only 17 yards, and Navy was the only team to turn it over. So a missed short field goal sealed it, and the handicap was right while the ticket lost.
Minnesota beat Michigan 20-14, and that cashed both the points and the moneyline. It nearly slipped away on a pick six thrown toward the back in the flat. Even worse, the Minnesota quarterback steered himself out of bounds instead of slowing the return. And Minnesota still earned its first home win over Michigan since the 1970s. Michigan, meanwhile, has one rush over 20 yards all season, which nobody saw coming. So the Wolverines sit at 3-2, and one of the guys projects a 6-6 finish. Minnesota heads to Purdue next, and the host thinks Purdue is the bet.
Laying 20.5 with SMU against Boston College was a bad bet, and the weather made it worse. BC outgained SMU by over 100 yards, which tells you plenty. Notre Dame then beat North Carolina by 11 and covered, though the Irish coasted for stretches. Wisconsin also crushed Michigan State 31-3, holding the Spartans to 108 passing yards and 230 total. So Fickell looks safe, and the schedule softens after UCLA, USC and Iowa. One of the guys sees eight wins for the Badgers. Georgia backers lost on the hook, too, because Vanderbilt plus 24.5 cashed.
MAC Chaos, Mizzou’s Statement And Easy Group Of 5 Cash
The MAC got weird in a hurry. Western Michigan escaped Buffalo 20-17, and the Bulls probably deserved better. Their quarterback hesitated on a fourth-and-goal option keeper, and the upset chance was gone. Ball State, meanwhile, covered a number that closed at 20.5 even after Toledo scored 17 in the fourth. Toledo is still the MAC favorite here, and the guys hold a preseason ticket somewhere around 5-1 to 7-1. Also, Central Michigan blew out Akron, so the plus 7 never had a chance. Then Ohio pushed at 3, and Georgia State rolled 42-10 while nobody nationally talks about the Panthers.
Missouri hammered Florida 45-17 without several starters, and the host walked back some earlier criticism. Austin Simmons threw for 340 yards, and a Tigers back ran for 211 more. So Mizzou piled up almost 600 yards, and that score could become a playoff tiebreaker later. Then Ohio State controlled Iowa in Iowa City for its first truly solid win in over a year. Iowa ran for only 39 yards, and the 14.5 ticket on the show lost. Jeremiah Smith looked unguardable, especially after two Iowa defensive backs went down. But the guys still see Iowa as a factor, starting at Washington on Friday.
Plenty of cash came easily elsewhere. UNLV drilled a Cal team that looks broken under Tosh Lupoi. Samford’s first-half moneyline, given out on the show, cashed before UAB woke up. Florida State then routed Virginia 38-7 after the Cavaliers took a 7-0 lead. And Bowling Green beat Miami (Ohio) outright, which the host called probably the best play of the week. North Dakota State shut out Wyoming, so Jay Sawvel has to be gone. Then Tennessee won the lock battle 24-14 over Auburn after trailing 7-3 at halftime. Bishop carried 34 times for 220 yards and three touchdowns.
Not every ticket landed, though. Eastern Michigan beat UMass, so Chris Creighton is 2-0 in MAC play with Akron next. JMU also rolled Marshall after leading 38-14 at halftime. The host is done fading the Dukes after losing roughly $500 on them this season. Nebraska covered 14.5 by beating Maryland by 25, but the panel isn’t buying the Huskers yet. Their first opponent with a pulse doesn’t arrive until October 10. Then came the worst pick of the season, UTEP plus 23.5 against New Mexico. The Lobos won 61-7, and the guys think the UTEP job has to open.
Saturday Night Brings Colorado Questions And A Temple Moneyline
Kentucky erased a 17-0 deficit to beat South Carolina 35-34, which sank a contest play. Colorado State defensive coordinator Tyson Summers also left the field after losing play-calling duties. He’s no longer with the program, and Oregon State then put up 56 on the Rams. Atkinson went 31 of 34 with five touchdowns. Meanwhile, the Western Carolina over hit by the hook. The FAU over at 62.5 cashed too, because FAU scored 66 by itself. Texas A&M also covered 13.5 easily, beating Arkansas 34-7. But BYU managed just 216 yards against TCU, so the panel is watching for a slip.
