B/R's College Football Weekly Awards: Week 10
The growing excitement for the stretch run of the 2023 college football season is only intensifying in the wake of a drama-filled, chaos-packed Week 10 slate.
Seriously, what an awesome Saturday.
Oklahoma exited the national championship conversation as rival Oklahoma State continued its hot streak. Georgia, Washington, Texas and Alabama picked up wins against Top 25 opponents, while Notre Dame and Air Force fell to unranked teams on a wild day around the country.
Regular readers of the Weekly Awards, you know what's coming: But wait, there's more!
Memphis and USF played an absolute banger of a game outside the spotlight, and we don't have any winless teams remaining in the Football Bowl Subdivision! No more wasted time; let's get to it.
If you're new here, hi! B/R's Weekly Awards is an often-lighthearted review of what happened in college football over the weekend.
Team of the Week: Alabama Crimson Tide
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Last season, LSU spoiled Alabama's hopes of SEC and national titles with a gutsy two-point conversion in overtime.
Alabama would not be denied this year.
Jalen Milroe had a fine evening as a passer, completing 15-of-23 attempts for 219 yards. But he sliced through LSU's defense on the ground all night, amassing 155 yards and four touchdowns. Overall, the Tide rushed for 288 yards on 6.3 per carry with six scores in the 42-28 triumph.
LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels threw for 219 yards and rushed for 163, so Bama didn't have a perfect night. It's reasonable to suggest LSU likely would've scored again if he hadn't exited with a concussion, too.
Alabama still has zero margin for error because of its early loss to Texas. However, the Tide are 6-0 in conference action, and a victory at Kentucky in Week 11 would clinch the SEC West.
Statement of the Week: Oklahoma State Wins Bedlam
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The immediate storyline is that Oklahoma State won the final round of Bedlam before Oklahoma joins the SEC in 2024.
But the 27-24 victory shook up the Big 12 standings, too.
Oklahoma State climbed to 5-1 in conference action, and Oklahoma dipped to 4-2. Elsewhere on Saturday, Texas defeated Kansas State and Kansas toppled Iowa State. Combine that together, and the current Big 12 front-runners are Texas and Oklahoma State.
I've written about OSU several times in this space, starting with a little panic following a disappointing 2-2 start. I had serious reservations that the program's 17-year bowl streak would continue.
Since then, the Cowboys have ripped off five straight wins—and, most importantly, stockpiled head-to-head tiebreakers over each of Kansas, Kansas State and OU.
What a turnaround for Oklahoma State.
Win of the Week: Washington Outscores USC
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You have to literally outscore the opponent to win, sure. But on Saturday night in Los Angeles, neither Washington nor USC provided much resistance on the defensive side.
Washington at least had a little more, and the fifth-ranked Huskies opened a November gauntlet with a 52-42 win.
It looked a bit different than usual. Instead of Heisman Trophy candidate Michael Penix Jr. shredding a secondary—and he still threw for 256 yards and two scores—running back Dillon Johnson eviscerated the Trojans. He rushed for 256 yards and four touchdowns.
USC star Caleb Williams passed for 312 yards and three scores, adding a fourth touchdown on the ground. But the Trojans could not overcome their defensive issues once again, falling to 7-3.
Washington, meanwhile, improved to 9-0 and can—if not officially—just about clinch a place in the Pac-12 Championship Game with a victory at home against Utah next weekend.
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Upset of the Week: Army Stymies Air Force
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Whenever two service academies share the field, it's safe to expect a run-heavy, low-scoring game. That happened when Army played Air Force in Denver on Saturday afternoon.
Few anticipated the result, however.
Air Force arrived with an 8-0 record, but 2-6 Army shocked its rival behind a hugely opportunistic day. Army generated six takeaways, which led to 13 of its points in a 23-3 upset of the 25th-ranked Falcons.
Army leaned heavily on quarterback Bryson Daily, who carried the ball 36 times for 170 yards and two touchdowns. He sparked the Black Knights with a 62-yard score on the opening possession before their defense took control of the game and never relented.
Seeing as Army already has six losses, the team is unlikely to make a bowl. This upset will probably be remembered as the program's highlight of the season.
Panic Alarm of the Week: Syracuse Orange
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As expected, Syracuse took advantage of a favorable September slate and opened the season with a 4-0 record. The unbeaten start didn't eliminate hot-seat talks for Dino Babers, but it certainly helped.
Those feelings are long gone and only further faded Friday night when Boston College won 17-10.
Syracuse dropped its fifth straight game while the offense looked disastrous. Quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson only competed 7-of-17 passes for 37 yards and tossed four interceptions.
Syracuse closes the campaign with Pitt, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest, so there's a real chance the 4-5 Orange snap their streak and finish on a positive note. If they manage to rip off three wins, Babers might even manage to save his job for another year, too.
At this point, however, it's becoming tough to envision Babers sticking around for a ninth season.
Game of the Week: Memphis Outlasts USF
6 of 7If you like watching elite defense, I encourage you to move along. If you like points, then you're in the right place!
Memphis and South Florida combined for 1,163 yards and 109 points in an enjoyable back-and-forth affair. Memphis scored 21 straight points after USF took a 42-38 lead to pull away for a 59-50 triumph.
And the box score is just awesome.
Seth Henigan accounted for 391 yards and five touchdowns, and Tevin Carter tossed an 85-yard score for Memphis. Roc Taylor grabbed five passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns, while Demeer Blankmusee added six receptions for 142 yards in the victory.
South Florida left unhappy, of course, but Byrum Brown passed for 357 yards and rushed for 100. All five of his touchdowns went to different receivers, and USF amassed 583 yards.
Memphis is now 7-2 and remains a strong contender in the AAC.
Best of the Rest: Week 10
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Bowl Bid of the Week: Texas State Hits Six
First-year coach G.J. Kinne has propelled the Bobcats to bowl eligibility with three weekends to spare. TJ Finley—previously of LSU and Auburn—accounted for 319 yards and five scores in a 45-24 win over Georgia State. The program joined the FBS in 2012 and should be headed to its first-ever postseason game. To celebrate, both Kinne and university president Kelly Damphousse jumped into the San Marcos River.
Sigh of Relief of the Week: Arkansas Wins an SEC Game
Arkansas coach Sam Pittman wasn't on a sizzling seat, but the fourth-year boss desperately needed a win. So far this season, the Razorbacks had dropped games to LSU, Ole Miss and Alabama by a combined 13 points and entered Week 10 at 2-6 with an 0-5 record in the SEC. Arkansas, though, snapped a six-game skid and defeated Florida 39-36 in overtime.
Golf Clap of the Week: No More Winless Teams!
Sam Houston opened November as the Football Bowl Subdivision's lone program without a win in 2023. That victory came at the expense of Kennesaw State, which is slated to join the Bearkats in Conference USA next season. Colby Sessums kicked a 35-yard field goal as time expired to give Sam Houston a hard-fought 24-21 win.
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.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
