Who Had the Ball Last: The Rundown, Week 6

Seven turnovers. Two points. Forty-four seconds.

That was Oregon’s Saturday in Eugene, and it was the whole weekend in miniature. The team that did everything wrong still had the ball at the end. The team that did everything right was holding its breath.

Week 6 will be remembered for the last possession. The number one team in the country lost on a field goal with no time on the clock. The number two team won in Tuscaloosa for the first time since 2007, and by Sunday it was number one. Texas fell from first to seventh in one afternoon.

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JUCO

Start where a lot of football careers start.

JUCO — Northeastern Oklahoma A&M at Iowa Western — Iowa Western 44, NEO 20

The defending national champion ran the football 65 times and threw it for 27 yards.

Read that again, because it is the whole game. Iowa Western, ranked third in the NJCAA Division I poll, hosted No. 10 NEO at Titan Stadium in Council Bluffs, and it never needed the pass. It gained 453 yards on the ground, 6.97 per carry, and 480 in all. NEO, which had thrown for 215 yards, left with the smaller number on the scoreboard and two interceptions on its record.

NEO came in 5 and 1, and its only loss had come a week earlier when Dodge City won on an 86-yard punt return with 1:22 left. It could score. Iowa Western’s Aamir Hill got the Reivers started, and Garrett Ames added a short touchdown run. NEO’s Jackson Jensen answered with a touchdown pass to Todd James, and then running back Nathaniel Stanley broke a long run for another, and it was 17 to 14. A 53-yard field goal by Ryan Bendezu with three seconds left in the half made it 20 to 14.

The third quarter was the separation. Bendezu hit a 57-yard field goal on a fourth down and 32, which is less a kick than a decision to keep the points. Daniel Larmie ran 31 yards for a touchdown, 30 to 14. Jensen found Ashford Landheart for 48 yards, and the two-point try failed, 30 to 20. Then J’Marion Sanders took a handoff 54 yards for a touchdown with 47 seconds left in the quarter, and it was 37 to 20. Ian Middleton scored in the fourth, and the final was 44 to 20.

Larmie is the name that carries the story. Hutchinson stopped him twice at the 8-yard line in Week 4, on third and fourth down, in the shutout that ended Iowa Western’s 14-game winning streak. This time he carried 23 times for 152 yards and a touchdown. Middleton also went over 100. Bendezu finished with three field goals and five extra points, 14 points by himself.

The numbers explain the rest. Iowa Western converted 6 of 14 third downs. NEO converted 1 of 11. Coaleon Johnson and Kwalei Carter each intercepted a pass.

The plays the highlights skipped: in the first quarter, an illegal-hands penalty took away a NEO third-down conversion at the Iowa Western 44, and NEO faced third and 24 and punted. In the fourth, with the game decided, NEO’s third-and-2 run lost five yards, and the 16-yard punt that followed gave Iowa Western the ball for its closing kneel-downs.

Iowa Western is 5 and 1 and goes to Iowa Central next. NEO is 5 and 2.

JUCO — Allan Hancock at Ventura — Ventura 51, Allan Hancock 19

Thirteen straight years, and a home field that had not yet won once.

Ventura had beaten Allan Hancock 13 times in a row, but Ventura was 0 and 2 at home this season and Hancock was 2 and 0 in league play. Ventura came in ranked 16th in the California poll, Hancock 23rd. It was not close, because the first half was over before most people sat down.

Hancock’s first possession ended with a Max Perrett interception to Malik Bates. The next one ended with a safety, when Tony Arango was tackled in his own end zone. On Ventura’s next snap, Braden Graham threw a 52-yard touchdown pass to Jack Cunningham, and it was 9 to nothing. LaRevious Woods scored from a yard out, and Ventura led 16 to nothing after one quarter.

The second quarter was Graham throwing touchdowns. A 6-yarder to Tywan Baker. A 10-yarder to Harvey Pullen. A 12-yarder to Kaden Glover with 16 seconds left in the half. Ventura led 37 to nothing at the break.

Hancock did find the end zone in the second half. Perrett scored from a yard out, Ventura’s Jeremiah Jackson answered with an 18-yard run, and Cruz Palubicki scored twice for Hancock on runs of 6 and 10 yards. In between, Damon Wrighster threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Pullen, who finished with two touchdown catches from two different quarterbacks.

Graham was 17 of 25 for 258 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions. Cunningham caught five passes for 135. Ventura gained 606 yards, 329 through the air and 277 on the ground, and Hancock gained 291. Ventura took the ball away three times and gave it away none. Jeremiah Barrios returned an interception 54 yards. Hancock’s Aidan Good caught five passes for 106 yards, and the Bulldogs ran for 158, so the plan was not wrong. It just never had a chance to be right.

The plays the highlights skipped were third downs. On a third and 5 at the Hancock 23, Amir McDowell ran for 13 yards to the 10, and Graham threw to Pullen on the next snap for a touchdown. On a third and 2 at the Hancock 49, Graham threw 15 yards to Jude Walker to keep the next scoring drive alive.

