College Football: Winners and Losers from Saturday's Action

Saturday provided another round of fantastic college football action! Top 25 teams squared off against one another, while others battled programs looking for a signature win.

The day has given us some great games! From back-and-forth battles to amazing turnovers, there has been no shortage of highlight reel material this week.

Georgia and South Carolina dueled it out to the bitter end. Wisconsin rolled easily, as did Michigan State and West Virginia. 

Who won the day's biggest matches? 

We'll run down some of the outcomes of today's football action.

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No. 8 Wisconsin Rolls over Oregon State 35-0

QB Russell Wilson continues to impress. His passing numbers were solid, completing 17-of-21 for 189 yards and three touchdowns.

Wisconsin's run game also continues to be dominant. Montee Ball carried the ball 18 times for 118 yards (6.56 ave) and two more scores. 

Wisconsin has to feel very good about its offense. The line is big and nasty, providing plenty of coverage for Wilson and ample holes for Ball. Wilson has been everything they hoped he would be, and Ball hasn't missed a step from last year.

The defense did its job, holding the Beavers scoreless. A very positive sign is that they also held Oregon State to just 23 yards on the ground—a marked improvement over last week.

The Badgers did give up 261 yards through the air but never allowed it to matter.

Sean Mannion completed 25-of-38 attempts (65.8 percent) for 244 yards for Oregon State but could never find the right combination to put points on the board.

Oregon State may not have been the toughest opponent possible for a Top 10 team like Wisconsin (finished 2010 with a 5-7 record and lost Week 1 to Sacramento State 28-29). Still, this is a confidence-building performance, considering the Badgers allowed UNLV to run for 146 yards and were often out of position on tackles.

Right now, this looks like a Top 10 Badger team. We'll find out a little more about this team next week when they bring Northern Illinois into Camp Randall Stadium.

No. 15 Ohio State Escapes Toledo 27-22

OK, so maybe Ohio State isn't as good as we thought? Last week, they looked like a Top 10 contender as they easily handled Akron 42-0.  This week...meh.

QB Joe Bauserman was average, completing 16-of-30 passes (53.3 percent) for 189 yards and a touchdown. RB Carlos Hyde was only slightly better, picking up 76 yards on 20 carries (3.8 ave.) and two scores.

However, the defense couldn't seem to put the Rockets away. Toledo WR Eric Page pulled down 12 passes for 145 yards and two scores as Ohio State gave up 292 yards through the air. 

Proper respect has to be given to Toledo. They're a feisty little team that has beaten the likes of Brady Hoke's Ball State and the Big Ten's Purdue. However, they're still a MAC team, and the Buckeyes rarely struggle so hard against MAC opponents.

Luke Fickell has to be a little concerned about his team's performance. Tougher teams have failed to hold the Buckeyes to just 27 points, and even fewer have put up 22 against the high recruits that defense brings aboard.

Ohio State may have won this game, but they lost something too. All of the confidence that they grabbed last week against Akron has to have gone out the window today. If they struggle this hard against Toledo, how will they fare against Wisconsin? What about Nebraska? And Michigan State?

After last week, I was ready to place the Buckeyes firmly in the hunt for another Big Ten championship.  After this performance, 8-4 may be a gift.

No. 16 Mississippi State Loses to Auburn 41-34

Midway through the third quarter, Mississippi State led the defending national champions 21-14. That was the first lead they'd held after being tossed against the ropes on a quick 14-0 start by the Tigers. 

Auburn's RB Michael Dyer burned the Bulldog defense for 150 yards on 18 carries (8.33 ave.) and a pair of scores. Barrett Trotter did more than enough, completing 16-of-23 passes for 146 yards, two more scores and an interception.

QB Chris Relf had good numbers, completing 20-of-33 (60.6 percent). However, he threw a pick to go along with his lone throwing touchdown. 

Vick Ballard continued to be a beast, rushing for 135 yards on 21 carries (6.4 ave) and a touchdown, and Relf showcased his legs as well, running for 106 more yards.

They just couldn't do enough. The defense started too slowly and couldn't keep the Tigers out of scoring range once they got going. 

While an exciting game, this is a big blow for Mississippi State. A win here would have created tremendous momentum going into a matchup with No. 2 LSU this coming Thursday night. 

Now, they'll have to regroup from a disappointing loss before taking on a team that could arguably be the best in the nation (Oklahoma doesn't play this week, so we can't gauge them). Call that a double loss. They needed that momentum, and they needed the confidence a win over Auburn would have provided.

