There are Saturdays when the true playoff contender emerge with such strength and power.
There are Saturdays when the system feels rigged and upsets knock one team after another from the ranks of the elite.
There are Saturdays where the goal is survival.
After the Wake Forest game, the coach of the team suggested that he was close to playing quarterback.
Washington State wanted to upend the power structure of the Pacific-12.
Michigan was frustrated by Maryland in the Big House.
The Lincoln Riley's offense finally met its match in Oregon State, which harassed the quarterback until the end.
The favorite did not die in each case.
The same thing happened up and down the top 25. Georgia gave up more than twice as many points as they had all season in a loss to Kent State. The Bears held Iowa State to 66 yards on the ground, had two turnovers, and still had to hold on to a last onside kick. The Ole Miss narrowly lost to Tulsa. The two teams were tied at halftime. Tennessee dominated Florida, then nearly let the Gators come back in a frenetic final few minutes, saved by Billy Napier's inexplicable decision to go for two with 4:49 to play.
The main character narrowly escaped one harrowing scenario after another, but emerged battered, bloodied and bruised.
It wasn't the same for everyone.
Texas saw a 14-point second-half lead disappear as Texas Tech came back to take a 34-31 lead. Bijan Robinson fumbled on the first play of overtime and the Longhorns lost. The Longhorns have lost by a touchdown or less in their last seven games.
Texas A&M scored a 97-yard touchdown after a KJ Jefferson fumbled as he leaped for the end zone, and the Razorbacks were stunned by the outcome of the game. We're being told that Jimbo Fisher found a spark for the Aggies' offense after diving into his menu at the restaurant. Jerry Jones usually waits until the football playoffs to see his team fall apart.
Jimbo apparently doing expense reports on the sideline between plays. pic.twitter.com/mNDwVPfxFe
โ ๐ซ๐ ฐ๏ธโ๏ธ๐ (@ADavidHaleJoint) September 25, 2022
The curse of Scott Frost led to Oklahoma's demise. It hasn't won since it beat Nebraska in the first week of the year. Georgia Southern beat the Cornhuskers in Week 2, but lost the next week to Alabama A&M. The Sooners were knocked out of the top spot in the rankings by Kansas State on Saturday, a week after they defeated Nebraska. Nebraska is similar to the VHS tape in "The Ring" Everyone who comes into contact with it is doomed to die within a week.
It might be easy to fault the Tigers for needing overtime to defeat Sam Hartman and Wake, but they still won and remain in the playoff hunt. Maybe that's all the story that matters. The reporters were criticized by the coach for their criticism of his quarterback.
Georgia was supposed to be an easy win. It's probably a possibility. It's okay for 21 men to sleepwalk if Brock is running.
Is J.J. McCarthy dead? It might be possible. After playing three of the worst teams in the country to start the season, Michigan was going to find it harder in Big Ten play.
Riley could've brought in transfers from LSU, Florida State, and the St. Louis Rams, but it wouldn't have been enough to stop Oregon State. Williams completed the throws even though he completed less than half of his passes.
The job was too big for a few potential competitors.
They will live a bit longer. As with all horror films, there will be sequels, and what ultimately determines who's ready for a real playoff push and who won't get a role in the next movie will come down to what lessons they learned from a brutal Week 4.
The Book of Revelations states that in the end times all mountains and valleys will be leveled to the plains and a Jayhawk will come from the ashes.
The apocalypse is going to happen. Thank you Lance Leipold.
Yes, Kansas is a perfect four It isn't just a schedule-aided, paper-thin 2-0. The Jayhawks beat Duke on Saturday and looked like one of the best offenses in the country. It came on the heels of an overtime win against West Virginia and a surprise upset of Houston.
It is true that Kansas is for real.
Daniel Hishaw Jr. breaks tackles on his way to a 73 yard touchdown run.
The last time the Jayhawks won four games in a season was in the movie "Avatar" We are being told that "Avatar" is back in theaters. Is the Kansas season just a remake of James CAMERON?
The Jayhawks went to the Orange Bowl in 2007, won eight games in 2008, and then lost their last game of the year. It was the most popular comedy run since Bob Hope. What will we be laughing at? Will it be funny when Kansas beats Texas?
Over the course of a decade, Kansas tried a number of quick fixes, including Charlie Weis and Les Miles. We're pretty sure the Jayhawks used to have a shaman and a statue of Bear Bryant. It didn't help. It was as if the program woke up after a long night of sleep.
There have been many players who have come through Lawrence in the last 15 years. Think of them because we can't remember anything. For a generation of college football fans in Kansas, the closest thing they had to a celebrity was Baby Mangino, who is now a retiree and collecting social security.
There are stars now. It's time for the Jayhawks to start chipping in for a statue of the man. The four different Kansas players caught a touchdown. Four different Kansas players scored a touchdown in 2020. Cobee Bryant is a Jayhawks defensive back. "C" is a more versatile letter than "K" and the extra "E" is for "eventually we're going to be ranked."
