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 | 1 Texas |
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 | 21 Missouri |
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 | 13 Washington State |
25-17 | Home |
| Northwestern | defeated | Howard | 23-20 | Home |
| Ohio | defeated | Kent State | 42-17 | Home |
| 11 Alabama | defeated | 23 Texas 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 | 18 Kentucky |
51-13 | Home |
| 14 Ole Miss | defeated | Arkansas | 27-20 | Home |
| 2 Michigan | defeated | Minnesota | 52-10 | Away |
| 22 Louisville | defeated | 12 Notre Dame |
33-20 | Home |
| Wyoming | defeated | 25 Fresno State |
24-19 | Home |
| Boise State | defeated | San José State | 35-27 | Home |
| Utah State | defeated | Colorado State | 44-24 | Home |
| Georgia Tech | defeated | 16 Miami |
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
Edit 2: added home/away column
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)