2020 College Football Insider | Week 5

2020 - Week 5 COLLEGE FOOTBALL

INSIDER | 2020 | WEEK 5

Quote of the week “We played LSU because New England, Green Bay and the Chiefs had somebody scheduled, so we played these guys. I’m really proud of (our) guys. I thought we played real well.”

- Mississippi State Head Coach Mike Leach after defeating No. 6 LSU

TEAM TO WATCH:

Mississippi State

Mike Leach brought his air-raid offense to the SEC and put the conference on notice in Mississippi State’s opening week by defeating defending National Champion LSU, 44-34.

Senior transfer quarterback, K.J. Costello seems to be a perfect fit in Leach’s system as the former Stanford signal caller passed for an SEC-record 623 yards and five touchdowns.

The new explosive offense was on full display with four of Costello’s touchdown passes going for 24 yards or more. This high-powered showcase was needed as the defending champs gave the Bulldogs a fight, forcing two interceptions and two fumbles.

No. 6 LSU fought to tie the game late at 34 but it was not enough.

Leach and the No. 16 Bulldogs will have more chances to test their offense, facing Arkansas at home and Kentucky on the road before their next ranked matchup vs. No. 13 Texas A&M.

TEAM OF THE WEEK:

Kansas State

On Friday, Kansas State Head Coach Chris Klieman wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to fill a roster the next day. After a devastating opening week loss to Arkansas State, the Wildcats roster was hit

by COVID-19 then they had to head to Norman, Oklahoma, to face the No. 3 team in the country.

Kansas State shook off the loss, defied the odds and pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the (early) season with a 38-35 win over Oklahoma.

Three years after playing in the Cactus Bowl, senior quarterback Skylar Thompson led the Wildcats with 334 passing yards and three rushing touchdowns.

Thompson led K-State back from a 21-point deficit to secure its first-ever road win versus a top-three team.

This was the second-straight year that Kansas State upset Oklahoma, beating the Sooners 48-41 at home in 2019.

Next up, Kansas State will take on Texas Tech at home on October 3 on FS1.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL INSIDER | 2020 | WEEK 5

games of the week SOUTH CAROLINA AT #3 FLORIDA 10.3 | 9 AM | ESPN

#13 TEXAS A&M AT #2 ALABAMA 10.3 | 12:30 PM | CBS

NAVY AT AIR FORCE 10.3 | 3 PM | CBSSN

AP Week 5 Rankings 1. CLEMSON

6. OHIO STATE

2. ALABAMA

7. AUBURN

3. FLORIDA

8. MIAMI

4. GEORGIA

9. TEXAS

5. NOTRE DAME

10. PENN STATE

For the full AP Top 25 Rankings, click here.

WHERE IS COLLEGE GAMEDAY:

ATHENS, GEORGIA

College Gameday heads to Athens, Georgia, for a top-10 contest between No. 4 Georgia and No. 7 Auburn. It’s the first top-10 clash

#7 AUBURN AT #4 GEORGIA

of the 2020 season, with both teams coming

10.3 | 4:30 PM | ESPN

last three matchups.

off season-opening wins. The Bulldogs have a recent edge against the Tigers, winning the

Gameday has a different look this Fall, but

#18 OKLAHOMA AT IOWA STATE 10.3 | 4:30 PM | ABC For a full schedule of Week Five games, click here. (All times in AZ)

fans are still able to participate online and send in their best Gameday Signs on Twitter by heading to collegegameday.com for a chance to rep their team.

College Gameday airs Saturday, October 3, at 6 am AZ Time.

2020-21 Bowl PREDICTIONS: PLAYSTATION ® FIESTA BOWL

CACTUS BOWL

ESPN Bonagura – Georgia vs. Texas

The Athletic Mandel – Kansas State vs. Iowa

ESPN Schlabach – Oklahoma vs. UCF

CBS – TCU vs. Iowa

The Athletic Mandel – USC vs. Notre Dame CBS – Penn State vs. USC USA Today – Oregon vs. Wisconsin 247 Sports – UCF vs. Oregon

COLLEGE FOOTBALL INSIDER | 2020 | WEEK 5

GOLDEN HISTORY:

1986 - The Fiesta Bowl gets Sponsored The Fiesta Bowl prides itself on leadership and innovation, and the 1986 game is a testament to that. For the first time ever, a college football bowl game had a title sponsor. The Fiesta Bowl welcomed in Sunkist for a one-of-a-kind partnership, which launched prior to Michigan and Nebraska facing off on New Year’s Day.

