Week 9 - College Football Recap

1. The first Tuesday night College Football Playoff rankings show of the season happens to fall on Halloween this year, but the teams at the top of the traditional polls had faced nary a scare through the first eight weeks of the season. We needed somebody to deliver that first, landscape-altering upset to one of the primary contenders. We needed the mighty Kansas Jayhawks. 2. Just 14 months ago, the idea of Kansas beating Oklahoma in football would have seemed entirely inconceivable. But Lance Leipold has inspired such confidence with his miraculous turnaround in Lawrence that Saturday’s 38-33 upset of the sixth-ranked Sooners (7-1, 4-1 Big 12), while historic, did not feel out of character. The Jayhawks (6-2, 3-2) came in having notched four lopsided home wins, while Oklahoma got a scare from UCF the week prior. Still, Kansas’ first win vs. Oklahoma since 1997 and first top-10 win at home since 1984 came with some serious ramifications for both the Sooners and the sport. 3. No Power 5 team gets eliminated on the spot with a loss, and in fact, both Oklahoma’s 2017 (against Iowa State) and 2019 (against K-State) CFP teams suffered an October loss to an unranked foe, turned around and ran the table. But the Sooners have definitely looked mortal since Red River, and star LB Danny Stutsman left Saturday’s game with an ankle injury. It’d be particularly bad timing if he can’t play next week. That’s because it’s Bedlam Week — potentially the last-ever after 117 meetings between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. And it’s in Stillwater, where red-hot Oklahoma State (6-2, 4-1) will be frothing at the mouth for the chance to ruin OU’s last season in the Big 12. Nearly every contender gets a mulligan. But not two. 4. Kansas diehards suffered through 12 years of misery — no more than three wins in a season from 2010-21 — for moments like this. But I fear they won’t be able to hang on to their savior for long. Leipold, 59, now 12-9 since last season, already figured to be sought-after by Michigan State and perhaps Northwestern. And it’s starting to look more and more like there will be an opening in Ann Arbor. I’m sure Kansas AD Travis Goff will go to the mat to try to keep him, but in the new “Power 2” landscape, it’s going to be awfully hard for the coach of Kansas to turn down nearly any Big Ten job. 5. No. 1 Georgia (8-0, 5-0 SEC) likely erased any mystery around who will sit atop this week’s initial CFP rankings. The Dawgs came out and thumped rival Florida (5-3, 3-2), 43-20, marking the two-time defending champs’ 25th straight win. QB Carson Beck (19-for-28 with 315 yards, two TDs and no INTs) has come into his own. He did not seem to miss injured star Brock Bowers, thanks in part to a healthy Ladd McConkey. The veteran receiver had six catches for 135 yards, including a 54-yard catch-and-run. Kirby Smart’s team still lacks a signature victory, but it’s played just one close game all season. However, next week it hosts No. 16 Missouri (7-1, 3-1), which will bring by far the best offense the Dawgs have faced. 6. Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson has had trouble staying healthy since his breakout freshman season, but he served a reminder of how special he can be Saturday night in Madison. In his return after missing the last three games, the junior carried 24 times for 162 yards, including a game-sealing 33-yard touchdown, as the third-ranked Buckeyes (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten) won 24-10 at Wisconsin (5-3, 3-2). It had to be a refreshing sight for Ryan Day, whose team came in ranked 94th nationally in yards per carry (3.9). But make no mistake, Marvin Harrison Jr. is still Ohio State’s unquestioned MVP. He had six catches for 123 yards and two TDs. 7. Wherever No. 4 Florida State (8-0, 6-0 ACC) is ranked, it’s arguably the surest thing at this point to earn a CFP berth. Led by quarterback Jordan Travis (22-for-35, 359 yards, three TDs), running back Trey Benson (80-yard TD) and wide receiver Keon Coleman (two TD catches), the Noles turned in another dominant performance in Saturday’s 41-16 win at Wake Forest (4-4, 1-4). They will be heavily favored in their next three regular-season games (at Pitt, vs. Miami, vs. North Alabama) before closing at Florida, and even if they slip once, they’ve got that blowout LSU win in their back pocket. 8. No. 8 Oregon (7-1, 4-1 Pac-12) made quite a statement Saturday, dominating two-time Pac-12 champ Utah 35-6 at Rice-Eccles Stadium, where the Utes (6-2, 3-2) had won 18 in a row and 27 of their last 28. It’s hard to say who was more impressive: Ducks QB Bo Nix, who completed 14 of his first 15 passes in jumping to a 21-3 lead, or Oregon’s dominant defense, which picked off Utes QB Bryson Barnes twice and held them to 2.8 yards per rushing attempt. That last-second heartbreaker in Seattle two weeks ago seems like it’s only made the Ducks stronger.