5 by 5: An Unconventional College Football Review and Outlook in Five Lists

Spartan Football is back in East Lansing, as shown above in the first game this past Friday against Furman.

College Football, a sport with so many dynamics, captured millions of fans each and every Saturday for so many reasons. There is pageantry and tradition unlike any other sport. The rivalries between schools, even more between fans of those schools, span across generations (unless your UCONN/UCF). On game days, hundreds of thousands flock to college towns to not only cheer on their favorite team, but spend hours before (and after depending on the result) tailgating with fellow fans, recalling memories of past games, grilling out and being a part of one big college family. Unlike its professional counterparts, college football has so many hidden treasures, whether it is a quarterback nobody heard of until he carved up your defense for a win (thank you CJ Bacher and Dan LeFevour), or that small school you just beat 28-13 that the average fan cannot locate on a map (hello Furman). In this weekly college football post, I am not going to discuss the mainstream college football news in a similar fashion to major media outlets. Instead I want to focus on a different side of college football, and so I will compile five lists of five each week. These may include smaller conferences or usually unrecognized players amongst others. Some will be mainstays, such as the Group of 5 Top Five or the Turn Your TV to This television guide, but others will change each week. So without further ado, here is a look back at Week 1 and a look ahead to Week 2.


MUST SEE-VIDEOS OF THE WEEK:
1-Nebraska Football suffered through the tragic passing of punter Sam Foltz this offseason. In their season opener, they paid tribute to him during the game in the single greatest way possible. Wow.

2-LSU lost to Wisconsin 16-14 at Lambeau Field. As great as the Lambeau Leap would be, this hit (albeit very dirty and he was rightfully suspended) will be the moment everyone remembers.

3-Western Michigan defeated Northwestern 22-21, though it was not without controversy. What exactly was going through the mind of the Broncos defender? There was no need to do this....

4-Two great field goal/extra point related plays here for Notre Dame and Houston. As we all have learned, especially the past few years, special teams play a huge part in winning ball games. (Respective links on words Notre Dame and Houston)

5-It's not college football related, but Hudsonville High School's JV team had this happen, and I couldn't leave this out.

GROUP OF FIVE TOP FIVE:
1-Houston: The Cougars were the top G5 team a year ago and they won the Peach Bowl over Florida State. This year, Houston is the preseason favorite to earn that spot again as well as potentially reaching the College Football Playoff. In Week 1, the Cougars defeated #3 Oklahoma 33-23, a huge win for the program to prove its legitimacy. I do not expect Houston to be challenged prior to Louisville on November 17, and if there are no more than three undefeated P5 champions, the Cougars can reach the College Football Playoff.

2-Western Michigan: In a wild finish in Evanston, PJ Fleck and the Broncos pulled out a 22-21 victory over Northwestern. The Broncos are the favorites to win the MAC and can contend for the G5 bid as well. Western has another chance to defeat a P5 school in two weeks when they travel to Champaign to take on the Illinois Fighting Illini.

3-San Diego State: The Aztecs are riding the country's second longest winning streak at eleven games, including a 31-0 win over New Hampshire on opening weekend. The Aztecs face Cal this week in their lone battle against a P5 school, and they avoid Boise State in the regular season, so their schedule is very favorable. If Houston loses and the Aztecs take on Boise State in the MWC Title Game, it could have G5 implications.

4-Boise State: Boise State has perhaps the toughest schedule of the five teams in this week's G5 Top Five as they take on two Pac-12 teams (albeit Oregon State and Washington State, two of the weaker teams) along with BYU in the non-conference. The Broncos topped Louisiana-Lafayette 45-10 this weekend, a team that finishes near the top of the Sun Belt each year. With a potential for three big non-conference wins and a matchup against SDSU in the MWC Title Game, you cannot count out the original BCS Busters for this year's G5 spot.

