We are officially past the halfway point of the regular season. Several /c/CFB-ranked teams fell this week, most notably our longest-consecutive #1 team this year, 1 Texas.
Fallen teams this week:
1 Texas
12 Notre Dame
13 Washington State
16 Miami
18 Kentucky
21 Missouri
23 Texas A&M
25 Fresno State
Ranked teams that won their games by one score or less:
9 Oklahoma, which defeated 1 Texas in an absolute thriller which went down to the wire. These teams were tied 27-27 late in the fourth quarter until Texas got a field goal with just over a minute left to go to lead 30-27. This field goal seemed to be enough to win it but Oklahoma managed to drive down the field (with the help of a Texas DPI penalty) in just over a minute and score what would be the game-winning touchdown. I'm sure @ToasterOverlord will type up an overview for this game at some point but this year's Red River Rivalry is already considered by many at /c/CFB to be the Game of the Year.
10 USC, edging out Arizona in 3OT. I did not watch this game at all but USC appears to be lucky to escape this game undefeated. Arizona having dominated time of possession with 35 minutes compared to USC's 24 minutes and gaining 506 total yards compared to USC's 365 total yards. Arizona led USC 17-0 in the second quarter before giving up a pair of touchdowns before halftime. The Wildcats tied up the game in the fourth quarter and forced three overtimes before failing their 2-point try in the third overtime.
11 Alabama, defeating 23 Texas A&M. This game was not as close as the final score indicates, as A&M got their last points off of a field goal with only 2:11 left in the fourth quarter and would have needed to both recover their onside kick and then drive it halfway downfield for a touchdown. A holding penalty cost A&M a touchdown in their final drive that would have made it easier for them to win the game but in the end the Tide got away with yet another one-score win.
14 Ole Miss, defeating Arkansas. Despite leading at halftime 17-7, Ole Miss let Arkansas score 13 unanswered points in the second half to go down 20-17 before scoring a touchdown and a field goal in the fourth quarter to win 27-20. Arkansas got the ball back with just over two minutes to go in the fourth but an interception by Ole Miss sealed the game for the Rebels.
Ranked teams that struggled or kept it close in the first half but brought it back in the second to win by multiple scores: 4 Ohio State, 17 Oregon State, 22 Louisville (against 12 Notre Dame).
Ranked teams that handled their opponents easily: 2 Michigan, 5 Florida State, 7 Georgia (against 18 Kentucky), and 15 North Carolina.
Ranked teams on a bye:3 Penn State, 6 Washington, 8 Oregon, 19 Tennessee, 20 Duke, 24 Utah
Wednesday
October 4
Jacksonville State
defeated
Middle Tennessee
45-30
Away
New Mexico State
defeated
Florida International
34-17
Home
Thursday
October 5
Liberty
defeated
Sam Houston State
21-16
Home
Western Kentucky
defeated
Louisiana Tech
35-28
Away
Friday
October 6
Oklahoma State
defeated
Kansas State
29-21
Home
Nebraska
defeated
Illinois
20-7
Away
Saturday
October 7
9 Oklahoma
defeated
1Texas
34-30
Away
Toledo
defeated
UMass
41-24
Away
4 Ohio State
defeated
Maryland
37-17
Home
Wisconsin
defeated
Rutgers
24-13
Home
Mississippi State
defeated
Western Michigan
41-28
Home
Boston College
defeated
Army
27-24
Away
LSU
defeated
21Missouri
49-39
Away
Virginia
defeated
William & Mary
27-13
Home
NC State
defeated
Marshall
48-41
Home
Buffalo
defeated
Central Michigan
37-13
Home
UT San Antonio
defeated
Temple
49-34
Away
UCLA
defeated
13Washington State
25-17
Home
Northwestern
defeated
Howard
23-20
Home
Ohio
defeated
Kent State
42-17
Home
11 Alabama
defeated
23Texas A&M
26-20
Away
Eastern Michigan
defeated
Ball State
24-10
Home
Northern Illinois
defeated
Akron
55-14
Away
Clemson
defeated
Wake Forest
17-12
Home
5 Florida State
defeated
Virginia Tech
39-17
Home
Miami (OH)
defeated
Bowling Green
24-0
Home
15 North Carolina
defeated
Syracuse
40-7
Home
Iowa
defeated
Purdue
20-14
Home
Louisiana
defeated
Texas State
34-30
Home
Navy
defeated
North Texas
27-24
Home
Troy
defeated
Arkansas State
37-3
Home
Florida
defeated
Vanderbilt
38-14
Home
Kansas
defeated
UCF
51-22
Home
UAB
defeated
South Florida
56-35
Home
Connecticut
defeated
Rice
38-31
Away
Florida Atlantic
defeated
Tulsa
20-17
Home
Colorado
defeated
Arizona State
27-24
Away
South Alabama
defeated
Louisiana Monroe
55-7
Away
Old Dominion
defeated
Southern Mississippi
17-13
Away
7 Georgia
defeated
18Kentucky
51-13
Home
14 Ole Miss
defeated
Arkansas
27-20
Home
2 Michigan
defeated
Minnesota
52-10
Away
22 Louisville
defeated
12Notre Dame
33-20
Home
Wyoming
defeated
25Fresno State
24-19
Home
Boise State
defeated
San José State
35-27
Home
Utah State
defeated
Colorado State
44-24
Home
Georgia Tech
defeated
16Miami
23-20
Away
Texas Tech
defeated
Baylor
39-14
Away
Iowa State
defeated
TCU
27-14
Home
17 Oregon State
defeated
California
52-40
Away
10 USC
defeated
Arizona
43-41
Home
Edit: forgot to add several ranked teams to updates
Don't let all the excitement from this slate of ranked games distract you from the fact that Northwestern only beat FCS Howard by a field goal. (13 of Howard's 20 points came in garbage time but that's not important to this narrative)
Watching atm be completely unable to do anything productive on offense in the second half was a delight to watch. I'm hoping we continue to give their oline issues next week. And then hopefully they also don't get better in the secondary.