A Walk-Off in Dallas, a No-Call in Tuscaloosa: College Football Recap and Preview

Last week I told Washington fans to keep the faith.

Friday night, Washington quit.

(I stand by the advice. I can’t vouch for the team.)

That was Friday, and it set the tone. By Sunday, the No. 1 team in the country had lost to an unranked one on the final play, and the AP voters needed a bigger eraser.

The recap

Iowa 41, Washington 24 (Friday). Iowa went to Seattle and led 27-3 at halftime. Kamari Moulton ran for 208 yards and two touchdowns, Jeremy Hecklinski threw three touchdown passes on 19 attempts, and the Hawkeyes piled up 465 yards. The Huskies are 3-3, and the young-and-learning pitch I made for them last week needs some work.

Louisville 44, Florida State 20 (Friday). Louisville ran for 397 yards. Isaac Brown had 235 of them on 17 carries, including a 97-yard touchdown, and it was Florida State’s worst day against the run since 2009. The Seminoles are 3-3 and have lost 11 straight road games. Mike Norvell’s seat is hot. In my Week 5 preview I wrote that firing him would cost about $51 million. Friday night made that number look a little more affordable in Tallahassee.

Oklahoma 27, No. 1 Texas 24. Last week I wrote that Oklahoma’s offense couldn’t move the ball. On Saturday it gained 238 yards and beat the No. 1 team in the country anyway, so I’m calling that half right.

The Sooners got their touchdowns on a blocked punt, a short Lloyd Avant run and a 42-yard Peyton Bowen pick-six. John Mateer led the comeback, though not with Heisman numbers (155 passing yards). Texas missed a 53-yard field goal with 1:55 left, Arch Manning threw an interception with 19 seconds to go, and Mateer made the two throws that mattered on the last drive, 13 and 20 yards to Isaiah Sategna, both upheld on review. Tate Sandell hit a 47-yarder on the final play. Mateer said afterward that he’d been thinking about this game for 365 days.

The bigger story is Arch. Manning threw three touchdown passes, and he also threw the pick-six and the interception that set up the winning kick. Late in a tied rivalry game is exactly when a five-star quarterback is supposed to take over, and he didn’t. So the question is out there now: is Arch Manning the guy? It’s a strange thing to ask about a five-star with that last name, and the end of Saturday’s game is why people are asking it.

Texas’ defense is still the strength. It held Oklahoma to 238 yards, forced seven three-and-outs and got two sacks from Colin Simmons. The Longhorns lost anyway, which tells you where the problem is.

No. 2 Georgia 20, No. 6 Alabama 17. Last week I called this Georgia’s dominant defense against Keelon Russell. That’s exactly what it was. Russell, who I’d argue is the best quarterback in the country, went 16 of 30 for 185 yards and got sacked four times. Georgia was better in all three phases, took the lead for good on a field goal with 5:25 left and won in Tuscaloosa for the first time since 2007. It’s Kirby Smart’s first win there as Georgia’s coach, and Georgia is the new No. 1.

Now, the no-call. Alabama was down three with 3:28 left when Russell threw to Rico Scott in the end zone on second-and-10, and KJ Bolden got to Scott before the ball did. No flag. Russell was sacked on the next play, Alabama punted on fourth-and-19, and a personal foul after the whistle let Georgia run out the clock. I think that was pass interference, and I think Alabama got hosed on it. I also think the officiating was bad for both teams all night. Here’s Kalen DeBoer on that last personal foul: “We can’t put the game in that situation.”

Kentucky 35, No. 10 LSU 34 (OT). Kentucky won it in overtime on a two-point conversion, and CJ Baxter just walked it in. Baxter ran for 123 yards and two touchdowns, and Kentucky is 5-1 and trending up in Will Stein’s first season.

LSU is going the other way. The Tigers are 4-2, and they have a habit of fading down the stretch. It’s been a strange week for culture in the SEC. LSU’s basketball coach, Will Wade, was the funniest man in Baton Rouge, telling a Rotary Club he’d happily passed the title of most controversial coach on campus to Lane Kiffin. Then Kentucky, a basketball school, beat LSU in football. I think the two schools swapped identities and forgot to tell anybody.

UCLA 17, No. 13 Oregon 15. Oregon turned it over seven times at home and lost by two. Dante Moore was out with a concussion, Dylan Raiola went 6 of 19 with two interceptions before getting pulled, and Brock Thomas nearly saved it with a 44-yard touchdown to Evan Stewart with 2:16 left. The two-point try failed. Oregon went 1 for 11 on third down.

Oregon is on the ropes. The Ducks are 3-2 with losses to Oklahoma State and UCLA, and they’re out of the poll. Dan Lanning’s teams don’t usually play like this. Since the USC win, the offense and the defense haven’t shown up on the same day.

Credit UCLA, too. Last week I said the Bruins had to prove they belonged. They won in Eugene with their backup quarterback playing the second half (Nico Iamaleava got hurt), and they’re 5-0. Consider it proven, for now.

No. 14 Missouri 27, Texas A&M 6. Earlier this month I said I didn’t understand why Missouri was ranked. I understand now. Jamal Roberts ran for 222 yards, the defense held A&M to 29 rushing yards, and Marcel Reed went 19 of 40 with two interceptions and minus-18 yards on the ground. Reed came into the season with plenty of hype, and he hasn’t played like it. The Aggies are 3-3.

