Week 5 saw one more Big Ten team drop its undefeated status, one more Big Ten coach lose his job and one more dominant win by Ohio State.
The Buckeyes slayed the Scarlet Knights to the tune of a 39-point victory, but several other top programs had closer calls against lesser opponents as the regular season nears its halfway point.
We’ve circled the standouts and setbacks from the week that was in college football in the latest edition of Eleven Warriors’ weekly stock report.
Stock Up
Miyan Williams as RB1
What does Ohio State’s running game look like in a Big Ten matchup without TreVeyon Henderson? Pretty damn good, as it turns out, considering the 189-yard, five-touchdown showcase Miyan Williams delivered as the Buckeyes’ top running back on Saturday.
SEE. YOU. LATER
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 1, 2022
RB Miyan Williams of @OhioStateFB gets his 4th TD today pic.twitter.com/NfkVuLA0Fz
Porkchop had a star-turning moment in scarlet and gray as he tied Ohio State’s single-game rushing touchdown record, bulling his way across the goalline on several short-yardage scores and also busting a 70-yard touchdown run in the second half. Williams is now the national leader in yards per cary (min. 50 carries) and may give Henderson some push for RB1 status even healthy.
Zach Harrison
The five-star pass rusher returned for a fourth season to show he had more to prove for Ohio State in 2022, but in the first four games, he didn’t prove a whole lot. Zach Harrison had his most impactful outing so far against Rutgers, though, creating two turnovers with a forced fumble recovered by Mike Hall and a pass deflection that fell into the hands of Steele Chambers for an interception.
Harrison earned co-defensive player of the game honors from the Buckeye program, and his performance could be the start of some more productive efforts moving forward.
Steele Chambers
Tommy Eichenberg has drawn most of the praise out of Ohio State's linebacker corps thus far, but Chambers stole the spotlight on Saturday with a career-high 11-tackle performance against the Scarlet Knights. The former running back was all over the field, recording twice as many solo tackles as any other Buckeye and stopping two Rutgers’ plays behind the line of scrimmage for a loss.
Chambers also recorded the second interception of his career, and although the Georgia native said he “felt terrible” with the ball in his hand, his overall caliber of play on Saturday was quite the opposite as he joined Harrison in co-defensive player of the game honors.
turnover machines #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/G2ex59IJFk
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) October 2, 2022
Coach beef
Ryan Day and Greg Schiano got all up in each others’ grills during a fourth-quarter scuffle on the Buckeye sideline Saturday, and media members, spectators in attendance and folks on the internet all got quite a kick out of the chaos. Up 39 points late, Jesse Mirco ran for a first down on a punt play and promptly got leveled late by a Scarlet Knight. The Buckeye sideline didn’t take too kindly to the hit, and Schiano wasn’t a fan of the fake punt, which Day later explained was not a premeditated call.
Things are getting heated in Columbus pic.twitter.com/1ogLILcOKX
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 1, 2022
It was all respect between the former coworkers after the staff, but the photos of the heated confrontation will live on forever.
Jesse Mirco’s wheels
In a rare interview session three days before the game, Mirco told media members he often jokes with teammates that he could be a tight end for the Buckeyes in a pinch. I don’t know about his pass-catching skills or blocking ability, but the Australian specialist sure showed off his speed on Saturday, dashing 22 yards to pick up the aforementioned first down on his fake punt. While day said after the game that he’d have a discussion with Mirco about his decision to make the play that incited Rutgers’ wrath, the program ultimately rewarded him with special teams player of the game after the fact.
Fake pic.twitter.com/6SqWW5qzIa
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) October 1, 2022
Illinois
That’s right, folks, the Fighting Berts are back in business.
Illinois is a last-minute Indiana touchdown away from an undefeated record through five games, and its fourth win of the season came in dominant fashion in a 34-10 road victory against Bret Bielema’s former employer. Given Minnesota’s Week 5 loss, Illinois has positioned itself as a player for the Big Ten West crown with national rushing leader Chase Brown leading the way. The Illini have five straight unranked opponents on the docket before taking on Michigan in November and could do some damage if they continue on their current trajectory.
Stock Down
C.J. Stroud
Stroud hit on five of his first six pass attempts against Rutgers, but the Buckeye quarterback looked somewhat out-of-sync after that. Stroud went 8-for-16 the rest of the evening, missing throws he usually connects on to finish with his lowest passing yardage total as a starter (154). Stroud tossed a pair of touchdowns, including a 36-yarder to Julian Fleming, but also threw his second interception in as many weeks during an off-kilter effort that didn’t do anything to significantly bolster his Heisman stock.
Avery Young does something very few do: Intercept C.J. Stroud. @Azy_02 x @RFootball pic.twitter.com/7KU3i43sBO
— Rutgers On BTN (@RutgersOnBTN) October 1, 2022
Minnesota
Just when the Gophers looked like the class of the Big Ten West, earning a No. 21 ranking in the AP poll after four impressive wins to open the season, P.J. Fleck and company fell flat in Week 5. Minnesota dropped to Purdue, 20-10, at home over the weekend as Mohamed Ibrahim's injury absence led to a 44-yard effort on the ground. The Gophers finished with three turnovers in the two-score loss, and now every Big Ten West team has at least one loss through five weeks.
Paul Chryst
Another Big Ten coach bit the dust (proverbially speaking) after a disappointing start to the season as Wisconsin parted ways with Paul Chryst five games into his eighth season at the helm of the program. The Badgers have lost three of their last four, including back-to-back defeats to Ohio State and Illinois. The latter was particularly deflating given the Fighting Illini’s historical standing in the conference. Chryst went 15-10 over the past three seasons, and Wisconsin has only finished with a ranking in the final AP poll once in the past four years.
Now Badger defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard gets his chance to put Wisconsin back on track with the remaining seven games of the regular season, which all come against presently unranked opponents.
Oklahoma
The post-Lincoln Riley era began with a bang, as Oklahoma rattled off three straight dominant wins to start the season, but Brent Venables’ defense has now shit the bed on back-to-back occasions to start Big 12 play. Oklahoma gave up 41 points in a seven-point loss to Kansas State two weeks ago and had an even worse showing against TCU, surrendering 55 points in a 31-point blowout defeat. The Sooners have since dropped out of the rankings entirely and will be hard-pressed to make any CFP noise come the postseason.
Top teams surviving close calls
Georgia, Alabama, Clemson and USC all picked up wins on Saturday. But none of them made it look particularly easy, and some were threatened more than others.
Georgia lost its No. 1 spot in the polls thanks to a four-point win over Missouri that required a fourth-quarter comeback. The Crimson Tide only held a five-point lead over Arkansas entering the final frame but finished strong late to make the final score more impressive than the overall performance. Not to mention, Bryce Young suffered an injury that could cost him time moving forward. Clemson only edged North Carolina State by 10 points to turn in its second straight close call, and USC went to halftime with just a four-point lead over Arizona State before finding a groove in the second half.
While no underdogs pulled off the upset, several CFP contenders looked fallible against lesser competition over the weekend.
