Another memorable college football weekend is in the books, even if it’s one that a few teams across the country would prefer to forget. Let’s take a look at all of the headlines from the ninth week of the season.
Sooner Loser
There will be a shakeup in the top 5 this week after the No. 5 Oklahoma Sooners fell on the road to Kansas State. Despite a promising season up to this point, the Oklahoma defense let the team down, allowing 24 straight points in the second half to put the Sooners behind 48-23 early in the fourth quarter.
A late comeback effort wasn’t enough, as Oklahoma lost 48-41. The Sooners can still win the Big 12, but they may not have enough quality wins to overcome a loss on their resume and get into the top four by the end of the season.
Tiger Battle
No. 2 LSU won the SEC’s battle of the Tigers on Saturday, holding off No. 9 Auburn 23-20 in Baton Rouge. The Bayou Bengals outgained Auburn by over 200 yards but still had to hold onto a slim lead late. The win keeps LSU undefeated heading into its showdown with No. 1 Alabama in two weeks.
Meanwhile, Auburn now has two losses on the season but might have a chance to work its way into the College Football Playoff conversation with games left against Georgia and Alabama.
Is He Back?
Speaking of Alabama, the Crimson Tide were fine with Mac Jones filling in for the injured Tua Tagovailoa against Arkansas on Saturday. After the game, Nick Saban gave positive news about Tagovailoa, implying that he might be back for the Nov. 9 game against LSU.
Saban said that Tagovailoa is on track to return to practice by the middle of next week after undergoing surgery to treat a high-ankle sprain. Saban tried to play down his quarterback’s return to practice to manage expectations.
However, the Alabama head coach also noted that Tagovailoa’s injury isn’t as serious as the one he had last season when he required the same surgery before the College Football Playoff.
The Run Continues
The magical run for the Minnesota Golden Gophers will continue for at least a couple more weeks. The No. 17 Golden Gophers crushed Maryland 52-10 on Saturday to improve to 8-0 on the season. It’s Minnesota’s best start since 1941 when it won the national championship.
The Golden Gophers will get next week off before playing host to No. 6 Penn State, which will also enter the game at 8-0. Minnesota also has to play Iowa and Wisconsin in November, but with a two-game lead atop the Big Ten West division, it is in the driver’s seat for a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game.
Not the End
Notre Dame will have a bad taste in its mouth after being blown out 45-14 against Michigan on Saturday night. The good news is that they’ll get a shot at redemption against the Wolverines, but the bad news is they’ll have to wait a while.
Michigan and Notre Dame have agreed to continue their series in 2033 and 2034, keeping their storied rivalry alive. Both games will be early in the season with the Wolverines hosting in 2033 and Notre Dame in 2034.
