Week 13 - Sunday Storylines
Buckeyes bring the boom, Bama goes belly up and the Lane Train derails.
Instant Replay
What did we just watch?
Buckeyes bring the boom - Through the first ten games of the season, fifth-ranked Indiana made a living off playing winning football. The Hoosiers cut their teeth with timely offensive plays, crucial defensive stops and most importantly, did not make a habit of shooting themselves in the foot with penalties and costly turnovers.
In its biggest game of the season against second-ranked Ohio State, you could not say the Hoosiers played winning football.
Outside of a scripted, opening drive touchdown and a few early, timely defensive stops, Indiana got flattened by big bad Ohio State. The Buckeyes boa-constricted the Indiana offense and finished the day with a 38-15 victory.
The first half started great for the Hoosiers, with an opening touchdown drive that injected hope and swagger into the team. Indiana got a crucial fourth down red zone stop a drive later. Then it got a tipped ball interception that once again stymied the Buckeyes’ offense in a good spot.
But despite all of the good, the bad lingered in the minds of Indiana fans headed into halftime.
In the second quarter, things unraveled for the underdogs. Ohio State struck gold with a Will Howard touchdown pass. Then the defense cranked up the heat, sacking Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke three times on some unique blitz pressures. And later with less than two minutes before halftime, Indiana’s punter inexplicably dropped the snap on a punt attempt, setting up the Buckeyes in a prime scoring position. OSU scored easily and led 14-7 at halftime.
Things went from bad to worse to start the second half. Indiana got stopped on its opening drive and then Ohio State safety Caleb Downs took a 79-yard punt return to the house to put the Buckeyes up 21-7 and effectively end the Hoosiers’ chances.
The Buckeyes’ offense stretched its legs in the second half and never let Indiana get back within arm’s reach.
Overall, the Buckeyes’ defense finished with five sacks and eight tackles for loss.
Will Howard was both clinical and effective, finishing 22/26 with 201 yards and two touchdowns.
A big question remains: Was this loss bad enough to knock Indiana out of the College Football Playoff picture? No one knows for sure.
Bama goes belly up - It was a nightmarish night for Alabama from start to finish. With the College Football Playoff in its sights, things could not have gone worse for Kalen Deboer and the Crimson Tide.
Oklahoma beat the seventh-ranked Crimson Tide like they stole something for a shocking 24-3 upset victory.
Brent Venables’ defense forced three Jalen Milroe interceptions and held the Crimson Tide to just 70 rushing yards on 30 carries. It was a behemoth of a defensive performance. That’s the type of stuff you hope for when you sign a guru like Venables.
The SEC is running out of CFP-worthy teams. Doomsday scenario for SEC commissioner Greg Sankey.
Lane Train derails - The ninth-ranked Ole Miss Rebels were held to just three second-half points and quarterback Jaxson Dart had his first two-interception game in two years in the Rebels’ 24-17 loss to Florida in The Swamp.
In what was a must-win game to keep the Rebels’ College Football Playoff hopes alive, Lane Kiffin and the boys from Oxford came up short in a big way.
Across the field, Florida head coach Billy Napier notched his biggest win as the head man in Gainesville. Despite playing arguably the toughest schedule in the country this season, the Gators hit the six-win mark and will be playing a bowl game in December. Big-time stuff.
The Florida defense made timely interceptions and fourth down stops throughout the game, while the offense’s balanced attack paid big dividends. Quarterback DJ Lagway was phenomenal again, finishing with 180 yards and two touchdowns.
This is a tremendous win for Florida and a program-defining loss for a promising Ole Miss team.
Rock Chalk - Devin Neal, meet the Colorado defense.
Hammer, meet nail.
After consecutive upset victories over Iowa State and BYU, KU added a third notch to its belt Saturday afternoon, knocking off No. 16 Colorado 37-21. The Jayhawks mauled the Colorado defensive line, finishing with a mind-boggling 331 rushing yards on the day.
Kansas running back Devin Neal stole the damn show. Neal was unbelievable, slicing and dicing the Buff’s defense for a smooth 207 rush yards and three touchdowns on 37 carries. He also added a touchdown and nearly 100 yards receiving. Have a freaking day.
Sheduer Sanders and Travis Hunter were both phenomenal, but it was the front seven of the Buff’s defense that came up short time and time again.
For Colorado, this game significantly hampers its chances to represent the Big 12 in the conference title game or College Football Playoff.
Sun Devils show out - In another massive shakeup to the Big 12 title race, No. 21 Arizona State knocked off No. 14 BYU 28-23 with an ending you truly had to see to believe.
After jumping out to a hefty 21-0 first-half lead, every dice roll was coming up Arizona State. But the Cougars clawed back with 20 second-half points of their own. After a late ASU pick, the Sun Devils all but wrapped up the game. But instead of scoring a touchdown and going up two scores, Arizona State elected to try and run out the clock by heaving the ball high up into the air. The Sun Devils executed the play and the fans stormed the field, only for officials to put one second back on the clock.
I hadn’t seen so many drunk ASU students since last year’s Waste Management Open.
After the refs reconvened, ASU coaches, players and stadium staff had to usher drunk and rowdy students off the field to run one more play. After clearing the field, BYU heaved a Hail Mary that was caught, but the receiver was tackled at the five-yard line. Chaos.
Now the Big 12 title race is murkier than ever. Could the Sun Devils make the Big 12 title game? And could the conference get left out of the College Football Playoff as a whole?
Jordan-Hare Hijinks - There’s just something about playing in Jordan-Hare Stadium at night, huh?
Auburn pulled out every trick in the book and needed every bit of luck it could get its grubby paws on to outlast No. 15 Texas A&M 43-41 in 4OT.