ALUMNI HIGHLIGHT:

Justin Jefferson A key member of the 2018-19 PlayStation ® Fiesta Bowl champion LSU team, Justin Jefferson had himself a day on Sunday, but the Vikings fell short to the Titans, 31-30. The former Tigers wideout did all he could to help his new team in Minnesota, putting up an eye-popping 175 yards and a touchdown on seven receptions.

Fiesta Bowl fans may remember Jefferson for his performance when LSU defeated UCF, as he helped power the Tigers to a 40-32 win with 87 yards on four receptions and two scores.

His seven receptions on Sunday more than doubled his numbers from the first two games of the season.

The rookie looks to have a bigger role for the Vikings, who search for their first win of the season next week at home against Houston.

Fiesta Bowl board members took a high-risk, high-reward chance when deciding to have a title sponsor. Up until that point, automobile, tennis and golf were the only major sport entities to have a title sponsor. Fast forward 30 years and now almost every Bowl game has a sponsor, thanks to the Fiesta Bowl leading the charge.

The first game under the entitlement was a classic, coming down to the wire with Michigan prevailing 27-23.

Wolverines defensive back Garland Rivers intercepted Steve Taylor in the end zone with 28 seconds left to secure the victory.

The victory came behind quarterback Jim Harbaugh and was Michigan’s only tip to the Fiesta Bowl.

ARIZONA SHOWCASE:

#18 Oklahoma vs. Iowa State Arizona’s high school talent will be on display this Saturday in Ames, Iowa, when local quarterbacks square off. No. 18 Oklahoma, led by Pinnacle High School’s Spencer Rattler, will meet Gilbert Perry High’s Brock Purdy in a Big 12 showdown.

In his first year as a starter, redshirt freshman Rattler has 677 yards and eight touchdowns through two games while Purdy enters his third year under center for the Cyclones and touts a stat line of 356 yards and one touchdown with a 112.4 quarterback rating.

The battle of Arizona signal callers starts at 4:30 AZ Time on ABC.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL INSIDER | 2020 | WEEK 5

MORE THAN JUST A GAME® DESERT FINANCIAL FIESTA BOWL CHARITIES WISHES FOR TEACHERS SPOTLIGHT:

Karen Sampson

For more than half of her 32 years as a teacher, Karen Sampson has instructed gifted students in Prescott from kindergarten through fourth grades at Taylor Hicks Elementary School.

With limited resources, like many Arizona educators, she has worked hard to become knowledgeable about grants because she has had to be resourceful to unearth alternate funding opportunities in support of her students.

FIESTABOWLRAFFLE.COM

So, when a mailing from the district informed her about the Desert Financial Fiesta Bowl Charities Wishes for Teachers program, Karen immediately flashed to the fact that three of her teacher friends

FIESTA BOWL CHARITIES:

Play. Win. Support.

Her Hidden Highness jackpot is over $7,000!

Last week a lucky winner took home over $900 thanks to Her Hidden Highness’ weekly jackpot, and the Queen of Hearts remains on the board. This week, you could win even bigger!

in Prescott had been awarded grants from the program in the past.

She didn’t hesitate to get in front of her computer to submit her own proposal.

There are various tickets levels to increase chances to win. It’s as easy as visiting www.FiestaBowlRaffle.com to play, ante up to win and support Fiesta Bowl Charities.

The first of its kind by an Arizona sports property, similar raffles across the county have seen multi-million dollar payouts.

Half of the entry pool benefits Fiesta Bowl Charities, which supports Arizona nonprofit organizations in the areas of youth, sports and education.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL INSIDER | 2020 | WEEK 5

JAN. 2, 2021 S TATE FAR M STAD IUM

D ATE & TIME TBD C HASE FIE LD

FIESTABOWL.ORG /FIESTABOWL

@FIESTA_BOWL

/CACTUSBOWL

@CACTUSBOWL

COLLEGE FOOTBALL INSIDER | 2020 | WEEK 5