8 AP Top 25 teams fall
Saturday was certainly the day for the upset.
In eight different stadiums across the country, eight of the nation's 25 best team walked away with a loss.
That included heavily favored Mississippi State (16), Oklahoma (18) and Texas (9), all of which you can read about below.
In addition, Auburn (7) fell on the road to Georgia (4), Texas A&M (13) was beat by Alabama (2), UCF (11) was shocked by Tulsa, Memphis (25) fell in a nailbiter to SMU, and Pittsburgh (23) was edged by NC State.
You can read about many of those games below.
FINAL: Iowa State, 37 Oklahoma, 30
Brock Purdy went to Iowa State to accomplish things that had never been done before.
He certainly accomplished that, as the quarterback led Iowa State to an emotional home victory over Oklahoma Saturday night, handing the Sooners' their first loss in Ames since 1960. In fact, 24 games between the two had gone by with Iowa State as the home team, and the Cyclones had never been able to give their home crowd a win over one of the nation's heavyweight programs.
As "Sweet Caroline" played over the loudspeaker, the fans and players singing in unison, the important of what they had just accomplished must have sunk in for Purdy and his teammates. The magnitude of the win certainly did for head coach Matt Campbell.
"We've got 16 seniors that came on a hope and dream that we could someday turn Iowa State around,"Campbell told ESPN's Molly McGrath after the game. "We've made that vision into a reality. Our kids gutted it out, gave us a chance to win the game. [But] we have to keep building."
Keep building they will, as the Cyclones are now 2-0 and head into a challenging matchup with Texas Tech at home next Saturday.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma is 0-2 in Big 12 play for the first time since 1998, and will need to be better net week in Dallas against a very determined Texas team. Interestingly, the two head into the Red River Showdown next week with a combined 1-3 mark in league play. This loss to Iowa State could easily put Oklahoma, who was ranked No. 18 this week, out of the AP Top 25.
Iowa State running back Breece Hall also deserves a mention, as the superb sophomore rushed for 139 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also steamrolled his way to a first down with the clock winding down a Oklahoma out of timeouts. That secured the win for the Cyclones.
FINAL: Arkansas, 21 Mississippi State, 14
In case you were wondering, Felipe Franks is still in the SEC.
Mississippi State will not forget it.
The former Florida starting quarterback earned a new start with a last-place Arkansas squad for the 2020 season, and ran with the opportunity.
It did not matter that the Razorbacks had not won a conference game in nearly three years. It gave him a chance to remain in the SEC.
On Saturday night on the road in Starkville, that losing skid was snapped thanks to a hard-nosed defensive effort and some spectacular plays from Franks.
All in all, Franks was 20/28 passing, with two touchdowns.
If one play by the Razorback defense stood out from the rest, it was when the unit rose to the occasion on a 4th and one with Mississippi State in the red zone, down by a touchdown. The Bulldogs went to their run game, but three Razorback defenders pushed back the offensive line and found a way to the ballcarrier. It kept Arkansas in the lead, and eventually, helped earn them a hard-fought, emotional win.
If anything it was a dream come true for everyone associated with the program. A typical SEC team can expect at least five, likely six conference wins each season. For Arkansas, the goal was likely closer to one conference victory. After all, it hadn't been accomplished since the 2017 season.
Arkansas' win in Starkville signified something great about college football. Davids can still take down Goliaths. And they often emerge in the unlikeliest of circumstances. And using heroes like Franks, who are cast off in other places, and on other teams, to lead them to improbable victory.
The impossible became possible for Arkansas on Saturday evening.
FINAL: Alabama, 52, Texas A&M, 24
Texas A&M scored more points than it did against Vanderbilt last week, but could not overcome a well-balanced attack on the road against the second-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide.
The Tide were in the driver's seat by halftime, after outscoring the Aggies 21-7 in the second quarter.
