Wild Night in College Football Sees Oregon Escape and BYU Fall

Somehow a team I like less than the Cubs played at Wrigley Field this Saturday.

    Saturday didn't have many games of note on the schedule but that was the perfect recipe for wild finishes and upsets. Clemson held a 17-3 lead, allowed Pitt to take the lead, then scored on a 50-yard touchdown in the final minute to win 24-20. Texas had to fight off Arkansas in a contest that looked better when Texas scooped up a fumble and scored with no time left to win 20-10.

The Gators were swarming in the LSU backfield all night.

    Then the 3:30 kickoffs came and there was plenty of excitement. Louisville was stunned after a failed Hail Mary attempt gave Stanford the ball with 10 seconds left. Two costly penalties put the Cardinal in range to kick the game-winning field goal to stun Louisville. LSU was too busy fighting each other to stop Florida from stealing an upset and South Carolina snuck past Missouri in one of two games featuring ranked opponents. The other was a decisive win for Georgia over Tennessee, 31-17. Arizona State proved they should've been ranked for its matchup with Kansas State as they upset the Wildcats 24-14. SMU escaped their upset bid from Boston College to wrap up the mid-afternoon contests.

The Jayhawks played spoiler late Saturday night.

    For the night games, Oregon struggled mightily against Wisconsin but its defense did enough to win 16-13. BYU and Washington State were not so lucky. Wazzu watched in stunned silence as New Mexico rallied to win 38-35 while BYU couldn't complete another comeback, falling 17-13 to Kansas.

    The most entertaining games actually had little importance in the grand scheme of things, but they involved Conference USA's best teams and two of the worst teams in college football. Both times, the hapless opponents, UMass and Kennesaw State, watched their chances to upset fall by the wayside. The Minutemen missed a game-winning field goal and their extra point in overtime to lose 35-34 to Liberty. Meanwhile, the Owls were looking for just their second win in their time in the FBS but lost 23-17 to Sam Houston State, who are just in their second season of FBS play.

    Next week boasts two Top 10 matchups in the realm of this week's Pool Poll as Indiana travels to Ohio State while Notre Dame takes on Army at Yankee Stadium. BYU and Arizona State will also face off in a battle of ranked teams. Midweek MACtion will also see the top two teams square off on Wednesday when Ohio takes on Toledo. Meanwhile, it's the annual week off for the SEC as they'll face teams like UMass (129), The Citadel (136), UTEP (125), and Wofford (136). Good news for Florida State (1-9) as they look for win number two against Charleston Southern (FCS). 

Here's a look at the Top 25:

Oregon gets a week to recover from their poor showing in Madison.

1. Oregon (11-0, 64.7 WA, 0 LA)

Last Week Rank: 1

Last Week: 16-13 win over Wisconsin

Up Next: Washington (11/30)

2. Indiana (10-0, 72.8, 0)

LWR: 2

LW: Bye

Up Next: Ohio State (9-1, 9)

3. Army (9-0, 107.8, 0)

LWR: 3

LW: Bye

Up Next: Notre Dame (9-1, 5)

4. Texas (9-1, 61.8, 27)

LWR: 6

LW: 20-10 win over Arkansas

Up Next: Kentucky (4-6, 94)

The Irish have just kept winning after their stunning loss to NIU.

5. Notre Dame (9-1, 67.9, 76)

LWR: 8

LW: 35-14 win over Virginia

Up Next: Army (9-0, 3)

6. Penn State (9-1, 70.2, 19)

LWR: 7

LW: 49-10 win over Purdue

Up Next: Minnesota (6-4, 51)

7. Miami (9-1, 72.6, 60)

LWR: 5

LW: Bye

Up Next: Wake Forest (4-6, 97)

8. SMU (9-1, 74.1, 84)

LWR: 11

LW: 38-28 win over Boston College

Up Next: Virginia (5-5, 67)

9. Ohio State (9-1, 76.3, 3)

LWR: 9 

LW: 31-7 win over Northwestern

Up Next: Indiana (10-0, 2)

There were no late-game heroics in Provo this weekend.

10. BYU (9-1, 77.8, 101)

LWR: 3

LW: 13-17 loss to Kansas

Up Next: Arizona State (8-2, 18)

11. Boise State (9-1, 80.6, 5)

LWR: 13

LW: 42-21 win over San Jose State

Up Next: Wyoming (2-8, 124)

12. Tulane (9-2, 87.4, 25.5)

LWR: 16

LW: 35-0 win over Navy

Up Next: Memphis (9-2, 11/28)

13. Memphis (9-2, 100.3, 75)

LWR: 17

LW: 53-18 win over UAB

Up Next: Tulane (9-2, 11/28)

14. Alabama (8-2, 51.5, 52)

LWR: 18

LW: 52-7 win over Mercer (FCS)

Up Next: Oklahoma (5-5, 85)

Cade Klubnik saved Clemson's season with this run.

15. Clemson (8-2, 62.9, 21)

LWR: 20

LW: 24-20 win over Pitt

Up Next: The Citadel (FCS, 136)

16. Georgia (8-2, 65, 11)

LWR: 22

LW: 31-17 win over Tennessee

Up Next: UMass (2-8, 129)

17. Colorado (8-2, 67.9, 37.5)

LWR: 19

LW: 49-24 win over Utah

Up Next: Kansas (4-6, 91)

18. Arizona State (8-2, 68.4, 56.5)

LWR: 24

LW: 24-14 win over Kansas State

Up Next: BYU (9-1, 10)

19. Tennessee (8-2, 76.6, 47)

LWR: 10

LW: 17-31 loss to Georgia

Up Next: UTEP (2-8, 125)

The Rebels had a chance to watch the Florida upset of LSU, to help get them prepared.

20. Ole Miss (8-2, 77.9, 54.5)

LWR: 15

LW: Bye

Up Next: Florida (5-5, 72)

21. Texas A&M (8-2, 80, 36.5)

LWR: 23

LW: 38-3 win over New Mexico State

Up Next: Auburn (4-6, 102)

22. Washington State (8-2, 82.1, 83.5)

LWR: 12

LW: 35-38 loss to New Mexico

Up Next: Oregon State (4-6, 103)

23. Iowa State (8-2, 82.6, 79.5)

LWR: 25

LW: 34-17 win over Cincinnati

Up Next: Utah (4-6, 93)

24. James Madison (8-2, 91.3, 56)

LWR: 30

LW: 35-32 win over Old Dominion

Up Next: Appalachian State (4-5, 89)

The Rebels are doing their best to make the Mountain West Championship.

25. UNLV (8-2, 96, 37)

LWR: 28

LW: 41-20 win over San Diego State

Up Next: San Jose State (6-4, 61)

Dropped Out: Louisiana, Kansas State

Watch List: Louisiana, Sam Houston State, South Carolina, Syracuse, Kansas State, Illinois, Pitt, Missouri, Duke, Marshall, WKU, Ohio, Toledo, and Navy

Kennesaw State had victory snatched away in overtime.

Bottom 10:

125. UTEP (2-8)

126. New Mexico State (2-8)

127. UAB (2-8)

128. Mississippi State (2-8)

129. UMass (2-8)

130. Kennesaw State (1-9)

131. Florida State (1-9)

132. Purdue (1-9)

133. Southern Miss (1-9)

134. Kent State (0-10)