Week 5 was circled before the season as one with massive postseason implications and boy, college football sure delivered. Notre Dame fans had the luxury of settling in and relaxing after the Fighting Irish smoked Arkansas, and though there is plenty of work left to do for Marcus Freeman and team, if you squint you can start to see the faint outline of a playoff bid on the horizon – though it sure would help if the back-end of the schedule racked up a few more victories.
When the dust settled on Week 5, four teams in the Top 10 had fallen, James Franklin and Penn State still can’t win a big game (and were lucky to even be in overtime in a game Oregon controlled for the first 55 minutes), Lincoln Riley and USC fell to 1-4 in Big Ten road games outside of the Pacific Time Zone, and Google searches for “Brian Kelly buyout” likely spiked 500% in the Baton Rouge area around 6 PM local time.
Notre Dame Opponent Overall Record: 34-19
Let’s take a look at the Week 5 action for Notre Dame opponents.
MIAMI HURRICANES
Record: 4-0
Week 5 Result: Bye
Recap: On a crazy weekend, sometimes it’s best to just not be playing. The Hurricanes had a well-deserved bye this weekend and travel to Tallahassee to take on a desperate Florida State team next Saturday night.
TEXAS A&M AGGIES
Record: 4-0
Week 5 Result: Won 16-10 vs. Auburn
Recap: On an afternoon where Marcel Reed struggled, the Aggies leaned on their defense and running game to grind away a win against Auburn. RB LeVeon Moss rushed for 139 yards and a touchdown and the Texas A&M defense which had struggled mightily against Notre Dame held Auburn to just 177 total yards and an 0-15 mark on third and fourth down. With all the chaos in front of them, Texas A&M should continue to rise up the rankings and will look to continue improving with a winnable stretch in front of them – Mississippi State, Florida, and then a road trip to Arkansas.
PURDUE BOILERMAKERS
Record: 2-2
Week 5 Result: Bye
Recap: Purdue was off in Week 5 after the loss to Notre Dame and returns to action on Saturday against an enigmatic Illinois team coming off an emotional win.
BOISE STATE BRONCOS
Record: 3-1
Week 5 Result: Won 47-14 vs. Appalachian State
Recap: The Broncos have averaged 49 PPG since the season-opening loss to South Florida and raced past Appalachian State 47-14 on Saturday. QB Maddux Madsen threw for 321 yards and 4 touchdowns and the defense returned 2 interceptions for scores. During the 3-game winning streak, Boise State has shown explosiveness from both the passing and running games and the Broncos may look to turn Saturday’s trip to South Bend into a track meet. A key for the offense will be cleaning up the negative yardage plays, as despite strong offensive numbers, Boise State surrendered 2 sacks and 9 tackles for loss.
NC STATE WOLFPACK
Record: 3-2
Week 5 Result: Lost 23-21 vs. Virginia Tech
Recap: NC State suffered a second straight disappointing loss, at home to a Virginia Tech team that fired its head coach just 2 weeks ago. The Wolfpack struggled to sustain drives, finishing a combined 7-17 on third and fourth down and managed just 302 total yards. A big reason was the lack of a running game, as NC State managed just 62 rushing yards on 31 carries. Despite the struggles, NC State still led 21-20 after a Jayden Scott touchdown run with 10:58 left in the fourth quarter, but in what has become a theme of this season, the defense could not hold, and a 49-yard field goal from Hokie kicker John Love with 6:31 left provided the winning margin.
SOUTHERN CAL TROJANS
Record: 4-1
Week 5 Result: Lost 34-32 at #23 Illinois
Recap: The Trojans trailed 31-17 after a Luke Altmyer touchdown pass with 14:34 left in the third quarter, but Jayden Maiava found Makai Lemon for touchdown passes on back-to-back drives, with the latter pushing the Trojans into a 32-31 lead with just 1:55 left (USC had went for 2 after the first touchdown). However, the Trojan defense allowed Illinois to drive 51 yards in 8 plays and David Olano drilled a 41-yard field goal as time expired to send USC to its first loss of the season. The fourth quarter surge masked the fact that the Trojans were outplayed the entire game and had Illinois not fumbled twice on the goal line, this one would not have been close. Perhaps instead of whining about the early start times that come with playing in a Midwestern conference, Lincoln Riley should have taken more time to ensure his team was ready to play from the first snap.
BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES
Record: 1-3
Week 5 Result: Lost 28-24 vs. Cal
Recap: Things are going south in a hurry for Bill O’Brien in Chestnut Hill after the Eagles lost to a Cal team traveling over 3000 miles for the game. Boston College jumped out to an early 14-0 lead and led 17-14 at the half. However, Dylan Lonergan threw an interception at the Boston College 2-yard line in the third quarter which Cal punched in the next play for a 21-17 lead. The Eagles responded on the ensuing drive with a 71-yard touchdown run from Turbo Richard to take the lead back, but Cal put the game away with an 11-play, 88-yard touchdown drive capped off by a 51-yard pass to Mason Mini from QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele. The season could continue to spiral for Boston College with Pitt, Clemson, Louisville, Notre Dame, SMU, and Georgia Tech still on the schedule.
NAVY MIDSHIPMEN
Record: 4-0
Week 5 Result: Won 21-13 vs. Rice
Recap: Navy avenged last season’s surprising loss to Rice with a closer-than-expected 21-13 win over the Owls in Annapolis. QB Blake Horvath threw for 172 yards, ran for 110 yards, and accounted for 2 touchdowns to pace the Midshipmen, while FB Alex Tecza also chipped in 104 rushing yards. Navy outgained Rice by 221 yards but committed an uncharacteristic 10 penalties to allow the Owls to keep this one close. The Midshipmen host rival Air Force next weekend as they look to maintain hold of the Commander-in-Chief Trophy.
PITTSBURGH PANTHERS
Record: 2-2
Week 5 Result: Lost 34-27 vs. Louisville
Recap: Pittsburgh jumped out to a 17-0 first quarter lead, but a bizarre sequence in which Pittsburgh defenders almost got in a fight with a Louisville ball boy after a pick-six and threw a Louisville football into the crowd seemed to wake up the Cardinals. Louisville cut the deficit to 27-17 by halftime and shut out the Panthers in the second half with Miller Moss’s touchdown pass to Nate Kurisky with 7:03 left in the fourth quarter keeping the Cardinals undefeated. With the loss, Pitt falls to 2-2 with both defeats coming in games the Panthers held a fourth quarter lead. Next weekend offers a chance to get right against Boston College before a road trip to Tallahassee to face Florida State.
SYRACUSE ORANGE
Record: 3-2
Week 5 Result: Lost 38-3 vs. Duke
Recap: A week after losing starting QB Steve Angeli for the season to a torn Achilles, Syracuse was lifeless on offense in a 38-3 home loss to Duke. Backup QB Rickie Collins was serviceable, throwing for 229 yards and completing 65% of his passes, but Syracuse managed just 3.1 YPC and went a combined 6-17 on third and fourth down. The Orange defense did the offense no favors either, giving up 504 yards, including 236 yards on the ground. One week after beating Clemson on the road, Syracuse now looks in danger of missing a bowl game with road trips to SMU, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, and Miami still ahead.
STANFORD CARDINAL
Record: 2-3
Week 5 Result: Won 30-29 vs. San Jose State
Recap: The Cardinal trailed 26-14 early in the fourth quarter but QB Ben Gulbranson led 3 straight fourth quarter scoring drives to pull this one out, with former Notre Dame commit Sedrick Irvin’s 1-yard touchdown run with 19 seconds remaining giving the Cardinal the comeback victory. Gulbranson threw for 444 yards and 2 touchdowns to keep alive the Stanford offense which managed just 37 rushing yards on 26 carries against the Spartans. Stanford may not be talented, but Frank Reich’s team plays hard and is still undefeated at home, giving the Cardinal a chance to steal another game or two down the stretch, perhaps in home games against Pitt or Cal.
Story written by Andrew McDonough.
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