College Football Roundup: Huge Matchups, Close Upsets, Pac 12 Highlight Week 6 Action

The weekend of college football action was intense as more Top 25 teams went down, and a title contender barely escaped with a win

Week six of the 2022 college football season offered some rare stability as no Top 10 team lost, but still featured plenty of excitement. The race for the College Football Playoff is wide open heading into the second half of the season, and though the blue bloods are well-represented, there are some new bloods knocking on the door as well. 

While fans in Eugene, Austin, and South Bend are wishing the 12-team playoff was already here, 13 Power Five teams head into mid-October with undefeated records. The next few weeks will sort out the contenders from the pretenders before the November stretch run.

Now, let’s get to the Week six action:

TCU 38 Kansas 31

This past week was the greatest in modern Kansas football history, as the Jayhawks knocked off Iowa State last weekend to move to 5-0, announced $300 million in stadium renovations, and hosted College GameDay for the first time in their history. A win over TCU on Saturday would have been icing on the cake, but unfortunately the Horned Frogs didn’t get the memo. Max Duggan threw for 308 yards and 3 TDs, Quentin Johnston was unguardable, with 14 catches for 206 yards, and though the TCU defense surrendered 540 yards, they stepped up with timely stops when they needed to make them.

Lance Leipold’s Kansas team proved to the nation that they are for real, but you can bet the Jayhawks won’t be satisfied with the moral victory. Kansas will be kicking itself for the points it left on the field – QB Jalon Daniels fumbled at the goal-line, Jacob Borcila missed a 31-yard field goal, and though backup QB Jason Bean led the Jayhawk offense to all 4 touchdown drives, his third quarter interception with the score tied 17-17 gave the Horned Frogs a short field that they turned into a TD and a 24-17 lead they never relinquished.

There are no easy games in a deep Big 12 this season, and next weekend Kansas travels to Norman to take on a wounded Oklahoma team while TCU hosts Oklahoma State in a battle that could determine the Big 12 Championship.

Alabama 24 Texas A&M 20

With Bryce Young ruled out for the much-anticipated contest with Texas A&M, the Crimson Tide did everything possible to lose this game – yet still found a way to win. Alabama turned the ball over 4 times, missed 2 field goals, and threw for just 111 yards, but Will Anderson and the Alabama defense stopped Texas A&M at the 2-yard line as time expired. Anderson didn’t record a sack but racked up 8 of Alabama’s 14 QB hurries and was a major reason that Haynes King averaged just 5.5 yards per attempt while completing just 54.3% of his passes.

In contrast to past seasons, this Alabama team has already been in multiple close games, but the Tide have always responded. Trailing against Texas in Week 2, Alabama drove 61 yards for the game-winning field goal. Leading just 28-23 heading into the fourth quarter against Arkansas last week, Alabama answered with 239 fourth quarter yards to pull away 49-26. Then, against a resilient Aggie team this weekend, the Crimson Tide made the necessary plays when they needed to. Still, Nick Saban knows that his team needs to get better – fast – with a road trip to explosive Tennessee on the docket next weekend.

UCLA 42 Utah 32

After a quiet 5-0 start, UCLA finally exploded onto the national scene this weekend with a 42-32 victory over Utah in a game that wasn’t as close as the score indicated. In an era where quarterbacks transfer at the first sign of adversity, Dorian Thompson-Robinson stands out as an example of perseverance. In his 5^th season as the starter in Westwood, “DTR” is completing 74.8 percent of his passes and has thrown 15 TDs against just 2 interceptions. On Saturday, Thompson-Robinson threw for 299 yards and 4 TDs, while Michigan transfer Zach Charbonnet rumbled for 198 yards and a TD on 22 carries. Most encouraging of all for Chip Kelly has to be the fact that the Bruins were the more physical team – quite an achievement against Utah.

UCLA heads into a well-deserved bye week before a massive trip to Eugene to take on Oregon on October 22^nd. Beat the Ducks and the Bruins will be favored to head into their November 19^th matchup against USC with an undefeated record. The road to the Pac-12 title runs through Los Angeles this year.

McDONOUGH’S MUSINGS

~ I think the spate of early-season head coach firings is an unfortunate trend – and one that can be unfair to the players in the locker room – but it is interesting to see how each Power Five team that fired its coach has been galvanized by the move. Before firing the previous coach, these teams had combined to go 5-15, but since making the move are 6-3, including a 4-0 record this weekend (Colorado had a bye). Somewhere, Auburn and Texas A&M boosters are taking notes.

