Winners and Losers from Week 9 of College Football
The final college football weekend in October didn't disappoint.
With the College Football Playoff selection committee's top 25 set to be released on Tuesday, this was the final weekend to make a strong impression.
Mississippi State, the No. 1 team in the country, needed to survive against Kentucky. Meanwhile, TCU had a record-setting day offensively against Texas Tech. LSU disrupted the top of the SEC West and the playoff picture by knocking off Ole Miss at home, and Ohio State survived on the road against Penn State.
From those games and much, much more, we have it all covered. Which teams, players and moments came away as winners? Which ones didn't? The answers are in the following slides.
Winner: Miami Running Back Duke Johnson
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There has never been any doubt that Miami running back Duke Johnson is one of the most exciting players in college football. However, only in the past few weeks did Johnson begin regularly putting up 100 rushing yards a game.
Then, Johnson took off in a 30-6 win over Virginia Tech on Thursday night. Johnson carried the ball 29 times for 249 yards—an impressive 8.6 yards per rush—and a touchdown. He also had a pair of receptions, one of which went for a score.
Johnson is explosive, but defenses know he's an important player who is going to get his fair share of touches. It's easy to hone in on his every move. The fact that Johnson still had a big game says a lot about his ability to carry an offense.
When asked if Johnson was the best running back he's faced this year, Hokies head coach Frank Beamer said, "Not only all season. Forever." (H/t Andy Bitter, The Roanoke Times.)
Hyperbole? Yeah, just a tad. But it's high praise all the same.
Loser: BYU
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Oh, how the wheels have fallen off the BYU wagon.
It's easy to draw a connection from the season-ending injury to BYU quarterback Taysom Hill to the Cougars' four straight losses. However, Hill is far from the only thing missing from Bronco Mendenhall's team. The defense has been absent as well.
In a 55-30 loss to Boise State on Friday, the Cougars gave up 429 yards of offense—329 of which came through the air—by halftime. The Broncos racked up 637 yards of total offense by the end of the game.
BYU has now allowed at least 30 points in five straight games. The schedule going forward gets far easier—save for a season-ender at Cal—so the Cougars have a chance to rebuild some confidence.
However, this has to be a frustrating streak for BYU, which had hopes of an undefeated season just a month ago.
Winner: Cincinnati Quarterback Munchie Legaux
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I'm not sure how many people actually watched Cincinnati beat South Florida 34-17 on Friday, but Bearcats backup quarterback/unanimous All-Name Team selection Munchie Legaux had himself a night.
Filling in for the injured Gunner Kiel, who reaggravated a rib injury, Legaux went 14-of-15 passing for 121 yards. He also had a nine-yard touchdown run.
Those are solid stats by themselves, but even more incredible when you consider that nearly 14 months ago against Illinois, Legaux suffered one of the most horrific, sickening knee injuries you'll ever see. (Look it up if you want, but you're not going to find a link to it here.)
That Legaux is back running an offense—and running for touchdowns—is nothing short of a miracle. Serious kudos are deserved.
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Loser: Texas Offense
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This is a semi-recurring theme here on Winners and Losers. Texas' defense has been a great turnaround story this season. The Longhorns are one of the best teams in the nation at getting in the backfield.
The Longhorns offense, though? It can barely get into the end zone.
Texas had five possessions cross into Kansas State territory on Saturday, all of which ended without points as the Wildcats won 23-0. It was the first time Texas was shut out since a 12-0 loss to Oklahoma in 2004. It's also the first time Charlie Strong has been shut out as a head coach.
Yes, Kansas State's defense is legit. That's not the big-picture story here, though.
As October rolls into November, there's not much else to say about the Longhorns offense that hasn't already been said. The offensive line remains an issue because of injuries, suspensions and inexperience. The running game hasn't taken off, and that doesn't help out a young quarterback like Tyrone Swoopes.
Play-calling has been questionable at times, too. Things are bad all around.
There are times when the Texas offense looks like it's turning a corner—Swoopes, for example, looks more comfortable running the ball—but then a penalty or turnover will wipe out the drive. It's two steps forward, five steps back.
Texas' last four games are at Texas Tech, West Virginia, at Oklahoma State and TCU. The Horns need to win three of those games to become bowl eligible.
That's looking less likely by the week.
Winner: Arkansas Lineman Sebastian Tretola
5 of 21There are big-guy touchdowns, and then there are big-guy touchdowns. The latter is even rarer than the former, like spotting Big Foot.
Thankfully, technology has come a long way. The power of video and replay allows all of us to witness the beauty of a large man throwing a pigskin to someone who has no business catching it for a score.
