College football winners and losers in Week 5: Clemson reasserts itself in a major way

For now at least, Clemson remains the best team in the ACC. Come Sunday, pollsters everywhere may feel the Tigers are the No. 1 team in all of college football.

That's because Clemson's offense finally came together, and the team on the receiving end of so much preseason hype squeaked out a thriller against Louisville, 42-36.

The crazy thing: It wasn't even the best game of the day. Not even close. From Tennessee and Georgia exchanging Hail Marys to North Carolina's game-winning 54-yard field goal over Florida State, a lot of great football was played.

With so much action happening around the country, we here at CBS Sports want to get you caught up on all the noteworthy things that happened -- both the good and not so good.

What were the highlights from Saturday of Week 5? What were the moments some programs want to forget? We hash out the best and worst below.

Winner -- Clemson: Sometimes it's best not to overthink it. Louisville was college football's darling -- and Cardinals quarterback Lamar Jackson was the Heisman Trophy frontrunner -- but Clemson showed why it was a preseason national title favorite. The Tigers' 42-36 win wasn't the prettiest or cleanest display of football -- there were turnovers on turnovers on turnovers by both sides -- but it was gutsy. Deshaun Watson had 306 yards through the air and five touchdowns and three picks, not all of which were his fault. The possibility of the ACC getting two teams in the playoff is still alive. No one should count out Louisville yet. However, this is the Clemson we were expecting to see a month ago.

Loser -- Notre Dame's defensive issues: So, yeah, maybe firing defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder wasn't the quick fix the Irish needed. Notre Dame beat Syracuse 50-33, but the first half was an utter track meet. Just look at this box score:

See that? That's in the first 30 minutes. Defensively, this is still going to be a long season for Notre Dame, one with lots of shootouts.

Winner -- Oklahoma State defensive tackle Vincent Taylor: There were actually multiple extra points blocked and returned for scores on Saturday, but none were more beautiful than Oklahoma State's against Texas. Cowboys defensive tackle Vincent Taylor, he of 310 pounds, shot the gap in the middle of the line, blocked the kick and then had the presence of mind to lateral the ball to Tre Flowers for the score.

Loser -- Texas: This was either going to be "Texas' special teams" or "Texas' defense" but, well, it was all gross in a 49-31 loss to Oklahoma State. The Longhorns had three extra points blocked against the Cowboys. Heading into Week 5, no team had three extra points blocked all season (via ESPNU). But the defense wasn't any better, allowing 555 yards of offense and nearly giving up 50 points for the second straight game. Defense is supposed to be Charlie Strong's strength, and while he's made the necessary adjustments on offense, the same can't be said for the defense. This unit is still missing tackles and taking bad angles. That's basic football that Texas isn't mastering. And everyone knows it, even the athletic director.

Winner -- Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett: The junior became Ohio State's all-time leader in passing touchdowns, recording the 58th of his career against Rutgers. Coincidentally, the Buckeyes won 58-0 over the Scarlet Knights, and Barrett ended the game with four touchdowns and 238 yards passing. The opponent doesn't need to be used as a qualification; Barrett has been doing this for years and has earned the right to go down as one of the best passers to ever come through the program. What's more: he still has another year and a half of eligibility left if he wants to use it.

Loser -- Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz: On Sept. 6, Iowa announced that Ferentz had signed a long-term extension to coach the Hawkeyes through the 2025 season. Since signing that extension, Iowa has lost to North Dakota State, barely beat Rutgers, and on Saturday, lost to Northwestern 38-31. The series of events just described to you might be the most Iowa thing ever.

Winner -- Washington's big stage: The Huskies are ... dare we say it ... back? OK, so we'll cool it on the "B-word" for now, but Washington's 44-6 win over Stanford Friday night -- the program's most lopsided win over a top-10 team in history -- was as convincing as any game in Week 5. Quarterback Jake Browning can straight-up spin it and the offensive line gave him all kinds of time to throw. The Huskies defense is scary good, too, with its ability to get pressure with just its front four. Is there a changing of the guard in the Pac-12 North? A win over Oregon in Week 6 coupled with Friday's result would certainly indicate so.

Loser -- Stanford back to the drawing board: The sobering realization about Stanford's loss to Washington was that the Cardinal don't have many offensive options outside of Christian McCaffrey. As such, that limits just how effective McCaffrey can be. Stanford's wide receivers couldn't get open downfield and the offensive line couldn't create a push or pass protect. The 38-point loss was the worst of the Jim Harbaugh and David Shaw era, meaning the Cardinal has to go back to the drawing board if it's going to recover.

Winner -- West Virginia wide receiver Shelton Gibson: The Mountaineers pulled out a gutsy, come-from-behind win over Kansas State, 17-16. Considering WVU was winless against the Wildcats since joining the Big 12, that's a huge win. You know what's also huge? This Shelton Gibson reception. Not only is it a nice example of body adjustment, but Gibson hauls in the pass while getting his helmet ripped off. That's some concentration.

Loser -- Minnesota linebacker Jaylen Waters: Look, it's possible Waters was told to make life a living hell for Penn State kicker Joey Julius. Julius has a history of trucking people, after all, and it wouldn't be surprising if Minnesota wanted to set a tone early that special teams tomfoolery would not be tolerated. Still, Waters went after Julius not once, not twice, but three times. And there were some questionable hits associated with a clear intent to target a specific player.

