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Heisman front-runner Caleb Williams had just 12 completed passes in regulation, but the likely No. 1 pick in next April's NFL Draft put the team on his back in OT and saved No. 7 USC's playoff hopes with a 43-41 triple-overtime win in the Coliseum over 21.5-point underdog Arizona. Extra football had to be played after the Trojans fouled up the game-winning field goal in regulation with a bad snap.
The Red River Rivalry saw No. 4 Texas go ahead on a 47-yard field goal with 1:17 left, only to allow Dillon Gabriel to execute a 5-play, 75-yard drive in just 1:02 as No. 12 Oklahoma pulled out the 34-30 win in Dallas. Nic Anderson's 3-yard reception from Gabriel with 15 seconds left proved to be the game-winner.
No. 11 Notre Dame went to 25th-ranked Louisville for a 3rd straight game against an undefeated Top 25 opponent and lost 33-20. Sam Hartman, the Wake Forest QB transfer to Notre Dame, threw 3 picks and fumbled once as the Irish offense never really got ontrack. The loss ended a 30-game winning streak against ACC teams in the regular season, half of which had come on the road. The last time an ACC team had beaten Notre Dame was on November 11, 2017 at Miami.
No. 24 Fresno State's 14-game winning streak (2nd longest in FBS) ended with a 24-19 loss at Wyoming.
No. 17 Miami's bone-headed play turned a win into loss as the 'Canes failed to simply go into victory formation with the clock on their side in the final seconds while holding a 20-16 lead. Instead, the 'Canes handed the ball off, leading to a fumble that ultimately set up a game-winning 44-yard TD pass for Georgia Tech with 1 second left. It's a microcosm of how crazy college football can be from week-to-week. Last Saturday, Georgia Tech fell 38-27 at home to Bowling Green and then goes to Miami (FL) and wins 23-20, while Bowling Green turns around and gets skunked 27-0 at Miami (Ohio). There goes the old adage of how much a win can spur momentum to more wins.
Another example is Baylor, which stormed back for a 36-35 win at UCF with 29 unanswered points, then hosted Texas Tech on Saturday and got ravaged 38-13. UCF, in turn, went to Kansas as a 2-point favorite and demoralized 51-22. That means the Knights have gone from holding a 35-7 lead late in the 3rd quarter, to being outscored 80-22 over the next 78 minutes and 20 seconds.
Here's yet another example - Kansas State loses to an Oklahoma State team on Friday that was thrashed 33-7 by a South Alabama club 3 weeks ago. The Jaguars then lost to Central Michigan and James Madison before earning its first-ever road win against a traditionally dreadful Louisiana-Monroe. And Central Michigan just got rolled 37-13 at a Buffalo team which had won only one game going into Saturday's meeting with the Chips.
SEE: Weekly Picks, Scores
No. 1 Georgia ended No. 20 Kentucky's perfect season with a 51-13 obliteration of the Wildcats between the hedges.
No. 2 Michigan cruised to a 52-10 win at Minnesota, and North Carolina put a 40-7 squeeze on Syracuse.
No. 6 Penn State, No. 8 Washington, and No. 9 Oregon were among the Top 25 teams that had a bye week. Altogether, 33 of the 133 FBS teams were idle.
No. 3 Ohio State was tied 17-all at home with Maryland and the Buckeyes hadn't led until Jayden Fielding kicked a 24-yard chip shot field goal with 2:19 to go in the 3rd. Ohio State then reeled off 17 more points to put the wraps on a 37-17 win.
No. 5 Florida State stormed out to a 22-0 first quarter lead at home over Virginia Tech, then found themselves in a 22-17 ballgame at the start of the third quarter when the Hokies returned the second half kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown. After that, it was all Seminoles as they actually wound up winning by 22 with a 39-17 final.
No. 10 Alabama trailed 17-10 at Texas A&M at the half, but outscored the Aggies 16-3 in the second half en route to the 26-20 win.
Washington State, ranked 14th by the coaches, was outscored 13-0 in the 4th quarter as UCLA rallied for the 25-17 home win.
No. 23 LSU took a 42-39 lead at No. 22 Missouri with 2:58 left, then scored again on a pick-6 with only 34 ticks on the clock to secure a 49-39 win. It was Mizzou's first loss
This season has 117 of the 133 FBS schools facing one FCS opponent, and Army playing two such games for a total of 118 FBS-FCS matchups.
Of the 16 FBS schools that do NOT play a FCS program, 7 are in the B1G (Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Purdue, Wisconsin). 6 more are evenly split between the Big 12 (Houston, Oklahoma, Texas) and Pac-12 (Colorado, USC, Washington). The other three are Liberty (CUSA) , UTSA (American), and Virginia Tech (ACC).
FBS schools were 2-0 this past weekend as Virginia beat WiIliam & Mary 27-13, and Northwestern hung on for a 23-20 win over Howard.
The FBS programs are 106-4 this year against the FCS schools. Over-all, the FBS is a collective 1,792-152 (.922) since we began tracking this in 2003.
Here are the FCS wins in 2023, so far:
September 9: Idaho 33, Nevada 6
September 9: Southern Illinois 14, Northern Illinois 12
September 9: Fordham 40, Buffalo 37
September 16: Sacramento State 30, Stanford 23
GEORGIA - Won 23 straight home games, 23 straight over-all, and 12 straight true road games.
Last: 51-13 home win vs. Kentucky on Saturday, October 7.
Next: Visits Vanderbilt on Saturday, October 14.
MICHIGAN - Won 18 straight conference games.
Last: 52-10 win at Minnesota on Saturday, October 7.
Next: Hosts Indiana on Saturday, October 14.
NEVADA - Lost 15 straight over-all, 15 straight to FBS teams, and 7 straight home games.
Last: 27-9 loss at Fresno State on Saturday, September 30.
Next: Home vs. UNLV on Saturday, October 14.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS - Lost 7 straight home games.
Last: 55-14 win at Akron on Saturday, October 7.
Next: Hosts Ohio on Saturday, October 14.
NORTHWESTERN - Lost 13 straight road games.
Last: 23-20 home win over FCS member Howard on Saturday, October 7.
Next: Visits Nebraska on Saturday, October 21.
NEW MEXICO - Lost 13 straight conference games.
Last: Lost 35-26 at Wyoming on Saturday, September 30.
Next: Hosts San Jose State on Saturday, October 14.