College Football Week 6 Winners and Losers: Lane Kiffin and LSU Fall to a Brash, Gutsy Will Stein

The Wildcats won a battle of the confident first-year coaches.

Will Stein steered Kentucky to an unexpected home win over LSU. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

On Sunday, Nebraska coach Matt Rhule joined the DC Universe by way of Lanterns, raising a number of intriguing questions.

In a world where the Green Lantern(s) and Superman exist, are these heroes aware of college football? Are they aware of Rhule, and by extension more famous coaches past and present like Curt Cignetti and Nick Saban? Do they know about the Cornhuskers’ penchant for coming apart in big games? Are they interested in doing anything to stop it?

In this universe, Nebraska—as strong as it’s started—remains vexed by superior opponents. Here’s hoping your team didn’t need to call on otherworldly forces on a poor weather day from coast to coast. Welcome to Week 6’s winners and losers, live throughout the day.

Winner: Oregon State’s offense

One of America’s most exciting attacks unexpectedly belongs to the Beavers, led by first-year coach JaMarcus Shephard and co-offensive coordinators Mitch Dahlen and Ryan Wallace. Playing a San Diego State team still reeling from a mumps outbreak, Oregon State rolled up 66 points on 651 yards. Quarterback Braden Atkinson was lights-out, turning a 29 for 38 outing into 409 yards and five touchdowns. Though 3–2, the Beavers are serious Pac-12 and Group of 6 players.

Losers: Lane Kiffin and LSU

Saturday was the battle of the brash first-year coaches in Lexington, Ky., Kiffin brought his Tigers to play coach Will Stein’s Kentucky squad. In a near-statistical dead heat (LSU outgained the Wildcats 410–401), it was Stein who wound up orchestrating the plays the Tigers pay Kiffin exorbitant sums of money to orchestrate. None was bigger than a two-point conversion in overtime where Kentucky quarterback Kenny Minchey strode into the end zone completely untouched. Suddenly, once-ballyhooed LSU is 4–2 with a deadwood signature win (Texas A&M).

KENNY MINCHEY FOR THE WIN! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/FAIFsZUE1B

— Cats Coverage (@Cats_Coverage) October 11, 2026

Winner: South Carolina

No coach in college football has needed a win—any win!—the way Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer has in recent weeks. On Saturday, he finally got one as South Carolina stunned No. 16 Florida 38–19 in Gainesvilla, Fla. Gamecocks quarterback LaNorris Sellers, maligned as a lost cause for much of this season, put up 279 passing yards and four touchdowns on 23 for 35 passing; defensive end Dylan Stewart returned from suspension with two tackles and a sack. Vibes are better in Columbia, S.C., ahead of a bye week and home date with Tennessee.

Perhaps no coach in all of college football needed a win like the one Shane Beamer and South Carolina picked up Saturday more. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Loser: Dylan Raiola

The theme of this season throughout college football: don’t get overly attached to any one team or player. Oregon quarterback Raiola, for instance, looked terrific against USC’s shoddy defense on Saturday (19-for-25, touchdowns). UCLA, however, hounded Raiola into a 6 for 19, 43-yard, two-interception outing in a game the Bruins should’ve won by a wider margin than 17–15. The relative success of quarterback Brock Thomas in relief of Raiola creates intrigue that will reverberate even after the Ducks get regular starter Dante Moore back.

Winner: Upper Iowa, the most exciting team in college football

The Sickos Committee and the X (formerly Twitter) user CHOTalksSports pointed out recent feats of the Peacocks, a Division II team in Fayette, Iowa, that merit mentioning. On Saturday, coach Jason Hoskins’s squad defeated Truman State 21–19 at home—the team’s fifth consecutive game decided by two points or fewer. Since Sept. 5, Upper Iowa has lost to Missouri Southern (21–19), lost to Michigan Tech in overtime (33–32), lost to Lincoln (34–32), beaten Missouri S&T in double overtime (39–37) and now topped Truman State. And you thought Texas had a habit of entertaining.

Loser: Vanderbilt

Is it accurate to say the Commodores are going through what Michigan went through with quarterback Bryce Underwood a year ago? With a recent history of success, Vanderbilt staked its fortune on a true freshman—which means taking on all the growing pains starting a freshman quarterback entails. Those pains were on full display Saturday, as Curtis struggled through a 19 for 32, 222-yard, one-touchdown, two-interception outing. The result (not entirely on Curtis by a long shot): a 52–17 loss to Ole Miss that showed the difficulty of adjusting to life after quarterback Diego Pavia.

Winner: Jamal Roberts

Did the Missouri running back swipe Florida running back Jadan Baugh’s talent during the Tigers’ 45–17 win last week? Roberts, after rolling up 211 yards and three touchdowns on the Gators, exploded for 222 yards and two scores in a 27–6 win over Texas A&M. It’s been a stunning turnaround for Missouri, largely written off after falling 31–24 at Mississippi State on Sept. 26. Just over the horizon for the running back factory: dates with Ole Miss, Georgia and Texas in the next five weeks.

JAMAL ROBERTS HOUSE CALL‼️@MizzouFootball pic.twitter.com/1WCh8eltkt

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) October 10, 2026

Losers: The Green Lantern(s)

Saturday was a sad one for the superhoes and citizens of Nebraska alike, from Lincoln to Rushville. For most of the afternoon, it looked like the Cornhuskers were readying themselves to snap defending national champion Indiana’s 22-game winning streak—and they probably should have, having run nearly twice as many plays (83) as the Hoosiers (44). A pair of plays in the early fourth quarter stopped Nebraska in its tracks, however—a 75-yard touchdown catch and a 44-yard touchdown catch by Indiana wide receiver Nick Marsh. The Cornhuskers’ quarter-century-old quest to regain their powers will take them to Oregon before a bye week.

THE HOOSIERS HAVE THE LEAD IN THE 4TH!

Hoover finds Nick Marsh for six! @IndianaFootball pic.twitter.com/0Owzu06spV

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 10, 2026

Winner: Bill Belichick

It took a year and a half, but the greatest coach in the history of American football finally beat a ranked team. Even if it was a No. 25 Pitt team acclimating to life without quarterback Mason Heintschel, North Carolina can hold its head high after an encouraging performance. Its defense snagged two interceptions, while quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. diluted two picks of his own with an 18 for 26, 249-yard outing. If the Tar Heels can tic-tac-toe Syracuse (Oct. 24), UConn (Nov. 7), and Virginia (Nov. 21), they’ll get a shot at their first bowl win since 2019.

On to Duke. pic.twitter.com/WWx9j9ZazR

— ACC Network (@accnetwork) October 10, 2026

Loser: Minnesota, in yet another apparent hangover game

After his team beat Michigan on Oct. 3, Golden Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said the moment “might be the best day of my life” outside of his wedding and children’s births. Saturday has to rank pretty far down on the list. In the Year of the Hangover Game (cue MJ Lenderman), Minnesota submitted its contribution with a rancid 41–13 loss at an improving Purdue team. Most galling was the rushing differential: the Boilermakers ran for 305 yards while the Golden Gophers (a poor rushing team to begin with, but still!) mustered just 27.

---

PODCAST: Listen to Sports Illustrated’s college sports podcast, Others Receiving Votes, hosted by Pat Forde, on Apple and Spotify. Watch the show on SI’s college YouTube channel or on SI TV.