5-Western Kentucky: One of the country's most explosive offenses, the Hilltoppers scored 46 points and racked up 649 yards of total offense in their season-opening win over conference foe Rice. In a weak C-USA, the Hilltoppers are the heavy favorites to win the league, perhaps with an undefeated record. For WKU to earn the G5 berth however, they will have to at least split against Alabama and Vanderbilt, a task easier said than done.

WEEK 2 PREDICTIONS:

Houston over Lamar
Western MI over NC Central
Houston and Western Michigan get easy wins over FCS teams after P5 wins a week ago.

California over San Diego State: The eleven game win streak ends for the Aztecs and Davis Webb and the Cal Bears offense is too much for San Diego State to handle.

Boise State over Washington State: Boise State gets a P5 victory over an awful Washington State team that could not beat Eastern Washington in their season opener. 

Alabama over Western Kentucky: Alabama is the top team in the country yet again, and Western Kentucky should put up some points, but they are simply not as talented as the Crimson Tide.

FIVE FCS UPSETS TO FOLLOW:
Last week, FCS programs went 4-41 against their superior league the FBS. On Friday night, Albany scored the lone touchdown in the fourth quarter to top in-state foe Buffalo 22-16. Richmond traveled to Virginia and dominated the Cavaliers all afternoon in a 37-20 win. Northern Iowa spoiled Matt Campbell's debut at Iowa State with a 25-20 win in Ames on Saturday, and Eastern Washington topped Mike Leach's Washington State Cougars as they won 45-42.

This week, there are 29 matchups between FCS and FBS football programs. The following are the five games that the FCS has a real chance to win this weekend.

1-Portland State at San Jose State: Portland State had two FBS wins a year ago (Washington State and North Texas) and they return their quarterback yet again. San Jose State lost last week to Tulsa 45-10, they are one of the weaker MWC teams.

2-Elon at Charlotte: Charlotte is in their fourth season of football ever. This team is inexperienced and has constantly struggled against everyone so far. Expect Saturday to be no different.

3-NC A&T at Kent State: The reigning Celebration Bowl champion Aggies pose a legitimate threat to Kent State this Saturday in the Golden Flashes' home opener.

4-Eastern Illinois at Miami Ohio: Miami Ohio is slowly rebuilding under coach Chuck Martin, as they increased their win total to three in 2015. Eastern Illinois, the college known for producing Cowboys QB Tony Romo, reached the FCS playoffs a year ago and will give Miami all they can handle.

5-North Dakota at Bowling Green: North Dakota finished 7-4 a year ago, including a win over Wyoming. Bowling Green is coming off a 77-10 blowout loss to Ohio State, and they are still trying to find a solid answer to replace Matt Johnson at quarterback.

HEISMAN HOPEFULS:

First a disclaimer, I believe that the Heisman Trophy has started to lose its luster. It has started to turn into an award given to the best player on the best team, or the player who garners mass media attention for his unconventional play (Johnny Manziel, RG3). I think that it should truly be given to the nation's best player, and last year I feel that Christian McCaffrey and Keenan Reynolds were far more deserving than Derrick Henry. Can you imagine either one of them running behind Alabama's offensive line? Their stats would be so unreal that they would be shoo-in winners. With that being said, here is my top 5 in the Heisman race.

1-Christian McCaffrey (Stanford): McCaffrey should have won the Heisman in 2015, and his explosive play in the Rose Bowl showed East Coast fans his true ability. He had 210 all-purpose yards (126 rushing) and two touchdowns in Friday's win over Kansas State.

2-JT Barrett (Ohio State): Barrett accounted for seven total touchdowns in Saturday's blowout against Bowling Green. He threw for 349 yards and six touchdowns, while adding 30 yards and a touchdown with his legs.

3-Nick Chubb (Georgia): Chubb is a workhorse back, and he led Georgia to victory on Saturday with 222 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 32 carries. After losing most of the 2015 season to injury, Chubb looks healthy and ready to go in 2016.

