3 Worst Things We Saw In The G5 In Week 3

Week Three is over. Let's be honest: good football is fun. Sometimes, bad football is fun. However teams that don't learn from their mistakes...so much so that

© Lucas Boland/The Coloradoan / USA TODAY NETWORK

Week Three is over.

Let's be honest: good football is fun. Sometimes, bad football is fun. However teams that don't learn from their mistakes...so much so that the country takes notice...significantly less fun. 

These were instances of bad football that couldn't help but produce an eye roll, or worse, from the Week Three G5 Football slate.

Obviously, this is an opinion. Feel free to disagree. 

Troy's Offensive Line Still Needs Work

👀 👀 👀

pic.twitter.com/NyQHaQZWmr

— JMU Football (@JMUFootball) September 17, 2023

Troy head coach Jon Sumrall noted following his team's Week Two loss to Kansas State that one of the biggest things that needed to change was their performance at the offensive line of scrimmage. Sumrall didn't get his wish against James Madison and it's arguably the reason why his team lost 16-14.

The Trojans finished with -12 rushing yards as a team. Troy QB Gunnar Watson was sacked six times. If Troy want to defend their title, this has to get fixed. 

"We earned the loss," Sumrall said postgame. "I really emphasized the line of scrimmage and the physicality that we needed to play with. I don't think we played well enough there."

Chevan Cordeiro Pick Six

.@McDonaldChris_ out here making plays 😤pic.twitter.com/bVo4mrzCC5

— Toledo Football (@ToledoFB) September 17, 2023

In the flow of the game, this was significant. It ended up being the score that won Toledo the game.

Backed up inside their own 15-yard line with a three-point lead at Toldeo, Chevan Cordeiro tried to hit Nick Nash down the sideline. Clearly, there was some sort of miscommunication between the two, because the ball wasn't even close. Toledo's Chris McDonald intercepted it and had a clear path to a return touchdown. This ended up being the go-ahead score in a 21-17 win for Toledo.

San José State had an unenviable schedule to start the season, playing two ranked Pac-12 teams. They beat an FCS team, and then had a chance to get some needed confidence against a good G5 team before they start conference play next week. Because of this mental error and others, they're 1-3 to start the season. 

Let's be clear here: Cordeiro is not the reason this SJSU team is 1-3. This was was his first pick of the year. However, as noted, it was significant.

Jay Norvell

An instant classic pic.twitter.com/6pOpXra0cY

— Colorado State Football (@CSUFootball) September 17, 2023

When you look at it with no outside context, Colorado State defied expectations and took an incredibly talented Colorado team to the wire. However, Rams' head coach Jay Norvell sullied the achievements of his team before they even took the field, as well as during. 

We all know the hat and sunglasses comments that made Norvell sound like a disgruntled Amish charm school teacher. What's worse is Norvell tried to defend the comments by saying he was trying to motivate his team. He "motivated his team" to commit 17 penalties for 182 yards.

Norvell whined during an in-game interview about the number of penalties called on his team during the game. Is 17 high? Yes. However, Norvell has had one of the most penalized teams in the Mountain West since he became a head coach - even at Nevada. This isn't new. 

We could have been in a position where we get to consider CSU's progression and the immense amount of fascinating student-athletes on CSU's roster. Instead, we have to talk about egregious dirty hits and what is and is not appropriate headwear...so that's fun. Thanks coach.