Three top-25 matchups and two big upsets headlined an exciting week of college football.
Alabama outlasts Aggies
In a matchup of the last two unbeaten teams in the SEC, Alabama continued to pad its College Football Playoff résumé. Although the then-No. 6 Aggies led the No. 1 Crimson Tide midway through the third quarter, momentum shifted following a four-yard touchdown pass by Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts that gave the Crimson Tide a 20-14 lead the team never relinquished. Two drives later, Alabama’s star defensive end Jonathan Allen returned a fumble for a touchdown, deflating the Aggies and effectively eliminating any chance at a comeback. The Crimson Tide added another touchdown in the fourth quarter to put an exclamation point on the 33-14 win at home.
With another solid win over a ranked opponent, Alabama solidified its case as the best team in college football. But with two ranked opponents remaining on the schedule in bitter rivals LSU and Auburn, the Crimson Tide cannot afford to take a break before the conference championship. On the other hand, Texas A&M dropped to No. 9 in the polls, with hopes of a conference championship and a playoff appearance dashed unless Alabama drops two of its next four games.
The SEC West division also featured the other two matchups of the weekend between ranked teams, as Auburn steamrolled Arkansas 56-3 at home and LSU topped Ole Miss 38-21. Both Tiger squads moved into the top 20 and are lurking behind the Crimson Tide with 3-1 records in the conference. The Razorbacks and Rebels both tumbled out of the rankings.
Havoc in Happy Valley
The streak is over. Urban Meyer had won 20 consecutive road games since taking the head coaching job at Ohio State, good for second best all-time, but it all came crashing down Saturday against Penn State in Happy Valley. The team many considered to be the biggest threat to unseat No. 1 Alabama in the College Football Playoff lost a 24-21 heartbreaker to the Nittany Lions, which entered the rankings at No. 24 for the first time since 2011. The Buckeyes led 21-17 late into the fourth quarter, but with 4:39 remaining, Penn State blocked a field goal that Grant Haley returned for the game-winning touchdown.
Plays don't get much bigger than this @PennStateFball one.
— Penn State On BTN (@PennStateOnBTN) October 23, 2016
More video » https://t.co/VL2uta7eqn https://t.co/rccFKap8E0
Ohio State now faces uncertainty in its future—if they fail win out, the Buckeyes almost certainly won’t find a place in the Big Ten championship or the College Football Playoff. Michigan and Nebraska are now the only remaining undefeated teams in the conference.
Dropped like a stone
Two weeks ago, Houston was No. 6 in the nation. This week, the Cougars are unranked following a second consecutive upset by an unranked team. After losing to a formidable Navy team last weekend, Houston took on lowly SMU, a team it had beaten in 16 of its last 19 meetings. But a lively Mustang defense stifled star quarterback Greg Ward Jr., sacking him seven times and limiting him to 241 yards passing in a convincing 38-16 upset.
The loss entirely removes Houston from title contention and virtually eliminates the team’s hopes at even the AAC championship, with the Midshipmen still unbeaten in conference play. On a larger scale, the loss could tarnish the reputation of Cougar head coach Tom Herman, the hottest coaching name in college football. Herman was the favorite to take either the opening at LSU caused by Les Miles’ firing or any other jobs that might become available—such as the Texas head coaching job—but this loss could cause schools to hesitate before offering Herman a job.
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