NFL
By: Brock Vierra
Over the weekend, while college football ushered in incredible games like the Third Saturday in October and the newly titled “Meltdown in Maryland” as the USC Trojans once again surrendered a massive lead, this time to the Maryland Terrapins, I was with my girlfriend, her three other friends and their boyfriends at Disneyland. Eight people on a pursuit of adrenaline and churros, the vast wonderland of healing childhood trauma is where I spent my Saturday, away like so many from our beloved college football.
So I thought to myself, what if there was a quick recap of the top stories of the week? Something to read on the commute or the plane. Well, I say, let’s do it. A recap of the games. While this may come a bit late, there will be new editions every Sunday until the end of championship game weekend. So, with that being said…
Let’s recap this week of college football.
In a matchup of top 5 teams, #5 Georgia destroyed #1 Texas, 30-15, and if not for a barrage of trash and a questionable overturn of a Texas-thrown interception, the point differential could’ve been worse. The Bulldogs reestablished themselves as the feared ones, successfully arguing that they should be the number two team in the country. As a result of Texas losing, Oregon is the number one team in the nation after methodically defeating Purdue on Friday.
Big 10, top 10 teams #3 Penn State and #4 Ohio State had a BYE this week after a trip out west last week. Texas falls to seven, Miami survives a 52-45 shootout at Louisville to remain undefeated, and at number seven, LSU starves off rival Arkansas to stay at eight, Clemson jumps to nine, moving up one spot after blowing past Virginia 48-31 and Iowa State falls from nine to ten after a scare against UCF.
As mentioned, #7 Alabama faced off against #11 Tennessee in Knoxville in a game only known as Third Saturday in October. Tennessee, reeling from their loss to Arkansas, started the game sloppy, fumbling in the red zone on their opening possession. Alabama wasted no time proving the haters right as they started their first two drives with punts. The Crimson Tide, of course, followed up their shocking loss to Vanderbilt with a mess of a performance against South Carolina, with their opening drive of the game resulting in -10 yards.
Alabama, on their third possession, made it all the way to the Tennessee 3 before Alabama inexplicably called a fade pass that was intercepted by Jeremiah McCoy. It was 2nd and down. Tennessee would proceed to one-up Alabama by missing a field goal. Alabama would take the lead on the following possession to go up 7-0. Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava threw two picks as neither team scored for the rest of the first half.
Tennessee tied the game up 7-7 on their second drive of the second half. Alabama would proceed to kick a field goal before Tennessee struck back with a five-play, 75-yard drive. Entering the fourth, the Volunteers led 14-10. Alabama opened with a Ryan Williams touchdown reception. Tennessee struck back with a diving catch by Chris Brazzell II in the endzone to retake the lead 21-17. Both teams would trade a pair of punts before Alabama took over with 2:21 left in the game.
Alabama, in a bizarre set of plays, ended up at 4th and 22 at their 18-yard line. Kalen DeBoer added to the bizarreness when he elected to go for it, resulting in a turnover on downs. Alabama did so with three timeouts remaining. Tennessee proceeded to run the ball three straight times, forcing Alabama to burn all three timeouts. Tennessee kicked a 41-yard field goal to extend Tennessee’s lead to 24-17. Jalen Milroe threw an interception on the next Alabama play from scrimmage to seal the win for the Vols as Alabama dropped to fifteenth. Tennessee from eleven to seven, rounding out the top 10 wrap-up.
Across college football, Indiana stayed hot, blowing out Nebraska 56-7. Hoosier quarterback Kurtis Rourke suffered an injury that is expected to make him miss some time. #22 Illinois handed defending national champions #24 Michigan their third loss of the season, effectively eliminating them from the playoff. #11 BYU and #10 Iowa State are shaping up to play for what could be the greatest Big 12 championship game, and both remained undefeated after wild games with Oklahoma State and UCF, respectively. #16 Kansas State may have something to say about it, sitting at 6-1
Due to a James Madison loss to Old Dominion, Boise State retakes the lead for the favorite to earn the College Football Playoffs’ Non-P5 automatic qualifying bid. However, they visit Las Vegas to play the second favorite, the 5-1 UNLV Rebels. The Rebels escaped Corvallis with a 33-25 win on Saturday night against Oregon State. UNLV star WR Ricky White recorded an insane third punt block on the season. White also has a punt block return for a touchdown this season. Both teams have only one loss.
Vanderbilt breaks into in the Top 25 at 25, sitting right behind #24 Navy and #23 Army. Dave Aranda gets a stay of execution after his Baylor Bears achieved a blowout upset of Texas Tech in Lubbock. Washington State misses out on the Top 25 with 44 votes after blowing out Hawaii, and Oklahoma HC Brent Venables is feeling the heat, firing OC Seth Littrell after a crushing 35-7 defeat to 4-3 South Carolina.
Rounding out the recap, Utah HC Kyle Whittingham announced OC Andy Ludwig resigned, this coming after Utah’s 13-7 loss to TCU at home. Ludwig was the Utes OC from 2005-2008 and again from 2019-2024. Due to the injuries suffered by starting QB Cam Rising, Ludwig has had to work with backups for almost two seasons. Utah reached four Pac-12 championship games, won two Pac-12 titles and one Mountain West title, and played in two Rose Bowls during Ludwig’s tenure as offensive coordinator. Utah also had four 10+ win seasons, including in 2008, where the 2008 Utes won their biggest game in program history, a 31-17 win over 11-1 Alabama in the 2009 Sugar Bowl. Alabama’s only loss that season was in the SEC championship game to the eventual national champion, Florida Gators.
That’s the five-minute college football recap. Check out Team NBS Media’s college recap show, The Last Word. Live episodes every Saturday night at 7:30 PST/ 10:30 EST.