• Nebraska – Beat Rutgers 14-13; 2-1 since Scott Frost was fired
• Arizona State – Beat Washington 45-38; 1-2 since Herm Edwards was fired
• Georgia Tech – Beat Duke 23-20; 2-0 since Geoff Collins was fired
• Colorado – Bye week; Have not played since Karl Dorrell was fired
• Wisconsin – Beat Wisconsin 42-7; 1-0 since Paul Chryst was fired

~ I have a number of family members from Iowa who are big Hawkeye fans, and thus follow Iowa football fairly closely. It’s hard to understate how abysmal the Iowa offense has been this year, and what is more bizarre is that Kirk Ferentz seems either totally unaware or totally unconcerned (it may have something to do with the fact that his son Brian is the offensive coordinator). Iowa lost 9-6 to Illinois on Saturday, dropping their season record to 3-3 – borderline unfathomable when their defense ranks 3^rd in the nation allowing 9.8 PPG. With the loss, the Hawkeye offense reclaimed its spot as the last-ranked offense in the nation.

~ The most frustrating part for Hawkeye fans is that this isn’t a new problem. If Iowa’s offense had scored just 21 points in every game since 2017 (when Brian Ferentz started as OC), here’s what their record would have been (actual record in parentheses):

• 2017: 10-2-1 (8-5)
• 2018: 10-3 (9-4)
• 2019: 12-1 (10-3)
• 2020: 6-1-1 (6-2)
• 2021: 11-3 (10-4)
• 2022: 5-1 (3-3)

~ The Pac-12 hasn’t had a CFP berth since Washington in 2016, but the league has a very real shot this season to end that streak. Both USC and UCLA are off to 6-0 starts, and Oregon has picked itself off the mat following the Week 1 loss to Georgia with 5 wins in a row, scoring over 40 points in each game. The next two weekends will be massive in the league. USC travels to preseason favorite Utah this weekend and UCLA travels to Oregon on October 22^nd. In a league notorious for its top teams losing on the road, it will be interesting to see whether USC or UCLA have what it takes to survive and advance.

~ Notre Dame’s loss to Marshall may be one of the most painful in recent Irish memory (even beyond the fact that you know, the Irish lost to Marshall). It hurts to think about, but had the Irish been able to finish that game, they would be sitting at 4-1, ranked in the top-ten, with the only loss coming against Ohio State in a game they held the Buckeyes to 21 points – a fact even more impressive when you consider that the Buckeye offense has been so explosive, they still rank first nationally in scoring offense and second in total offense even after struggling against Notre Dame. At 4-1 with the “best” loss in the country, a win over ranked BYU, and a schedule that sets up incredibly favorably, the Irish would have the inside track to a CFP berth – in a year where no team seems invincible. Games against Stanford and UNLV give the Irish a chance to fine-tune things before matchups against Syracuse, Clemson, and USC. Unfortunately, the dream of a CFP berth died with that loss to Marshall, but no one should be surprised if Notre Dame ends up in a New Years’ Six bowl when all is said and done.

STOCK UP FROM THE WEEKEND

~ Mississippi State – The Bulldogs ran away from Arkansas 40-17 in Starkville this weekend, moving to 5-1 on the season, their best start of the Mike Leach era. Since losing 31-16 to LSU in Week 3, Mississippi State has averaged 42.3 PPG the past three weeks, led by the right arm of QB Will Rogers, who leads the nation in passing at 351.7 YPG. We’ll find out a lot about the Bulldogs the next two weeks, with road matchups against Kentucky and Alabama.

~ Oklahoma State – Don’t look now, but Oklahoma State racked up another solid victory, defeating Texas Tech 41-31 in a back-and-forth game. This isn’t the same Cowboy defense as last season, but it hasn’t needed to be because of how good the OSU offense has been. After ranking 5^th in the Big 12 averaging 31.1 PPG last season, the Oklahoma State offense is tied for first, averaging 46.4 PPG. The Cowboys have a tough schedule coming up, with a massive road matchup against TCU next weekend, before a home game against Texas and trips to Kansas State and Kansas, but if Spencer Sanders continues to make clutch plays and take care of the football, this Cowboy team may be the class of a deep Big 12.

~ Notre Dame – Since losing to Marshall, Notre Dame has ripped off three consecutive victories, including this weekend’s 28-20 win over BYU in a game the Fighting Irish dominated. Offensive balance has been key to the Irish success. In the three victories, Notre Dame has averaged 233.7 yards passing and 222.7 yards rushing. With home games against Stanford and UNLV the next two weeks before a trip to Syracuse, Notre Dame will be favored to take the field against Clemson on November 5^th with a 6-2 record and likely ranked in the top-20.

~ Tennessee – The Volunteers dismantled LSU in Tiger Stadium 40-13 on Saturday, picking up their first win at LSU since 2005. Tennessee hosts Alabama next weekend in the biggest game in Knoxville in at least a decade. Tennessee’s offense will give it a chance in that game – the Volunteers rank second in the nation in PPG (46.8), first in total offense (547.8), seventh in passing offense (340.4), and lead the nation in plays of 40+ yards.

