COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEK 5 TAKEAWAY: As Kentucky plays defense in a flurry, UNLV's momentum continues

On a Saturday where the Alabama Crimson Tide-Georgia Bulldogs clash stole the show, here are five (well, a little more than five) takeaways from an exciting Week 5 across college football.

1. Kentucky Wildcats test their defense in road upset of No. 6 Ole Miss Rebels

Kentucky's offense in 2024 is a work in progress (to say the least), but after Saturday's road upset at No. 6 Ole Miss-Oxford, Miss., Big Blue's first win since 1978-there's little debating the Wildcats' defense.

They are elite.

Kentucky recorded four sacks, seven tackles for loss and held a potent Ole Miss offense to just 3.2 yards per rush on 29 attempts and a 1-for-10 mark on third down.

Sure enough, the Rebels still kept up the passing yards, primarily in the form of the Jackson Dart-Trey Harris connection that led to 11 completions for 176 yards and a touchdown. But everything else was difficult for Ole Miss thanks to Kentucky's consistent defensive pressure.

The Wildcats showed their teeth defensively at a home near then-No. 1 Georgia earlier this month, but validated their performance with another lights-out effort on Saturday.

Kentucky is now 3-2 and 1-2 in SEC play. It's not a conference title contender, but certainly could play spoiler for the SEC hopefuls of the No. 6 Tennessee Volunteers and No. 1 Texas Longhorns still to come on this fall's schedule.

2. Controversial Friday night ending to No. 7 Miami Hurricanes win over Virginia Tech Hawkeyes points to growing officiating problem in college football

No. 7 Miami was caught in a dogfight with preseason ACC darling Virginia Tech—a Hokies team that dropped their opener on the road to the Vanderbilt Commodores and followed it up three weeks later with a home loss to the Rutgers Scarlets by the Knights.

Virginia Tech head coach Brent Pry had a couple of game-tying decisions that he definitely wishes could be reversed. Those decisions included an early timeout before a 57-yard field goal before halftime that gave Miami enough time to drive down the field and kick a field goal with 25 seconds left. The Hokies also attempted a fake field goal in the third quarter off a Cam Ward interception that would have given them a 13-point lead.

But in the end, it all came down to one final drive on the offensive for the Hokies. Trailing 38-34 with three seconds left, Virginia Tech quarterback Kieron Drones picked off a pass in the back left corner of the end zone. The ball was fumbled by several players before Virginia Tech wide receiver Da'Quan Felton came up with the football. It was unclear if he gained sole possession before a Miami defender scrambles to get the ball free.

Officials concluded it was a Virginia Tech touchdown, which the Hokies should have scored in one of their biggest road upsets of the year. However, after a replay review that lasted more than five minutes, the conference's operational command center determined that Felton never had the possession.

There doesn't seem to be conclusive evidence to prove that the field call should have been overturned, but it gave Miami a narrow win, either way.

Virginia Tech made plenty of mistakes that cost it the win, but the game-ending kick in the teeth by ACC officials underscored the growing feeling throughout college football that the game has an officiating problem.

3. The Auburn Tigers snatched a loss from the jaws of victory, and once again, a turnover was the culprit.

A week removed from turning the ball over five times in a 24-14 home loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks, Auburn was again in turnover trouble at worst in a 27-21 home loss to the No. 21 Oklahoma Sooners.

With the Tigers leading 21-16 with just four minutes to play, Auburn starting quarterback Peyton Thorn felt pressure on his right side and threw an inexplicable pass up the middle into the arms of Oklahoma linebacker Kip Lewis. The redshirt sophomore returned an interception 61 yards for a touchdown in the contest's decisive score.

Auburn's Hugh Freeze needs to right the ship, and fast, or if the Tigers let wins slip away through self-inflicted mistakes, things could quickly turn to Year 3.

4. Colorado Buffaloes win again as Travis Hunter continues his Heisman Trophy case

Colorado's dominant 48-21 road win over the UCF Knights on Saturday in Boulder, Colo., was not only the biggest win of the Deion Sanders era, but also another step toward validating Travis Hunter's Heisman case.

Hunter is arguably the best player in college football. He deserves to win the Heisman. But to capture sport's most iconic individual award, team success is almost always a prerequisite. Hunter is one of the only players in college football who plays both offense and defense, and no one plays both wide receiver and defensive end at his level.

Hunter caught nine passes for 89 yards and a touchdown and added an interception on defense against UCF.

Colorado is 4-1 and 2-0 in Big 12 play. The Buffs are off next week before taking on a ranked Kansas State Wildcats team. Colorado has improved after a rocky Year 1 under Sanders, but Hunter will need to keep piling up wins to have a real shot at capturing the Heisman.

5. Don't have Matthew Sluka? No problem for the UNLV Rebels group of 5 CFP hopefuls

It's been quite a week for UNLV's football program.

The first came a social media post late Tuesday from quarterback Matthew Sluka, who announced his decision to sit out the rest of the season, redshirting and transferring between alleged “representation” (NIL payment) that wasn't met.

What followed was a PR messaging war that pitted UNLV and its NIL collective against the Slucker camp. Ultimately, there was no written agreement binding UNILV (yes, that's the name of the conglomerate) to any payment obligations to Sluka.

On the field, UNLV needed to continue the momentum built by the program's first 3-0 record in 40 years with the Fresno State Bulldogs in town to open Mountain West play.

The result? A 59-14 rout by the Rebels in which newly minted starter Hodge-Malik Williams accounted for 182 passing yards, 119 rushing yards and four total touchdowns.

After a week marked by upsets, the Rebels came out the other side with their most lopsided victory of the season and perhaps their first AP Top 25 ranking in program history coming Sunday.