The number that looks wrong is 154. That is Ventura’s penalty yardage, on 14 flags. It still allowed only 291 yards. Ventura is 4 and 2, 2 and 1 in league play, with its first home win of the season and its 14th straight over Hancock. Next is Citrus. Hancock is 3 and 3, 2 and 1.

JUCO — Diablo Valley at Butte — Butte 24, Diablo Valley 14

Two weeks to think about a loss, and a team that had to carry it into somebody else’s building.

Diablo Valley, ranked ninth in California, had lost its first game of the year, 51 to 10 to San Mateo, and then had a bye. Butte, ranked 10th, was opening conference play at home. Butte built a wall. Diego Pulido kicked a 31-yard field goal with 57 seconds left in the first quarter. In the second, quarterback Azari Cruz and running back Ty Webster each scored on short runs, the second with 1:59 left in the half. Butte led 17 to nothing at the break, and Diablo Valley had almost nothing on the ground.

The answer came through the air. Sawyer Grafft hit Matt Goodin for a 55-yard touchdown early in the third quarter, 17 to 7. That drive had been kept alive by a roughing-the-kicker penalty on a fourth and 15, which erased a punt. Then Cruz did something quarterbacks do not usually do. In the fourth quarter he threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to fullback Chase Jones, and it was 24 to 7. Cruz scored twice, once on the ground and once through the air. Grafft found Goodin again from 28 yards with 2:29 left, and that was all.

Goodin finished with five catches for 183 yards and two touchdowns. Diablo Valley rushed for 22 yards, converted 3 of 14 third downs, and gave up five sacks. Butte held the ball for 36:39 of the 60 minutes. David Tauscher, an outside linebacker, had seven tackles, two sacks for 19 yards, three tackles for loss, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. It is a stat line that belongs to a whole defense.

The plays the highlights skipped: Butte’s third and 8 at the Diablo Valley 27, which became a 22-yard completion and kept the drive alive that ended in the 17-nothing score. And Diego Sanchez, the punter, who punted eight times and put four of them inside the 20.

Both teams are 4 and 2. Butte is 1 and 0 in league play and goes to Redwoods next. Diablo Valley is 0 and 1. Butte also committed 106 penalty yards and still won.

JUCO — the rest of the board

Butler, ranked 14th, beat Coffeyville 29 to 28 after trailing 21 to 6. A blocked punt had gone back for a touchdown, and Butler’s Tate McNew, who ran for two touchdowns, scored the last one from a yard out with 1:52 left. Coffeyville’s last drive ended on a fourth-down sack. It was Butler’s third straight win and its first over Coffeyville since 2022.

In California, Citrus beat Long Beach 31 to 28 after a Long Beach fumble set up Connor Underhill’s 11-yard go-ahead run, even though Long Beach had the yardage edge, 413 to 394. Desert beat East Los Angeles 24 to 21 on Kael Jahn’s 38-yard field goal with 2:11 left, after East Los Angeles’ running back Erick Stubbs had run for 109 yards and two touchdowns and a late go-ahead touchdown was nullified by a holding penalty. Redwoods trailed American River 24 to 7 at halftime and won 30 to 27 on Brandon Sailer’s 30-yard field goal with 31 seconds left.

The ranked games in California came with scores. Riverside City, ranked first, beat No. 13 Chaffey 52 to 28 behind Christopher Cooper’s 380 passing yards, including a 94-yard touchdown pass to Eric Osorio. Riverside averaged about 8.5 yards a play on 52 plays, while Chaffey ran 80 plays for 382. San Diego Mesa, ranked sixth, scored 45 straight points after trailing El Camino 21 to 7 and won 52 to 27. Sierra, ranked eighth, took a 21 to nothing lead on Dempsy James’s 75-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Gallagher and beat Laney 56 to 16. Cerritos beat Bakersfield 38 to 21 as Jeremiah Calvin threw for 279 yards and three touchdowns, and it converted all three fourth-down tries. Pasadena City, ranked 14th, beat No. 4 Golden West 17 to 7 because Golden West threw four interceptions. And Monterey Peninsula, ranked 24th, trailed Sequoias 27 to 14 and scored 28 fourth-quarter points to win 42 to 35, with Dom Pierini’s fifth touchdown pass, a 12-yarder to Taveon Sueing, coming with 12 seconds left.

In Mississippi, Itawamba beat Jones 24 to 21 on seven sacks, even though Jones outgained it 431 to 368. In New York, Nassau beat No. 4 Erie in Division III, 21 to 16, on an 83-yard kickoff return touchdown by Antoine Blackman, in a game Erie had outgained 423 to 122. And in Pennsylvania, Apprentice beat Thaddeus Stevens 16 to 15.

State of junior college. Hutchinson is 7 and 0, 4 and 0 in the KJCCC, after beating Independence 72 to nothing. In California, Riverside City and Southwestern are both 6 and 0, and they meet at Riverside next Saturday. Mt. San Antonio leads the National Northern at 3 and 0, with Ventura, Allan Hancock and Citrus all 2 and 1. Pasadena is 3 and 0 in the National Central, and Cerritos is 3 and 0 as well. In Mississippi, Northwest Mississippi is 4 and 0 and Itawamba is 3 and 0 in the North, and they meet Thursday night. Iowa Western goes to Iowa Central in the ICCAC.