~ TCU – In his first season at TCU, Sonny Dykes has the Horned Frogs sitting at 5-0 with a massive matchup against Oklahoma State next weekend. On Saturday, TCU answered a feisty Kansas team at every turn, holding on for an impressive 38-31 victory on the road in Lawrence. Max Duggan leads the Big 12 in passing touchdowns and is completing 73.2 percent of his passes, while leading receiver Quentin Johnston had 14 catches for 206 yards and a TD against Kansas.

STOCK DOWN FROM THE WEEKEND

~ Oklahoma – Is this rock bottom? In a 49-0 loss to Texas in the Red River Shootout – the worst-ever for the Sooners in the rivalry – Oklahoma was shut out for the first time since 1998 and fell to 0-3 in the Big 12. Texas racked up 36 first downs against the Sooner defense, while without Dillon Gabriel, the Oklahoma offense only passed for 39 yards. Oklahoma’s has now given up 145 points and over a mile of offense in its last three games, and all of a sudden in a deep Big 12, there are no “gimme” games on the Sooner schedule. It also doesn’t help that Public Enemy #1 Lincoln Riley has USC sitting at 6-0 and in the top-10. It would be hard to see the school pulling the plug on the Brent Venables era after just one season, but with a move to the SEC quickly approaching, it all of a sudden wouldn’t seem too surprising.

~ Utah – The Utes fell 42-32 at the Rose Bowl in a game that UCLA controlled the entire way. Utah’s calling card under Kyle Whittingham has always been physicality, but this season Utah has been pushed around. In the Week 1 loss to Florida, Utah gave up 283 yards rushing, and this weekend against UCLA, 203 yards on the ground (198 by Zach Charbonnet alone). Utah hosts USC this weekend and can still win the Pac-12 title but will need some help.

~ Miami – With Saturday’s 27-24 loss to North Carolina, the honeymoon period for Mario Cristobal has officially ended (if it hadn’t already). After listless offensive performances against Texas A&M and Middle Tennessee State, Tyler Van Dyke threw for 496 yards, but a missed field goal loomed large. The Hurricanes have lost 3 in a row, but the schedule does soften the rest of this month before November games against Florida State, Clemson, and Pittsburgh.

~ LSU – I wonder if the LSU fans heading for the exits midway through the third quarter were thinking, “we paid $95 million for this?” (Yeah, there’s a bit of schadenfreude here). For Notre Dame fans though, this was the Brian Kelly performance that we had seen the past decade. Blown out by top-ten opponent? Check. Showing up assistants and players on sideline? Check. Poor coaching decisions (like going for a 4^th and 10 at midfield with 30 seconds left in the first half, allowing Tennessee to kick a field goal before the end of the half)? Check. His team self-destructing with negative plays? Check (9 penalties, 9 TFLs allowed, 5 sacks allowed). Poor special teams play? Check (The Tigers fumbled the opening kickoff). Oh, and we even got the best Kelly-ism of all in the halftime interview – “we have to coach better”. For those with that on their “Brian Kelly Drinking Game Bingo Card” – drink up. With Florida, Ole Miss, Alabama, and Arkansas coming up over the next month, Kelly may find his new fay-um-lee isn’t as patient as the previous one.

~ Florida State – The Seminoles have lost games in some weird ways during the dysfunction of the past few seasons, and they can add this weekend to the list. Florida State led 17-3 at halftime and knocked NC State QB Devin Leary out of the game while leading 17-10, but the Seminoles allowed NC State to drive for three field goals while completing just 1 pass after Leary’s exit. Compounding the pain is the fact that FSU drove to the Wolfpack 22-yard line, but despite being in field goal range, chose to take a shot at the end zone. Jordan Travis’ pass was picked off with 38 seconds remaining, giving NC State the victory.

BEST GAMES OF WEEK 7

• #10 Penn State at #5 Michigan, 12 PM, FOX
• #19 Kansas at Oklahoma, 12 PM, ESPN2
• Iowa State at #23 Texas, 12 PM, ABC
• #3 Alabama at #6 Tennessee, 3:30 PM, CBS
• #8 Oklahoma State at #13 TCU, 3:30 PM, ABC
• #15 NC State at #18 Syracuse, 3:30 PM, ACCN
• Arkansas at BYU, 3:30 PM, ESPN
• #4 Clemson at Florida State, 7:30 PM, ABC
• #16 Mississippi State at #22 Kentucky, 7:30 PM, SECN
• Stanford at Notre Dame, 7:30 PM, NBC
• #7 USC at #20 Utah, 8 PM, FOX

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