Well, week five of the 2024 college football season contained what was easily the game of the year. Any other game that’s played this year will be hard-pressed to top the masterpiece that we were given during the Georgia-Alabama game. The primetime game of the day lived up to that billing and then some.
But that game will have a whole section to itself. We’ve got some other games to recap and some other takeaways to get into before we get there. Speaking of that, why not get this thing started?
Ole Miss needed a bit of a reality check
They sure got one against Kentucky.
Just like last week, before I go any further, I want to give some serious props to the Kentucky defense. They held a vaunted Ole Miss offense to 17 points all game.
However, how did that exactly come about?
It’s not like the passing attack was particularly bad. Quarterback Jaxson Dart completed about 67% of his passes, and he threw for 261 yards and a touchdown. His connection with wide receiver Trey Harris was also on point all game, as Harris hauled in 11 receptions for 176 yards, and he was on the receiving end of Dart’s aforementioned touchdown.
There were several factors that played into the Rebels’ loss. They were a ghastly 1-for-10 on third down (seriously, yikes). They put up a mere 92 rushing yards all game. They committed eight penalties, and they looked a little more undisciplined than normal. They also had a costly fumble towards the end of the third quarter that eventually led to the go-ahead Kentucky score.
There is no denying what Ole Miss can be. There is no denying what they are capable of being, particularly offensively. That aerial attack and overall offensive game can compete with just about anyone in the country. However, playing and winning in the SEC (and in college football in general) is still extremely difficult. This game proved that.
This was a much-needed bounce-back game from Kansas State
And what a performance it was for the Wildcats.
The Kansas State defense didn’t necessarily stuff the Oklahoma State offense in its tracks, as the Cowboys did put up a solid 20 points and a pretty darn good 499 total yards of offense. However, while quarterback Alan Bowman did throw a touchdown, he also threw two interceptions. Ollie Gordon looked a tiny bit better than last week, but he still wasn’t particularly good.
No, the real story of this game is how the Kansas State offense performed.
This team seemed like they had last week’s disaster against BYU on their minds all day, and they were hell-bent on coming out and dominating whoever stood in their way next to erase the taste of last week out of their mouths. Avery Johnson was great, throwing for 259 yards and three touchdowns, and he added 60 rushing yards and two more scores on the ground. Running back DJ Giddens was awesome, running for a whopping 187 yards and a long 66-yard touchdown.
There wasn’t much that didn’t go right offensively for the Wildcats in this one. They are now ranked No. 20 in the latest AP Poll, and this might be one of those games for Oklahoma State where you just try to forget about it and shift your focus to defending your home turf against West Virginia next week.
Arch Manning looked more comfortable than expected in his first SEC game
I have to say, I was impressed.
Going into this game, I expected Arch Manning to have some hiccups in his first conference game (and Texas’ first conference game as a member of the SEC, by the way), but he looked very comfortable for the vast majority of the game.
Manning went 26-for-31 while throwing for 324 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. Those are some wildly impressive stats for a freshman playing in his first conference game ever. Yes, I know it was in Austin and he had the support of an entire stadium behind him, but going into those circumstances and performing like that is easier said than done.
It’s also important to note Manning’s chemistry with Deonte Moore Jr., as Moore hauled in four receptions for 103 yards and two touchdowns, including this grab in the back of the end zone off a dime from Manning. I know Mississippi State is not exactly the stiffest competition possible, as they were coming into this game at 1-3, but the fact of the matter is that Manning and the Texas offense didn’t skip a beat without Quinn Ewers.
And if you’re Texas, a team who is trying to stake their claim as the nation’s best over Alabama, Ohio State, and a few others, that’s really all you can ask for.
Ohio State could be the most complete team in college football
If not the most complete, the Buckeyes are certainly one of the most complete in the country.
It’s difficult to pinpoint something that isn’t working with Ohio State right now. And that was exactly the case Saturday against Michigan State. Quarterback Will Howard went 21-for-31 with 244 yards and two passing touchdowns, as well as another score on the ground. TreVeyon Henderson added 69 rushing yards on seven carries. And the legend of Jeremiah Smith continues to grow, as he had five receptions for 83 yards and an absolutely ridiculous one-handed catch that turned into a touchdown.
