Instant reaction to Week 5 developments on the field …

1. Pushed to the brink

USC survived. So did BYU. And Notre Dame. And a handful of other zero- and one-loss teams that escaped close calls Saturday and remained on pace for bids to the College Football Playoff.

This is October, after all. It’s no longer early, and the fork in the playoff path is becoming all too apparent.

Teams with fewer than two losses should feel invigorated.

That group includes the Trojans (5-1), who needed a last-gasp defensive stand to hold off Washington.

(That’s right, USC’s defense contributed to the victory.)

It also includes the Cougars (4-0), who wore down TCU in the fourth quarter to remain undefeated with two momentous affairs (Notre Dame and Utah) on the horizon.

Both USC and BYU have some cushion as the midseason turn approaches.

Other teams were not so fortunate.

Washington, which had one eye on the CFP when the season began, lost its second consecutive game and must run the table.

That’s true of Michigan, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Penn State, as well.

All five teams were ranked in the AP preseason poll.

All five have participated in the CFP at some point in the past three seasons.

All five have two losses and zero margin for error.

No team with a 9-3 record has been invited to the CFP, ever. Alabama made it last season at 10-3, with a loss in the SEC championship game. But we can reasonably assume that three regular-season losses would be deeply problematic when the selection committee convenes on the first weekend in December.

It cares a tad too much about losses, in our opinion.

Which means the Huskies and Wolverines, to name two of many, cannot afford a third.

2. Bad math for the CFP

The Hotline views that tension as beneficial to the sport. It’s the fuel that powers a riveting regular season.

If the playoff expands to 24 teams, the weekly do-or-die drama would be greatly diminished. Teams with three losses would qualify for the CFP. Heck, a few teams with four losses might make the field.

Why raise this issue now, at the conclusion of Week 5?

Because the CFP is rapidly approaching an important benchmark in the expansion process. Friday will mark the expiration of an exclusive negotiating window with ESPN for the new inventory (12 games) that would become available if the format expands to 24 teams.

Once Friday arrives, the CFP is expected to take that inventory to the open market and give Fox, NBC, CBS and any other interested media companies the opportunity to bid.

That would be tantamount to an official acknowledgment of expansion even though fans are opposed and the move could severely undermine the cherished regular season.

We prefer the situation as it stands, with two-loss Washington and Michigan on the brink.

3. Bay Area blues

The new chapters at Stanford and Cal look a lot like the previous eras on both campuses.

Actually, check that, they look worse than the previous eras.

Stanford lost at Wake Forest 57-3 on Saturday morning and has been blown out of three conference games already.

At 2-3, the Cardinal stands little chance of becoming bowl-eligible or improving on the four-win season that interim coach Frank Reich generated last year.

Tavita Pritchard inherited a roster with precious little talent, and it shows.

“It’s on me to figure out how we can play better, period, and then how we can play better on the road,” Pritchard told reporters after the wipeout in Winston-Salem.

He has plenty of chances: Stanford visits Notre Dame next week and has three more ACC road games.

The situation is more dire in Berkeley, if only because expectations were high in Year 1 under new coach Tosh Lupoi.

Thus far, the Lupoi era has been an unmitigated bust, with the 39-31 loss at UNLV on Saturday as the latest in a series of woeful performances. (The Bears committed 16 penalties for 147 yards and had two players ejected for targeting. And they lost quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele to a head injury, as well.)

Cal (2-3) has a rugged schedule remaining and a coaching staff that seems to have no answers.

At this rate, the Bears will fall several victories short of the 2025 total produced by Justin Wilcox, who was fired after a 7-5 regular season.

4. Woe is … him

Utah was idle this weekend but nonetheless won big — or should we say, Utah’s fans won big in a Schadenfreude sort of way.

Former coach Kyle Whittingham’s decision to take elite players and key staff members with him to Michigan left many Utah fans angry, frustrated and wishing nothing but ill (professionally) on the man they once revered.

Now, Whittingham would argue that he wanted to remain as coach of the Utes but was nudged aside by the administration, which elevated longtime defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley.

That decision looks more shrewd by the week, by the way.

The Utes are undefeated under Scalley and look like a frontrunner in the Big 12 with an offense that cannot be stopped.

Meanwhile, Michigan needed a miracle to beat Western Michigan, has lost back-to-back games to Iowa and Minnesota and possesses an offense that is easily stopped.

“I’ve been in this profession 40-some years, and this is the biggest challenge I’ve had,” Whittingham told reporters after the 20-14 loss to the Gophers on Saturday afternoon.

The woes in Ann Arbor are being warmly received in Salt Lake City.

5. Heisman race update

The Hotline maintains a working list of Heisman Trophy contenders that is updated each weekend. (Yes, we have a vote.)

Here are the current top five:

1. Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith. The best player in the country, and the best college receiver in decades, is an unstoppable force. In the past two games, against Illinois and Iowa, Smith has 23 catches, for 423 yards and six touchdowns. Astounding.

2. Mississippi QB Trinidad Chambliss. The Rebels were idle this weekend, but Chambliss remains the quarterback we would select to direct a last-minute drive with the game on the line.

3. Miami QB Darian Mensah. Another game, another wipeout — this time, Clemson was the victim — and another ultra-efficient performance by Mensah. He is completing 88.7 percent of his passes with 14 touchdowns and zero interceptions.

4. Alabama QB Keelon Russell. The sensational sophomore appears to be a worthy heir to a quarterback lineage in Tuscaloosa that includes Bryce Young, Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts. He carved up Mississippi State on Saturday with three touchdown passes while completing 73 percent of his throws.

5. Notre Dame QB CJ Carr. Carr made mincemeat of North Carolina’s defense Saturday, completing 21-of-29 passes for four touchdowns. He is somewhat off the Heisman radar while the Irish face low-profile opponents. But if Carr beats Miami in early November, he will be heading to New York City as a finalist.

The post Saturday Night Five: Teams on the brink, two big escapes, much more first appeared on Sports360AZ.



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