The Tigers jumped out to a big first-half lead and looked dominant, but the Aggies stormed back with a 24-point second half. Auburn fell behind late in the fourth quarter and needed a miraculous Payton Throne legacy drive and field goal to force overtime.
Both teams traded blows in overtime. At the start of the fourth OT period, an Auburn wide receiver snagged a ridiculous catch to give the Tigers a two-point lead. A&M got a turn, and the game ended when a receiver dropped what would’ve been the game-tying touchdown.
It was a brutal game of ups and downs. The SEC is spiraling into chaos.
Let’s hope Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko can remember who his team plays this coming week.
Huskers go bowling - For the first since 2016, Nebraska hit the six-win mark and are slated to play in a bowl game. The Huskers ran on Saturday, using a good run game and efficient passing attack to topple Wisconsin 44-25.
New offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen left his imprint on the game. The offense played with pace and rhythm, something it hadn’t had in the previous ten games. Quarterback Dylan Railoa played confident and the offensive line owned the line of scrimmage.
Enjoy the Music City Bowl against Kentucky, Husker fans.
Shamrock Series Smackdown - No. 6 Notre Dame dismantled previously undefeated and 19th-ranked Army 49-14 in primetime on Saturday night.
Army put up a formidable fight but were just no match for the size and speed the Irish possess. Notre Dame rushed for 273 yards and five touchdowns–giving the troops a taste of their own medicine.
Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard was impressive, finishing with 148 yards and two touchdowns. He seems to have a nice command of this offense right now. As long as he’s healthy, Notre Dame has a chance against any team in the country.
Penn State prevails - Fourth-ranked Penn State staved off a furious upset bid from Minnesota and managed to hold on for the 26-25 road victory.
Simply put, I think Penn State was lucky to escape with a win. Minnesota blocked a punt and later blocked a PAT and returned it for two points. It was that sort of day for both teams.
This was a must-win game for Penn State. It had no room for error. And quarterback Drew Allar came through in a big way. Allar made winning plays and put forth a solid display on the ground and in the air.
The pivotal moment in the game came on a late fourth down where Penn State elected to fake a punt. The fake punt worked perfectly, and the Nittany Lions iced the victory.
It was a big call and a big game for James Franklin and his team. Penn State is still in the hunt for the Big 10 title, and will almost certainly host a College Football Playoff game.
Craziness in Corvallis - In perhaps the game of the evening, Oregon State won the Disgusting Brothers Bowl against Washington State 41-38 after the Beavers’ kicker drained a game-winning 54-yard field goal with less than a minute to play.
This game had a little bit of everything. John Mateer was John Mateer’ing. The Beavers answered every punch with a big blow of their own. We even had a wonky, late-game fumble where the ref closest to the play had his back turned to the action during the fumble. College football!
Boise bounces back - Despite falling behind for the second week in a row, No.12 Boise State rallied to take down Wyoming 17-13. Heisman hopeful running back Ashton Jeanty missed some time in this game due to injury, but still managed to rush for 169 yards and one touchdown.
Big, big win for the Broncos. They move on to the Mountain West title game.
Bert Ball - There’s stupid, and then there is whatever happened at the end of the Illinois-Rutgers game.
With less than 20 seconds remaining, Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano called timeout in an attempt to ice the Illinois field goal kicker before a 53-yard attempt. Illinois quickly realized the kick had no chance and instead elected to go for it on 4th and 13.
On what was essentially the final play of the game, Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer dropped back and pinged a ball to wide receiver Pat Bryant. Bryant caught the ball on the 23-yard line and somehow snaked his way past a whole host of Scarlet Knight defenders to find the endzone and secure an improbable 38-31 Illinois victory.
There is stepping on a rake and hitting yourself in the face, and then there is whatever Greg Schiano did on the final play. Never change, college football.
Becht’s boyz - Utah scored 15 fourth-quarter points and mounted a furious rally, but No. 22 Iowa State held on to win 31-28. With the win, Iowa State moves to 9-2 overall and 6-2 in Big 12 play.
Amidst the other Big 12 chaos on the day, Iowa State is suddenly back in the title race. If every team holds serve (a huge ask), ISU could face ASU in the Big 12 title game…just like we all predicted in August.
Rich Rod is eternal - Rich Rodriguez and his Jacksonville State team knocked off Sam Houston State 21-11 to move to 7-0 in CUSA play and secure a spot in the conference title game.
Some guys just know how to coach ball. Rich Rod is one of those guys.
Shootout in Stillwater - Texas Tech and Oklahoma State combined for 104 points today. Man, was I way off on my prediction of UNDER 68.5 points.
You win some, you lose some. I lost this one.
The Brent Musburger Gambling Guide
Let’s review my locks of the week.
+1 unit on the season
-7.5 James Madison vs. Appalachian State - -1 unit
Texas Tech vs. Oklahoma State UNDER 68.5 - -1 unit
-6.5 USC vs. UCLA - TBD
What I’m Reading This Season
SID Sports - Don’t forget to subscribe to Griffin Olah’s SID Sports newsletter. As a former Divison I sports information director, Olah has a great grasp of the sport and I really enjoy his work.
2201 Kimball Ave | Cameron Morgan - 2201 Kimball Ave is essential reading for all followers of Kansas State football. As a lifelong K-State fan and former player, Cameron brings a unique and thoughtful approach to the analysis of the Wildcats' football team. His newsletters are rational and insightful and I genuinely learn something new with every newsletter.
Split Zone Duo | Alex Kirshner, Richard Johnson and Steven Godfrey - SZD is essential reading and following for CFB ball knowers. Godfrey, Richard and Alex are the Holy Trinity for college football analysis and insight. Each member brings a unique flavor to the conversation, which makes for insightful and downright hilarious banter about the sport we all love. If I had someone ask me where to start for smarter college football coverage, SZD is where I'd send them.