The last weekend of October looked like it was going to be a big upset. We didn't get them where we thought.
Oklahoma State traveled to Manhattan to take on Kansas State in a game that was supposed to be a preview of the Big 12 title game. It turned out to be the best performance of the season for the Cats and the worst for the Cowboys. K-State dominated Mike Gundy's team in a 41-0 victory.
Louisville used a dominating third quarter to beat a top 10 Wake Forest team 48-21. With a second loss, their chances of reaching the title game are all but over.
Cincinnati and South Carolina fell out of the top 25 after losing to unranked opponents.
It's a good time to check out the Power Rankings since there was a lot of turnover this week.
Ryan Day was happy with his team's fourth-quarter performance. One of the best single-game performances in team history was delivered by defensive end J.T. The first three quarters were filled with Buckeyes mistakes, especially with the run offense. The first major road test for Ohio State was a success and the team showed it's strength.
Next up is at Northwestern on Saturday.
Another offensive show for the state. The Vols jumped on Kentucky in the first half with two long Hooker touchdown passes and went on to win 44-6. The Vols have scored more than 40 points in four of their past five games, and they had their way with the Kentucky defense. In a sold-out Neyland Stadium, Tennessee's defense played one of its best games of the season, intercepting three passes and playing one of its most complete games of the season. The series has been won 35 times by Tennessee.
Next up is at Georgia on Saturday. The program is hosted by CBS.
The team avoided a slow start, which has plagued them at times this season, and jumped out to a big lead in the first half against Florida. Georgia gave up a 78-yard touchdown pass on a busted coverage and turned the ball over twice in the third quarter, allowing the Gators to cut their deficit to 28-20. Each of the next two possessions resulted in a touchdown for the Dogs as they went on to win 42-20. Georgia has won five in a row against Florida. Georgia will have to clean up their act before they play Tennessee next week.
The next game is against Tennessee. The program is hosted by CBS.
Brock Bowers made a juggling catch and took it 73 yards for Georgia's first touchdown of the game.
Jim Harbaugh defeated Mel Tucker for the first time in three years. The most by a Michigan player against Michigan State since Mike Hart had 218 is by running back Blake Corum. The Michigan defense held Michigan State to 63 yards in the second half and scored 16 points in the last two quarters. Next up for Michigan is Rutgers, who are 1-8 on the year.
Next up is at Rutgers on Saturday. The Big Ten network is on.
The open date gave the team a chance to rest and prepare for Notre Dame, which they hope will lead to a College Football Playoff appearance. It has yet to put together a complete game from both its offense and defense despite playing eight straight games. DJ Uiagalelei remains the starter despite being benched in the comeback win over Syracuse, and all eyes will be on him next Saturday in SouthBend, Indiana.
Next up: at Notre Dame. The program is hosted by NBC.
Fight back then finish strong. In Morgantown on Saturday, the Frogs defeated West Virginia by a score of 41-31. Big plays were used as usual. There were five different players who scored a touchdown of 29 yards or more, and all of them scored in the second and fourth quarters. The Frogs should have a small number next to their name in the College Football Playoff rankings.
The next game is against Texas Tech.
Losing at Tennessee still hurts for a team with a chance to win a title. The past two weeks have given Alabama an excellent chance to bounce back, first by dominating Mississippi State at home last weekend, then by taking this past week off to regroup and prepare for LSU. The Alabama team has struggled in difficult environments and will be tested at Tiger Stadium.
Next up: at LSU. The app is available on the Disney/ESPN website.
There have been seven wins in a row. There have been seven games with at least 41 points. In Berkeley on Saturday, the Ducks turned it over on downs twice in the red zone and lost to the Bears. The Golden Bears had not allowed more than 31 points in a game all season and came into the game giving up an average of 22.6 points. Bo Nix passed the 400 yard mark for the second time this year, and he also had three passing touchdown and three rushing scores.
Next up is at Colorado on Saturday. The app is available on the Disney/ESPN website.
USC was able to win the game thanks to a five-touchdown, 411-yard passing performance from quarterback Caleb Williams, who was filling in for a number of injured players. The improvement that USC's defense needs to make in order to get to an elite level this season and beyond is highlighted by the fact that the Cats' own offensive firepower (543 total offensive yards) highlighted.
The next game is against Cal on Saturday. The app is available on the Disney/ESPN website.
The only reason that the Cardinal held a lead was because they kicked a field goal on their first possession. It was all Bruins for the next four quarters as they bounced back from their first loss of the season against Oregon with a resounding victory over Stanford thanks to running backZach Charbonnet's sixth game this season with 100 yards or more.
Next up: at Arizona State. The game is played on the FS1 network.
It was the return of Evans that made this game different. Evans' burst, which is a nice change from the bruiser style of Judkins, came in handy as Evans racked up 105 yards on 10 touches.
Next up is BYE.
In a 31-28 win at Texas A&M, Quinshon Judkins set the Rebels' record for freshman rushing touchdown.
The surprise of the week may have been when Utah's offense was introduced at Washington State. As expected, the Utes were without running back Tavion Thomas, but quarterback Cam Rising was on the sideline. Barnes filled in admirably, but for Rising to be unavailable after trying to give it a try in warm-ups put the Utahs in a difficult spot. He didn't think he was correct. Kyle Whittingham said it was Cam's decision. He can't play if he says he can't. The Utes left Pullman with a win and are still in the running for the title.