After the LSU match, there won't be another (currently) ranked team until they take on South Carolina in mid-October. Things will get really interesting with games against No. 3 Alabama and No. 14 Arkansas in two of their last three matches. 

The Bulldogs will have some time to recover after next week, but a win here would have helped a ton. 

No. 17 Michigan State Crushes Florida Atlantic 44-0

The Spartans had little trouble with a Florida Atlantic team that was also crushed last week by Florida 41-3.

QB Kirk Cousins led the charge, completing 16-of-21 passes (76.2 percent) for 183 yards and two scores. Le'Veon Bell and Edwin Baker combined for two scores and 119 yards on 23 carries. 

Overall, Michigan State put up 246 yards passing and 188 yards rushing compared to just 26 and 22 respectively. They outpaced the Owls 434 total yards to 48. 

There are a couple of things Michigan State can take from this. First, they put up more points on FAU than Florida did—if only three more. And, they held the Owls to fewer points than Florida did—if only three fewer.

That should indicate that they're on par with what Florida is doing at this point, right?

Maybe, and maybe not. Those kinds of comparisons rarely reveal anything truly meaningful, even though fans love to throw them around at BCS selection time. 

Second, they aren't appearing to be vulnerable to the letdowns that other big teams have been seeing against "lesser opposition."

What we can say definitely is that Michigan State took care of business and pulled off a dominant victory over a clearly overmatched opponent. They did what they were supposed to do.

However, Michigan State can take good heart in the knowledge that Ohio State struggled to put away Toledo, and Iowa lost in triple overtime to Iowa State.

If there was any doubt that they could be a contender once again for a Big Ten title, all indications are that they can be and will be. 

Next week will be a trip to Notre Dame. We'll learn a lot more about the Spartans after that showdown in South Bend.

No. 5 Florida State Rolls over Charlston Southern 62-10

It was no real contest for Florida State when they took on Charlston Southern.  Of course, this is Charlston Southern we're talking about.  This wasn't an ACC opponent, or even East Carolina, for that matter. 

How tough should it have been?

QB EJ Manuel completed 24-of-35 attempts for 329 yards and four scores.  The only real snag in his performance was a pick that didn't really hurt.

James Wilder Jr. carried the ball 10 times for 76 yards, as just one of many Seminole ball carriers.  He failed to find the end zone, but there were plenty others who managed that for him.

The Seminoles allowed fewer than 100 yards of total offense (84), while putting up 647 yards of their own.

It was a thorough domination by a team looking to clinch an ACC title and Orange Bowl berth this season.

The big question is: did they learn anything useful prior to taking on No. 1 Oklahoma next week?  This is the big argument against scheduling such soft competition out of conference confines. 

No, Oklahoma isn't in the same conference as FSU, but this is a night-and-day difference in going from CSU to Oklahoma on consecutive weeks.  There's no great preparation for that level of competition.

Still, it was a solid showing for the Seminoles, and they can carry a little momentum and confidence into their showdown with the top team in the country.

No. 6 Stanford Blasts Duke 44-14

Duke was really no match for Andrew Luck and the Stanford Cardinal.  Did anyone really think they would be?

Luck was 20-of-28 passing for 290 yards, four touchdowns and a pick-six.  RB Stepfan Taylor also had a good day, carrying 14 times for 75 yards (5.4 ave.), though he didn't see the end zone today.

If there was a low point to this game, it was that the Cardinal allowed 305 yards passing.  However, all of those yards never materialized into any touchdowns, and the Cardinal held the Duke ground game to only 30 yards.

Going forward in the Pac-12, I might be a little concerned about those lofty passing numbers.  Even though playing Duke isn't like playing San Jose State (their Week 1 opponent), they don't have the same kind of offensive prowess that Stanford will see in the future.

Up next is a trip to Arizona.  Nick Foles and the Wildcats present a more dangerous pass attack than Sean Renfree could bring to the table.

Having said that, Stanford has to feel pretty confident right now about their power and potential.  They've just got to get a little tougher against the pass defense in the future.

No. 3 Alabama Defeats No. 23 Penn State in Happy Valley 27-11

For a short while, early in this game, it looked like Penn State might just have something for the Crimson Tide.  The Nittany Lions stormed out to a 3-0 lead and played tough, physical football.

It didn't last too long, though. The Tide buckled down and started taking it to Penn State.

The passing game was not a highlight in this game.  AJ McCarron completed 19-of-31 for 163 yards and a touchdown.  Those are good numbers but not outstanding.

Rob Bolden and Matt McGloin, however, looked lost and ineffective throwing the ball.  Bolden was 11-of-29 for 144 yards and an interception.  McGloin was just 1-for-10 for nothing.

