Another week of college football is in the books. Week 5 had its share of stories, such as the Colorado Buffaloes pushing the USC Trojans to the limit, the Georgia Bulldogs avoiding an upset against the Auburn Tigers, the Kentucky Wildcats beating the No. 22 Florida Gators, and more. Every week is eventful.
As the season progresses, the talk of the College Football Playoff not only intensifies but so do the debates as to which player should win the Heisman Trophy. Caleb Williams won the award last year and is looking to be the first player to do so since Archie Griffin back in 1975 and 1976. But did quarterbacks like Michael Penix Jr. of Washington and Bo Nix of Oregon lessen the gap?
Let's take a look at the Heisman Trophy power rankings after Week 5.
Heisman Trophy Power Rankings 2023, Week 5 edition
The Florida State Seminoles were able to fend off the Clemson Tigers in overtime last week to keep their undefeated season intact. But, the team did fall outside of the College Football Playoff field, landing the No. 5 spot. Despite that, the Seminoles are still a top team in the nation.
Quarterback Jordan Travis has played a role in Florida State's success this season. In four games, Travis completed 61.2 percent of his passes for 1,028 yards and 10 touchdowns, while throwing one interception. Travis also ran for 94 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries.
Travis and Florida State return from their bye week and take on the Virginia Tech Hokies.
When it comes to LSU vs. Ole Miss games, they are always must-see television. The 2023 edition of the matchup certainly provided the entertainment value, as it was a back-and-forth, high-scoring affair between both teams.
LSU Tigers quarterback Jayden Daniels was electric on Saturday evening at Oxford. The dual-threat quarterback threw for 414 yards and four touchdowns while completing 27-of-36 pass attempts, and picked up 99 rushing yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. He did, however, lose a fumble in the first quarter on a vicious hit that sent him flying.
Even with those strong numbers, the Tigers defense couldn't help him out. Ole Miss was able to pick up the 55-49 victory on a 13-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jaxson Dart to wide receiver Trey Harris with just 39 seconds remaining in regulation.
Now, LSU is 3-2 on the season. Sure, the win-loss record will stick out, but let's not forget that Lamar Jackson won the Heisman in 2016 after Louisville picked up three losses in the regular season. So, we can't throw Daniels off the power rankings list entirely.
The Michigan Wolverines are not surrendering a spot in the Top 4 of the AP Top 25 so easily. Yes, their schedule has been far from tough, but they are winning them. The same can be said for quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who hasn't necessarily had to put the team on his back to lead the team to wins. Even so, he's still putting up some pretty good numbers this year.
In Week 6, McCarthy took on a 2-2 Nebraska Cornhuskers team coming off of two convincing wins over Northern Illinois and Louisiana Tech. Well, Nebraska and head coach Matt Rhule didn't stand a chance on Saturday afternoon, as Michigan rolled to a 45-7 victory. In fact, most Wolverines starters were pulled from the game early since the win was a a certainty.
McCarthy threw 16 passes in total, completing 12 of them for 156 yards and two touchdowns. Both of those touchdown passes went to wide receiver Roman Wilson, including one in the back of the end zone to increase Michigan's lead to 28-0.
McCarthy also picked up a touchdown on the ground, a 21-yarder.
Next up for Michigan and McCarthy? On the road against Minnesota in Week 6.
Last week, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish suffered a heartbreaking, gut-wrenching, last-second loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes. Making matters worse, the Notre Dame defense was short one player on the final play, leading to Ohio State's walk-off touchdown. The schedule wasn't getting easier for the Fighting Irish, as they had to face No. 17 Duke in Week 6.
Sam Hartman played a significant role in Notre Dame picking up a last-second victory.
While Hartman's day passing was far from perfect, as he completed just 50 percent of his passes (15-of-30), he did have a clutch play that set up their 21-14 victory. With 51 seconds on the clock trailing 14-13, Hartman faced a fourth-and-16 situation, and picked up a huge 17-yard gain to keep Notre Dame's hopes alive. He didn't slide for the first down. He dove right into multiple defenders to ensure he got the extra yardage to confirm it.
Two plays later, running back Audric Estime scored the game-winning touchdown on a 30-yard dash to the end zone.
Hartman threw for 222 yards, zero touchdowns, and zero interceptions, while picking up 23 yards on six carries.
Next week, Hartman will look to keep Notre Dame's momentum alive when they take on the undefeated Louisville Cardinals.
