College Football: Week 6 Review

 Five Headlines of Week 6

1. Tide Get Rolled- Field goal as time expires propels Texas A&M over #1 Alabama in College Station in back and forth battle, 41-38. 
2. Red River Rally- #6 Oklahoma, on the shoulders of back-up QB Caleb Williams, completes an exciting comeback over hated rival, #21 Texas, with a touchdown with three seconds remaining.
3. Hogs and Rebels Go Down to the Wire- #17 Ole Miss stops potential game-winning 2-point conversion by #13 Arkansas to win an epic shootout between Matt Corral and KJ Jefferson, 52-51.
4. Hawkeyes Get the Best of Penn State- #3 Iowa wins the battle of top five teams, forcing four interceptions, beating #4 Penn State, 23-20.
5. Broncos Upset the Cougars in Provo- #10 BYU takes a major hit, losing at home to unranked Boise State, 26-17.

College Gameday's Game of the Week- #6 Oklahoma 55, #21 Texas 48 (Red River Rivalry at the Cotton Bowl, Dallas, TX)

The Red River Rivalry already has a lot of history behind it. On the heels of a four-overtime, record-setting performance last season, the Sooners and Longhorns went to battle and #21 Texas had the advantage early. In their first three plays, Texas scored two touchdowns and blocked a punt and they'd score four touchdowns in the first quarter, leading 28-7. After #6 Oklahoma's starting quarterback Spencer Rattler started 8/15 with just 111 yards and two turnovers and the Sooners trailed 28-17, Lincoln Riley turned to backup Caleb Williams to turn the tides. Though Oklahoma limped into halftime down 38-20, the second half would be much kinder. The Sooners scored points on five of their seven drives in the third and fourth quarters. Oklahoma took the lead 48-41 at one point and looked to be in control, but Texas wouldn't go down with a fight. Casey Thompson led the Longhorns down the field to tie the game with 1:23 left in regulation. Williams led the team down the field and looked to be setting up for a game-winning field goal. Running back Kennedy Brooks (217 yards, 2 TDs) had other ideas and scored the game-winning touchdown with just three seconds left on the clock to secure a win for Oklahoma and keep them undefeated. This season's installment was the highest-scoring game of the rivalry's history and provided sparks to the very end from the most unlikely of sources.

My Game of the Week- #17 Ole Miss 52, #13 Arkansas 51 (Oxford, MS)

This is the type of game I love to watch whenever it's not my team playing in it. The so-called "Bounce Back Bowl" after both teams lost to #1 Alabama and #2 Georgia last week, the Rebels and Razorbacks put on a show thanks to their quarterbacks. Matt Corral has been regarded as one of the front-runners for the Heisman this season, while KJ Jefferson has been playing lights out for the team, the game against Georgia notwithstanding. This game was quite literally back-and-forth, especially in the second half, with the two teams virtually trading touchdowns in the third and fourth quarters. Jefferson finished with 411 total yards and six touchdowns (three passing, three rushing), while Corral had 381 yards and four touchdowns (two passing, two rushing). Snoop Connor, running back for #17 Ole Miss, ran for 110 and three touchdowns. The difference in the game came with no time left on the clock. After 1,287 yards of combined offense, it came down to a two-point conversion after #13 Arkansas scored as time expired. They lined up and went for two points, but the attempt was unsuccessful, giving Ole Miss the win and some redemption after their loss last week.

Bonus Game of the Week- Texas A&M 41, #1 Alabama 38 (College Station, TX)

