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And then there were three. After Baylor downed Oklahoma 27-14 in Waco on Saturday, the only remaining undefeated schools are Georgia, Cincinnati and UTSA. The Bears were able to defeat the Sooners, despite a sloppy opening that saw their first drive end on downs at the OU 4, the second result in a missed field goal, and the third finish with an interception. Baylor broke a 7-7 tie with a 32-yard field goal to complete its first drive of the second half, but had its next possession end with its second fumble at the OU 25. Baylor tacked on TD's on its first two possessions of the 4th quarter to take a commanding 24- 7 lead. The game ended oddly with fans storming the field prematurely, then clearing to watch Baylor tack on another field goal as time expired. The walk-off field goal seemed rude and unnecessary until head coach Dave Aranda explained after the game that he did so because "point differential between teams is the third tiebreaker in the league's rules."
On Saturday night, things got even stranger in the Big 12.
Kansas won 57-56 in OT at Austin after surrendering every bit of the 42-21 lead it held halfway through the 3rd quarter, and a 14-point lead with under 5 minutes to play. The victory snaps losing streaks of 55 conference road games, 21 to FBS schools, 18 conference games, and 8 straight over-all. The winning points came on a scrambling 2-pt conversion pass after Texas had taken its first lead of the game (56-49) on its overtime possession. The Jayhawks had not won a conference road game since a 35-33 win at Iowa State over 13 years ago (October 4, 2008). They came into this game as a 30-point underdog and an even larger 36.74-point dog in the Congrove Computer Rankings at CollegeFootballPoll.com.
Another Big 12 shocker on Saturday happened in Lubbock. This was stunning for the win, and the manner in how it came about as Texas Tech's Jonathan Garibay hit a 62-yard walk-off field goal to lift the Red Raiders to a 41-38 upset of 10.5-point favorite Iowa State. The victory not only gave interim head coach Sonny Cumbie his first win (1-1), but also got Texas Tech to bowl eligibility. Both teams are now 6-4.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma State crushed TCU 63-17 in Stillwater and Kansas State was a 34-17 winner in Manhattan over West Virginia.
In the SEC, Mississippi State rallied to beat Auburn 43-34 as the Bulldogs set a school by overcoming a 28-3 deficit, and the Tigers also set a dubious school record by blowing that 25-point lead. Auburn built that lead with 6:10 still left to go in the first half, but Mississippi State began a 34-0 run on a Will Rogers TD pass with at 1:55 before intermission. The Bulldogs then outscored Auburn 13-0 in the 3rd quarter, and took a 29-28 lead with 13:28 to play in the game. They would tallied 14 more points to complete a 40-0 run and establish a 43-28 advantage 5:31 mark of the final period. All six TD's in the comeback were TD passes from Rogers to five different receivers.
Georgia improved to10-0 with a 41-17 win at Tennessee; Cincinnati is 10-0 following 45-28 win at USF; and UTSA is 10-0 after a 27-17 win over hapless Southern Miss (1-9).
Ole Miss was a 29-19 winner in Oxford over Texas A&M and both teams are now 7-2. Meanwhile, Arkansas eked-out a 16-13 win at LSU in overtime.
Alabama rolled to a 59-3 win over New Mexico State, beating a spread that was in the 50 - 51.5 range. The computer had the Tide by 53.13.
Ohio State had very little trouble with the Spoilermakers of Purdue as they pocketed a 59-31 win in Columbus. The Boilermakers dropped Michigan State from the unbeaten ranks a week ago.
Michigan notched a hard fought 21-17 road win over Penn State while Iowa was a 27-22 winner at home over Minnesota, and Wisconsin cruised to a 35-7 win over Northwestern. The Hawkeyes and Badgers now sit tied atop the Big Ten West division with 5-2 records, but Wisconsin owns the tie-breaker with its 27-7 over Iowa on October 30.
Indiana was embarrassed 35-3 at home by Rutgers, while Michigan State cruised to a 40-21 home over Maryland.
In the ACC, Wake Forest took command of the Atlantic division with a 45-42 win at home over North Carolina State. The back-and-forth affair saw the Demon Deacons establish an early 21-6 lead, only to watch the Wolfpack rally to take a 27-24 edge early in the 3rd quarter. But the Deacs immediately answered to regain a lead they never again relinquished.
Pitt was a 23-20 winner in overtime at home over North Carolina on Friday night and hosts second-place Virginia next Saturday.
Speaking of Virginia, the Cavs were lost without injured star QB Brennan Armstrong , the nation's second-leading passer, and fell 28-3 at home to Notre Dame.
In a rivalry game that has lost its luster in recent years, Florida State upended Miami 31-28 on a 1-yard run by QB Jordan Travis with 26 seconds left after completing a 4th-and-14 pass to keep the drive alive. Travis added a 2-point conversion run to produce the final margin. The 'Noles had pulled to within 28-23 on a 29-yard field goal with 4:43 remaining and forced a 4-and-out to set up the game-winning drive that covered 80 yards in 7 plays.
In the PAC-12, Arizona State averted the computer-projected upset at Washington by scoring 21 points in the 4th quarter to rally from a 24-14 deficit entering the final period as the Sun Devils prevailed 35-30.
Oregon State ended an 11-game losing streak in its series with Stanford by crushing the Cardinal 35-14 in Corvallis.
In one of the last games to go 'final' on Saturday, Oregon posted a 38-24 win at home over Washington State, giving the Ducks a 2-game lead in the North division.
Utah had to survive a spirited effort by Arizona with a late TD by the Utes providing the 38-29 final score. Utah essentially has a 2-game lead in the south over Arizona State since the Utes are 6-1 in conference play, the Sun Devils are 5-2 and Utah defeated Arizona State 35-21 on October 16.