Walters was ejected for the cheap shot on Julius, which is the right call. Penn State won 29-26 in overtime, so Julius got the last laugh ... and the last drum solo.

Winner -- Tennessee's semi-charmed kind of life: Tennessee is living some kind of dream. The Vols' 34-31 win over Georgia was the result of one crazy play after another; Tennessee was just fortunate enough to have the ball last. Joshua Dobbs' 43-yard Hail Mary as time expired was the third touchdown in the final three minutes of the game -- and the second in the final 10 seconds. There's no doubting this team's fight and talent, but this is also a team lucky to be 5-0.

Loser -- Florida State: No, I'm not feverishly attempting to delete any projections about the Seminoles being a national title winner. Why would you even suggest such a thing? Florida State's 37-35 loss to North Carolina -- decided on a last-second, 54-yard field goal -- might knock the Seminoles out of the playoff race. This was always going to be a track meet -- the Tar Heels average 41 points per game and the Noles weren't exactly bringing in a stout defense -- and coach Jimbo Fisher wasn't ready for it. Moving the ball wasn't the issue, but Florida State was terrible on third downs (4 of 11) and had 120 yards in penalties. The defense is bad enough, but the offense's inability to finish drives didn't help.

Winner -- Michigan cornerback Jourdan Lewis: This is the interception of the year. Sorry, not sorry. There is no debate. I don't care what happens throughout the rest of the season. This would be an insane catch on offense, let alone as the game-sealing pick it was. The fascinating part, too, was that Lewis slightly mistimed his jump but came down with the ball anyway.

Loser -- Utah's late-game struggles vs. Cal: Poor Utah. The Utes had every opportunity to upend Cal in 28-23 loss, but failed to do so. Utah had seven -- seven! -- plays in goal-to-go situations inside two minutes thanks to a defensive pass interference on Cal on a fourth-down play. However, the Utes were ultimately stopped short on a second third-and-goal attempt as time ran out.

Granted, the ending wasn't all about Utah. The officiating crew took away a timeout from Utah when it appears coach Kyle Whittingham was simply asking about the clock. Also, credit is due for Cal making defensive stops. Still, Utah had plenty of opportunities to score a touchdown from short-yardage situations and came up short.

Winner -- LSU running backs Derrius Guice and Darrel Williams: Hey, who needs Leonard Fournette anyway? OK, so the Tigers would love to have Fournette every day of the week, but Guice did more than his fair share to pick up the slack by rushing for 163 yards and three touchdowns in a 42-7 win over Missouri. Williams added 130 yards and three scores of his own. LSU's offense as a whole was much-improved in its first game post-Les Miles, which is all the more incredible considering who was missing from the backfield.

Loser -- Michigan State: It's not just that Michigan State lost. It's not even that Michigan State lost to Indiana 24-21 in overtime. It's that Michigan State lost to Indiana despite the fact that the Hoosiers did their best to lose as well. Nothing embodied this more than Michigan State's personal foul penalty on Indiana's missed field goal attempt in overtime. That gave the Hoosiers more life on offense, which led to the eventual game-winning 20-yard attempt. Is it the worst loss of Mark Dantonio's tenure in East Lansing? If not, it's up there.

Winner -- Your underrated upset of the day: How about South Alabama taking care of nearly three-touchdown favorite San Diego State 42-24? The Aztecs are no joke. This is -- or, perhaps now, "was" -- a team with a legitimate shot to represent the Group of Five in a New Year's Six bowl. Instead, the Jaguars spoiled their night. Now, South Alabama -- quite literally USA's team -- has wins over San Diego State and Mississippi State. Not too bad.

Loser -- South Carolina's passing attack: Normally, nitpicking over passing stats is not the M.O. here, but this stood out. In South Carolina's 24-13 loss to Texas A&M, the second-leading passer for the Gamecocks was Sean Kelly with 36 yards. Kelly is the punter. Brandon McLLwain, who started the game, had 34 yards passing. Perry Orth finally had to spark the offense with 138 yards.

Winner -- USC coach Clay Helton: How about some props for the Trojans and coach Helton? It's been a tough go for this team since the 52-6 loss to Alabama in Week 1. However, a comfortable 41-20 win over Arizona State gives USC something to smile about. The offense was finally in sync, showing balance and explosion. Most importantly, it looked like the players were having fun. That's something we haven't been able to say about USC this year. If the Trojans are finally playing for pride, then maybe this is the beginning of the turnaround. Not to mention the moment Helton's seat cools.

Loser -- Oregon's dirty little secret: If you've paid attention to Oregon football over the last several years, what you're seeing right now with the Ducks is stunning. Oregon is appalling on defense and the 51-33 loss to Washington State was an eye-opening indicator at just how far this program has fallen. The Cougars rushed 280 yards at seven yards a touch for six touchdowns. That's Mike Leach's Air Raid Washington State ... rushing ... for nearly three bills and six touchdowns. If Wazzu can run power on you, you might have a problem.

Winner -- The best touchdown you'll see this weekend: Hats off to UNLV quarterback Dalton Sneed for this 91-yard touchdown run against Fresno State. Not only did Sneed go end zone to end zone for the score, he avoided a would-be safety in the process. That's what you call a major swing in game action.