Five weeks into the college football season, a few perceived title contenders are starting to show some cracks. Close wins in conference play can often mask those flaws for a while, but the long haul has a way of exposing them. Look at Louisville -- it fought valiantly against Ole Miss in an opening shootout, beat SMU in a top-25 battle and then dropped the ball at home against Wake Forest.
Once conference play heats up, there's no place to hide deficiencies. The concern isn't the same for every contender. There are a few who need cleaner execution or healthy starters.
Others are dealing with problems that may continue to grow if they're not rectified in a timely fashion. Here are some ranked teams leaking oil through four weeks and how much trouble each one is really in. The reigning national champions center their game plan primarily on winning in the trenches first, but that's going to be hard to do if the injury bug continues to sting this group.
Two of the three ballcarriers in Indiana's rotation are hurt after Khobie Martin broke his arm and Turbo Richard suffered a leg injury in last week's win over Northwestern. Lee Beebe Jr. is the team's leading rusher with 398 yards on 71 carries and must carry the load until help returns. Then, there's the lack of explosive plays.
The Hoosiers are currently 52nd in the country in that category, the lowest rate of any top-10 unbeaten. There's nothing glaringly wrong given Josh Hoover's numbers -- 11 touchdowns, no interceptions and a 70% completion rate -- but the lack of big-play potential could catch up with them at some point. This is a program on a nation-leading 20-game winning streak, so Curt Cignetti likely sees this and rolls his eyes.
In fact, he warned fans not to whine before the Big Ten opener against Northwestern following a 38-0 victory over Western Kentucky that, by heightened program standards, was pretty lackluster. At any rate, this team hasn't reached its second gear yet, and there's concern there might not be a third and fourth gear like last season's group had down the stretch. Bryant Haines' defense still looks the part sans a couple of 75-yard touchdown drives from the opposition in the fourth quarter last time out.
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