The Texas Longhorns continued their undefeated season on Saturday and will likely retain their spot in the Top 4. That is thanks to the performance of quarterback Quinn Ewers on Saturday, as the Longhorns hosted the No. 24 Kansas Jayhawks.
Ewers was effective through the air and on the run against Kansas. The sophomore quarterback completed 25 passes for 325 yards and one touchdown while throwing one interception on 35 attempts. On the ground, Ewers scored not one, but two rushing touchdowns, one of which being a 30-yarder up the middle of the field on the opening drive of the game.
Ewers has the opportunity to show up against another big opponent. For Texas, they go to Dallas to face their hated rivals, the Oklahoma Sooners, in the Red River Showdown.
Drake Maye and the North Carolina Tar Heels did not play in Week 5, as they were on their designated bye. Even so, Maye is still easily a Top 10 contender for the Heisman Trophy this season. Sure, he's not lighting up the league like many had expected, given that he could be a Top 5 NFL Draft pick next April, but he's still making some incredible throws to help lead the Tar Heels to a 4-0 record to start the year.
This season, Maye threw for 1,187 yards, five touchdowns and four interceptions while completing 72.7-percent of his passes. Additionally, Maye ran for 119 yards and three touchdowns on 38 carries.
Next week, Maye and the Tar Heels take on the Syracuse Orange.
One week ago, the Colorado Buffaloes had a rough outing against the Oregon Ducks. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders was unable to do much, given the ineffectiveness of the offensive line. But this week against the USC Trojans, Sanders rose to the occasion and nearly pulled off an upset.
The Buffaloes entered halftime with a 34-14 deficit, seemingly on the verge of another blowout loss. But, Colorado's offense capitalized on USC's suspect defense and pulled within a touchdown. Yet, an onside kick recovery by USC with Colorado having no timeouts remaining helped them escape Boulder with a 48-41 victory.
Sanders was incredible on Saturday, completing 30 passes for 371 yards and four touchdowns on 45 attempts while throwing one interception. Sanders also ran for 50 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.
Bo Nix and the Oregon offense last week were on fire against Colorado. With that, Nix combed up to the No. 3 spot in the Heisman Trophy power rankings. Nix had the opportunity to pull behind Caleb Williams and Michael Penix Jr. While there is still a pretty sizable gap between Nix and those two signal callers, Nix could be a finalist for the award if he keeps this up.
Nix and the Ducks suffered a scare early on, as they were trailing 6-0 in the starting moments of the second quarter. But the Ducks were able to wake up and eventually pull away from the Cardinals, scoring six unanswered touchdowns.
The senior quarterback completed 27-of-32 pass attempts for 290 yards and four touchdowns, while running for 18 yards on three carries.
Nix will now enter a bye week. On Oct. 14, Nix and the Ducks face Penix and the Washington Huskies.
Michael Penix Jr. is, at present, the biggest threat to Caleb Williams in the Heisman Trophy competition. He is leading a Washington Huskies offense that is dominant and perhaps the most terrifying for opposing defenses in all of college football. Penix had the chance to close the gap further against Williams in Week 5, as Washington took on the Arizona Wildcats.
Well for the first time this season, Penix was held without a passing touchdown in a game. That doesn't mean he had a bad game whatsoever. Penix completed 30 passes on 40 attempts for 363 yards. Washington picked up the 31-28 victory following four rushing touchdowns, including two from junior running back Dillon Johnson.
Penix and Washington head on a bye, so they won't be in action. But once they return, they face off against Oregon Ducks. That's right, it will also be Penix vs. Bo Nix. That game will be on Oct. 14, so be sure to put that game on your calendars.
Caleb Williams once again had to put the entire USC Trojans team on his back to give them the victory. He had to do so last week against Arizona State in what was supposed to be a favorable, easy matchup, but the defense made things a bit difficult. This week, Williams had to do the same.
Williams and the Trojans looked as though they were going to cruise to an easy victory that would result in the starter's getting some early rest. Instead, the defense struggled to stop Sanders and wide receiver Omarion Miller in the second half. But, a failed onside kick by Colorado saved USC's undefeated season.
Williams played really well, throwing for 403 yards, six touchdowns, and one interception. The 2022 Heisman Trophy winner fell just one passing touchdown short of tying the single-game record set by Cody Kessler back in 2014 (seven).