This week saw quite a few crazy and unexpected results, and has resulted in a bit of a shift in the college football landscape. In this article, I will talk about each big game from this past week and discuss what it means for the rest of the season.

Kansas State 48 Oklahoma 41

The biggest upset of this week has to be Kansas State’s stunning win over Oklahoma. What is even more surprising is that Kansas State led 48-23 in the fourth quarter and Oklahoma had to mount quite the comeback to keep it as close as it was.

The biggest issue that Oklahoma encountered this game (other than the fact that they are probably cursed by the Sooner Schooner after it fell last week) was their inability to stop Kansas State’s offense, especially in the second and third quarters. Kansas State went three and out on their opening drive but then scored on their next eight possessions, and had a touchdown on six of them. Kansas State also dominated time of possession as they held the ball for 38 minutes and had multiple drives of over 10 plays. The Wildcats were never really trying to hit home runs, but instead we’re trying to score one base at a time. All six of their touchdowns were scored on plays of less than 15 yards. While I typically believe that making teams can have success defensively if they force their opponent to slowly match down the field, they have to make adjustments once that game plan fails. Defensive coordinator Alex Grinch did a great job as as defensive coordinator at Washington State, but his inability to make in-game adjustments was something he was criticized for and that issue has seemingly resurfaced here with his inability to adjust his schemes against Kansas State. The Wildcats scored all six of their touchdowns on the ground, and four of them were scored by quarterback Skylar Thompson. Oklahoma did generate some big plays defensively but they really could never capitalize on them and allowed Kansas State to recover too easily.

On offense, Oklahoma clearly had some success as they put up 41 points, but I think they still made quite a few mistakes. The biggest of which is the fact that Jalen Hurts ran the ball 19 times and they had a combined six carries from running backs. While Hurts had a good day as he threw for 395 yards on 26 attempts and ran for 96 and four touchdowns, he was put in a position where he had to do too much for the Sooners. While Lincoln Riley coaches Oklahoma have always had elite quarterbacks, they have also had solid running backs and this season is no exception. Trey Sermon and Kennedy Brooks might not be the outstanding duo Joe Mixon and Samaje Perine were a few years ago, but they should have had more of an opportunity. While Sermon and Brooks combined for just 11 yards on six carries, they should have been able to get more carries. This could have taken a bit of the weight off of Hurts and it could have forced Kansas State to play a bit more balanced defensively. It seems obvious that Riley panicked when they were trailing big and tried to erase Kansas State’s entire lead in one play.

Oklahoma suffered a pretty bad loss, but I do not think their playoff hopes have been dashed. What they have done now is make their margin of error razor thin for the rest of the season. Also if any Oklahoma fans might even feel the slightest bit dissatisfied with Lincoln Riley, I think my Cowboys would gladly take him off of your hands (as a Longhorns and Cowboys fan, Lincoln Riley going to the Cowboys is pretty close to a dream come true for me).

TCU 37 Texas 27

Just when I started to poke fun at Oklahoma for losing at Kansas State, my Longhorns let me down as they fell 37-27 at TCU. Texas had a plethora of issues this game and it is causing quite a bit of concern from fans as they look to be entering a tailspin.

Texas’s issues in the secondary continued as TCU quarterback Max Duggan had his best game of the season. He threw for 273 yards, a season high for him as well as a season high in yards per attempt. He also completed over 70% of his passes and led TCU with 72 rushing yards. Duggan has had some struggles during his freshman season, but he diced up Texas’s defense. The Longhorns have struggled at cornerback this season and those issues showed this game. While the cornerback play has been uninspiring, part of it is also the fact that defensive coordinator Todd Orlando leaves the cornerbacks with too many one-on-one matchups with receivers that are clearly better players than they can handle. Orlando has been playing a bit aggressively up front in attempt to get a pass rush and generate big plays. This strategy has not yielded great results and it also leaves their cornerbacks for dead often. This play style is making things harder for the weakest link of the defense. Hopefully once Caden Sterns returns at safety, it can take some pressure off of the cornerbacks and DeMarvion Overshown can provide more depth to the secondary once he returns as well.