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FCS

Move up one level.

FCS — Southern Illinois at South Dakota — South Dakota 31, Southern Illinois 10

Both sides said the same thing afterward, and they meant different things by it.

South Dakota, ranked 10th in the Stats Perform FCS poll, had won four straight over Southern Illinois, including a five-overtime game last November, 53 to 51. Southern Illinois, ranked 25th, came to the DakotaDome hoping to end that. South Dakota’s answer was an 85-yard touchdown drive that ended in Jackson Proctor’s 13-yard run. In the second quarter Austyn Modrzewski threw a 56-yard touchdown pass to Tennel Bryant, and it was 14 to nothing.

Southern Illinois got on the board with 1:50 left in the half, a 7-yard touchdown pass from DJ Williams to Kyle Thomas. A South Dakota field goal and a Southern Illinois field goal in the third quarter made it 17 to 10, and for a few minutes it looked like a one-possession game. Then, early in the fourth quarter, Bryant took a handoff and ran 44 yards for a touchdown. Charles Pierre Jr. added a 12-yard touchdown run with 8:31 left. Bryant had scored through the air and on the ground, which is what a play-maker does when a defense has to guess.

The box score argues with the result. Southern Illinois did not lose the ball once. South Dakota did, one time. Southern Illinois held the ball for 30:51 to South Dakota’s 29:09. But Southern Illinois converted 3 of 13 third downs, and South Dakota had nine plays that gained 20 yards or more to Southern Illinois’ two. South Dakota gained 486 yards to 277. Wade Abrams had 11 tackles.

Southern Illinois head coach Nick Hill pointed straight at it. “That’s been a problem of ours all year,” he said, about finishing drives. Running back Chandler Chapman said, “I feel like the offense was moving the ball well at times.” Moving the ball well at times is what a team says after losing by three touchdowns.

The plays the highlights skipped: Pierre’s 9-yard run on a third and 9 midway through the fourth quarter, with South Dakota ahead 24 to 10, and Reid Watkins’ 9-yard run on a third and 5 in the final two minutes. Both kept the ball with South Dakota. PFF graded South Dakota’s Chris Dixon at 74.5 on defense across 49 snaps, and Southern Illinois’ Jake Parrella at 77.0 on 28.

South Dakota is 5 and 2, 2 and 1 in the Missouri Valley, and goes to Murray State. Southern Illinois is 3 and 4, 1 and 2, and hosts Illinois State.

FCS — Tarleton State at Austin Peay — Tarleton State 40, Austin Peay 32

The unfinished business was settled by a team that never had to go back for it.

Last November, Austin Peay scored a touchdown in overtime, went for two and the win, and did not get it. Tarleton walked out with a 45 to 44 victory. This time Tarleton was third in the Stats Perform poll and Austin Peay ninth, with Tarleton 5 and 0, Austin Peay 5 and 1 and 4 and 0 at home.

Austin Peay kicked a field goal first. Then Kaden Anderson threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Tanner Schmidt, a blocked punt set up a 20-yard field goal by Alejandro De La Poza, and Anderson hit Kyle Thompson from 6 yards in the second quarter. On a fourth and 1 from the Austin Peay 16-yard line, Miequle Brock ran it in, 23 to 3. Chris Parson scored from 3 yards just before the half, and it was 23 to 10.

Parson kept being the reason the game stayed a game. He scored on a 1-yard run in the third quarter after Anderson’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Marquis Willis had made it 30 to 10. In the fourth quarter, Matthew Wilson scored from a yard out and Parson ran the two-point conversion, 33 to 25. Then Tarleton ran a wildcat play. James Paige threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Markellus Bass, 40 to 25. Parson answered with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Denver Harper with 3:47 left, and then Tarleton ended it. Anderson threw 15 yards to Joiner on a third and 12, and ran for 6 yards on a third and 2 with two minutes left.

Anderson threw for 347 yards and three touchdowns. Tarleton gained 481 yards to Austin Peay’s 386, and nine plays went 20 yards or more for Tarleton, six for Austin Peay. Austin Peay’s Tywan Royal intercepted a pass on the last Tarleton play of the half, and PFF graded him 79.7 on defense, and David Portu 84.0 with an 86.1 pass-rush grade on 39 snaps. Kam Robinson blocked the punt that gave Tarleton its field goal, and Kaleb Brown had two sacks and a forced fumble.

Austin Peay head coach Jeff Faris said, “I’m very proud of our team’s fight.” Royal said the defense wants to “just let it loose on Saturdays.”

Tarleton is 6 and 0, 1 and 0 in the United Athletic Conference, and hosts Central Arkansas. Austin Peay’s 10-game home winning streak is over. It is 5 and 2 and goes to West Georgia.

