Alabama hushed questions about its ability to win with defense, scoring a 25-0 shutout of high-revving Ole Miss and quarterback Bo Wallace, who promised the Rebels would put up some points. The Crimson Tide produced several big plays on defense, holding the Rebels without points inside its own 20-yard line three seperate times. Alabama provided another lesson in its dominance. Here’s what else we learned Week Five of the 2013 college football season: –Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller is back — he is healthy and so are the Buckeyes, the clear class of the Big Ten in September. The early Heisman Trophy front-runner and returning Big Ten offensive player of the year had missed most of the past three games with a sprained knee, but he returned to the starting role against Wisconsin and helped the Buckeyes win a key early Big Ten showdown. Miller threw four touchdown passes without an interception in the 31-24 win. “I’ve got to take care of that knee,” Miller said after Ohio State’s 17th straight win. –Texas A&M can move it without Manziel. Quarterback Johnny Manziel played more of a bit part in the second half of a roan-soaked win at Arkansas. But Aggies ran for 150 of their 262 yards after halftime with heavy rainfall causing ball-handling strife on both sides. Manziel only accounted for 10 second-half rushing yards as A&M relied on its running back trio of Trey Williams, Tra Carson and Ben Malena to pound the ball. The Aggies ran the ball on all nine plays of a third-quarter touchdown drive that extended the lead to 38-27. “For us to come in the second half with the elements the way they were, our offensive line I thought played very, very well,” A&M coach Kevin Sumlin said. –Oklahoma quarterback Blake Bell is no fluke. Though he didn’t match his exploits against Tulsa when he threw for 414 yards and four touchdowns in his first start, he did more than enough to keep Oklahoma unbeaten. He was 22 of 30 passing with 232 yards and two scores, including finding Sterling Shepard for a 54-yard score with 12:24 left in the game, eventually giving the Sooners a 35-21 lead. “He put the ball where it needed to be, finding the right guys, going through his reads,” coach Bob Stoops said. “And give credit to the line to give (him) the opportunity to find those guys. So I thought he played great.” –Notre Dame misses 2012 starting quarterback Everett Golson badly. Tommy Rees was 9 for 24 with two touchdowns and three interceptions. It was also his second straight week of struggles, following up a 14-for-34 day with 142 yards against Michigan State. “Obviously, I’m disappointed with how I played individually. You’ve got to be better,” Rees said. “You can’t turn the ball over and expect to win against good teams like Oklahoma.” –The SEC is again a quarterback league…
Continue Reading: CFB Saturday: What we learned (The SportsXchange)
