The Week in Review

Here's a brief look at the highlights of the fifth week of the college football season, a week which featured five games between ranked teams, including a couple of conference showdowns between top-10 programs. The rankings used in this recap are the AP rankings from prior to the games.

ANSWERING THE CHALLENGE
#1 Alabama 31, #7 Florida 6: The Crimson Tide, playing its second of three straight ranked opponents, remains undefeated by dominating Florida on both sides of the ball.

#4 Oregon 52, #9 Stanford 31: Trailing 21-3 early, Oregon rides a sensational performance from star tailback LaMichael James, who registers 257 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

#5 TCU 27, Colorado State 0: The Horned Frogs struggled mightily in the first half, managing just two field goals, but the defense stays strong throughout and the offense comes together enough for a convincing win.

FANTASTIC FINISHES
#12 LSU 16, Tennessee 14: Fantastic finish in the sense that it may have been the most bizarre finish ever in college football. LSU can't punch it in from close range and time runs out on a fumbled snap, but somehow, the Vols have too many men on the field and the Tigers get one more play and Stevan Ridley scores to save the day.

#19 Michigan 42, Indiana 35: Indiana's Ben Chappell throws a TD pass to tie the game with 1:20 to go, but Denard Robinson leads the winning drive, scoring on a five-yard run with 21 clicks remaining.

Washington 32, #18 USC 31: For the second straight year, Washington kicker Erik Folk boots a game-winning field goal in the final seconds to upset nationally-ranked USC.

UPSETS
#24 Michigan State 34, #11 Wisconsin 24: Some gave the Spartans the advantage due to playing at home and that proved accurate as Kirk Cousins converted a fourth-down touchdown pass with 2:48 to go to clinch the victory.

Virginia Tech 41, #23 North Carolina State 30: The Hokies seem to be pulling together after two season-opening losses as they upset the previously undefeated Wolfpack behind a strong effort from Tyrod Taylor.

KEY VICTORIES
#2 Ohio State 24, Illinois 13: The Buckeyes don't get many style points, but they do pick up a Big Ten victory on the road even though Terrelle Pryor was hampered by a leg injury.

#8 Oklahoma 28, #21 Texas 20: The Sooners were in control of the Red River Rivalry from the start, but Texas made it interesting late forcing Oklahoma to escape with the victory - its fourth this year by eight points or less.

#16 Miami 30, Clemson 21: Jacory Harris throws four first-half touchdowns and Clemson can't climb back into the game as the Hurricanes pick up a key ACC win to open league play.

#17 Iowa 24, #22 Penn State 3: The Hawkeyes have now won eight of their past nine against the Nittany Lions, but this one is by their largest margin ever over Penn State, which has managed just two field goals in its two losses.

BLOWOUTS
#3 Boise State 59, New Mexico State 0: The Broncos win their 18th straight game by dominating the Aggies behind another flawless Kellen Moore effort.

#10 Auburn 52, UL Monroe 3: Another stat-stuffer day for Cam Newton as he leads Tigers to major blowout.

INTO THE RANKINGS (with updated rankings)
#22 Oklahoma State 38, Texas A&M 35: In a battle of unbeatens, the Cowboys took advantage of five turnovers and booted a 40-yard field goal in the final seconds to clinch the victory.

#23 Florida State 34, Virginia 13: The Seminoles climb back into the rankings, building a 27-0 advantage over Virginia in the first half and rolling to the key ACC victory.

#24 Missouri: The undefeated Tigers make a jump into the rankings without playing a game, though they meet 3-1 Colorado next week.

#25 Air Force 14, Navy 6: Air Force upends Navy to snap the Falcons seven-game losing streak to their service academy rival and to become the third Mountain West team in the rankings.

#1 Alabama at #19 South Carolina: The Crimson Tide play a nationally-ranked foe for the third week in a row while Steve Spurrier hopes his true freshman running back, Marcus Lattimore, can put up big numbers against the top-ranked Tide.

#12 LSU at #14 Florida: Florida is coming off a convincing defeat at the hands of Bama, while LSU and head coach Les Miles are coming off a miraculous ending in their win over Tennessee.

