Week 5’s slate of games did not disappoint as ranked matchups went down to the wire, and four of last week’s
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Those expectations have now ratcheted up further after the win over Florida State. ESPN FPI gives Virginia a 14.1% chance to win the ACC, the second-highest odds in the league behind Miami. When asked to reflect on the journey to get to this point after the game, Elliott specifically mentioned Davis, Chandler and Perry.
“I know what I signed up for,” Elliott said. “But for me, it’s really about the Davis family, the Chandler family, the Perry family, the coaches in that locker room, the staff, the players and just trying to be a model of that belief. There have been days that I didn’t know how I was going to do it, but as soon as I walk in the office and I see one of their faces, it reminds me why we’re here.
“I came here because I believe Virginia can be one of the premier football programs in the country to go alongside with being one of the premier academic schools. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, and I didn’t know what adversity we were going to walk into, but here’s what I do know — adversity is a companion to a champion, an enemy to the weak. We had to embrace the adversity.”
There also is needed perspective. Virginia is 1-0, with a road game against undefeated Louisville next.
“We wanted to be in the driver’s seat and that’s all we did was keep ourselves in the driver’s seat,” Elliott said. “We’ve got to keep two hands on the wheel, put the seat belt on, make sure that we check the rearview mirror, make sure we’re awake so we don’t hit a pothole along the way.” — Andrea Adelson
Why aggressiveness is the only approach for Lanning, Kiffin
Oregon’s Dan Lanning and Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin are on the short list of best coaches never to have won a national title (both have been part of championship teams as assistants). Whether either raises a trophy Jan. 19 in South Florida remains to be seen. Oregon might be a year away, with all of its youth, and Ole Miss likely had a more talented team in 2024, only to fall short of its first CFP appearance.
But Lanning and Kiffin have given themselves — and their teams — a chance at making history. And they’ve done so by being themselves — bold, aggressive and fearless in key situations. Oregon led Penn State 10-3 early in the fourth quarter and faced fourth-and-1 at the Nittany Lions’ 8-yard line. Rather than take a two-score lead against an opponent that had looked completely feeble on offense to that point, Lanning went for the touchdown, and Jordon Davison scooted into the end zone.
I have seen very few coaches go for the win like Lanning did in State College. Oregon needed the two-touchdown cushion as Penn State rallied to force overtime, but Lanning’s decision reinforced his belief in his team. The Ducks won in OT, giving Lanning arguably the best win of his young coaching career. Lanning’s boldness came back to hurt him early in his tenure, especially in losses to Washington, but the approach is unquestionably who he is, and he shouldn’t deviate from it.
Kiffin also stayed true to himself with Ole Miss protecting a 24-19 lead against LSU and facing fourth-and-3 at the Tigers’ 35-yard line. He trusted quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, a Division II transfer who has become one of the early stories of this season, to execute one final time, as Ole Miss gained 20 yards to secure the win.
Maybe Oregon and LSU lose if those conversions fail, but coaches like Lanning and Kiffin are at their best when playing pedal-down football. And it could lead them to the top this season. — Adam Rittenberg
Same old USC
When USC receiver Makai Lemon made yet another brilliant grab to put USC up 32-31 on Illinois with 1:55 left in the game, what happened next was very predictable. A pair of Illini fumbles bailed out USC to get to that point, but the Trojans had done almost nothing to slow down Illinois’ offense all game. So, when Illinois took over, it had no trouble bullying the USC front on the ground to get into field goal range for the walk-off win. This is who the Trojans are: a team that can occasionally excite, but ultimately still soft and devoid of winning DNA.
This was USC’s first real test of the season and, like it has so often over the past three years, it failed. USC should benefit as much as anyone in the NIL era, but instead, it continues to tread in mediocrity. — Kyle Bonagura
