Week 5 of the college football season showed us the moment was too big for James Franklin — again, Brian Kelly will keep being asked about LSU’s offense and a game without a touchdown.
Here’s some of the lowlights from Week 5 in our Flop 10:
James Franklin
Harsh? Definitely. But how many big games can one coach lose? Despite having won 71.2% of his games at Penn State since 2014, Franklin was just 1-13 in games against AP top-5 opponents heading into Saturday. Oregon was ranked No. 5 in this week’s coaches poll, and it’s the same old, same old: James can’t win the big games. Hell, even students began chanting ‘Fire Franklin’ when Penn State trailed 17-3 early in the fourth quarter. For a team ranked No. 2!?! This one was close — a double OT loss — but Franklin seems to have a ceiling and just can’t break through it.
Sam Pittman
The Arkansas fans were chanting ‘Fire Pittman’ during what turned out to be a third straight Razorbacks loss Saturday. Few expected Arkansas to pull off the upset over No. 21 Notre Dame, but this game was never competitive and finished 56-13. Pittman admitted he understood why Arkansas fans are calling for his dismissal: ‘I get it. If I was a fan, I’d be mad at me too,’ Pittman said. ‘I’d be frustrated as hell with me.’ We’ve already seen a few coaches get pink slips this season, Pittman seems poised to join that list.
Kirby Smart’s decision not to kick
Hindsight being what it is, the Georgia coach’s decision to pass up a potential tying field goal on 4th-and-1 from the 8-yard line with 13:25 left in the fourth quarter backfired. Cash Jones was tackled for a 3-yard loss and the Bulldogs only got one more possession in their 24-21 loss as the Crimson Tide salted away the game expertly.
Auburn’s offensive line
Hugh Freeze bragged about having six guys who will get drafted on the OL. Well, the Tigers have given up 15 sacks the past two weeks, including five in Saturday’s 16-10 loss at Texas A&M, and couldn’t open up any lanes in the running game (2.2 yards per carry). And no, losing a one-possession game to a top-10 Aggies team at Kyle Field is not a fireable offense, but Freeze’s seat is warming. Producing 177 yards of total offense is certainly a flashing red light. Even worse? The Tigers were 0-for-13 on third down. ZERO for 13 on third down.
LSU’s offense
Brian Kelly snapped at a reporter a few weeks ago after the reporter had the audacity to ask about the Tigers’ middling offense. Saturday’s 24-19 loss to Ole Miss will only increase the inquest. LSU’s $18 million roster had its yardage output nearly doubled by the Rebels (480 to 254) and the Tigers managed just 57 rushing yards. ‘Everybody on offense has to play better,’ Kelly said postgame. Huh, if only someone had asked that a few weeks ago…
ACC officials in Wake Forest-Georgia Tech game
With the Demon Deacons sniffing an upset and looking to put the game away, the refs missed a pretty obvious offsides call on the undefeated Yellow Jackets late in the fourth quarter on a 3rd-and-5. The penalty would have given Wake Forest a first down. Instead, an incomplete pass stopped the clock and Georgia Tech went on to put together a nine-play, 54-yard drive to set up a game-tying field goal. Tech won in overtime after intercepting a 2-point attempt and head into its bye week 5-0 — with a little help from their friends.
Syracuse
Earlier this week, our Matt Hayes was touting Orange coach Fran Brown as a perfect fit for the SEC and a popular candidate for the growing list of vacancies. That was after Syracuse went to Clemson and beat the Tigers. So what happened Saturday!?! Duke absolutely diced up Syracuse in a 38-3 win… in the Carrier Dome. The Blue Devils racked up 503 yards of offense. It’s never a good sign when you open your postgame news conference with an apology: ‘I want to apologize to Syracuse, the fan base, just everyone who follows this football program,’ Brown said. ‘The performance that you’ve see out there today was not good. I have to make sure that I coach our players a lot better. We have to prepare them better and have them be ready to come out and compete.’
UCLA
It kind of feels like piling on at this point, but Saturday was probably UCLA’s best chance at getting a win this year. And hey, the Bruins (0-4) actually covered, so if you want to take solace in that, go for it. The Bruins spotted Northwestern a 17-0 lead, but managed to chip away, got within 17-14 and had two chances with the ball to take the lead. But Nico Iamaleava and Co. managed just three yards on their last two drives, resigning the Bruins to defeat in interim coach Tim Skipper’s debut. Up next? An angry Penn State.
Virginia on-field security
Did they have any? As soon as Tommy Castellanos’ final pass was intercepted in FSU’s double OT loss Friday night, a swarm of Cavaliers students flooded the field before players had a chance to brace themselves for the stampede. At Scott Stadium, there was no rope or barrier to slow the fans running down The Hill onto the field. It was pure bedlam. FSU WR Squirrel White and Virginia DB Ja’Son Prevard were swallowed up by the crowd that was lined up already at the edge of the end zone before the final play. FSU coach Mike Norvell said postgame he wasn’t aware of any issues involving his players after the field-storm: ‘I mean we’ve got everybody in the locker room and so not sure of any issues.’ Thankfully, it appears everyone emerged unscathed, but there was certainly heart-in-throat moments there. Virginia will likely be fined $50,000 for the field-storming, per the ACC’s updated event security policy.
Touchdowns in Northern Illinois vs. San Diego State
There weren’t any. This one finished SDSU 6, NIU 3. Woof. It wasn’t as bad as Wake Forest’s 3-0 win over Boston College in 2015, but only 13 times has a game featured nine points or less. That’s 0.09% of FBS games over the past 20 years, per Cleanup Hitter.