I think this game also saw a lot of underlying offensive issues come to a head for Texas. The Longhorns have definitely regressed from last season on the offensive line (not that it is that much of a surprise) and it is having a negative effect on the rest of the offense. Sam Ehlinger is having a ton of weight put on his shoulder and it is negatively impacting his performance. Many fans have said Ehlinger has regressed and while his stats are definitely worse, I think he just is in a worse spot this season. Without getting proper time to throw, he is having to think on his feet and make snap decisions, thus leading to more bad plays. Ehlinger also had what is arguably the worst game of his career on Saturday as he completed less than half of his passes and threw four interceptions. He had quite a few balls fly off the mark and his tendencies from earlier in his career to force throws started to resurface. I think part of it was just due to Texas playing from behind and trying to create a big play, but it was far from Ehlinger’s finest hour.

Another big issue that plagued Texas’s offense last season and has continued in 2019 is their inability to make big plays. While they did have a 63 yard touchdown, the Longhorns really never took a downfield shot on their drives at the end of the game. Texas notoriously did not have a single play of more than 50 yards in 2018 and it is clear why after watching the fourth quarter against TCU. I will say that part of it is due to the archetype of running backs and receivers they use, preferring size and strength over speed, but some urgency needs to be shown when they are trailing by 10 points with two minutes to play. Offensive coordinator Tim Beck was not had the greatest career at Texas and this game exemplified why.

Texas has had their coaches be called into question after this past game, and I think the criticism is deserved. I will say that I think Tom Herman has done good things for the program and should not have his job in jeopardy this season barring an abject disaster. What is a bit concerning is that Texas has seen three four-star recruits from the class of 2020 de-commit in the last week. Hopefully Herman knows what he is doing on the recruiting front, but only time will tell. I also think that while defensive coordinator Todd Orlando has made some coaching errors this season, I want to see how he does with a defense not riddled with injury before I really judge him. On the other hand, I do think Texas needs to move on from Tim Beck at offensive coordinator. His play calling can be too predictable and there is no excuse for the offense to struggle in games like last week.

Hopefully my Longhorns can recollect themselves during their bye week and right the ship for the rest of the season. This team might have their flaws but they are too talented not to contend in the Big 12.

LSU 23 Auburn 20

LSU had their closest game of the season last week but survived in a 23-20 win to head into their matchup with Alabama undefeated. LSU has their lowest point total of the season and their offense showed some cracks. They had quite a few times where they had the ball in Auburn territory and came away with no points. LSU did face a very good defense, but they will need to finish drives consistently when they play the likes of Alabama.

While LSU had some issues, they actually won the game. Quarterback Bo Nix definitely had one of his true freshman mistakes. Nix completed just 15/35 for 157 yards. Nix had his struggles and this has led many Auburn fans to question the decision to start him at quarterback. Unfortunately, Auburn now no longer has the option to make the switch as backup Joey Gatewood entered the transfer portal this week. Gatewood is very raw as a prospect but has the size and athleticism to be a great quarterback if he can find a coach to develop his talents. That being said, Nix has showed promise this season and has let fans see flashes of what he could be. Nix has also done well in high pressure situations and has never really floundered when Auburn is in need of points. I think Auburn showed a lot of fight in this game, and it will be interesting to see how they do against Georgia and Alabama later in the season.

Ohio State 38 Wisconsin 7

Last week’s game against Wisconsin was viewed as Ohio State’s biggest test so far this season. Ohio State passed that test with flying colors as they beat Wisconsin 38-7 and dominated all facets of the game. After this win, the Buckeyes have now established themselves as the best team in the country in my opinion.

