September is in the books, and the race for the College Football Playoff National Championship is beginning to come into focus. Week 5 provided dominating performances, shocking barnburners and several upsets that will reshape the landscape of the sport down the stretch.
No. 1 Georgia needed a late touchdown from tight end Brock Bowers to survive a scare from Auburn inside Jordan-Hare Stadium. The Bulldogs offense struggled to get going, but quarterback Carson Beck eventually got in rhythm with his superstar as the Bulldogs survived their toughest test of the young season.
No. 8 USC took on Colorado and Deion Sanders show, holding on for a 48-41 win. Quarterback Caleb Williams looked every bit like a Heisman Trophy contender, throwing for 403 yards and six passing touchdowns.
How did the CFP National Championship contenders grade out throughout Week 4? It's time to check out the report card for every national title contender with odds of +4000 better, according to the SportsLine consensus heading into Saturday's action.
College football grades: Week 5 report card
| Team | Odds | Grade | Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|
 | 11/5 | C+ | Another week, another slow start for two-time reigning national champion Georgia. The Bulldogs dug themselves in a 10-0 hole against Auburn, but found a way to get the job done in the 27-20 win thanks to 121 receiving yards in the fourth quarter from tight end Brock Bowers. More concerning, though, is that the Bulldogs gave up 219 rushing yards to an Auburn team that can't pass. |
 | 4/1 | A | This was the prototypical Michigan game. Its offense was solid and didn't have to do much thanks to a suffocating defense that dominated Nebraska in the 45-7 win. The Wolverines follow their script every single week, and it hasn't failed them yet. |
 | 17/2 | n/a | The Seminoles didn't play this week. |
 | 9-1 | n/a | The Buckeyes didn't play this week. |
 | 10-1 | A- | Texas got a gift when news broke that Jayhawks quarterback Jalon Daniels would miss this game. However, it probably wouldn't have mattered since Longhorns' quarterback Quinn Ewers lit the Jayhawks up like a Christmas tree. The Heisman Trophy candidate had 325 yards passing and a touchdown in a massive 40-14 over a ranked Kansas team. |
 | 14-1 | D | It's safe to say tha at this point: USC's defense is a hot mess for the second straight season. There is no excuse for giving up 564 yards to a Colorado team that can't block. The 48-41 win is nice, but it's clear that Lincoln Riley's squad is far from a true national title contender right now. |
 | 16-1 | B- | This was a perfect chance for Penn State to open up its offense and tune up before the meat of the Big Ten schedule. The Nittany Lions didn't make that happen. The nearly four-touchdown favorites were tied with Northwestern at the half, but pulled away late for a 41-13 win. Drew Allar completed 18 of his 33 passes for 189 yards, which is solid. Can he be a difference-maker in a big game? We don't know yet. |
 | 18-1 | A | Stanford scored the first six points of the game ... and then Bo Nix happened. The star quarterback of the Oregon Ducks threw for 290 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions in the 42-6 win over the Cardinal. This Ducks squad is a machine, and is going full-speed ahead toward an Oct. 14 showdown at Washington. |
 | 20-1 | C+ | A road win matters, but this was an ultra-ugly 31-24 victory for a Washington team that seemed to start out every of its previous games with 20 points. The Huskies let an average-at-best Arizona team hang around all night ... with a backup quarterback, no less. |
 | 22-1 | F | The LSU defense has been a liability all season, and it was an outright disaster in the 55-49 loss to Ole Miss. The Tigers gave up a whopping 706 yards and their offensive line allowed six tackles for loss in one of the most embarrassing games in recent LSU history. Their CFP chances are essentially gone after that abomination. |
 | 30-1 | A- | It wasn't sexy, but Alabama's 40-17 win over Mississippi State was exactly what the doctor ordered. It's hard to win in front of all of those clanging cowbells, and it was clear from the outset that coach Nick Saban wanted to keep things ultra-conservative. If there is a complaint, it's that the Crimson Tide gave up four sacks and six tackles for loss. |
 | 35-1 | B- | The good news is Notre Dame got a 21-14 road win over a ranked foe in Duke. The bad news is that, for the second straight week, the offense looked far from a juggernaut. Quarterback Sam Hartman only completed half of his passes (15 of 30), they only managed 381 yards and committed 12 penalties. |
 | 40-1 | A | Oklahoma quarterback Dillon Gabriel was money on Saturday in the 50-20 win over Iowa State. Granted, this Cyclones team is far from those that put the program on the map. But Gabriel's 366 yards passing, three passing touchdowns, 37 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns looks like a line from Baker Mayfield or Kyler Murray. |
