CFB Week 10 Detox: Can it get more chaotic?

Those that had a bye week in week 10 were the true winners of the weekend as SEVEN ranked teams go down this week, including five of the seven losing to unranked teams. Critics have argued that the new 12 team playoff combined with NIL and transfer rules ruins the regular season matchups but with all of the parody we have seen this season I believe it could be the best thing to happen to the sport. Now we can get into an entire article talking about these aspects of College Football which we aren’t here for today. Let’s dig into some of the key results of the weekend.

#4 Ohio State 20 - #3 Penn State 13

James Franklin chirps back at his own fans as tempers flare from disappointment after this quintessential low scoring rock fight that is Big 10 football. At this rate, with the way this game unfolded, will Penn State ever beat the buckeyes? Penn State had every opportunity to finally get over the hump that is the Ohio State Buckeyes in this game and did not capitalize. Let’s not take anything away from OSU as they found a way to win in a hostile environment on the road against a strong Penn State team. Game started out looking like the Nittany Lions could run away with things as they took it down the field for an 8minute long drive to start the game which resulted in a FG…then defense scored on a Pick 6 giving the lions a 10-0 lead and all momentum at home. All of the sudden it was like the offense could not move the ball, especially in the redzone, and OSU scored 17 unanswered points to silence the crowd. Penn State had the ball at the 3 yard line looking to score and tie the game up with 5 minutes remaining and could not get 3 yards against this stout OSU defense turning it over on downs at the 1 yard line. Buckeyes did not let this opportunity slip and never gave the ball back, ending the game. Penn state fans seem to be in ground hog day as they continually lose to the Buckeyes every single season, maybe next year.

Louisville 33 - #11 Clemson 21

Is Dabo washed? Clemson fans seem to think so as boos and sneers were coming from all over the stadium in the giant egg of a performance the tigers showed. Looking through the schedule so far, Clemson has faced a powerhouse in UGA where nobody truly thought they had a chance and then went through a stretch of mid teams, and with this being the first true test in conference they blew it. As this might not seem as critical as far as season implications are concerned since they are still technically in the running for the Conf Championship game, this seems like a blow to the program as a whole. Losing at home against Louisville is not what the Tigers are used to, and with Dabo already getting criticism every year when it comes to NIL and refusing to use the transfer portal, this is just another example of why fans are upset with him not evolving with the college football landscape. Clemson is being caught and now passed by teams that should have no business beating them. We can attribute this result to a combination of a deteriorating Clemson program as well as the famous “Big Game Brohm” approach as Louisville HC, Jeff Brohm, continues his streak of upsetting teams in big games.

#10 Texas A&M 20 – South Carolina 44

Aggies had everything going for them after the huge win over LSU last weekend, but Williams Brice Stadium at night with Beamer energy seems to sneak up on teams. We all remember the unexpected blowout victory over top ranked Tennessee when the Gamecocks stunned TN in a night game in Williams-Brice Stadium 63-38. This had the same feel as a rolling Texas A&M team came in and seemingly forgot how to play football in the second half not scoring a single point and allowing South Carolina score 24 unanswered. The race for the SEC title game gets more and more interesting now as we enter November.

Texas Tech 23 - #11 Iowa State 22

The magical run has ended for the cyclones as Texas Tech stuns Iowa state in Ames. Now anyone who has been paying attention to the way Iowa State’s season has gone will understand that this was inevitable the way they have squeaked out wins throughout the season. But that is what magical seasons are made of, finding ways to win at the end of games when most have lost hope. It finally caught up to them in this game as they tried to live on the edge once again against the Red Raiders, this time falling the wrong way. No longer undefeated, but still very much in the fight for the Big 12 Championship as it looks like it could be anybody for this conference the way these teams all look to be within 2-3 points on any given Saturday.

Houston 24 - #17 Kansas State 19

Avery Johnson, the QB Kansas State was happy with keeping after sending Will Howard to Ohio State, seemed to show his inexperience as he threw two interceptions, one late in the fourth quarter, essentially giving the game to the Houston Cougars. Houston were bottom feeders in this Big 12 Conference but as stated in the write up on TTU vs ISU, the distance from the bottom feeders to the top of the food chain in this conference is slim to none, and this is a prime example. Houston rose from the depths and took down Kansas State giving themselves momentum heading into the back half of the season. Look for things to get very interesting in the Big 12 as we progress through November to Championship week.