The top performer for Ohio State in this game was definitely defensive end Chase Young. Young finished this game with four sacks, five tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles. Wisconsin has a pretty well renowned offensive line and Young absolutely dominated them. Young has now played his way into the Heisman discussion (it is a long shot, but he does present a solid case) as he has 13.5 sacks, 15.5 tackles for loss, and five forced fumbles this season. Young is very physically imposing and his aggressiveness and strength is just a bit too much for many opponents to handle. Ohio State’s defense also played very well as a whole last week. The most impressive feat of the day was that they held Wisconsin’s star running back Jonathan Taylor to just 52 rushing yards on 20 carries. The Buckeyes allowed just 3.7 yards per play. Ohio State has tremendous talent across the board on defense, and it looks as though Greg Mattison was a great hire at defensive coordinator. On offense, the Buckeyes were led by 163 rushing yards from JK Dobbins. Dobbins proved himself as an elite power back and ran through a stout Wisconsin defense. Justin Fields did well at quarterback and has continued to be very effective as a dual threat. Ohio State now has a bye week before going to the tough end to their schedule. While they do play conference doormats Rutgers and Maryland, their last two games are against Penn State and at Michigan.

Michigan 45 Notre Dame 14

One of the more surprising results of this past week was Michigan’s all out domination in their 45-14 win over Notre Dame. After their blowout loss to Wisconsin and loss at Penn State, many people thought Michigan was dead in the water. The Wolverines definitely proved some of their critics wrong with a win here. Unfortunately for Notre Dame, they gave their critics a lot more to talk about.

Michigan had a very easy time running the ball as they had 303 rushing yards as a team on 5.3 yards per carry. Their top performer was Hassan Haskins, who had 149 rushing yards on 20 carries. Shea Patterson also had a solid showing through the air and also managed to hold on to the ball. Michigan did not commit a turnover all game. A big shoutout also needs to be given to Michigan’s offensive line who allowed the run game to develop. Defensively, the Wolverines were very impressive against the pass, allowing just 133 yards on 29 attempts. Michigan deflected six passes and really held Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book in check. On the day, Book completed just 8/25 passes for 73 yards.

After a strong second half showing against Penn State and their win on Saturday, Michigan showed that they can be scary when they put it all together.

For Notre Dame, this loss was a bit inexplicable. While Michigan had the more talented team and it was in Ann Arbor, the Fighting Irish did not even really put up a fight in this matchup. They have a fairly tough game against Virginia Tech next week, and it will be interesting to see how they respond. Also if you are a Notre Dame fan and have suggested that they fire Brian Kelly, you are a moron.

Some Random Thoughts

USC had a pretty nice come from behind victory over Utah on Friday night. The Trojans trailed 31-21 in the fourth quarter but rallied to win 35-31. The Trojans still control their own destiny in the Pac 12 South.

The most interesting part of USC and Colorado’s matchup on Friday was seeing two teams led by great receivers USC’s Michael Pittman and Colorado’s Laviska Shenault. Pittman had seven catches for 156 yards two touchdowns while Shenault had nine catches for 172 yards and a touchdown.

SMU kept their undefeated season alive with a 34-31 win over Houston. Houston was a bit impressive with the fight they showed against SMU. Marquez Stevenson had himself a day for the Cougars as he had 211 receiving yards.

Illinois brought home a 24-6 win over Purdue and it looks like the Fighting Illini have a solid chance to go bowling for the first time since 2014 and the first time in Lovie Smith’s tenure.

Two more impressive things to add about Illinois’ win over Purdue was that they won a game where they only completed three passes for 26 yards. Punter Blake Hayes also has possibly the most impressive coffin corner punt I have ever seen.

Miami came out with an ugly 16-12 win over Pittsburgh on Saturday. The Hurricanes won on a touchdown pass from Jarren Williams to KJ Osborn with less than a minute to play. I think Miami really needs to stick with Williams at quarterback.

After missing out for the last two seasons, Indiana is already bowl eligible as they are now 6-2 after their win over Nebraska.

Oklahoma State finally took care of the ball for a game and it turns out that is a good strategy because they brought home a pretty impressive 34-27 win over Iowa State. Unfortunately for the Cowboys, they were hit with some devastating news this week as star receiver Tylan Wallace went down with a knee injury during practice. If he is out, other receivers will need to step up on a pretty thin receiving corps for Oklahoma State.

KJ Costello returned to action for Stanford after being banged up for the last month and returned with a vengeance as the Cardinal won a 41-31 shootout over Arizona. Costello completed 31/44 passes for 322 yards on the day.

