CFW Week 6 Results - 12 teams remain undefeated

 CFW Week 6 Results – 12 teams remain undefeated

Vandy isn’t candy anymore

 

Just ask Alabama.

 

How could it happen? Vanderbilt last beat Alabama 40 years ago. Vanderbilt had never  defeated a No. 1 team. Vanderbilt is everyone’s homecoming opponent.

 

But it did happen. Saturday night, Vanderbilt upset previously undefeated Alabama, 40-35.

 

Just a week earlier, Alabama knocked off previously undefeated and then No. 2 Georgia. Maybe that was the problem. After beating Georgia, Alabama may have thought they were invincible. I mean, how is the No. 1 team in the country going to lose to Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt of all teams. 

 

But the Commodores have been serving notice. At the beginning of the season, Vandy knocked off Virginia Tech. Last week, Vandy took Missouri to overtime, before the Tigers eventually won. Vandy isn’t candy anymore.

 

Against Alabama, Vanderbilt never trailed. The Commodores led 13-0 in the first quarter, 23-7 in the second quarter and 40-28 in the fourth quarter. Vanderbilt had more first downs and more total yards than Alabama. The Commodores held the Crimson Tide to 86 yards rushing.

 

Vanderbilt led 40-35, with 2:46 remaining on the clock. The way Alabama came back and beat Georgia last week, you just knew the Tide was going to come back and win. But Vandy isn’t candy anymore. Beware of the Dores!

 

Alabama wasn’t the only undefeated-ranked team to lose. Three others fell too and a fourth had to score three unanswered touchdowns in the final 10 minutes of the game to win by one point.

 

Yes, if the Vanderbilt-Alabama score didn’t shock you enough, Arkansas added to the voltage. In Fayetteville, the Razorbacks knocked off No. 4 Tennessee, 19-14. The Arkansas defense held the Vols scoreless in all but the third quarter.

 

Earlier in the day, Texas A&M handed No. 9 Missouri its first loss of the season. The Aggies beat the Tigers big time, 41-10. Friday night, previously undefeated and No. 25 UNLV succumbed to Syracuse in overtime. The Orange beat the Rebels, 44-41 (OT).

 

And finally, we came close to having a third major shock late Saturday night. No. 8 and undefeated Miami (Florida) rallied from a 38-18 fourth quarter deficit to edge California, 39-38. What a game! 

 

Three other previously undefeated teams lost for the first time. Duke fell to Georgia Tech, 24-14, Rutgers lost to Nebraska, 14-7 and high-scoring James Madison wasn’t so high-scoring on Saturday. The Dukes were edged by ULM, 21-19.

 

College football Week 6 began Thursday night in Troy, Alabama. In a game marred with five turnovers, Texas State downed Troy, 38-17. The Texas State defense held Troy to 63 yards rushing. In the second game on Thursday, Sam Houston stomped UTEP, 41-21. UTEP suffered from four turnovers. Sam Houston running back D.J. McKinney rushed for 138 yards and two touchdowns.

 

College football Week 6 continued under Friday night lights with four games. In a close contest at halftime, Jacksonville State broke loose in the second half, outscoring Kennesaw State, 42-7. Jax State beat Kennesaw State, 63-24. Up next on Friday night, Houston jumped out to a quick 17-0 lead over TCU and the Cougars never looked back. Houston beat TCU, 30-19,

 

In Eugene, it was a happy night for the Ducks. Oregon led Michigan State 31-0 early in the fourth quarter. The Ducks downed the Spartans, 31-10. Oregon running back Jordan James rushed for 166 yards and a touchdown. Friday night’s games came to an end in Las Vegas. Tied 38-38 at the end of regulation, Syracuse beat UNLV, 44-41 in overtime.

 

Pitt remained undefeated on Saturday. The Panthers handed North Carolina its third-straight loss, 34-24. Pitt quarterback Eli Holstein was 25-42-1, passing for 381 yards and three touchdowns.

 

Army and Navy both are still undefeated. Army crushed Tulsa, 49-7. Army quarterback Bryson Daily was 5-for-5, passing for 140 yards and two touchdowns. Daily also rushed for 110 yards and two more touchdowns. Navy slammed Air Force, 37-7. Navy quarterback Blake Horvath passed for 134 yards and rushed for 115 yards. Horvath scored two touchdowns rushing. We have the makings for a hell of an Army-Navy game in December.

 

Indiana still has a spotless record. The undefeated Hoosiers downed Northwestern, 41-24. Midway through the fourth quarter, Indiana only led Northwestern by three points – 27-24. The Hoosiers scored two unanswered touchdowns in the final six minutes of the game. The Hoosiers’ victory made Indiana college football’s first bowl-eligible team in 2024.