It probably doesn't mean the end is close. If Kent State pulled the upset over Georgia or Central Michigan stayed with Penn State, then perhaps it would be time to head for the underground Bunker.
These are not normal times. The Jayhawks are actually good.
Maybe there's a lesson in this for all of us about perseverance and knowing that one day you will be rewarded. Maybe you should never give Charlie Weis a long term contract. Good advice can come from either option.
The rest of the schedule will be more difficult with Iowa State and three ranked opponents. Maybe this is the high-water mark for the Jayhawks in the years to come. That's okay if that is the case. We have seen a new horizon for a team that has been walking into a brick wall for 15 years. Kansas is more than just a basketball team, it's a program with a pulse, a team moving in the right direction, and a fan base that isn't counting down the days until basketball season.
Kansas may have finally earned some respect with its win Saturday, but the Jayhawks aren't the only team still looking for votes.
P.J. Fleck is fond of telling his team to "row the boat," but at this point, the Minnesota Golden Gophers are sailing a yacht. The University of Minnesota dominated Michigan State on Saturday. The defense is very interesting in Minnesota. The longest active streak in the country is held by the University of Minnesota.
On Saturday, Florida State beat Boston College 44-14. The quarterback threw for a career-best 331 yards. Florida State is 10-3.
Earlier in the season, UCLA narrowly escaped against some lesser opposition, but Saturday, they delivered a dominant win over Colorado. It's impressive for a guy who has to be in his 50s by this point to throw for more than 200 yards.
The Orange are on a path to the Elite Eight if they can beat Virginia on Friday.
The last team outside the Power 5 with a perfect record is Coastal Carolina. This week's win over Georgia State could be the last one for the Chanticleers because of an injured quarterback.
It's too early to fully endorse any of them, but it's time for them to get some attention from voters and get some love in the polls.
Bryan Harsin might have been out of his misery on Saturday, with Missouri putting him out of his misery.
The college football gods didn't want him to leave.
Harsin was forced to endure a pillow fight as the season is likely to offer.
Kevin Warren has offered both teams to join the Big Ten.
The most offensive drive was the last one. The fourth-string quarterback was the only one who could do anything on the offense. With 45 seconds left, Missouri drove to the 3-yard line to set up a first-and- goal. The Missouri tigers took a knee twice to set up a field goal on third down.
The kicker missed the kick.
In overtime, Nathaniel Peat fumbled at the goal line and the game was decided.
After losing 2 yards on a drive in which it ran three plays, it kicked a field goal to win it in overtime. When it had a chance to win in OT, Missouri fumbled the ball in the end zone.
Harsin had to cancel his tee time next Saturday so he could coach the team again. The man has suffered a lot.
A number of the country's top teams stumbled through the Saturday action, but Ohio State looked like a potential national champion.
There were two 100 yard backs.
The 52 points was the most scored against a Wisconsin defense since the Big Ten title game when Ohio State beat the Badgers 59-0.
All of Saturday's dominance came in a game in which the Buckeyes played without some of their defensive backs.
If the sluggish start against Notre Dame offered any opening for doubt, Ohio State delivered an emphatic rebuke. A road trip to Penn State and the season finale against Michigan are the only serious challenges left on the schedule.
boredom could be the biggest threat for Ohio State. Or both? It's the same thing.
It had been a great start for the team. Making their New Year's Six hopes disappear was the only trick the Mountaineers had.
After jumping out to a 28-3 lead, App State's second half included four punts, two turnovers on downs and a backbreaking intercept that set up a go-ahead touchdown for JMU. The interests of America's majority have not been defeated by James Madison in a long time.
America's Cinderella story was supposed to be App State. Do you think about the Dukes?
Todd Centeio has thrown 11 touchdown passes in JMU's first season as an NCAA team. JMU has won three games in a row, the same number of victories as the University of Massachusetts.
DJ England-Chisolm caught a Chase Cunningham pass behind the defense and sprinted into the end zone for a 98-yard touchdown to give Middle Tennessee a lead it wouldn't relinquish.
Miami had a reply. Key'Shawn Smith ran up the middle and paid dirt on the ensuing kick off.
The two teams racked up 189 all-purpose yards and 14 points in 22 seconds.
Miami answered Middle Tennessee State's 98-yard touchdown with a 91-yard score of its own.
It might've been exciting for the upwards of nine fans in attendance, but Miami didn't offer much else to cheer for. The Hurricanes were shocked with a 45-31 loss. Take it easy, Canes fans. Nick Saban lost to Louisiana-Monroe in his first season at Alabama, so Mario Cristobal is still on track to win a half-dozen national titles in the future.
Stephen F. Austin was able to hang 100 on Warner, which is a private Christian school in Florida with an enroll of 814 students. The Lumberjacks took a knee on a 2-point attempt.
This feels like an insult.
Stephen F. Austin just scored a TD to take a 98-0 lead on Warner. The offensive was on the field for a 2pt conversion
BUT THEY TOOK A KNEE! pic.twitter.com/EYqfFhvnpC
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