A&M quarterback Kellen Mond improved greatly from last week's 17-12 win over Vanderbilt, throwing for 318 yards and three scores. If there were any positives from the loss, it was the fact that Mond etched his name into the Aggie record books as just the second Aggie, behind Johnny Manziel, to reach 9000 yards of total offense
Alabama quarterback Mac Jones also had some record-breaking to do. Jones' 435 passing yards were the fourth most in a single game in school history.
FINAL: SMU, 30 Memphis, 27
Heading into today's showdown by two of the top teams in the American Athletic Conference (AAC), Memphis had won the last six meetings between the programs.
That ended with just nine seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, when SMU kicker Chris Naggar connected from 43 yards out. Naggar was 3/3 when it came to field goal attempts on the day. His four punts had an impressive average of 46 yards, a sign that SMU ultimately won the game thanks to a solid performance from the special teams unit.
The Mustangs were also led by quarterback Shane Buchele, who posted video game-like numbers; 474 passing yards, three touchdowns, zero interceptions.
Interestingly, both Buchele and Naggar are transfers from Texas. Obviously, both have found other homes in the lone-star state, and starting jobs at that.
Memphis put up a fight, but after missing two weeks of games due to Covid-19 precautions, the Tigers had some rust to shake off against arguably their best opponent of the season.
Additionally, in a down moment for SMU, the vocal student section had to be cleared out towards the end of the first half. Campus police believed the majority of the students were not following Covid-19 precautions, such as mask-wearing and social distancing. According to ESPN, the school allows up to 1,000 students in the section. Brad Sutton, SMU's senior associate athletic director said that the students were repeatedly warned and asked to follow protocol, but the majority was unwilling to cooperate.
FINAL: West Virginia, 27 Baylor, 21
The West Virginia run game was unstoppable on Saturday afternoon. Two overtimes and a staunch Baylor defense could not slow it down.
That was the difference in the Mountaineers impressive 27-21 win over Baylor, as they rushed for 134 yards, and two touchdowns. Notably for West Virginia, Leddie Brown carried the team, scoring the game-winning touchdown behind a strong offensive line in the second overtime.
Baylor had just one game under its belt, last week's 47-14 win over Kansas, and it showed on the road. Quarterback Charlie Brewer was 23/38 passing, and tossed three touchdowns, but his two interceptions were costly.
Next week, Baylor hosts Oklahoma State, a 3-0 team. West Virginia seeks its second conference win at home versus Kansas.
FINAL: Texas loses to TCU, 33-31
Texas had the opportunities down the stretch. The Longhorns simply could not convert.
In a back and forth battle marked by several penalties and sloppy offense, TCU escaped with a 33-31 victory in Austin, stunning the nation's ninth-ranked team.
One of those opportunities was a 1st and goal from the one yard line for Texas with just over two minutes to play in the fourth quarter. The Horns, attempting to catch TCU offguard with a hurry-up offense, quickly snapped it and handed it off to running back Keontay Ingram, who had hauled in a 52 yard pass from quarterback Sam Ehlinger just a few plays before.
But thanks to an excellent effort by the Horned Frog defense, the ball was knocked out of Ingram's hand as he stretched it for the goal line. Needless to say, Texas turned the ball over on the fumble, and TCU never looked back.
If there was one opponent on Texas' schedule that could be considered to have "had Texas' number" it was Gary Patterson and TCU. In nine seasons at the helm of TCU, Patterson in 7-2 against Texas, and has led his team to victory over the Horns in back-to-back seasons.
Offensively for the Horned Frogs, quarterback Max Duggan returned as the starter, and used his legs to outrun a weak Texas defense, short-staffed due to injury and ejection throughout the course of Saturday's game. On the day, Duggan registered a team-high 79 yards on the ground, and 231 through the air, with a total of two touchdowns. He was also a big part of TCU scoring in each of the five times it reached the red zone.
In the Tom Herman era, since 2017, Texas now has six losses as an AP-ranked team to an unranked opponent. That is the most in the FBS in that span.
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