FCS — the rest of the board

The result that moved the Big Sky was Northern Arizona 49, Montana 44. Quarterback Ty Pennington accounted for six touchdowns, four rushing, one passing and one receiving, and threw for 322 yards. A 100-yard kickoff return answered Montana’s touchdown and two-point conversion in the fourth quarter and flipped a 35 to 32 lead into a 42 to 32 lead. Both teams are 5 and 2 and 3 and 1 in the Big Sky.

In the Missouri Valley, Northern Iowa beat fourth-ranked North Dakota 24 to 17 while gaining only 144 yards. In the CAA, 19th-ranked Richmond lost to Fordham 20 to 14, and Gunnar Smith ran for the winning touchdown with 2:23 left. Cal Poly beat Idaho State 25 to 24 on a 5-yard touchdown pass with 40 seconds left. Lamar led Incarnate Word 38 to 21 in the fourth quarter and held on, 38 to 35. Mercer beat Western Carolina 17 to 14 on a 42-yard field goal as time expired. William & Mary beat North Carolina Central 17 to 14, and Long Island University beat Duquesne 17 to 14.

State of the FCS. In the Big Sky, Montana, Northern Arizona, Cal Poly and Weber State are all 3 and 1 in league play. In the Missouri Valley, South Dakota State and Northern Iowa are both 2 and 0. In the Southland, Stephen F. Austin is 6 and 0 and Lamar is 3 and 0 in league play. In the CAA, Monmouth is 3 and 0. Lehigh is 6 and 0 overall and 4 and 0 in the Patriot League, and Harvard is 4 and 0 in the Ivy League. In the Southern Conference, East Tennessee State is 3 and 0.

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HBCU

The HBCU lane, held to the same standard as every other level.

HBCU — Bethune-Cookman at Alabama A&M — Alabama A&M 55, Bethune-Cookman 17

Bethune-Cookman rushed for 210 yards, and it did not matter.

Alabama A&M, ranked fourth in the Black College Football Poll, was coming off a three-point loss to Jackson State. Bethune-Cookman, ranked sixth, had won last year’s meeting 41 to 34 and wanted to lean on its ground game. It did lean on it, and it threw for 26 yards. But in the first half, Alabama A&M did what it needed to. Byron Perrilliat scored from 6 yards. Bethune-Cookman answered with a field goal and an interception that kept it close. Cornelious Brown IV threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Jarel Williams, 14 to 3, and Rashon Brown’s 13-yard run narrowed it to 14 to 10. David Faulk’s 32-yard field goal on the last play of the half made it 17 to 10.

Then came the third quarter, and it was the whole game. Williams caught a 60-yard touchdown pass from Brown at 12:36. On the kickoff that followed, Bethune-Cookman lost a fumble, and Faulk kicked a 44-yard field goal. Therman-Deon Moore intercepted a pass, and Perrilliat scored on a 21-yard run. Ty’Jarian Williams ran 25 yards for a touchdown with 2:05 left. Alabama A&M scored 24 points in a single quarter and led 41 to 10. In the fourth, Ty’Jarian Williams added a 2-yard run, Troy Bruce ran 22 yards, and Joel Morris scored for Bethune-Cookman late.

That is why the rushing yards did not help. Bethune-Cookman lost the ball four times to Alabama A&M’s one. Alabama A&M gained 504 yards, 335 on the ground, and converted 5 of 9 third downs, with ten plays of 20 yards or more to Bethune-Cookman’s one. Jarel Williams caught four passes for 133 yards and two touchdowns. D.J. Barber had 11 tackles, and Faulk made two field goals and seven extra points.

Head coach Sam Shade said, “Feels good to bounce back.” About the half he said, “We got to win the second half,” and he added, “I thought we were a more physical team on the day.”

The plays the highlights skipped: Bruce’s 2-yard run on a third and 1 at the Bethune-Cookman 27 early in the third quarter, and the fourth-quarter third and 1 at the Bethune-Cookman 32 on which Alabama A&M was stopped for no gain, deep in a game that was already decided.

Alabama A&M is 5 and 2, 2 and 1 in the SWAC, and hosts Grambling next. Bethune-Cookman is 3 and 3 and goes to Mississippi Valley State.

HBCU — Jackson State at Grambling State — Grambling State 45, Jackson State 38

The lead changed twice in the last ten minutes, and the second time was for good.

Jackson State came in 5 and 0, ranked first in the Black College Football Poll and 22nd in the FCS. Grambling had beaten it twice in a row, 41 to 20 and 26 to 24, and had just come back from 17 points down against Alcorn State with ten minutes left, giving up 411 passing yards in a 63 to 59 win.

Jackson State started fast. Li’Darius Pryor ran 25 yards for a touchdown. Then Justin Foster picked up a fumble and returned it 11 yards for another, and Jackson State led 14 to nothing. Jacobe Robinson threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Tyson George, 14 to 7. Pryor scored again from 16 yards, 21 to 7. Robinson ran for a 6-yard touchdown. Then with 22 seconds left in the half, on a third and 4 from the 5-yard line, he threw a touchdown pass to Nae’Saan Dickerson, and it was 21 to 21 at the break.

