Well that sure was something. Week 5 of the college football season didn't give us any major shake-ups -- none of the teams in the AP top nine lost, and only three top-20 teams fell (all to other ranked teams). But chaos and silliness lurked all day.
USC flirted with blowing a 27-point lead against Colorado. Georgia once again started slowly and barely managed to battle from behind to beat Auburn. Notre Dame looked ready to fall to Duke before an incredible 95-yard drive. And in both Oxford, Mississippi, and Orlando, Florida, college football gave us maximum silliness and fireworks.
And with that, we flip the calendar to October. It's become a bit of an annual tradition for me to take a "What's changed since the preseason?" look at the landscape once September has passed. With that in mind -- and with the acknowledgment that there is still plenty we don't know about how things are going to play out -- here are seven things I believe, based in part on Week 5 impressions, as we enter the middle third of the schedule.
Jump to a section:
Georgia's slow starts | Texas the real deal
Oregon ... for now | Mizzou's super soph
Lucky and good | Can't catch a break
Heisman of the week | Top 10 games
1. Michigan is the best team in the Big Ten (at the very least)
If you want to keep the "They ain't played nobody" label slapped on Michigan's resume for the time being, I can't really stop you. Per SP+, the Wolverines have played the No. 112 schedule to date. They haven't played a top-60 team yet, and they somehow won't face a top-40 opponent until Week 11. Granted, the home stretch is rough -- at Penn State (13th in SP+) in Week 11, at Maryland (31st) in Week 12, Ohio State (second) in Week 13 -- but this back-loaded schedule is allowing Michigan to cruise.