 

Iowa State remained undefeated. The Cyclones put down Baylor, 43-21. Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht passed for 277 yards and two touchdowns.

 

Since losing to Georgia at the beginning of the season, Clemson has won four-straight games. Saturday, the Tigers added to Florida State’s woes. Clemson beat FSU, 29-13. The Tigers kicked five field goals.

 

Boise State was this week’s James Madison. The Broncos put 62 points on the board, beating Utah State, 62-30. Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty rushed for 186 yards and three touchdowns. Jeanty is a true Heisman Trophy contender. Actually, Tulane gets the James Madison Trophy. The Green Wave beat UAB, 71-20.

 

In the Big Ten, Washington beat Michigan, 27-17, and Minnesota upset USC, 24-17. Washington and Minnesota both had strong fourth quarters. Washington outscored Michigan 13-0 in the fourth and Minnesota outscored USC 14-0 in the final quarter.

 

After you went to bed Saturday night, Texas Tech knocked off Arizona, 28-22.

 

Nine Power Four teams remain undefeated. They are Miami (Florida) (6-0), Pitt (5-0), BYU (5-0), Iowa State (5-0), Indiana (6-0), Ohio State (5-0), Oregon (5-0), Penn State (5-0) and Texas (5-0).  

 

Three Group of Five teams remain undefeated. They are Army (5-0), Navy (5-0) and Liberty (4-0).

 

This week’s AP Poll has Texas (5-0) at No. 1, followed by 2. Ohio State (5-0), 3. Oregon (5-0), 4. Penn State (5-0), 5. Georgia (4-1) and 6. Miami (6-0).

 

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney has passed Bobby Bowden for the most ACC wins. Ironically, Swinney went ahead of Bowden’s 173 ACC wins with a victory over Florida State. Saturday’s 29-13 win over the Noles gave Swinney 174 ACC wins.

 

The SEC got a little richer after this past weekend. The conference fines member schools $100,000 for rushing the field after a football game. Vanderbilt fans rushed the field after the Commodores upset Alabama, as did Arkansas fans after the Razorbacks upset Tennessee. So the SEC office made $200,000 off of those two games. Not bad.

 

Touchdown Tom

October 7, 2024

https://collegefootballweek.blogspot.com

 

(The next CFW – Week 7 Forecast – is scheduled to be posted Thursday morning, October 10. However, Hurricane Milton is supposed to pass through here late Wednesday night into Thursday morning. I may lose power. So, Week 7 Forecast may be posted sometime Wednesday afternoon/evening on October 9.)

 

 

Weekend Recap

 

GAME OF THE WEEK: Slammed – Texas A&M 41, Missouri 10 (Touchdown Tom said: Missouri 24, Texas A&M 20). Texas A&M hit Missouri so hard, so fast, the Tigers didn’t know what hit them. The Aggies had a 34-0 lead before Missouri got its first score. A&M held Mizzou to 254 total yards – only 68 yards rushing. Aggies quarterback Conner Weighman was 18-for-22, passing for 276 yards. Mizzou suffered its first loss. A&M improved to 5-1. Mike Elko was a terrific first-year coach at Duke. He’s doing it again at Texas A&M. Attendance in College Station: 97,049

 

RUNNER-UP: Slow start – Ohio State 35, Iowa 7 (Touchdown Tom said: Ohio State 28, Iowa 17). Ohio State only led 7-0 at the half. Then the Buckeyes poured it on in the second half. Ohio State led 35-0 before Iowa got its first and only touchdown in the fourth quarter. Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard was 21-for-25, passing for 209 yards and four touchdowns. Iowa’s offense was like the Hawkeyes’ offense of recent years. There was none. Of course, Ohio State’s defense contributed to that. I’m sure if anyone in the Big Ten can beat Ohio State. We’ll find out next weekend. Attendance in Columbus: 105,135

 

REST OF THE BEST: Fourth quarter rally – Miami 39, California 38 (Touchdown Tom said: Miami 30. California 20). California had this game won – 38-18 in the fourth quarter. But the Bears collapsed. Miami got three touchdowns in the last 10 minutes. The Canes winning touchdown came with 0:26 remaining in the game. Miami quarterback Cam Ward passed for 328 yards and two touchdowns. Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza passed for 285 yards and two touchdowns. Attendance in Berkeley: 52,428

 

Wake me when it’s over – Nebraska 14, Rutgers 7 (Touchdown Tom said: Nebraska 21, Rutgers 18). As expected, this was a defensive battle. All of Nebraska’s scoring – two touchdowns – came in the first half. All of Rutgers scoring – one touchdown – came in the fourth quarter. Both teams had less than 270 total yards each. Rutgers had 78 rushing yards. Nebraska had 103 rushing yards. There weren’t many more passing yards by either team. Huskers quarterback Dylan Raiola completed less than 50 percent of his passes. Rutgers had two turnovers. Nebraska is 5-1. Attendance in Lincoln: 87,464

