College Football Week 5 Takeaways: Kentucky Rides Defense in Upset, UNLV’s Moment Continues

Elsewhere around the sport, Travis Hunter adds to his Heisman Trophy case and Auburn’s turnover problems strike again.

Kentucky Wildcats defensive back DJ Waller Jr. reacts against the Ole Miss Rebels. / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

On a Saturday where the Alabama Crimson Tide–Georgia Bulldogs clash stole the show, here are five (well, slightly more than five) takeaways from an exciting Week 5 across college football.

1. Kentucky Wildcats validate strength of their defense in road upset of No. 6 Ole Miss

Kentucky’s offense in 2024 remains a work in progress (to say the least), but after Saturday’s road upset of No. 6 Ole Miss—Big Blue’s first win in Oxford since 1978—there’s very little dispute about the Wildcats’ defense.

They’re elite.

Kentucky recorded four sacks, seven tackles for loss and held a potent Ole Miss offense to just 3.2 yards per rush on 29 attempts and a 1-for-10 mark on third down.

Sure, the Rebels still racked up the passing yards, primarily in the form of the Jaxson Dart–Tre Harris connection that led to 11 completions for 176 yards and a touchdown. But everything else for Ole Miss was made difficult by Kentucky’s consistent defensive pressure all game long. 

The Wildcats showed their teeth defensively in a near home upset of then-No. 1 Georgia earlier this month, but validated their performance with another lights-out effort on Saturday.

Kentucky is now 3–2 and 1–2 in SEC play. It is not a conference title contender, but could certainly play spoiler to SEC hopefuls in No. 6 Tennessee and No. 1 Texas that are still to come on the schedule this fall.

2. Controversial Friday night ending to No. 7 Miami’s victory over the Virginia Tech Hokies underscores growing officiating problem in college football

Miami was caught in a dogfight with preseason ACC darling Virginia Tech—a Hokies bunch that fell out of favor after dropping its opener on the road to the Vanderbilt Commodores and following it up three weeks later with a home loss to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

Virginia Tech head coach Brent Pry had a couple of game management decisions that he’d certainly like to have back. These decisions included a prematurely called timeout prior to a 57-yard field goal before halftime that allowed enough time for Miami to drive down the field with 25 seconds left and kick a field goal. The Hokies also tried a fake field in the third quarter off a Cam Ward interception that would have given them a 13-point lead.

But ultimately, it all came down to a final drive offensively for the Hokies. Trailing 38–34 with three seconds remaining, Virginia Tech quarterback Kyron Drones lofted a pass into the back left corner of the end zone. The ball was juggled by a host of players, before it appeared that Virginia Tech wide receiver Da’Quan Felton came up with the football. What was unclear was whether or not he gained sole possession before a Miami defender ripped it free in the scramble for the ball.

The officials concluded it was a Virginia Tech touchdown, which should have scored the Hokies one of their biggest road upsets in years. However, after a replay review that lasted for over five minutes, the conference’s officiating command center determined Felton never gained possession. 

There didn’t appear to be conclusive evidence to prove the call on the field should have been overturned, but it was anyway, scoring Miami a narrow victory.

Virginia Tech made plenty of mistakes that cost it a victory, but the game-ending kick in the teeth from the ACC officials underscored the growing sentiment across college football that the sport has an officiating problem.

3. The Auburn Tigers snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, and once again, a turnover was the culprit

One week removed from turning the ball over five times in a 24–14 home loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks, Auburn again had turnover problems at the worst time in a 27–21 home loss to No. 21 Oklahoma. 

With the Tigers leading 21–16 with just over four minutes to play, Auburn starting quarterback Payton Thorne felt pressure from his right side and threw an inexplicable pass over the middle right into the arms of Oklahoma linebacker Kip Lewis. The redshirt sophomore took the interception back 61 yards for the touchdown in the deciding score of the contest.

Auburn’s Hugh Freeze needs to right the ship, and fast, or things could go sideways quickly heading into Year 3 if the Tigers continue to let victories slip away by self-inflicted mistakes.

4. The Colorado Buffaloes win again as Travis Hunter continues to make his Heisman Trophy case

Colorado’s dominant 48–21 road win on Saturday at the UCF Knights marked not only the biggest win of the Deion Sanders era in Boulder, but also another step toward legitimizing Travis Hunter’s Heisman case.

Hunter is arguably the best player in college football. He’s more than worthy of winning the Heisman. But in order to capture the sport’s most iconic individual award, team success is almost always a prerequisite. Hunter is one of the only players in college football who plays both offense and defense, and nobody plays both wide receiver and defensive back at the level he does.

Hunter caught nine passes for 89 yards and a touchdown and added an interception on defense against UCF.

Colorado is 4–1 and 2–0 in Big 12 play. The Buffs are off next week before hosting a ranked Kansas State team. Colorado has improved after a rocky Year 1 under Sanders, but will need to continue to stack wins for Hunter to have a real shot of capturing the Heisman.

5. No Matthew Sluka? No problem for the Group of 5 CFP hopeful UNLV Rebels

It was quite the week for UNLV’s football program.

First came a late Tuesday social media post from starting quarterback Matthew Sluka, who announced his decision to sit out the rest of the season, redshirt and transfer amid alleged “representations” (NIL payments) that were not met.

Next came a PR messaging war that pitted UNLV and its NIL collective against Sluka’s camp. In the end, there was no executed written contract binding UNILV (yes, that’s the name of the collective) to any sort of payment obligation to Sluka.

On the field, UNLV needed to continue the momentum built by the program’s first 3–0 record in 40 years with the Fresno State Bulldogs in town to kick off Mountain West play. 

The result? A 59–14 drubbing by the Rebels in which newly minted starter Hajj-Malik Williams accounted for 182 passing yards, 119 rushing yards and four total touchdowns.

After a week marked by tumult, the Rebels have come out on the other side with their most lopsided victory of the season and perhaps their first AP Top 25 ranking in program history come Sunday.

Extra Points

• No. 23 Kansas State looked incredibly impressive offensively just one week removed from a blowout loss in Provo to the BYU Cougars. The Wildcats earned an impressive 42–20 win over the No. 20 Oklahoma State Cowboys to keep their Big 12 title hopes alive. The Cowboys’ path to return to the Big 12 title game, however, appears incredibly narrow as the calendar turns to October.

• No. 16 Notre Dame forced three turnovers by the No. 15 Louisville Cardinals and rode the two-pronged attack of quarterback Riley Leonard and his three total touchdowns to earn an impressive 31–24 victory on Saturday in South Bend. The Irish absolutely needed the win to keep their hopes alive for the College Football Playoff. Notre Dame is now 4–1 entering the open week, with the Stanford Cardinal set to come to town Oct. 12. 

• The No. 9 Penn State Nittany Lions got the No. 19 Illinois Fighting Illini’s best shot in Happy Valley on Saturday night, but the Nittany Lions defense put the Illini’s running game in a blender. Penn State did just enough offensively to earn a 21–7 victory. Any thoughts about Illinois being overrated can probably be put to bed. The Illini held their own and certainly looked up to the task against a feisty Nittany Lions bunch. Penn State is still searching for a consistent mix of run and pass on offense, which will be something to continue to monitor if it is seen as a serious contender for the Big Ten crown.