Michigan State and Wake Forest Fall From Ranks of the Undefeated in College Football

Two teams in college football who made it to November with perfect records saw that come to an end on November 6th as Wake Forest and Michigan State were each beaten for the first time.

In West Lafayette, Indiana, #3 Michigan State lost to Purdue 40-29. Purdue quarterback Aidan O’Connell passed for 536 yards and three touchdowns in the rout. The good news for the Spartan defense was that they held the Boilermaker rushing attack to just 58 yards, less than two yards per carry. Kenneth Walker III continued his great season for Michigan State, rushing for 146 yards and a touchdown. But the O’Connell led Purdue air attack was overwhelming. David Bell caught 11of O’Connell’s passes for 217 yards and a touchdown. The Boilermakers, who had beaten then #2 Iowa earlier this season, improved to 6-3. They will play at #6 Ohio State (8-1) on November 13th. Despite the loss, Michigan State is one of the bigger surprises this season in college football. The Spartans were just 2-5 in last year’s Covid shortened season, and have exceeded expectations this year, and are still ranked in the AP Top Ten (#8).

Speaking of exceeding expectations, Wake Forrest cruised into November sporting an uncharacteristic 8-0 record. That came to an end in one of those score-a-thons at North Carolina, where the Tar Heels came out on top 58-55. It was the Sam Hartman show for Wake Forest; the quarterback passed for 398 yards and five touchdowns, plus he scored two rushing touchdowns himself. North Carolina also had a quarterback named Sam. His full name in Sam Howell and he passed for 216 yards and a touchdown, plus he scored two rushing touchdowns himself. Ty Chandler rushed for 213 yards and four touchdowns for the Tar Heels, who outscored Wake Forest 24-7 in the fourth quarter. Wake Forest dropped to #13 in the AP Poll, and hosts #21 North Carolina State (7-2) on November 13th.