In the second quarter of Arkansas' game against UAB, Razorbacks lineman Sebastian Tretola threw a six-yard touchdown pass to long snapper Alan D'Appollonio.
Tretola, he of the 6'5" and 350-pound physique, might be the heaviest skill player in college football since Kentucky quarterback Jared Lorenzen.
Arkansas didn't need the score, as they won 45-17, but that hardly matters in comparison. Just sit back and admire the beauty of a big man doing big things.
Loser: Minnesota
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Ouch.
That just about sums up Minnesota's crushing 28-24 loss to Illinois.
The Gophers have been one of the pleasant surprises of the season with a 6-1 record (and 3-0 in Big Ten play) heading into Saturday. However, three turnovers helped the Illini rally past Minnesota to get their first Big Ten win of the year.
The loss now puts Minnesota in a tie atop the Big Ten West standings with Nebraska. Critical games against Iowa, Ohio State, Nebraska and Wisconsin remain on the schedule.
There are no two ways around it: This was a bad loss for the Gophers. Conversely, it's a great win for Illinois, which desperately needs something good to happen. There may be hope for head coach Tim Beckman yet.
Winner: Nebraska Record-Breakers
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The short story is that Nebraska handled Rutgers 42-24 on Saturday. The slightly longer story is that a pair of Huskers had career days in the process.
Running back Ameer Abdullah, apparently hellbent on hopping back on the Heisman train, tallied 341 all-purpose yards running, catching and returning kicks. That broke a single-game record at Nebraska. Additionally, Abdullah's 11.8 yards per rush was his highest average this season.
Not to be overshadowed, Huskers wide receiver Kenny Bell became the program's all-time leader in career receptions with 167. Bell had six catches for 63 yards on the day.
With Minnesota's loss to Illinois, Nebraska is now tied for first place in the Big Ten West. The Huskers' final four games are against Purdue, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa. The way the team played Saturday, there's a good chance Nebraska will be favored in all of them.
Loser: Colorado
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Oh, Colorado. Not again.
It feels like the Buffaloes on are on the verge of finally rebounding as a program. Head coach Mike MacIntyre has at least made Colorado competitive, but the wins simply haven't been there. Beating a struggling UCLA team would have been a perfect way to show this program has turned a corner.
Instead, it was more heartbreak courtesy of a 40-37 loss to the Bruins in double overtime. UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley's eight-yard touchdown run was the difference in the final score.
Colorado's defense gave up yards—509 to be exact—but did a good job getting off the field on third downs. The Buffs offense controlled the time of possession by a good 10 minutes. It was by no means perfect, but it was a good enough effort to win.
With the exception of a blowout loss to USC, three of Colorado's last four losses have come by less than a touchdown. You are what your record says, but this is not a bad 2-6 team. That won't make MacIntyre or his team feel better, though. They know they're playing well enough to win.
Colorado must win its final four games—Washington, Arizona, Oregon and Utah—to be bowl eligible. That's a daunting task and not likely to happen. Colorado is making strides, but at some point, those strides have to turn into wins.
Winner: Kentucky Quarterback Patrick Towles
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For likely most of the country, this was the first time really seeing Kentucky play from start to finish. For those people, the Wildcats impressed.
No, Kentucky did not come out on the right side of a 45-31 loss to Mississippi State. But the Wildcats did go toe-to-toe with the Bulldogs all game long.
For Mississippi State, it was a game of survive and advance. It wasn't the best or prettiest effort, but Dan Mullen's team stays undefeated for another week.
For Kentucky, this program is clearly headed in a positive direction. Quarterback Patrick Towles was the standout, throwing for 390 yards and two scores. Towles also led the Wildcats in rushing with 76 yards and another pair of scores.
Towles is young—just a sophomore—and big at 6'5" and 240 pounds. He has a lot of skill and even more potential.
Kentucky may not have come away with the win, but college football fans got a great look at what the program's future should bring.
Winner: The Penn State Deer
10 of 21The greatest thing that happened in Week 9 was not LSU's upset over Ole Miss, or TCU hanging a billion points on Texas Tech.
It didn't even happen on a football field. Rather, it happened when a deer wanted to check in at a Days Inn in Happy Valley for the Ohio State-Penn State game and was promptly denied service.
And by promptly denied service, we mean it freaked out and fell all over itself trying to escape.
There are no more words needed here. Just watch the video and laugh.
Loser: Texas Tech
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It's still difficult to put into words what TCU did to Texas Tech in an—wait for it—82-27 win in Fort Worth. But trust us that there was blood. A lot of it.