 

Greased Pigs – Arkansas 19, Tennessee 14 (Touchdown Tom said: Tennessee 30, Arkansas 16). Thirty of the 33 points scored in this game were scored in the second half. Arkansas led 3-0 at halftime. Tennessee scored all 14 of its points in the third quarter. Arkansas dominated time of possession 35:28 to 24:31. Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green won the passing game – 266 yards. Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson won the rushing game – 140 yards. With less than two minutes to go in the game, Tennessee led 14-13. Arkansas scored its winning touchdown with 1:17 remaining. Attendance in Fayetteville: 75,573

 

UNLV folds – Syracuse 44, UNLV 41 (OT) (Touchdown Tom said: UNLV 27, Syracuse 20). Syracuse took an early lead. The Orange led 14-0 at the end of the first quarter. UNLV got into the game in the second quarter. The Rebels led 21-14. Syracuse retook the lead in the third quarter. UNLV went up 38-31 with 2:58 remaining in the game. Syracuse scored with 0:23 left on the clock to even the score at 38-38. Syracuse won in overtime. The Orange controlled time of possession 39:38 to 20:22. Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord passed for 355 yards and three touchdowns. Syracuse is 4-1. Attendance in Las Vegas: 31,329

 

Desert Raiders – Texas Tech 28, Arizona 22 (Touchdown Tom said: Arizona 34, Texas Tech 24). Arizona never led in the game until the 10:17 mark in the fourth quarter. The Wildcats went up 19-18, About eight minutes later, Texas Tech retook the lead and held it until the end of the game. Arizona dominated the stats – rushing yards, passing yards, total yards, first downs and time of possession. Tech dominated the score. Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita passed for 301 yards, but he threw two interceptions. Texas Tech improves to 5-1. Attendance in Tucson: 45,773

 

B-O-R-I-N-G – Ole Miss 27, South Carolina 3 (Touchdown Tom said: South Carolina 18, Ole Miss 16). It doesn’t get much sadder than South Carolina’s offense. There is none. The game was marred with 16 penalties – eight on each team. Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart passed for 285 yards. Ole Miss led 24-3 at the half. The second half was pretty boring. Ole Miss is 5-1. Attendance in Columbia: 79,837

 

Pony time – SMU 34, Louisville 27 (Touchdown Tom said: Louisville 30, SMU 24). SMU never trailed in the game. The score was tied at 7-7in the first quarter and 27-27 in the third quarter. SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings was 21-for-27, passing for 281 yards. Louisville dominated time of possession. SMU improves to 5-1. Attendance in Louisville: 50,254

 

Better late than never – Virginia 24, Boston College 14 (Touchdown Tom said: Boston College 24, Virginia 17). Virginia trailed 14-6 at halftime and at the end of three quarters. The Cavs outscored Boston College 18-0 in the fourth quarter. The Virginia defense held BC to 65 yards rushing. Virginia improves to 4-1. Attendance in Charlottesville: 38,285

 

 

YE OLDE STOMPING GROUNDS:

 

Cowboys lost their horses – West Virginia 38, Oklahoma State 14 (Touchdown Tom said: Oklahoma State 31, West Virginia 24). Wow! What got into West Virginia? And what’s gone wrong with Oklahoma State? The Cowboys have lost three straight. The game was over at halftime. WVU led at the break, 31-7. Each team added a touchdown in the fourth quarter. WVU had 558 total yards to 227 for Okie State. The Mountaineers had 31 first downs. Okie State had 11. WVU defense held Okie State to 36 rushing yards. The Mounties dominated ball control 42:40 to 17:20. WVU running back Jahiem White rushed for 158 yards. Attendance in Stillwater: 52,202

 

Gus got chomped – Florida 24, UCF 13 (Touchdown Tom said: Florida 24, UCF 20). Florida jumped out to a 24-3 halftime lead. Then the Gators went home at the break. The second half was pretty boring. This was the best I’ve seen the Florida defense play all season. UCF quarterback K.J. Jefferson is pretty bad. And Knights running back R.J. Harvey was ineffective. The Gus Bus is falling apart. Attendance in Gainesville: 90,369

 