Jackson State kicked a 48-yard field goal to lead 24 to 21. Robinson threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Patrick Williams II. In the fourth quarter he threw a 54-yard touchdown pass to Lantavious Murphy, 35 to 24. Caron Tyler threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Jency Riley Jr. for Jackson State, and Pryor ran 3 yards with 9:19 left to put Jackson State ahead 38 to 35.

Then Grambling won it. Jackson State was stopped on a third and 5 at its own 31 with 2:44 left, when Pryor gained one yard. D’Shaun Ford scored from a yard out at 1:36, 42 to 38. Marcellius Johnson intercepted a pass, and Theodore Caballero kicked a 24-yard field goal with 1:01 left.

Robinson accounted for five touchdowns, four passing and one rushing. Grambling gained 438 yards to Jackson State’s 430, and it converted 7 of 13 third downs, but it lost the ball three times to Jackson State’s two. Johnson, who made the interception, had seven tackles. An earlier hidden play was a 7-yard completion from Robinson to Dickerson on a third and 5 in the third quarter, with Grambling trailing 24 to 21, and it kept alive the drive that put Grambling ahead for the first time.

Grambling is 4 and 2, 2 and 1 in the SWAC, with its third straight win over Jackson State. It goes to Alabama A&M. Jackson State is 5 and 1, 2 and 1, and hosts Florida A&M.

HBCU — Savannah State at Morehouse — Morehouse 34, Savannah State 23

A homecoming, moved from Saturday to Sunday morning, and a lead built before anyone got comfortable.

Savannah State’s first-year head coach, Thomas Howard, is a Morehouse graduate. Both teams had won close games the week before. Morehouse scored on its first three offensive possessions. Miles Scott threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Noah Rhodes. After a fumble recovery, Savion Red ran in from 2 yards. After Azari Brown returned a punt 45 yards, Red ran in from 2 yards again. Morehouse led 21 to nothing after the first quarter.

Savannah State kicked a field goal in the second quarter, and it was 21 to 3 at the half. Early in the third quarter, Scott threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Red, and the extra point was missed, 27 to 3. Caleb Barbas scored from a yard out for Savannah State, 27 to 10. Then with 2:15 left in the third, on a first and 10 from the Savannah State 30, Fabian Walker threw a pass that Stephen Rowser intercepted and returned 25 yards for a touchdown. Rashawn Truell answered with a 58-yard touchdown pass to Tristan Sizemore, and he threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Sizemore on the last play of the game.

Savannah State gained more yards, 304 to 281, but it turned the ball over three times to Morehouse’s none, and Morehouse scored 20 points off those turnovers. Morehouse converted 9 of 17 third downs to Savannah State’s 3 of 13, and held the ball 36:44 to 23:16. Scott completed 27 of 37 for 269 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. Red had three touchdowns, two runs and a catch, on just six net rushing yards. Sizemore had six catches for 146 yards and two touchdowns.

The plays the highlights skipped: on Morehouse’s first drive, a third and 3 at midfield that Scott converted with an 11-yard pass to Gabriel Bivines, and a third and 12 at the Savannah State 27 that became a 12-yard pass to Jeremiah Gibson.

Morehouse is 3 and 4, 3 and 3 in the SIAC, and goes to Howard next. Savannah State is 1 and 5 and hosts Fort Valley State.

HBCU — the rest of the board

On Friday night, Florida A&M beat Alabama State 28 to 27 because Armand Burris caught four passes for 216 yards and two touchdowns, including an 89-yard catch followed by a two-point conversion that put FAMU ahead. Alabama State’s 47-yard field goal attempt was blocked on the last play. In the MEAC, Morgan State beat Robert Morris 28 to 27 when Keith Jenkins Jr. scored from a yard out with 24 seconds left, finishing an 11-play, 75-yard drive. Morgan is 5 and 1, its best start since 2009. North Carolina A&T beat New Hampshire 30 to 27 in overtime, with a 19-yard touchdown pass tying it on the last play of regulation and a 34-yard field goal winning it. Kevin White threw for 230 yards and three touchdowns.

Two ranked teams lost. South Carolina State, ranked 21st in the FCS poll, lost 49 to 39 at Charleston Southern, and the Buccaneers had two return touchdowns, a 60-yard punt return and a 98-yard kickoff return, in quarterback Jared Echols’ first career start. Prairie View A&M, ranked ninth in the FCS coaches’ poll, lost to Southern 28 to 14 after turning the ball over four times, and Southern’s 30-yard touchdown run broke a 14 to 14 tie in the fourth quarter. In Division II, top-ranked Johnson C. Smith beat eighth-ranked Shaw 49 to 6, with four touchdown passes and 301 passing yards from its starting quarterback, and Virginia State beat Livingstone 59 to 7.