UCLA scored 37 unanswered points ton erase a 20-10 halftime deficit and cruise to a 44-20 win over Colorado.
Houston clinched a spot in the American Athletic Conference title game with its 37-8 romp at Temple. The Cougars appear to be on a collision course with Cincinnati. The Bearcats would host the title game if both schools continue to win out. SMU and East Carolina aren't dead yet. The Mustangs stayed in the mix with a 55-28 demolition of UCF, and East Carolina stayed afloat with a 30-29 upset at Memphis.
There was a shocker in the Sun Belt where Coastal Carolina fell 42-40 at home to Georgia State. The Chanticleers were 8.5-point favorites in the sportsbooks while the computer had the projected margin at 10.79. CCU had won 11 straight at home. Coastal had a chance to force overtime, but a 2-point conversion pass attempt failed with 1:09 to play and the Panthers recovered the onside kick.
Arkansas State halted an 8-game skid by rallying past ULM 27-24 in Monroe.
In Conference USA, Old Dominion continued its recent surge by capturing a third consecutive victory by upsetting visiting FAU 30-16 as a 6.5-point underdog and a 15.80-point computer dog.
UAB downed Marshall 21-14 in Huntington to remain a game behind UTSA in the West division, and the Blazers visit the Roadrunners next Saturday. The Herd slipped a game behind Western Kentucky in the East and host the Hilltoppers in the regular season finale on Thanksgiving weekend.
In the Mountain West, In a battle of 4-1 teams, San Diego State edged Nevada 23-21 at home to take sole possession of first in the West division. Fresno State sits just a half-game back and owns the head-to-head tie-breaker.
Utah State stayed in command of the Mountain division with a 48-17 throttling of San Jose State on the road. Air Force is a game behind, but also lost the heads-up battle with the Aggies early in the season.
UNLV won a second straight game by upsetting Hawaii 27-13 at home.
The USC at Cal game was rescheduled due to Covid issues within the Golden Bears' program. It's the first FBS game to be affected in such a manner this season. The teams will now play on Saturday, December 4, a day after the PAC-12 Championship game. Cal had only 42 scholarship players dress for last week's loss to Arizona due to Covid issues.
2 teams will play 2 FCS teams this fall (UConn and UMass), and 115 teams will play 1 FCS school for a total of 117 such matchups.
There were 3 such games this weekend with Maine winning 35-10 at UMass (as the computer predicted), Florida having to outscore Samford 70-52, and Army rolling Bucknell 63-10.
For UMass, it was a third straight loss to a FCS program as the Minutemen also fell 35-22 to Rhode Island the previous week and lost 45-20 to Southern Illinois in 2019.
With the 2-1 record this week, the FBS is now 100-12 vs. the FCS this season. Since we began tracking this in 2003, the FBS teams are now 1,569-140 (.918).
Last year, 30 FBS teams played a total of just 34 games against FCS schools and the FCS won just 1 game (1-33). That honor also went to Jacksonville State with its 19-10 victory over FIU.
Here are the FCS wins in 2021:
September 2: UC Davis 19, Tulsa 17
September 2: Eastern Washington 35, UNLV 33 (2 OT)
September 3: South Dakota State 42, Colorado State 23
September 4: Holy Cross 38, UConn 28
September 4: Montana 13, Washington 7
September 4: ETSU 23, Vanderbilt 3
September 11: Duquesne 28, Ohio 26
September 11: Jacksonville State 20, Florida State 17.
September 18: Incarnate Word 42, Texas State 34.
September 18: Northern Arizona 21, Arizona 19
November 6: Rhode Island 35, Massachusetts 22
This was the only FCS win vs. the FBS in 2020:
October 23: Jacksonville State 19, FIU 10
In 2019, FBS teams were 111-3 (.974) in such games. These were the only FCS wins that season:
August 29: Central Arkansas 35, Western Kentucky 28
September 7: Southern Illinois 45, Massachusetts 20
September 14: The Citadel 27, Georgia Tech 24 (OT)
OKLAHOMA - Had won17 straight over-all (was FBS longest), but fell 27-14 at Baylor.
Last: Lost 27-14 at Baylor on Nov. 13.
Next: Hosts Iowa State on Saturday, Nov. 20.
GEORGIA - Won 14 straight overall-all (FBS longest).
Last: Won 41-17 at Tennessee on Saturday, Nov., 13.
Next: Hosts FCS Charleston Southern on Saturday, Nov. 20.
OHIO STATE - Won 28 straight conference games (FBS longest), and 13 straight road games (FBS longest).
Last: Won 59-31 at home vs. Purdue on Saturday, November 13.
Next: Hosts Michigan State on Saturday, Nov. 20.
CLEMSON - Won 33 straight home games (FBS longest).
Last: Won 44-7 at home vs. Clemson on Saturday, November 13.
Next: Hosts Wake Forest on Saturday, Nov. 20.
NEW MEXICO STATE - Lost 17 straight road games (FBS longest).
Last: Lost 59-3 at Alabama on Saturday, November 13.
Next: Visits Kentucky on Saturday, Nov. 20.
KANSAS - Had lost 8 straight over-all (tied FBS longest with Vanderbilt and FIU), Had lost 21 straight to FBS schools (FBS Longest). Had lost 18 straight conference games (tied with Vanderbilt for FBS longest). Had lost 55 straight conference road games (FBS longest)
Last: Won 57-56 in OT at Texas on Saturday, November 13.
Next: Visits TCU on Saturday, Nov. 20.
VANDERBILT - Lost 19 straight conference games (tied with Kansas for FBS longest)..
Last: Lost 34-17 at home to Kentucky on Saturday, Nov. 13.
Next:Visits Ole Miss on Saturday, Nov. 20.