Chock both stats up to solid defensive play for both teams. 

RB Silas Redd wasn't effective enough for the Nittany Lions, running for just 65 yards on 22 carries.  He did pick up a touchdown, but his longest carry was just eight yards.

Trent Richardson, however, was good enough to help drive the Tide, carrying 26 times for 111 yards and two touchdowns.

This was a quality road win for Alabama. Certainly, it wasn't quite as impressive as last year's 24-3 affair.  Still, this is a Penn State team that is considerably better on defense and has an offensive line that can pave some pretty nice lanes for their runners.

This was a quality road test in a huge stadium, against a team that has the tools to beat just about anybody.  With Arkansas looming in a couple of weeks, this tells them a lot about where they are.

It wasn't such a terrible loss for Penn State either, to be honest.  Last season, Alabama wasn't quite the Top 5 team they are this year and won a little more convincingly.  Penn State went on to a 7-6 overall record.

Alabama is even better than a year ago, and Penn State looked improved over last year's version.  As they close in on the Big Ten schedule, they've got to believe that they can work on a few of their issues and be ready to honestly compete for a conference title.

They've still got to improve that quarterback situation, though.

No. 24 Texas Escapes Brigham Young 17-16

Oh boy, here we go again.  No, narrowly escaping BYU isn't the same as losing to Iowa State as they did last year.

Still, this is Texas. This is Texas, back in the Top 25.  For how long? 

The Longhorns came into this game on the heels of a 34-9 win over Rice, while BYU came in after narrowly escaping Ole Miss 14-13.

Let's just say that this is not a glowing endorsement for Texas to climb the ranking latter. 

BYU took this game into halftime, leading 13-3.  It took a 14-3 second half for Texas to pull out the narrow victory.

The Longhorns utilized four different quarterbacks in this game.  Case McCoy completed 7-of-8 for 57 yards.  David Ash went 2-of-3, Jaxon Shipley was 1-for-1 and Garrett Gilbert was just 2-of-8 for eight yards and two interceptions.

Not one of those quarterbacks found a combination that would get Texas into the end zone.

Cody Johnson was the hero of the day for Texas.  Johnson carried the ball just five times but found the end zone twice, including the winning score.

For Texas, this has to be disheartening, to some extent.  Ranked again, for the first time since early last year, they had a chance to make themselves relevant again.  This victory doesn't do a lot to help that cause, and it'll be a minor miracle if they're still ranked when the new polls come out.

For BYU, there's no such thing as moral victories.  They needed this win.  They needed to make a statement by taking down a ranked team, even if that team doesn't remain there for long.   

No. 11 Virginia Tech Nips East Carolina 17-10

East Carolina nearly took down South Carolina last week. They had another opportunity to knock off a "big boy" this week in Virginia Tech.  They almost did it.

Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, though.  Virginia Tech came from behind to claim their second victory of the season. 

After trailing 7-3 at the half, Tech tied it up in three quarters and finally came away with the victory.  It wasn't easy, but they probably shouldn't have expected it to be.

East Carolina is one of those teams you don't think much about, except when they're threatening to knock off ranked teams.  They don't have a long-and-rich football tradition.  They don't have a nationally recognized name.

What they have is a really cool logo and a penchant for making life difficult on teams looking for an easy W.

The Hokies grabbed nearly three times as many yards as the Pirates (332-112).  They had 241 rushing yards to negative 15. 

They just couldn't put it away. 

Two turnovers hurt the Hokies, but they gathered one of their own.  They dominated the stats, but not the scoreboard.

Virginia Tech needs to brush this one off.  East Carolina is a giant killer.  They thrive on just these kinds of games, and they play better football than they're often given credit for.  We saw what happened last year, and VT still rolled off 11 straight wins.

No. 13 Oregon Flies over Nevada 69-20

The Oregon Ducks can sure come up with some uniforms, can't they?

They can come up with some big wins too.

Nevada wasn't expected to beat the Ducks, but this is a great rebound game after losing last week to LSU. 

The Ducks jumped out early and never looked back.  Darron Thomas passed for 295 yards and six touchdowns.  Yes...six of them.  He also ran for 80 yards on eight carries.

LaMichael James looked good with more than five yards per carry and a score, and everything seemed to work pretty well.

Well, that is, except the defense.

The ducks allowed 233 yards passing, 286 rushing and 516 overall.  They buckled down when needed to keep Nevada out of the end zone, but that's about it.

The Ducks got a great rebound win here, but they've still got a lot to figure out before the Pac-12 really comes calling.  That defense isn't going to do them any favors.