State of HBCU football. In the SWAC, Jackson State, Alabama A&M, Mississippi Valley State and Grambling are all 2 and 1. In the CIAA, Virginia State is 5 and 0 and Johnson C. Smith and Virginia Union are both 4 and 0, and Virginia Union goes to Bowie State next. In the SIAC, Edward Waters is 4 and 0. In the MEAC, every team is 0 and 0 in league play, and Morgan State leads at 5 and 1 overall.

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FBS

Now the big stage, conference by conference.

The AP poll was rewritten. Georgia is number one, followed by Notre Dame, Miami, Ohio State and Indiana. Alabama stays sixth. Texas, number one a week ago, is seventh.

Big 12. There was no game on the board, but there was a lot of football. BYU beat Iowa State 24 to 10 on Friday night and is 5 and 0, 3 and 0 in league play. Utah beat Kansas 41 to 24, Oklahoma State beat UCF 42 to 28, Houston beat Kansas State 35 to 16, and Arizona beat West Virginia 52 to 31. Texas Tech was off. Five Big 12 teams are in the poll: BYU eighth, Texas Tech 10th, Utah 11th, Oklahoma State 18th and Houston 20th. Arizona State goes to Texas Tech next.

Big Ten — UCLA at Oregon — UCLA 17, Oregon 15

Oregon averaged 505.5 yards a game coming in. It left with 272.

UCLA, ranked 21st, was 4 and 0. Oregon was ranked 13th. Both were coming off a bye. UCLA kicked a 21-yard field goal. Jordon Davison scored from a yard out for Oregon, and the two-point try failed, 6 to 3. In the second quarter Wayne Knight ran 35 yards for a touchdown, and UCLA led 10 to 6. UCLA’s Nico Iamaleava had fumbled at his own goal line in the first quarter and threw an interception in the second, and Ty Dieffenbach took over at quarterback in the second half.

The third quarter was Oregon having the ball and not keeping it. A fumble. An interception. A fumble forced by Scooter Jackson and recovered by Jalen Woods. UCLA kept the ball and kept the lead. Then, with 13:31 left in the fourth quarter, on a third and 3 from the 9-yard line, Dieffenbach threw a touchdown pass to Knight, and it was 17 to 6.

Oregon kicked a field goal. Then, with 2:16 left, Brock Thomas threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to Evan Stewart, 17 to 15. The attempt to tie it failed. A penalty gave Oregon another try, and UCLA stopped that one too. Oregon got the ball back with 44 seconds left and moved it 62 yards in eight plays. A 30-yard pass to Stewart ended with a lateral that was fumbled, and UCLA’s Dante Lovett recovered it.

Oregon turned the ball over seven times to UCLA’s three. It converted 1 of 12 third downs. UCLA held the ball for 39:15. Knight ran for 103 yards and scored once on the ground and once through the air. Jalen Woods had nine tackles, two tackles for loss and a fumble recovery. PFF graded UCLA’s Aiden Gobaira at 86.6 on defense across 40 snaps.

UCLA head coach Bob Chesney said, “I thought our coverage did a good job.” Dieffenbach said, “I feel like defense kept us in the game for sure.”

The plays the highlights skipped: Dieffenbach’s 14-yard completion to Semaj Morgan on a third and 7 late in the third quarter, with UCLA leading 10 to 6, and Oregon’s failed third and 1 early in the fourth.

It is UCLA’s first win in Eugene since 2004, and its first over a ranked Oregon team there. UCLA is 5 and 0, 3 and 0 in the Big Ten, and moved from 21st to 12th. Oregon is 3 and 2 and out of the poll. UCLA hosts Wisconsin next, and Oregon hosts Nebraska.

Elsewhere in the Big Ten, Indiana beat Nebraska 20 to 17 on a 44-yard touchdown pass from Josh Hoover with 7:13 left, even though Indiana converted only 1 of 10 third downs. Hoover threw for 263 yards and two touchdowns. Illinois beat Michigan State 38 to 37 in overtime when Katin Houser threw a 25-yard touchdown pass. Ohio State beat Maryland 45 to 16, USC beat Penn State 31 to 23, Iowa beat Washington 41 to 24, and Purdue beat Minnesota 41 to 13. Six Big Ten teams are ranked: Ohio State fourth, Indiana fifth, UCLA 12th, Iowa 17th, USC 19th and Northwestern 25th. Next Saturday Ohio State goes to Indiana.

ACC. North Carolina beat 25th-ranked Pitt 21 to 17, and the winning play was a 75-yard touchdown catch by tight end Shamar Easter with 12:36 left, right after Pitt had taken the lead. It was Bill Belichick’s first win over a ranked team at North Carolina. Pitt outgained the Tar Heels 369 to 269 and ran 85 plays to 51, but it was 0 for 4 on fourth down. Pitt fell out of the poll.

Georgia Tech beat Duke 28 to 25 on a 1-yard touchdown run with 54 seconds left, and Alberto Mendoza threw for 218 yards. Virginia beat Syracuse 28 to 25. Louisville beat Florida State 44 to 20 on Friday night. Wake Forest beat NC State 38 to 14 and jumped into the poll at 21st. California beat Virginia Tech 25 to 20. Miami is 5 and 0, third in the poll, and hosts Florida State next. Notre Dame beat Stanford 58 to 7, is 6 and 0 and second in the poll, and goes to BYU on October 17.

