CI Week 5 Football Highlights

If there's one quality the Chargers have in spades, it's resiliency. Last year, the club endured a move to a new city and dropped its first four games before winning nine of its final 12 to finish with a winning record. This season has started with its own challenges as the Chargers entered Sunday with an unassuming 1-2 record, however, both of their loses came against teams that remain undefeated. Facing San Francisco, Los Angeles appeared to have a great opportunity to get back into the win column considering the 49ers were without the services of starting QB Jimmy Garoppolo. Of course, things are never as easy as they seem in the NFL, and the Chargers found themselves facing a 14-0 deficit in the first quarter after San Francisco's offense didn't miss a beat with backup QB C.J. Beathard calling signals. The Chargers would respond with 11 points in the final minute of the half to tie the score at 17-17. When they found themselves down again early in the fourth quarter, they responded once more to claim a 29-27 victory. At the center of the comeback was RB Melvin Gordon who finished with 104 rushing yards, 55 receiving yards and one touchdown reception. A few of Gordon's runs were particularly impressive as he bounced off would-be tacklers and helped spark momentum in the Chargers' favor at several points. After the game, Gordon was asked about the comeback and replied: "We know how to respond when we go down. We always feel like we got the players to be in the game, regardless of how much someone goes up." In the passing game for LA, WR Keenan Allen helped fill the void of injured WR Travis Benjamin with seven receptions for 63 yards. Congratulations to Los Angeles RB Coach Alfredo Roberts and WR Coach Phil McGeoghan (@PhilMcGeoghan)! Roberts joined the Chargers in 2017 following 13 years as a tight ends coach with the Colts, Buccaneers, Browns and Jaguars. As a player, he won two national championships at the University of Miami and two Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys. McGeoghan arrived in Los Angeles this season after spending the 2017 campaign as the wide receivers coach for the Bills. He has also worked with the Dolphins' wide receivers in addition to coaching at the college level with East Carolina, South Florida and Maine.

The first month of the season has been a good one for NC State Asst. Head Coach/CB George Barlow (@CoachGBarlow). After opening the season with a win over JMU, the program that Barlow helped lead to a national championship in 2004, the Wolfpack rolled to wins over Georgia State and then Marshall, Barlow's alma mater. The strong start continued on Saturday as CB Nick McCloud and Safety Dexter Wright each recorded interceptions in NC State's 35-21 win over Virginia. The Cavaliers jumped out to a 7-3 lead late in the first quarter but from that point on the Wolfpack began to impose its will. NC State QB Ryan Finley threw for two touchdowns in the second quarter, the second of which came with less than a minute remaining in the half and appeared to send the Wolfpack into the locker room with a 10-point lead. McCloud had other ideas, however, as his interception came on UVA's ensuing possession and enabled NC State to tack on another field goal before the break. For the game, the Wolfpack's pass defense held UVA QB Bryce Perkins to a QBR of 25.4, his lowest rating of the season. With the win, NC State remains one of just 14 teams undefeated in the FBS and checked into the AP Poll for the first time this season at #23. Congratulations to Barlow on the win and impressive start! Barlow is in his fifth season in Raleigh and has helped guide the Wolfpack to a bowl game in each of his first four seasons. He arrived at NC State following a two-year stint at Vanderbilt where he guided the Commodores to two top 25 finishes in pass defense. Barlow served as New Mexico's interim head coach for much of 2011 and has also coached defensive backs at Oklahoma.

