Arizona started the upset bus, and the state of Mississippi took over from there. Many had their top four penciled in for the playoffs, but after today they can just throw that list out. Thursday night, Duck fans were left to wonder when it will be their year, while Alabama fans are still learning to grasp the feeling and emotions that come with losing to a “Mississippi” team. On top of those teams losing, Florida State was held scoreless for the first quarter against a very weak Wake Forest team. After another week of college football, not one single team has stood out as a dominating force.
With that in mind, let’s recap some of the action from the Top-25:
1. Florida State might be the #1 team, but they have not played like it. Though they won 43-3 over Wake Forest, don’t let the score fool you. The Seminoles are missing that “fire” this year and it will eventually catch up to them.
2. Arizona marched into Eugene, Oregon and stole a victory from the Ducks. You can talk about the refs, the struggling offensive line for Oregon, or the non-existence of a defense for the Ducks but you still need to give credit to the Wildcats’ offense and defense. Arizona won 31-24 and looks to build off that momentum working towards a PAC-12 title. However, there is a lot of football yet to be played.
Oregon fans can know they are not the only team to have their hearts broken. Arizona State completed a Hail Mary pass as time expired against USC to win 38-34. Arizona State is looking to get back on track after being throttled by UCLA last week.
Notre Dame dashed Stanford’s playoff hopes with a 17-14 victory. Notre Dame’s Everett Golson threw a touchdown pass on 4th down with less than a minute remaining to secure the go ahead score. Stanford is most likely out of the playoffs but along with about eleven other teams still has a shot at a PAC-12 title.
3. As an Alabama fan you expect top recruiting classes, championships, and always beating the Mississippi schools. Not today!!! Ole Miss finally worked out the kinks and secured the biggest win in school history with a 23-17 win over Alabama. Ole Miss started slowly this season but has shown they are only getting better and look to move a step closer in winning the school’s first ever SEC title.
Across town Mississippi State was handling business as they hammered Texas A&M 48-31. Mississippi State made quick work of the Texas A&M’s high powered offense. Mississippi State’s Dak Prescott accounted for five touchdowns and helped his Heisman cause a little with the victory.
Auburn has distinguished itself as the top SEC team with a convincing 41-7 victory over LSU. Auburn will now be the SEC favorite to make the playoffs, as the other top SEC teams fell from the ranks of unbeaten.
Georgia’s Todd Gurley added to his Heisman resume as he ran for 163 yards and two scores. He also threw a 50 yard pass on a trick play. Georgia routed Vanderbilt 44-17 and looks to not only contend for an SEC title but still a spot in the playoffs as well.
4. After seeing so many top teams struggle, Oklahoma seemed to be the only guarantee for making the playoffs. Oklahoma has handled their business and looked like a playoff contender week in and week out. Today, TCU handed Oklahoma its first loss, 37-33. TCU is known mostly for its defense, but today the offense was a positive highlight as they racked up over 450 yards.
Down the road in Austin, Baylor took care of a struggling Texas team, 28-7. Baylor seems like the BIG-12’s only hope for making the playoffs after today’s results. Next week Baylor will look to do what Oklahoma could not, which is to beat TCU.
Oklahoma State cruised to an easy win over Iowa State, 37-20. The Cowboys are very much alive in the BIG-12 title race thanks to the upsets today and look for a few more breaks to go their way as the season progresses. Kansas State rolled to an easy 45-13 win over Texas Tech. The Wildcats are quietly becoming a favorite to win the BIG-12 with all of Saturday’s chaos.
5. Tough break for BYU, literally. BYU’s Heisman quarterback Taysom Hill broke his leg during BYU’s 35-20 loss to instate rival Utah State. BYU was hoping to play Cinderella this year but had those dreams go down with Hill’s broken leg. East Carolina continues to rack up points as they beat SMU, 45-24. East Carolina will most likely run the table the rest of the season but still get left out of the major bowl games.
6. Ohio State continues to improve without Braxton Miller after beating Maryland, 52-24. Northwestern dashed Wisconsin’s playoff hopes and B1G title dreams with a 20-14 victory. Michigan will most likely be looking for a new coach after losing to B1G newcomer Rutgers, 26-24. Michigan State held on against Nebraska, 27-22, and has been the only bright spot in the B1G despite their loss to Oregon.
7. UCLA forfeited its chance to move up with a 30-28 loss on a last-second missed field goal against unranked Utah. And speaking of missed field goals, the WSU Cougars coug’ed again with a missed 19-yard field goal at the end of the game against California, losing 60-59 in a Wild West shootout. Incredibly, WSU had a remaining time out and could have run another play to place the ball in the middle of the field, but instead went for broke on third down from near the right hash mark. The two teams combined for over 1400 yards of total offense, with WSU’s Connor Halliday throwing for 734 yards, breaking the NCAA single game passing record.
This has been an unforgettable week of college football. As fans we live for the upsets, and this weekend of games did not disappoint. After this weekend I would hate to be the playoff committee. Their job has become a little bit harder as the #2, #3, #4, #6 and #8 teams were upset. Next week the upsets will continue as more undefeated teams go up against each other and are put to the test. It will be interesting to see which teams are left standing if this weekend is any indicator on how the rest of the season will go.
NATIONAL NEWS:
1. College Football Mailbag
2. Punter gets slammed
3. Iowa State conspiracy
4. Team forgets kickoff
5. The “blind” leading the “blind”
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Jeff Hostetler may not have won a Super Bowl with the Giants ( though his uncle of the same name did). He has been an obsessed college football fan living in Florida ever since the Gators beat FSU in the Sugar Bowl to earn the UF’s first national championship.
Ever since Jeff has immersed himself in everything possible related to college football. He enjoys watching, writing, playing, and otherwise obsessing over all things football. A graduate of the University of Florida, he brings a perspective to FishDuck free of our extreme green & yellow homerism glasses to look at the current landscape of collegiate athletics.