American — South Florida at UTSA — UTSA 31, South Florida 24

A Thursday night, and 75 yards in a minute and a half.

Both teams were 4 and 1. South Florida was coming off a 17 to 13 loss to Temple, and UTSA was unbeaten at home in the conference. South Florida got the early lead on D.J. Crowther’s 15-yard run. UTSA’s A’Marion Peterson answered with a 53-yard touchdown run, and Bryson Rodgers caught a 42-yard touchdown pass from Michael Van Buren Jr. with 11 seconds left in the first quarter to make it 14 to 7. South Florida led 17 to 10 at the half. Peterson scored from 3 yards in the third quarter, and UTSA kicked field goals of 41 and 31 yards to lead 23 to 17.

With 1:56 left, Van Buren threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Crowther, and South Florida led 24 to 23. UTSA needed 75 yards. Owen McCown scrambled for 19 yards on a third and 5. Will Henderson III ran for 4 yards on a third and 3, then ran to the 1-yard line. Peterson scored with 15 seconds left, and McCown threw to David Amador II for the two-point conversion.

Peterson ran 12 times for 92 yards and three touchdowns. UTSA ran for 277 yards, gained 486 in all, and converted 8 of 14 third downs, while South Florida gained 288. Neither team turned the ball over. UTSA head coach Jeff Traylor said, “We’re calm in the moment, and our kids listen.” Linebacker Owen Pewee said, “I feel like we’re made for this.” PFF graded Jusiah Sampleton at 83.2 on defense across 25 snaps.

UTSA is 5 and 1, 2 and 0 in the American. South Florida is 4 and 2, 1 and 2. UTSA hosts Navy next.

The rest of the field. Army beat Tulane 20 to 17 on a 25-yard field goal on the last play, and quarterback Cale Hellums carried 38 times for 223 yards and two touchdowns. Miami of Ohio beat Massachusetts 20 to 19. Eastern Michigan beat Akron 25 to 23 on a 48-yard field goal with 1:50 left. Louisiana Tech beat Louisiana 32 to 31 when Blake Baker threw a 7-yard touchdown pass with 46 seconds left. James Madison beat Georgia Southern 27 to 24 and is 6 and 0. Jacksonville State beat Kennesaw State 27 to 26 on a 33-yard field goal. Utah State beat Washington State 17 to 16, and Wyoming beat San José State 16 to 13 in overtime. Boise State beat Fresno State 38 to 31, and it is 5 and 1 and 23rd in the poll. UTSA and Memphis are both 2 and 0 in the American, James Madison is 3 and 0 in the Sun Belt, and Liberty and Jacksonville State are both 2 and 0 in Conference USA.

SEC — Texas vs. Oklahoma — Oklahoma 27, Texas 24

The number one team lost a game it outgained by 144 yards.

The Red River Rivalry, the 122nd meeting, at the Cotton Bowl. Texas was ranked first and 4 and 0. Oklahoma was 2 and 2. Texas scored first, when Arch Manning threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to Cam Coleman. Early in the second quarter Texas punted from deep in its own territory, Oklahoma blocked it, and Dakoda Fields recovered it in the end zone to make it 7 to 7. Manning threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Wingo, and a 23-yard field goal with 12 seconds left made it 17 to 7 at the half.

Oklahoma stayed within reach. Tate Sandell kicked a 53-yard field goal. Early in the fourth quarter, Lloyd Avant scored from 2 yards to tie it at 17. Avant had run 42 yards on a third and 2 earlier in the second half. Then, on a second and 13, Peyton Bowen intercepted Manning and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown, and Oklahoma led 24 to 17. Manning answered with a 75-yard drive, and Jermaine Bishop Jr. caught a 15-yard touchdown pass to tie it with 6:32 left.

Texas missed a field goal. Then, with 54 seconds left, Texas threw an interception on a drive that started at its own 24, and Oklahoma took over at its own 39. John Mateer completed passes to move it to the Texas 30, and with no time left Sandell kicked a 47-yard field goal.

Oklahoma’s offense gained 238 yards, and Texas gained 382. Oklahoma scored 14 points on the blocked punt and the interception return, and it did not turn the ball over, while Texas did twice. Texas converted 3 of 14 third downs, and Oklahoma converted 2 of 13. PFF graded Oklahoma’s Courtland Guillory at 79.6 on defense across 66 snaps and Texas’s Rasheem Biles at 78.1.

Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables said he told Mateer on the last drive, “Go get 20 yards.” Mateer said, “I knew I just needed to come play confident.” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said, “It just wasn’t consistent enough.”

Texas leads the series 65 to 52 and 5. Texas is 4 and 1 and fell from first to seventh. Oklahoma is 3 and 2 and received 44 votes, outside the Top 25. Texas hosts Florida next, and Oklahoma hosts Kentucky.