4-Greg Ward Jr. (Houston): Ward and the Cougars got a huge win over Oklahoma Saturday. He threw for 321 yards and 2 touchdowns, and more importantly, his MRI showed no serious injury.

5-Deondre Francois (Florida State): After the first half, I was thinking Chad Kelly here, but after the second half Francois is the man. 33/52 for 420 and 2 scores with 59 yards rushing in his debut.

TURN YOUR TV TO THIS:
In this segment, it will serve as somewhat of a TV guide, as I will list the two best games and their channel for all of the TV windows (Friday, Saturday Early, Mid-Day, Primetime and Late) this week. These are the games that I believe are the best in terms of competitiveness and entertainment.

Friday: Maryland at Florida International (7:30, CBSSN), Louisville at Syracuse (8:00, ESPN2)
Sat Early: Penn State at Pittsburgh (12:00, ESPN), Cincinnati at Purdue (12:00, ESPN)
Sat Mid: UCONN at Navy (3:30, CBSSN), Middle Tennessee State at Vanderbilt (4:00, SECN)
Sat Prime: Arkansas at TCU (7:00, ESPN), Virginia Tech vs Tennessee (8:00, ABC)
Sat Late: Texas Tech at Arizona State (10:00, FS1), California at San Diego State (10:30, CBSSN)

Being a fan of the full-day of college football watching, I am slightly disappointed in this week as the best games are in the late/West Coast spot. The Mid-Day spot is brutal, so if you have anything to get accomplished on Saturday, do it between 4-7PM. After last week's Mega-Weekend, this week definitely is a let down, especially since Michigan State is off and Michigan hosts lowly UCF.

WEEK 2 PICKS:
Maryland over Florida International: FIU loses for the second straight week at home against B1G.
Louisville over Syracuse: This is the second game because there is only two. Louisville wins big.
Pittsburgh over Penn St: Pat Narduzzi has experience against PSU and their weak offensive line.
Cincinnati over Purdue: This was a 35pt win three years ago, have I mentioned this week stinks?
Navy over UCONN: AAC opener for both teams, I'll take the Midshipmen's triple option by four.
Middle Tennessee over Vandy: Vanderbilt loses one game to a bad team yearly, here it is.
Arkansas over TCU: TCU couldn't stop a parked car right now. Bielema wins the old-SWC battle.
Tennessee over VaTech: This game is at Bristol Motor Speedway, that's why its primetime. Bleh.
Texas Tech over AZ State: Kliff Kingsbury once again has an explosive offense at Tech. Shootout W.
California over SD State: Davis Webb is one of the nation's top passers that nobody talks about.

PARTING WORDS: The SEC has been the cream of the crop in college football over the past decade winning eight of the ten National Championships. Despite Alabama blowing out USC (who I believe was overrated per the norm), I believe that the league as a whole is no longer the best in the country. As you can see in the graphic below, the SEC turned out one of the worst Week 1 records of all conferences in the FBS. While I give them props for playing zero FCS teams, this is taken somewhat lightly because 13 of the 14 schools (good job Missouri) have an FCS team schedule for later on in the season. Not only did they lose six games this week, it was nearly nine as Tennessee escaped in OT against Appalachian State, Arkansas narrowly escaped against Louisiana Tech and Texas A&M needed overtime to top UCLA. Even Florida was up less than a touchdown until the eight minute mark against Massachusetts. Ole Miss had an embarrassing collapse against Florida State on Monday night to add to the league's misery. While the SEC may once again have America's top team, I believe that the league as a whole is down, however their inflated reputation continues to keep their teams ranked higher than they deserve.

The B1G led the country in wins through week one.

Also, I have taken a job covering West Michigan high school football for Michigan Sports Radio, a site that broadcasts select high school football games each week. I still am continuing my writing at isportsMSU as well, though my football work will be lesser than baseball and basketball. Check both of these sites out in addition to this blog, I appreciate the support and feedback.