Arizona’s decision to platoon quarterbacks between Khalil State and Grant Gunnell is a bit questionable. Tate is one of the most dynamic athletes in the country but he has never been used properly by head coach Kevin Sumlin. Tate might not be the most accurate passer but he is a tremendous dual threat. Gunnell is a true freshman and has done well in spots, but I think the Wildcats should just stick to Tate for the rest of the season and let Gunnell take over after Tate graduates.

Penn State remained undefeated on the season with a 28-7 win over Michigan State. That win was Penn State’s first win at Michigan State since 2009.

Michigan State has had a rough week. They lost to Penn State in Saturday. Head coach Mark Dantonio is having his job questioned and to top things off, news just broke that linebacker Joe Bachie is now suspended after testing positive for PEDs. Bachie is probably Michigan State’s best defensive player and it will be a devastating loss for the Spartans.

Minnesota is now 8-0 after a 52-10 win over Maryland. Their matchup with fellow undefeated Big 10 team Penn State in a week will be a very interesting game.

Tennessee looks like they are starting to find their footing as they beat South Carolina 41-21 last weekend. The Volunteers are 3-5, but could conceivably win each of their last four games.

In his debut as a starter, Mac Jones did pretty well for Alabama in their 48-7 win over Arkansas. Jones completed 18/22 passes for 235 yards and three touchdowns.

John Stephen Jones, the grandson of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, saw some action for Arkansas against Alabama and did pretty well, completing 6/7 passes for 49 yards and a touchdown.

Kansas’s win over Texas Tech had one of the craziest endings I have ever seen. With the game tied at 34 with 13 seconds left, Kansas lined up for a 40 yard field goal. The kick was blocked but a Texas Tech player who picked up the ball tried to lateral it and it led to fumble that was recovered by Kansas. Jayhawks kicker Liam Jones had a prime opportunity for redemption as he now lined up for a 32 yard field goal with two seconds left. Jones was much luckier this time as he hit the field goal and the Jayhawks brought home a 37-34 win. This win also snapped a 12 game losing streak Kansas had against Texas Tech, and this was their first win over the Red Raiders since 2001.

This Kansas team shows a lot of fight and I definitely have confidence in Les Miles. Also, Carter Stanley is a pretty good quarterback for the Jayhawks as he threw for 415 yards on 37 attempts on Saturday.

Navy is now 6-1 after a 41-38 win over Tulane last week. The Midshipmen have now doubled their win total from last season and might even have the upper hand in the Army-Navy rivalry.

UCF reminded everyone that they are still good as they destroyed Temple. The Knights had 385 rushing yards, 205 of which were from Otis Anderson. They also only allowed 45 rushing yards on 40 attempts which is even more impressive when taking into account Temple’s reliance on the run game.

Kentucky had a pretty impressive 29-7 win over Missouri. The conversion of Lynn Bowden from receiver to quarterback looks to be a successful one as he ran for 204 yards and two touchdowns.

Kentucky punter Max Duffy also deserves a shoutout after averaging 52.4 yards per punt against Missouri and ran for 26 yards and a first down in a fake punt.

UCLA beat Arizona State 42-32 on Saturday night, just proving even more that the Pac 12 makes no sense.

Clemson remains undefeated after a 59-7 win over Boston College. Trevor Lawrence had what is probably his best performance so far this season as he completed 16/19 passes for 275 yards and three touchdowns.

Oregon kept their playoff hopes alive with a 37-35 win over Washington State in Saturday night with a game winning field goal as time expired. The Ducks were led on offense by running back CJ Verdell who had a career day. Verdell ran for 257 yards yards on 23 carries and three touchdowns on the day.

North Carolina had yet another exciting win on Saturday as they intercepted an attempted shovel pass on the goal line by Duke to win 20-17. This makes it seven out of eight games for North Carolina that have been decided by one score.

College GameDay is heading to Memphis this weekend for the first time ever to see the Tigers take on SMU. I have loved seeing College GameDay go to new schools the last couple weeks and I hope it continues.

This week’s cool uniform award goes to Nebraska for finally wearing their black uniforms.

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