What We Learned, Week 5
Oh my goodness. Things are starting to get interesting.Lets remember that the first set of College Football Playoff rankings wont be released until Tuesday, Nov. 1 Until then, none of the current rankings really matter.But were still going to talk about them. Why? Because it fun.After the first week in October, its pretty clear that the selection committee will have a lot to ponder when they convene in Grapevine, Tex., at the end of the month.Here are just five things we learnedand the selection committee learned--on Week 5 of the college football season.1Alabama can beat Texas AM without Bryce Young. Tennessee on Oct. 15 could be another matter.Alabama was most impressive on the road at Arkansas because of what the Crimson Tide overcame. They lost their quarterback, Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young, to an injury. Arkansas reeled of 23 straight points and closed within five, 28-23, in the third quarter.But Alabama went to backup quarterback Jalen Milroe who, looking like Jalen Hurts 2.0 Jaylen McCollough Jersey, led the Crimson Tide to a 49-26 win over Arkansas.Young was diagnosed with a sprained shoulder and it is not known if hell play Saturday against Texas AM.It wont matter. Alabama will win comfortably on Saturday if Milroe is the quarterback. But on the third Saturday in October Alabama goes to Tennessee, which leads the conference with 48.5 points per game. And the Volunteers are starting to play better on defense.Heres the thing: Young is the guy who lifts Alabama from very good to great. Alabama wont need great this Saturday. But it will need great before this season is over.2Georgia deserved to be dropped from No. 1 to No. 2 after almost losing at Missouri:The Bulldogs have not looked like the No. 1 team in the nation in its last two games against Kent Stateand Missouri. Georgia, a 28-point favorite, saw its offensive line manhandled by Missouri and Larry Johnson III Jersey, as a result, quarterback Stetson Bennett took a beating in the first half. But, to Georgias credit the Bulldogs took control of the line of scrimmage in the second half with a 23-6 scoring run. Georgias superior depth wore Missouri down. Georgia outgained Missouri 299-100 in the second half. Bennett had 312 yards passing.If youre a Georgia fan it was both an ugly and beautiful thing to watch.They played really physical and really hard and whipped us up front, but Im really proud of us, Coach Kirby Smart said. We always talk about rising to the competitive nature of the opportunity and we did that tonight.As a coach once told me: If youre playing an SEC road game, take a one-point win, get on the bus and go home.