The defense was also pretty darn good throughout the night. Denzel Burke picked off Michigan State QB Aidan Chiles. The defense held the Spartans to 2-for-9 on third down. Michigan State was held to a mere 199 passing yards and 49 rushing yards.
I know teams like Penn State, Illinois and even Indiana are making some noise, but Ohio State is the best team in the Big Ten and they are easily one of the best and most complete teams in the entire country. If Alabama didn’t have one of the best and most exciting performances of the past few years this past Saturday, then this Buckeyes team might be the top team in the new AP Poll based on how this game went.
It was, in every sense of the word, a complete performance.
Illinois-Penn State might take the cake for strangest game of the weekend
This game was…odd. And not exactly in a good way.
For the majority of the game, both of these offenses looked sluggish and unable to finish drives (or, for that matter, really get much of anything going period). Illinois scored a touchdown on its first drive, and that offense, admittedly, looked good against a strong Penn State defense. The Nittany Lions came right back on their first possession to tie the game at seven.
But after that, there wasn’t all that much in the offensive department, at least in the first half.
After the Penn State touchdown, both teams exchanged punts. Then Illinois got the ball back and proceeded to punt again. Then Penn State drove down the field pretty well but then missed a 40-yard field goal. Illinois got it back, and they also got down the field before missing a 45-yard field goal to take the game to halftime.
After the halftime break, Penn State finally got on the board for seven points before Illinois punted, Penn State got it back and turned it over on downs, and Illinois punted it again. Just absolutely thrilling. Finally, the momentum seemed to turn for good when Illinois QB Luke Altmyer threw an interception in the fourth quarter and the Nittany Lions scored to go up 21-7 and essentially put the game away.
This was, all things considered, a pretty stout performance for the Penn State defense. The Illinois offense looked mightily impressive last week in that win over Nebraska in Lincoln, but it was clear that this Penn State defensive unit is a different animal.
But that offense, uh…that might be a little bit concerning in the long run, especially considering that this team has College Football Playoff aspirations.
And last but not least…
GEORGIA-ALABAMA?!?!?!?!
Before you ask, yes, I did laugh to myself internally when typing out that title.
But there is absolutely no denying that this game was easily the game of the year for the 2024 season. Remember all that stuff I said way back up there in the intro paragraph? Well, that stuff still all holds true, because it’s really difficult to overstate just how bonkers this game was.
At first, it looked like Alabama was going to cruise to a victory. Jalen Milroe was playing out of his mind and was quite literally getting anything he wanted. He started off the game with three total touchdowns (one passing, two rushing) as the Crimson Tide jumped out to a 28-0 lead. Georgia did manage to score a touchdown to cut into the lead a little, but then Alabama capitalized on a safety to go into the halftime break up 30-7.
And then the second half started. And things flipped. Big-time.
Both teams exchanged punts to start the half. Then, Georgia marched down the field and scored a touchdown and tacked on a two-point conversion to cut their deficit down to 15 points. Alabama then added a field goal to increase the lead to 18.
Those would be the last points Alabama would score for a while, as after forcing the Tide to punt, Georgia’s offense kicked into high gear. Carson Beck drove them all the way down the field before hitting Lawson Luckie in the end zone from eight yards out to cut the lead to 33-21. Then, Alabama punted again. Georgia got it back and punched it in from three yards out thanks in large part to a 47-yard connection from Beck to Arian Smith. And finally, after another ‘Bama punt, Beck hit Dillon Bell for a 67-yard score to give Georgia the lead.
Oh, that’s game over, right? That score gave Georgia the lead for good, right?
Wrong!
Alabama got the ball back with about two and a half minutes to go in the fourth quarter. This was their last chance to retake the lead, or they would be subject to a wealth of generational memes for the choke job they had just completed. And then freshman phenom Ryan Williams hauled in a pass from Milroe and ran for one of the greatest, most ridiculous touchdowns I’ve ever seen in college football. And Alabama took the lead right back. And finally, after Carson Beck threw his third interception of the game, the Crimson Tide were allowed to celebrate.
In the aftermath of the insanity of this game, Alabama was gifted the prize of being the No. 1 team in the newest AP Poll. Jalen Milroe (and the entire team, to be fair) had the performance of a lifetime, and Alabama definitely deserved the top spot in the AP Poll.
The only other thing I have left to say on this game? Game. Of. The. Year.
Elms' Essentials: Rivalry Week
Elms' Essentials: Week 13