South Carolina 38, No. 16 Florida 19. What the heck is going on in Gainesville? Florida upset Ole Miss on Sept. 26. Since then it has lost 45-17 at Missouri and 38-19 at South Carolina. I think the Gators rode the high of that Ole Miss win a little too long.

No. 19 USC 31, Penn State 23. Lincoln Riley needed this one, and he got it at the White Out in front of 114,419 people, the biggest crowd in Beaver Stadium history. It was 17-17 at halftime, and USC pulled away late behind Jayden Maiava (301 yards, three touchdowns). You don’t see USC win a game like that out East very often. Riley called it one of his favorite wins as a head coach. Penn State is 3-3, 0-3 in the Big Ten, and has lost three straight.

North Carolina 21, No. 25 Pittsburgh 17. Bill Belichick has his first win over a ranked team at North Carolina. Billy Edwards Jr. threw for 249 yards and two touchdowns, including the 75-yard go-ahead score to Shamar Easter (Edwards threw two picks, too, so it wasn’t all smooth). Jelani Thurman caught the other touchdown, Jordan Shipp had six catches for 93 yards, and Demon June ran one in. UNC is 3-2, and this is starting to look like a redemption season. I think it’s a seven- or eight-win bowl team.

Next Saturday is a proving ground. Almost every good game on the board has a team that needs to show something.

The preview

No. 4 Ohio State at No. 5 Indiana (Saturday, Fox). The best game of the week. Indiana is 6-0 after surviving Nebraska 20-17, has won 22 straight and beat Ohio State in last year’s Big Ten title game. Ohio State, fresh off a 45-16 win over Maryland, is still favored by three and a half on the road, and a lot of that is one guy. Jeremiah Smith already holds Ohio State’s career records for catches, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, and he’s a junior.

Indiana is not going to shut him down. That isn’t realistic. The question is whether the Hoosiers’ secondary can keep him from taking over the game and make somebody else beat them, starting with Julian Sayin.

No. 2 Notre Dame at No. 8 BYU (Saturday, 6:30 p.m. CT, ABC). Both teams are undefeated, and both have resume questions. Notre Dame’s best win is Wisconsin (41-13 at Lambeau, and yes, as a Badgers fan, I remember). BYU hasn’t beaten anybody you’d circle. This is a prove-it game for both of them, in prime time in Provo.

Wisconsin at No. 12 UCLA (Saturday, 6:30 p.m. CT, NBC). My Badgers are 4-1 and have won four straight since that Notre Dame game. UCLA is 5-0 and just won in Eugene, although the quarterback situation is worth watching after Iamaleava got hurt. Both teams play strong defense with a competent offense. UCLA’s offense isn’t show-stopping. It’s functional, and so far functional has been enough. I’ll be watching this one with the volume all the way up.

No. 13 Missouri at No. 9 Ole Miss (Saturday, SEC Network). This is basically an elimination game for the SEC title and a playoff spot. The winner is in great shape. The loser has an uphill climb, and both will probably be good bowl teams either way. Ole Miss is a six-point favorite.

No. 6 Alabama at No. 14 Tennessee (Saturday, ABC). It’s the third Saturday in October, and Alabama is coming off its first loss. Keelon Russell is good, and I expect him to be good again. Tennessee’s offense, outside of some late-game stretches, has struggled against good defenses. Against Texas, freshman Faizon Brandon was sacked 10 times, and the Vols had a field goal and a punt-return touchdown until a late touchdown drive. The key for Tennessee is staying ahead of the chains. Second-and-long against a good defense is how a freshman ends up on the ground 10 times. Alabama is favored by seven and a half.

Florida at No. 7 Texas (Saturday, ABC). Both teams are coming off losses. I expect Texas to bounce back. Florida looks dead. Texas is a 10-point favorite.

No. 16 Mississippi State at No. 22 LSU (Saturday, ESPN). I don’t think LSU should still be ranked, and I think this team is very beatable. I also think Mississippi State has the better quarterback. Kamario Taylor has 17 touchdown passes and four interceptions in five games. Sam Leavitt has a history of getting flustered under pressure, so the question is whether the Bulldogs’ defense can get to him and give Taylor a chance to win it. LSU is favored by 11.5, which means either Vegas knows something I don’t or it hasn’t watched an LSU fourth quarter lately.

No. 18 Oklahoma State at No. 20 Houston (Saturday, 6:30 p.m. CT, Fox). Oklahoma State has the strangest resume in the country. It opened with a 24-10 loss to Tulsa in Eric Morris’ debut, then beat Oregon 39-31 to snap a 21-game losing streak against FBS teams, and now it’s 4-1. Drew Mestemaker has a strong arm and a turnover problem. Houston’s defense is suffocating. Its only loss was 28-26 at Texas Tech, after a late two-point stop, and otherwise it has handled the weaker teams on its schedule. Somebody’s resume gets a lot clearer Saturday night.

No. 25 Northwestern at Michigan State (Saturday). A shout to Aidan Chiles, who is on fire. He’s completing 71 percent of his passes with nine touchdowns, no interceptions and six more scores on the ground, and Northwestern is ranked. On Saturday he goes back to East Lansing, where he used to play quarterback, to face a Michigan State team that has lost two straight (31-3 to my Badgers, 38-37 in overtime to Illinois). Northwestern is favored by seven and a half.

That’s the board. Keep the faith this week, everybody. I’m still selling it. Washington just isn’t buying.