Stung – Georgia Tech 24, Duke 14 (Touchdown Tom said: Duke 27, Georgia Tech 24). Duke’s only lead came at the 2:53 mark in the third quarter. The Dookies were up 14-10. Seven minutes later, Georgia Tech retook the lead, 17-14. The Jackets never relinquished it. Georgia Tech’s defense shut down Duke’s offense. Tech controlled time of possession 39:27 to 20:33. Tech had 25 first downs to 15 for Duke. The Jackets held Duke to 74 yards rushing. Tech running back Jamal Haynes rushed for 128 yards. Tech improves to 4-2. Attendance in Atlanta: 37,287

 

Aubie can’t beat the Dawgs – Georgia 31, Auburn 13 (Touchdown Tom said: Georgia 28, Auburn 13). With less than four minutes to go in the third quarter, Georgia only led by four points – 14-10. Then the Dawgs erupted for 17 points. The Dawgs won big, but the Georgia offense looked lethargic. Must have been the letdown after the loss to Alabama. Connor Beck was 23-for-29, passing for 240 yards and two touchdowns. Georgia has won eight straight over Auburn and 17 of the last 20 games. Auburn falls to 2-4. Attendance in Athens: 93,033

 

The Boilers are sad – Wisconsin 52, Purdue 6 (Touchdown Tom said: Wisconsin 28, Purdue 17). Wisconsin racked up 589 total yards to only 217 for Purdue. The Badgers had 28 first downs to 10 for the Boilers. Wisconsin quarterback Braedyn Locke passed for 359 yards and three touchdowns. The Boilers are sad on offense and defense. Attendance in Madison: 76,091

 

Week 6 Results:  6 winners, 9 fumbles (40 percent)

For the Season:  59 winners, 29 fumbles (67 percent)

 

 

ELSEWHERE AROUND FLORIDA:

 

St. Thomas (MN) 34, Stetson 24 – Attendance in St. Paul: 3,495

Florida A&M 28, Alabama State 13 – Attendance in Montgomery: 33,576

 

West Florida 31, Mississippi College 0 – Attendance in Pensacola: N/A

Clemson 29, Florida State 13 – Attendance in Tallahassee: 55,107

 

 

Superlatives

 

Impressive Passers:

 

Pitt’s Eli Holstein – 25-42-1 for 381 yards (3TDs); Indiana’s Kurtis Rourke – 25-33-0-380 (3TDs); Utah State’s Spencer Petras – 27-41-0-372 (3TDs), and Coastal Carolina’s Ethan Vasko – 19-26-0-367 (3TDs).

 

Also, Wisconsin’s Braedyn Locke – 20-31-2 for 359 yards (3TDs); Syracuse’s Kyle McCord – 40-63-1-355 (3TDs); Arkansas State’s Jaylen Raynor – 30-39-0-345 (1TD), and Louisville’s Tyler Shough – 22-33-1-329 (2TDs).

 

Impressive Rushers:

 

Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty – 186 yards (3TDs); Jacksonville State’s Tyler Huff – 176 yards (4TDs); Oregon’s Jordan James – 166 yards (1TD); Charlotte’s Hahsaun Wilson – 164 yards (3TDs); West Virginia’s Jahiem White – 158 yards (1TD) and Clemson’s Phil Mafah – 154 yards.

 

 

Quotes of the Week

 

“Games like these are life changing,” Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, after the win over Alabama.

 

“Kalen DeBoer will never live this down,” USA Today sports writer Blake Toppmeyer, on DeBoer’s loss to Vanderbilt.

 

“Nick Saban managed to navigate past a comparable humiliation. He lost to Louisiana-Monroe in his first Alabama season. Saban went on to win six national championships at Alabama,” USA Today sports writer Blake Toppmeyer, on Kalen DeBoer’s loss to Vanderbilt. 

 

Touchdown Tom

https://collegefootballweek.blogspot.com

 

 

P.S.

 

Not exactly college football related, but in the autumn of October, as the college football season approached its halfway point, the number one song in the country…

 

…80 years ago, this week in 1944, was “You Always Hurt The One You Love” by The Mills Brothers

 

…75 years ago, this week in 1949, was “That Lucky Ole Sun” by Frankie Laine

 

…70 years ago, this week in 1954, was “Hey There” by Rosemary Clooney with Buddy Cole and His Orchestra

 

…65 years ago, this week in 1959, was “Mack The Knife” by Bobby Darin

 

…60 years ago, this week in 1964, was “Oh, Pretty Woman” by Roy Orbison

 

…55 years ago, this week in 1969, was “Sugar, Sugar” by The Archies

 

…50 years ago, this week in 1974, was “I Honestly Love You” by Olivia Newton-John

 

…45 years ago, this week in 1979, was “Sad Eyes” by Robert John

 

…40 years ago, this week in 1984, was “Let’s Go Crazy” by Prince and The Revolution

 

…35 years ago, this week in 1989, was “Miss You Much” by Janet Jackson