SEC — the rest. Kentucky beat LSU 35 to 34 in overtime, and Kentucky went for two points instead of the tie. Quarterback Kenny Minchey ran a draw for the conversion, the winning play. He threw for 246 yards and ran for a touchdown, and Kentucky had no turnovers. LSU gained 410 yards against an entering average of 547.8. Kentucky is 5 and 1 and 15th, and LSU fell from 10th to 22nd.

South Carolina beat 16th-ranked Florida 38 to 19, and LaNorris Sellers threw for 279 yards and four touchdowns and ran for another. South Carolina gained 393 yards with no turnovers, and Florida gained 387 but turned the ball over three times. Florida is out of the Top 25 and goes to Texas next. Tennessee beat Arkansas 24 to 17, Missouri beat Texas A&M 27 to 6, and Ole Miss beat Vanderbilt 52 to 17.

State of the SEC. Georgia is 4 and 0 in league play. Nine SEC teams are in the poll: Georgia first, Alabama sixth, Texas seventh, Ole Miss ninth, Missouri 13th, Tennessee 14th, Kentucky 15th, Mississippi State 16th and LSU 22nd. Next Saturday Alabama goes to Tennessee, Florida goes to Texas, and Kentucky goes to Oklahoma.

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The Marquee Game

Marquee — Georgia at Alabama — Georgia 20, Alabama 17

Six times, Georgia started a drive inside its own 15-yard line. It still gained 455 yards.

The reason was Alabama’s punting. Alabama kicked five punts that landed inside the 20, and Georgia’s drives started at its own 3, 7, 7, 10, 11 and 14. It got points on all four of its trips inside the red zone and won in Bryant-Denny Stadium for the first time since 2007.

Alabama had the ball first, and it ran 12 plays for 38 yards and fumbled. Georgia kicked a 43-yard field goal from Peyton Woodring, 3 to nothing. Georgia was without Nate Frazier and Chauncey Bowens. Dwight Phillips Jr. was making his first start, and he carried 17 times for 120 yards, with a long of 31.

In the second quarter, Georgia drove 93 yards in nine plays, and Gunner Stockton threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to London Humphreys. Alabama needed 1:12 to answer: Keelon Russell threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Marshall Pritchett, three plays and 89 yards. Georgia threw an interception on the first play of its next possession, and after a Georgia punt, Alabama drove 80 yards in 12 plays, and EJ Crowell scored from a yard out as time expired in the half. Alabama led 14 to 10.

Georgia took the second-half kickoff and drove 75 yards, and Stockton ran 14 yards for a touchdown, 17 to 14. Alabama’s Conor Talty kicked a 39-yard field goal to tie it. Georgia then drove 69 yards in 11 plays and missed a field goal. The game was tied at 17 going into the fourth quarter.

Then came the possession that decided it. With 10:44 left, Georgia started at its own 11-yard line. It ran 10 plays and 84 yards and kicked a 23-yard field goal with 5:25 left. One of the plays that made it possible was a 9-yard pass from Stockton to Craig Dandridge Jr. on a third and 6 at the Georgia 15, with the game tied. Alabama punted after five plays. Georgia got the ball back at its own 7-yard line with 3:10 left, and ran eight plays and 40 yards to the end of the game. Elyiss Williams caught a 17-yard pass on a third and 7 with 2:56 left, the first down that closed it.

Woodring’s 23-yard field goal won it. Phillips’ 120 yards came in a game that needed a back, and PFF graded him 87.7 on 37 snaps. Raylen Wilson had nine tackles for Georgia, and Georgia sacked Russell four times and allowed one sack. Elyiss Williams’ catch on third down is the one that did not make the highlights.

Stockton completed 18 of 22 for 249 yards and a touchdown, with one interception, and his longest completion was 53 yards to Jaden Reddell. Bo Walker added 69 yards on 10 carries. Alabama’s Trae’shawn Brown ran for 90 yards on nine carries, including a 58-yarder, and PFF graded Alabama’s Yhonzae Pierre at 82.0 on defense, with an 89.5 run-defense grade.

The box score argues with itself. Georgia held the ball for 33:28 to Alabama’s 26:32. Each team turned the ball over once. Each team had seven plays of 20 yards or more. The one box-score line that explains it is the starting field position, because a team that begins six drives inside its own 15 usually does not gain 7.5 yards a play.

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said, “What a great college football game, great atmosphere.” Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer said, “First of all, Georgia’s got a very good football team.” Russell said, “I did not play my best game tonight.”

Georgia is 6 and 0, 4 and 0 in the SEC, and moved from second to first in the AP poll. It is Smart’s first regular-season win over Alabama and his third win over the Crimson Tide overall, after the 2021 national championship game and last year’s SEC title game. Alabama still leads the series 45 to 28 and 4. Alabama is 5 and 1 and stayed sixth. Georgia hosts Auburn next, and Alabama goes to Tennessee on October 17.

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Week 6 had a lot of scores. Nearly all of them were decided by who had the ball last.

Oregon had it last. UCLA had the win.

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Harry B. and TLP use AI to research and assist in the publication of this article. AI makes mistakes, so please check for yourself.