Texas Tech beat Colorado 29-7, and the score badly hides a strong Buffaloes defense. Colorado led 7-3 until about three minutes remained in the third quarter. Then Boo Carter let a punt roll to the 1, and a pick six in the end zone followed. Colorado’s offense has scored 14, 7, 13 and 7 against its four FBS opponents. So the host is done defending Deion Sanders, mostly because of the special teams. Jason Eck started his coaching career at Colorado, and Fernando Lovo hired him at New Mexico. A 4-8 finish would mean records of 4-8, 9-4, 3-9 and 4-8 over four years. And Utah and Oklahoma State are up next.
USC escaped Washington 25-21, and the USC backers on the show still lost. Utah State, meanwhile, covered by half a point against Boise State. Then Temple, the number one play, beat South Florida 17-13 on the moneyline. A fumble into the end zone nearly ruined it while the game sat 10-10 in the fourth. Clemson plus 16.5 lost to Miami, but the McNeese over cashed against LSU. Baylor also buried Arizona State 55-19, and DJ Lagway ran for four touchdowns. San Diego State then beat Texas State despite getting outgained 565 to 239. The Aztecs went 1 of 11 on third and fourth down and still came back from 17-3. Arizona’s 34-7 lock cashed, but Hawaii and the over both lost to close the night.
Game Balls For Northwestern, Mississippi Valley State And Yale
Game balls went first to Northwestern and Chip Kelly’s throwback offense. Minnesota earned one because PJ Fleck dodged the usual letdown spot. Kentucky got one too, since Will Stein is 2-0 on the road to open his SEC career. LSU visits Kentucky this week, so that game matters. Russell earned one for completing 75 percent of his passes with three touchdowns at Mississippi State. Baylor and Missouri followed, and Idaho grabbed one for the Montana State upset. Then Oregon State’s Atkinson and Georgia State each picked up an honorable mention.
The best two came last. Mississippi Valley State, Jerry Rice’s alma mater, beat a Prairie View team that went 10-4 last year. The Delta Devils had lost by 15 to Delta State, a non-FCS school, earlier this season. So the host called it the most shocking result of the season. Then Yale quarterback Dante Reno played after his father, former Yale coach Tony Reno, died at 52. He threw for 298 yards and four touchdowns, and Yale stormed back to win by double digits. The guys sent their condolences to the Reno family.
Watch: The Downfall of Boston Sports
Podcast Chapters
00:00 Download the SGPN App Today!
01:12 Welcome to the Land Down Under
07:12 Western Kentucky Gets Drilled
10:16 North Texas, Tulsa & the Missed Review
15:37 Pitt, Virginia Tech & the Final Kick
20:23 Liberty and Cam Davis
21:46 Northwestern Wing T and Penn State Trouble
30:39 Idaho Upsets Montana State
37:36 Memphis 59, Charlotte 8
41:15 Syracuse Beats UConn in Overtime
45:28 Iowa State 45, West Virginia 42
58:02 Houston Survives UCF
1:01:24 Picks Page Lock Debate & Kansas Over
1:03:44 Alabama vs. Mississippi State Reaction
1:06:31 Stanford vs. Wake Forest Reaction
1:08:24 Navy vs. Air Force Reaction
1:10:33 Michigan vs. Minnesota Reaction
1:20:31 SMU vs. BC Reaction
1:21:43 Notre Dame vs. North Carolina Reaction
1:25:28 Michigan State vs. Wisconsin Reaction
1:28:11 Vandy vs. Georgia Reaction
1:30:06 Western Michigan, Buffalo, Toledo & Ball State
1:34:42 Missouri Florida Beat Down
1:37:17 Central Michigan, Akron, Ohio & Georgia State
1:39:01 Ohio State & Iowa
1:43:27 Cal, UNLV & Samford
1:45:04 Virginia & Florida State
1:47:47 Louisville, Bowling Green & Miami Ohio
1:50:58 Wyoming & North Dakota State
1:52:05 Tennessee Lock Battle Win Over Auburn
1:56:54 Eastern Michigan & Chris Creighton
1:58:07 Marshall & JMU
2:00:10 Nebraska, Maryland and Locksley
2:07:43 UTEP, New Mexico, Purdue and Illinois
2:11:56 Kentucky, South Carolina and Tyson Summers Quitting
2:18:02 Western Carolina Over and Arkansas
2:22:18 BYU, TCU and Georgia Southern
2:24:27 Texas Tech, Colorado and Deion Sanders
2:36:18 Temple Money Line, Clemson & Late Night
2:44:44 San Diego State Mumps & Texas State
2:50:24 Game Balls
2:58:10 Sign-Off & Socials
