Upsets Highlight College Football’s Weekend

There were plenty of upsets in the November 7 college football schedule as teams fight for a chance to get into the College Football Playoff or a conference championship and a shot at a top tier bowl game.

In a battle of unbeatens, #5 TCU traveled to Stillwater, Oklahoma to take on #12 Oklahoma State. TCU had won 16 straight games going back to last season, and had been out to remedy last season’s College Football Playoff snub. But Oklahoma State has its own agenda, and the Cowboys feel they should get invited to the party. Oklahoma State quarterback Mason Rudolph threw five touchdown passes to lead the Cowboys to a 49-29 thumping of TCU.

The victory is a statement from the Cowboys, but they still have some challenges ahead. They play next Saturday at Iowa State (3-6), and then will host unbeaten Baylor and close out the regular season with 8-1 Oklahoma in Stillwater.

In the SEC, #7 Alabama handily beat #4 LSU 30-16. The Crimson Tide defense held LSU’s Leonard Fournette, the nation’s leading rusher, to just 31 yards on 19 carries. Unranked Auburn hasn’t had a lot to cheer about this season, but the Tigers did move above .500 (5-4) on the year by upsetting #25 Texas A&M 26-10. Arkansas also improved to 5-4 by beating #19 Mississippi 53-52 in one of those overtime games that end in wacky scores.

And speaking of wacky scores, Nebraska has had a frustrating season, but made up for it a little bit by beating previously unbeaten and 7th ranked Michigan State 39-38 in Lincoln. The Cornhuskers scored on a controversial touchdown pass with 17 seconds left. WR Brandon Reilly had gone out of bounds and then returned in bounds before catching the ball. Officials ruled it was legal because he had been forced out of bounds by the defense. Nebraska is now 4-6 overall; those six losses are by a total of 13 points. The Spartan loss puts 9-0 Ohio State in the driver’s seat in the Big Ten East.

Finally, Navy sailed to Tennessee to take on the 15th ranked Memphis Tigers, yet another undefeated team. The Midshipmen easily handled the Tigers 45-20 behind running back Chris Swain’s three touchdowns. The loss ended the Tiger’s 15 game winning streak. Navy came into the game unranked, but the victory improved its record to 7-1. The Midshipmen’s only loss was at Notre Dame, so they should crack the top 25 this week.