The next game is against Arizona.
The Oklahoma State team that was scoring 44.7% of their points this season was humiliated by the Cats in one of the most shocking results of the season. Kansas State beat a top 10 team for the first time in 50 years. Will Howard, starting for an injured Adrian Martinez, threw for 296 yards and four scores, as well as running for 158 yards. The Wildcats are a legit contender after everything clicked for them.
The next game is against Texas. The game is played on the FS1 network.
The Illinois team is 7-1 on the season. Chase Brown went over the century mark for the eighth time this season, which is the longest streak for a Big Ten running back since 2015. In the first half, Brown had a rushing and receiving touchdown, and he is one of only two players this season to do that. It's the first time in 13 years that Illinois has started the season 7-1 or better.
The next game is against Michigan State. The Big Ten network is on.
It looked like the Tar Heels' perfect season would come to an end when Pittsburgh scored in the third quarter. Drake Maye took over and led Carolina to aPukiWikiPukiWikiPukiWiki. The performance of Maye will keep the Heels in the Top 25. Heading into the road games against Virginia and Wake Forest, Carolina had won four in a row.
The next game is at Virginia on Saturday.
The Cowboys lost to Kansas State in a big way. Spencer got injured in the fourth quarter after throwing an intercept and completing just half of his passes. OSU was shut out for the first time in five years and suffered their worst loss under Mike Gundy. The inside track for the Big 12 title game was determined by the outcome of the game. Gundy apologized to his team for not being prepared for the game. The Cowboys need to right the ship quickly to stay in the race.
Next up is at Kansas.
The Nittany Lions looked like the better team for most of Saturday's game, playing better defense than they did two weeks ago at Michigan. But familiar errors surfaced in crunch time, especially for senior quarterback Sean Clifford, who had a strong performance with 372 passing yards, three touchdown and three pick ups. Penn State's defense struggled with Ohio State wideout Marvin Harrison Jr. but handled the run well and can build off of its performance entering November when the team should be favored in every game.
The next one is at Indiana on Saturday. The ABC/ESPN app is available on the App Store.
The LSU football team is playing its best football of the season after a bye week. In September, Brian Kelly said that the team was still learning to play together, and that collaboration has been paying dividends recently. In the past two games, Daniels has accounted for 11 touchdown in wins over Ole Miss and Florida. Daniels' ability to run the ball makes it difficult for opposing defenses.
The next game is against Alabama. The app is available on the Disney/ESPN website.
The nightmare is the only way to describe what happened at Louisville. Wake Forest led 14-13 at the half, but Hartman turned the ball over six times in the third quarter. Wake Forest had eight turnovers and Hartman did not play in the fourth quarter. What happened against Louisville is atypical for a program that has made incredible progress as a program. Before Saturday, Wake Forest had five turnovers in a row.
Next up: at NC State. The network and app are available for free on the app store.
Kei'trel Clark took the pick and ran it in for a touchdown.
Heading into its open week, the Green Wave had a four-game winning streak intact. Since losing to Southern Miss, the Green Wave have averaged 33.5 points per game, which has led to them being the only team in the American Athletic Conference with a perfect record. The offense has been balanced throughout the first eight games and has helped to engineer a change from last season's 2-10 record. The Green Wave's defense has been very good, allowing 17.4 points and 313.6 yards per game.
The next game is at Tulsa on Saturday.
All seemed lost in the first quarter against Virginia Tech. After NC State went to freshman quarterback MJ Morris in the first half, he led the Wolfpack from an 18-point deficit to a 22-21 win. Jack Chambers was called on to lead the offense. Morris is the leader of the Wolfpack for the rest of the season after throwing for 265 yards and three touchdown.
The next game is against Wake Forest. The network and app are available for free on the app store.
Brandon Joseph's pick-six of Shrader on Syracuse's first play from scrimmage was a bad sign for the rest of the day. In a second straight loss after a 6-0 start, the Orange managed a season-low 281 total yards and just 68 yards on the ground. Shrader was hurt in the second quarter and sat out the rest of the game. The Orange gave up a season-high 41 points in their last game, but they were still sixth in scoring defense at 15.1 points per game.
Next up is at Pittsburgh on Saturday. The network and app are available for free on the app store.
We can take a look at what's becoming an increasingly solid program during the bye week. Two of the best teams in the Pacific-12, USC and Utah, were the only two teams that they lost to this year. The USC contest was a close one. This is a team that hasn't been to a bowl game in back-to-back seasons since 2012 and 2013.
Next up is at Washington on Saturday. The app is available on the internet and on the app store.
UCF ended Cincinnati's 19-game winning streak on Saturday with a balanced offensive attack. The Knights churned out 510 total yards, 258 on the ground, and saw senior quarterback John Rhys Plumlee exit after a hard hit in the second quarter. The win was sealed with 48 seconds left in the game. He carried the ball 18 times for 84 yards and two scores.
Next up is at Memphis on Saturday. The app is available on the internet and on the app store.
Liberty had a bye week after a big win over BYU. Hugh Freeze's contract extension is the biggest news of the week. He's 33-12 with the Flames, 25-7 since the start of 2020 and 7-1 a year after he lost his star quarterback. The offense and defense both rank in the top 22 in points allowed per drive. The program has a chance to ruin Arkansas's homecoming next Saturday.
Next up: at Arkansas. The SEC Network is available on the SEC Network app.
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