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Week five of the college football season has come and gone, and it gave us some of the best games of the season so far. We definitely saw a game of the year candidate in Tuscaloosa as Alabama narrowly defeated Georgia in a thriller after going up 28-0 early. That was the best game of the weekend and also the season so far, but another great game that we saw this past weekend featured the Utah football team and Arizona. This was expected to be a top-25 matchup when the season began, but the Wildcats have struggled so far to start the year. However, they did come ready to play in this one.
The Utah football team was once again without quarterback Cam Rising, and that certainly helped Arizona find a way to earn the upset victory. That was definitely one of the more important games of week five. However, there were a lot of other important games as well. Things got started early as Miami and Virginia Tech gave us a thriller on Friday night.
Miami is the ACC's best hope in terms of a national title contender, and they almost suffered an embarrassing loss at home as huge favorites on Friday night as Virginia Tech gave them all that they could handle. The Hokies got out to a big lead in the game, but Miami was able to come back and take the lead late in the game. Virginia Tech thought they won the contest when their Hail Mary attempt was ruled a touchdown, but it got overturned, and Miami won.
Another big game involving an ACC team featured Louisville going on the road to play Notre Dame. This ended up being a good game that came down to the final possessions, and the Fighting Irish did enough to get the win.
There was another big game in the Big 12 this weekend as Kansas State took down Oklahoma State in a game that both teams needed to win after losing last week. The Wildcats are still firmly in the hunt for the Big 12 title.
In the Big Ten, Penn State took down Illinois in a battle of top-20 teams. The Fighting Illini didn't get the win, but they did hang with one of the best teams in the conference on the road at night. There's a lot to build on.
Week five concluded with Alabama taking down Georgia in one of the best college football games you'll ever see. After going up 28-0 and 30-7, the Crimson Tide let Georgia get back in the game and the Bulldogs eventually took the lead late in the fourth quarter, leaving Alabama fans completely shocked. However, the Tide immediately scored a 75-yard touchdown on the next play and they got the two-point conversion to go up 41-34, and they eventually won with that score after sealing the win with an interception in their own end zone.
There was a lot of excitement in week five and it was maybe the best week of the season so far. Let's talk about one of the other top-25 matchups we saw: The Utah-Arizona game.
Arizona found a way to pull off the upset
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What a big win for the Arizona football team. The Wildcats had a very good season last year and they came into this year ranked #21 in the country. Arizona did lose head coach Jedd Fisch, and this season has showed that he was a huge reason why the team had such a good season last year. He is a terrific head coach.
Arizona had a comfortable lead for most of the game in this one as the Utah football team couldn't get anything going on offense as they were once again without QB Cam Rising. If he doesn't come back, the Utes likely aren't going to have a very good season.
The Wildcats struck first in this one going 3-0, but Utah quickly tied it. It was all Arizona after that for the most part as they led 16-3 in the fourth quarter, but a touchdown to make it 16-10 gave Utah some life. Arizona scored again, however, and that was the nail in the coffin as they won 23-10 on the road.
This is a tough one to swallow for the Utes because they more than likely win this game with Cam Rising playing. That's why there really isn't anyone to blame for this loss. The defense played a good game, and the offense struggled because their QB was injured. That isn't anyone's fault, and the only thing to blame is the injury bug.
The Utah football team NEEDS Cam Rising
Utah desperately needs to get Cam Rising back, or else they likely aren't going to be able to compete for the Big 12 title. The team is looking very similar to how they looked last year with Rising injured. The defense plays well enough to win them games, but the offense does absolutely nothing. When Rising is in, the offense operates completely different and they are able to find much more success. He was able to play in the first game and a half before this year's hand injury, and the difference between the team with and without him is night and day. They need him back.
The team seems hopeful that Rising can make a return to the field soon, but Utah football fans aren't holding their breath as he was questionable to play in the first game of the year last season and ended up sitting out for the entire season. There have been reports that Rising has been hopeful in each game since his injury, and he has yet to play.
The good news for Utah is that they play in a very weak conference. The Big 12 really doesn't have any a single team that is a real threat to do anything in the postseason, but with the new College Football Playoff format, they are guaranteed to get a team in. Utah has a very easy schedule the rest of the way, but they will need Rising back if they want to beat #17 BYU on November 9th. They should be able to survive games against Arizona State, TCU and Houston before that, but you never know as they just lost to Arizona.
Utah will be back in action next Friday night (October 11th) against Arizona State. The Utes have a much-needed bye this week that will hopefully get Rising the necessary rest needed to get him back on the field.