The top team in the country losing is a big deal, so I figured I'd give it its own write-up too. I was one of those people that thought #1 Alabama was going to roll into College Station and dismantle this Texas A&M team with a backup quarterback and an offense that just can't seem to get things going consistently. Suffice it to say that isn't exactly what we got with this game at all. The Aggies controlled things from the very beginning, Leading 24-10 at halftime, led by quarterback Zach Calzada. Even midway through the third quarter, the Aggies led 31-17 and things were looking good. The Tide would go on to score 21 straight points and take a 38-31 lead with five minutes left in the game. In two minutes, Calzada led the team down the field and threw an absolute dime to Ainias Smith to tie the game, but Calzada was hurt on the play, making it look like the third-string quarterback was going to need to take over. The Aggies' defense would force Bryce Young to go three-and-out and punt the ball with just 2:08 left in the game. Calzada marched back onto the field and led the drive of his career, scrambling for first downs and throwing absolute bullets to carve up the Alabama defense. An ill-timed pass interference call on the Alabama defense moved a potential game-winning field goal even closer. Seth Small stepped up and drilled a 28-yard field goal to win the game and complete the biggest upset of the season.

Teams of the Week

1. Texas A&M- Zach Calzada had ice in his veins in the fourth quarter and led the team to the win of the year over top-ranked Alabama.
2. #17 Ole Miss- The defense didn't exactly show up, but Matt Corral and the offense looked great against the Arkansas defense in a huge win at home.
3. #6 Oklahoma- Beating a rival is always fun, especially when it's Texas, but it certainly didn't happen the way most people would've expected it to. 
4. #3 Iowa- The Hawkeyes have made themselves the clear team to beat in the Big Ten and played amazing defense against #4 Penn State.
5. Massachusetts- A win is a win no matter who it's against, so for Massachusetts, winning their first game since 2019 against fellow no-win UConn counts for just as much. 

Most Disappointing Teams of the Week

1. Maryland- This might be because of how poorly they've played the last two weeks against Iowa and Ohio State, but allowing 117 points in two weeks is a bad look for a previously 4-0 team.
2. #4 Penn State- Neither quarterback played well, each throwing two interceptions in a game that seemed to be theirs to lose. 
3. #10 BYU- The Cougars' undefeated season comes to an end at home against an under-performing Boise State team that they likely should've beaten.
4. #18 Auburn- Playing #2 Georgia is already going to make things hard, but the Tigers' offense was nowhere to be found and places a lot of doubt. 
5. North Carolina- They've been on this list for all three of their losses, but this might be the worst of the bunch so far, losing to a one-win Florida State team in Chapel Hill.

My Top 25 Going into Week 7 (Not the Official AP Top 25)

1. Georgia (6-0, W 34-10 #18 Auburn)
2. Iowa (6-0, W 23-20 #4 Penn State)
3. Cincinnati (5-0, W 52-3 Temple)
4. Oklahoma (6-0, W 55-48 #21 Texas) 
5. Michigan (6-0, W 32-29 Nebraska)
6. Ohio State (5-1, W 66-17 Maryland)
7. Alabama (5-1, L 41-38 Texas A&M)
8. Oregon (4-1, BYE)
9. Coastal Carolina (6-0, W 52-20 Arkansas State)
10. Notre Dame (5-1, W 32-29 Virginia Tech)
11. Penn State (5-1, L 23-20 #3 Iowa)
12. Michigan State (6-0, W 31-13 Rutgers)
13. Ole Miss (4-1, W 52-51 #13 Arkansas)
14. Oklahoma State (5-0, BYE)
15. Kentucky (6-0, W 42-21 LSU)
16. Wake Forest (6-0, W 40-37 (OT) Syracuse)
17. NC State (4-1, BYE)
18. Arkansas (4-2, L 52-51, #17 Ole Miss)
19. Arizona State (5-1, W 28-10 Stanford)
20. San Diego State (5-0, W 31-7 New Mexico)
21. Florida (4-2, W 42-0 Vanderbilt)
22. Texas A&M (4-2, W 41-38 #1 Alabama)
23. SMU (6-0, W 31-24 Navy)
24. BYU (5-1, L 26-17 Boise State)
25. Texas (4-2, L 55-48 #6 Oklahoma)

Week 7 Games to Watch

1. #11 Kentucky v. #1 Georgia
2. Appalachian State v. Louisiana
3. #22 NC State v. Boston College
4. #19 BYU v. Baylor
5. #12 Oklahoma State v. #25 Texas