#17 Michigan State at #18 Michigan: In the preseason, this game was expected to be a typical rivalry game, but with both undefeated and nationally-ranked, it has become a key game in the national picture as well.

Texas A&M vs. #11 Arkansas (Dallas): Texas A&M's loss to Oklahoma State brought up a lot of questions about the Aggies; and Arkansas is coming off a bye after giving Alabama a run for its money.

#23 Florida State at #13 Miami: Both teams have lost games to top-10 teams and returned to the win column since, so this is still a major ACC showdown between state rivals.

Clemson at North Carolina: Both teams were expected to compete for the ACC title, but both lost their league openers making this a potential knockout game as two losses so early may be impossible from which to recover.

#7 Nebraska at Kansas State (Thursday): Nebraska expects to be favored for the remainder of its games, but Bill Snyder's Kansas State squad is undefeated and at home.

Oregon State at #9 Arizona: Arizona remains undefeated and in the top-15, while Oregon State may be over-looked with two losses, but both losses came to top-5 teams; Beavers should prove to be a challenge.

From the players currently on the Watch List for the Manning Award, here are some of the standout stars from week five:

Nathan Enderle, Idaho
(30-of-49, 380 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INT)
Enderle and the Vandals score final 15 points to break open tight game against Western Michigan in 33-13 win.

Robert Griffin, Baylor
(26-of-36, 380 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT)
Griffin leads Baylor to fourth win, adding 63 yards and a TD on the ground - two more wins and the Bears are eligible for their first bowl since 1994.

Joshua Nesbitt, Georgia Tech
(11-of-21, 130 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT)
Nesbitt comes to the rescue for the Yellow Jackets, passing for two scores in the final seven minutes to lift Tech to victory over Wake Forest, 24-20.

Kyle Padron, SMU
(24-of-32, 371 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT)
The Mustangs hadn't topped Rice on the road in 10 games, but Padron piled up big numbers as the Mustangs use a 28-7 second-half run to upend the Owls, 42-31.

Tyrod Taylor, Virginia Tech
(12-of-24, 123 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT)
Taylor adds 121 rushing yards as the Hokies knock N.C. State out of the unbeaten ranks and out of the rankings.

While 33 quarterbacks are on the Manning Award Watch List, additional players may be added later in the season (Oct. 25). Here's a look at this week's best performances from players making a bid to be added.

Ben Chappell, Indiana
(45-of-64, 480 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT)
Chappell has a monster day against Michigan, tying the game with a 19-yard TD with 1:20 to go, but Wolverines win it in the final seconds.

Chandler Harnish, Northern Illinois
(16-of-20, 281 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT)
Harnish leads the Huskies to 520 yards of offense in a 50-14 MAC road win over Akron.

Dan Persa, Northwestern
(23-of-30, 309 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT)
Persa leads Wildcats to comeback victory, directing two fourth-quarter scoring drives and adding a career-best 99 rushing yards in a 29-28 Big Ten win over Minnesota.

Denard Robinson, Michigan
(10-of-16, 277 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT)
Another sensational performance for Robinson, who adds 218 rushing yards and two more scores, including the game-winner, a 5-yard run with 21 seconds to go, in a 42-35 win over Indiana.

Darron Thomas, Oregon
(20-of-29, 237 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INT)
Thomas, who also tallied 118 yards and a TD on the ground, leads the Ducks to an impressive victory over #9 Stanford.

Sugar Bowl Bowl Projections

ESPN (Schlabach): Auburn vs. Oklahoma (Both teams change as he replaces Florida and Wisconsin)
ESPN (Adelson): Alabama vs. TCU (remains the same as last week)
CBS Sports: Auburn vs. Nebraska (remains the same as last week)
College Football News: Florida vs. TCU (Florida replaces Alabama)
SI.com (Mandel): Auburn vs. Nebraska (Both teams change as he replaces Florida and Iowa)
AOL Fanhouse (McMurphy): Auburn vs. Oklahoma