Elsewhere in the ACC, Georgia Tech rolled to a dominant win over Bowling Green in Atlanta. If the Yellow Jackets had any built up frustration after a difficult three-week stretch, they certainly unleashed it on the Falcons who were helpless to stop Georgia Tech's option attack. On the Yellow Jackets' first offensive play, QB TaQuon Marshall connected with WR Jalen Camp for a 33-yard strike into Bowling Green territory. For the rest of the day, it was an onslaught on the ground. 10 different Georgia Tech players recorded carries, headlined by QB Tobias Oliver who finished with 115 yards and two touchdowns on only seven carries (16.4 ypc). B-back Jordan Mason added 61 rushing yards and two scores while A-back Nathan Cottrell rushed for 46 yards and one touchdown. Defensively, DE Anree Saint-Armour had a monster game as he intercepted a pass that he returned for a touchdown and also recorded three tackles, 2.5 tackles-for-loss and one sack. Safety Malik Rivera posted a game-high 10 tackles and ILB David Curry also recorded an interception. Congratulations to Georgia Tech Special Teams Coordinator/A-backs Lamar Owens(@GTCoachOwens), Safeties Coach Shiel Wood (@ShielWood) and DL Coach Jerome Riase (@JRiase)! Owens is in his 11th season on The Flats and wears multiple hats for the program. After playing at Navy, he joined the Georgia Tech staff in 2008 as a staff assistant, was promoted to A-back coach in 2010, added special teams coordinator responsibilities in 2016, and recruiting coordinator responsibilities in 2017. Last winter, Owens was selected to participate in the AFCA's 35 Under 35 Leadership Institute. Wood and Riase are each in their first season at Georgia Tech after working together at Wofford where they helped the Terriers win the Southern Conference Championship in 2017 and reach the FCS Quarterfinals in 2016 and 2017. Wood spent eight seasons at Wofford with stints on both sides of the ball before serving as defensive coordinator in 2017. In total, Wood won four conference titles and advanced to the playoffs seven times with the Terriers. Riase spent four years at Wofford and has also coached at Butler, Ashland and Savannah State. In 2011 he participated in the NCAA Coaches Academy.

After spending most of his career on the defensive side of the ball with stints as the defensive coordinator at Nevada and William & Mary, and most recently as the linebackers coach at Arizona, Scott Boone (@CoachScotBoone) transitioned to offense when he arrived at Wake Forest earlier this year. Having playmakers like WR Greg Dortch is helping to make that transition a smooth one. Against, Rice, Dortch tied his own school record with four touchdown receptions in a game to lead the Demon Deacons to a blowout win over Rice. Three of Dortch's scores came in the first half as the Deacons scored 42 points to match the most points scored in a half during Dave Clawson's tenure as head coach. Wake Forest also received significant contributions on the ground, primarily from RB Cade Carney who scored two rushing touchdowns to post his first multi-touchdown game since 2016. The Deacs' 56 points also set a new program record for the most points scored at BB&T Field. Congratulations to Boone who has head coaching experience from his time at Randolph-Macon College where he guided the team to a conference championship. Last season at Arizona, he helped the Wildcats reach the Foster Farms Bowl and coached two linebackers who were each named to multiple Freshman All-American teams.

For teams transitioning to new divisions or conferences, it can always be difficult to assess performances. This has been the case for Campbell as the Camels are transitioning from the Pioneer League to scholarship football in the Big South Conference. With the transition has come an atypical schedule that includes two Division II opponents and an FBS opponent in addition to five Big South matchups. Perhaps the most useful measuring stick for the Campbell came on Saturday against North Alabama, another program that is transitioning into the Big South. By any measure, Offensive Coordinator David Marsh (@CoachDmarsh) and the Camels passed this test with flying colors. Leading the way for Marsh's offense was QB Daniel Smith, who completed 16 passes for 163 yards and three touchdowns to go along with 115 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown. Smith spread the wealth among his receivers as seven different Camels recorded receptions on the day. Through five games, Smith has already accounted for 16 touchdowns, 10 passing and six on the ground. Congratulations on the win and great start to Marsh who is in his second season in Buies Creek, NC. He previously served as an offensive graduate assistant at UCLA and Texas A&M. Marsh also coached at the high school level in Arizona after serving in the Marine Corps for six years.

In 2017, Central Connecticut State won the NEC and was predicted to do so again this year by the conference's head coaches. Contrast that with Lafayette, who was picked to finish fifth in the Patriot League and faces an out-of-conference schedule that includes Army, a perennial CAA power in Delaware, and a Monmouth team that won nine games last year. Having already dropped a hard fought 24-20 decision to Monmouth, if Lafayette was to pick up a non-conference win this year, it would likely involve finding a way to knock off CCSU. Thanks to a breakout performance from RB C.J. Amill and key contributions from several others, the Leopards were able to do just that. Amill scored three times against the Blue Devils, including a 57-yard punt return for a score and two rushing touchdowns to propel Lafayette to a 31-24 upset win. In addition to opening up running lanes for Amill, the Leopard offensive line was also stout in pass protection as it did not allow a sack in 41 dropbacks by QB Sean O'Malley. For the game, O'Malley completed 30-of-41 passes for 328 yards and one touchdown. Congratulations on the victory to Lafayette OL Coach Gordie Sammis (@CoachSammis) who is in his second year in Easton after a two-year stint in the same role at VMI. Following his playing career at Virginia, Sammis joined the Cavalier staff as an offensive graduate assistant and went on to Columbia where he worked with the Lions' offensive line and tight ends for three years.