The Frogs' 82 points is a school and Big 12 conference record, according to Jake Trotter of ESPN.com. Quarterback Trevone Boykin threw seven touchdown passes—as many as Kansas has thrown as a team all season.
The ridiculous comparisons could go on and on, but what happened to the Red Raiders is nothing short of embarrassing. Penalties and turnovers have cost Texas Tech wins this season, but this team hadn't been torched on defense to the extent it was on Saturday (though the situation was already bad).
Acting defensive coordinator Mike Smith was put in a tough situation being promoted in September after Matt Wallerstedt resigned for "personal reasons," and the results haven't been good.
Texas Tech is now 3-5 and has to win three of its final four games—Texas, Oklahoma, Iowa State and Baylor—to be bowl eligible. The way the Red Raiders have played this season, that's not looking good at all.
Again, this is all coming just a couple of months after head coach Kliff Kingsbury received a new three-year extension. Obviously, the university is looking long-term, but the timing of it all isn't a great look in hindsight.
Winner: Mississippi State Running Back Josh Robinson
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Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott will continue to get the Heisman publicity and the spotlight as long as the Bulldogs keep winning.
But how about a little love for the not-so-little Josh Robinson?
The bruising running back had 23 carries for 198 yards—both season highs—and a pair of touchdowns in the 45-31 win over Kentucky. Prescott had another great day with three touchdowns and over 300 all-purpose yards, but Kentucky also got to him in the backfield and forced him into some mistakes.
It wasn't Prescott's best game and it wasn't Mississippi State's best game. In moments like those, you need other players to make a mark. Robinson got tough yards and ran hard, one time reversing field for a positive gain after it looked like he had been tackled by a handful of Kentucky defenders.
Robinson has been a beast all season. He came up big on the road when his team needed him most.
Loser: Oklahoma State's Sputtering Offense
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Oklahoma State’s 34-10 loss to West Virginia continued a disturbing trend.
Here’s something you wouldn’t expect to hear: Oklahoma State has scored exactly one offensive touchdown in the last 10 quarters (vs. West Virginia, TCU and the second half against Kansas). In that same span, the Cowboys have put just 26 points on the board, as noted by David Ubben of Fox Sports Southwest.
Did anyone ever think Oklahoma State’s offense would struggle this much? It’s uncharacteristic of the program that head coach Mike Gundy has built.
There are several problems. Daxx Garman has been so-so at quarterback, but the Pokes also don’t have a true No. 1 receiver like they have had in the past with guys like Justin Blackmon or Dez Bryant. The offensive line is still developing as well. Put it all together and there’s been a dip in offensive production since Oklahoma State began Big 12 play.
Winner: Colorado State
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Colorado State won’t get a ton of national love, but quietly the Rams are 7-1 and emerging as one of the best “Group of Five” teams in the country.
A 45-31 win over Wyoming could be enough to give Colorado State some Top 25 consideration. The Rams’ only loss? A respectable one to Boise State.
Head coach Jim McElwain has done a great job of building this program and will undoubtedly be a name circulating for bigger jobs at season’s end. While Marshall and East Carolina are the popular Group of Five names in the bowl conversation, keep an eye on the Rams.
Loser: Clemson's Offense Without Deshaun Watson
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Yes, Clemson technically beat Syracuse 16-6. However, it’s undeniable that the Tigers are a different team—a worse team—without freshman quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Cole Stoudt threw for 209 yards and a touchdown against the Orange, but he also had a pair of interceptions and a fumble. In all, the Tigers had four turnovers (to Syracuse’s three).
Watson will be the starter when he returns from his hand injury—whenever that might be.
"Yeah. Yeah. Deshaun’s the starter. Whenever he’s healthy, he’ll be back out there," head coach Dabo Swinney said (h/t Aaron Brenner, The Post and Courier). "Guys don’t lose their jobs because they get hurt. Something unusual would have to happen for that to be the case."
Clemson is 6-2, but Watson can’t get back soon enough.
Winner: Ohio State Defensive End Joey Bosa
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Like a few other highly ranked teams on Saturday, Ohio State employed the "survive and advance" game plan against Penn State. It wasn't pretty, but the Buckeyes squeaked out a 31-24 double-overtime win in Happy Valley.
After a hot start in which Ohio State led 17-0 at the half, the Nittany Lions stormed back to tie the game at 17 heading into overtime. After exchanging scores in OT, Ohio State needed to stop Penn State on 4th-and-6.
That's when defensive end Joey Bosa went to work, completely blasting through Penn State's offensive line and blowing up the pass protection right into quarterback Christian Hackenberg for the game-deciding sack.
Basically, it was a sack by proximity. But it counted all the same and Ohio State escaped with the win.
Winner: LSU
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If LSU had lost to Ole Miss, it would have created even more separation between the top and bottom halves of the SEC West. Instead, the Tigers pulled off the tremendous win at home against the Rebels, 10-7.
It’s a great win for head coach Les Miles, whose mother sadly passed away on Friday. It’s also a great win for his team, which had two ugly losses to Mississippi State and Auburn. The Tigers ran the ball well against Ole Miss’ stingy defense, racking up 264 yards on nearly five yards a carry. Freshman Leonard Fournette led all runners with 23 carries for 113 yards.
LSU’s lone touchdown came on a three-yard play-action pass to Logan Stokes from Anthony Jennings—after LSU had marched 92 yards down the field on 12 rushes.
It was a dominating performance in the trenches against a team known for its presence up front. Well done.
Loser: Ole Miss
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Just when you think you’ve got a Les Miles team on the ropes…
With nine seconds on the clock and the game-tying field goal on the line, Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze made an interesting decision. Rather than try a 47-yard field goal, Freeze opted to keep his offense on the field on 3rd-and-7 with no timeouts.
The result was an ill-advised throw from quarterback Bo Wallace, which was intercepted to seal LSU's dramatic 10-7 win.
So, was it a bad decision by Freeze? It’s an intriguing one, that’s for sure, but one set up by a five-yard delay of game penalty that pushed back a 42-yard field-goal attempt. The communication issue there is on Freeze, without a doubt. As Jon Solomon of CBSSports.com tweeted, that might have been the worst mistake of all.
The decision to try to get one final play in? That’s not so terrible. By rolling Wallace to his left on the play, Freeze likely gave Wallace an ultimatum: If the throw is there for a first down, take it to set up a closer attempt. If it’s not, throw it into the stands.
Ole Miss made mistakes in that sequence, but the throw itself is on Wallace.
In any case, Ole Miss is no longer among the list of unbeaten teams in college football.
Winner: Alabama Wide Receiver Amari Cooper
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Hello, Amari Cooper. So nice of you to firmly put yourself back in the Heisman conversation. It was a brief absence, but we missed you.
Alabama's game at Tennessee was centered largely around Tide offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin and his return to Knoxville, where he coached for one season in 2009. As you can guess, Kiffin's reception was, um, "warm."
But once the contest kicked off, it became much less about Kiffin and more about Alabama's hot start. On Alabama's first offensive play, Cooper caught an 80-yard touchdown pass. On Alabama's second drive, Cooper caught a 41-yard touchdown pass.
Alabama would go on to win 34-20.
In all, Cooper had nine receptions for 224 yards. That's not too shabby, but to put that into perspective, Tide quarterback Blake Sims threw for 286 yards. That means Cooper accounted for roughly 78 percent of Alabama's receiving yards on Saturday.
Loser: USC
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The Cardiac Trojans have been an entertaining team to watch, but there’s been plenty of heartbreak as well. USC’s 24-21 loss to Utah was the third of the season, and all three losses have come by less than a touchdown.
The Trojans had a chance to put the game away for good on a 4th-and-2 at the Utah 28-yard line. Quarterback Cody Kessler pitched to wide receiver Nelson Agholor who rushed around the edge for what initially appeared to be a first down. However, the official spotted Agholor out short of the first-down marker and further review showed that he had, in fact, stepped out.
In hindsight, the decision to go for it could be questioned. However, head coach Steve Sarkisian opted to extend the drive and seal the win. The play call was good, too. Agholor had space; he simply stepped out on his own. That is, unfortunately, on him.
Then, the defense allowed Utah to drive 73 yards for the game-winning score.
It’s a tough way (again) for USC to lose. Finishing has been an issue for the Trojans—blame it on depth, or blame it on Sarkisian—and it showed up again against Utah.
Winner: Washington Linebacker Hau'oli Kikaha
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Yes, Washington lost to Arizona State 24-10 on Saturday. Any hope Washington may have had of finishing at or near the top of the Pac-12 North took a serious blow in the process.
However, the effort of Huskies linebacker Hau'oli Kikaha deserves some recognition. Against the Sun Devils, Kikaha broke the career sacks record with 31.5 sacks and tied the single-season record with 14.5 sacks.
Washington has been as good as any team at getting in the backfield, and Kikaha is a big reason why. Fellow linebacker Shaq Thompson gets a lot of the publicity because he's recorded several individual touchdowns and plays on both sides of the ball, but Kikaha is an elite pass-rusher.
A win would have been nice for him, but making history isn't a bad consolation prize.
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