This weekend was one of those quiet weekends of College Football. We only had two ranked teams lose to unranked teams this week, and both teams were ranked in the bottom half of the AP poll. Overall, not the craziest of weekends of College Football, but there are still plenty of games to discuss.
The Houdini Act Award for surviving games award: Virginia 17, North Carolina 16
Virginia improved to 7-1 on the season after surviving at North Carolina. This comes on the heels of them barely beating Washington state 22-20 the week before and Louisville the week before that with a 30-27 win. They are living a high-wire act and still are in the hunt for the ACC Championship and a playoff spot, but you expect that eventually this could come back to bite them.
NO. 16 VIRGINIA HOLDS ON TO BEAT NORTH CAROLINA IN AN OVERTIME THRILLER‼️ @UVAFootball pic.twitter.com/AKpzpAgycI
— ACC Network (@accnetwork) October 25, 2025
Best road win of the week award: BYU 41-Iowa State 27
BYU battled back and beat Iowa State in an impressive road win for them. They are now 7-0 on the season and have a good chance at making the College Football Playoff and possibly winning the Big 12.
The comeback of the week award: Texas 45-Mississippi State 38
This is 2nd week in a row; Texas has gone overtime to beat an SEC team. 1st Kentucky and now Mississippi State. Facing a huge deficit, quarterback Arch Manning and Texas scored 24 points in the 4th quarter to send it to overtime and get the victory.
Y'all should know... don't punt to @ryan_niblett 💨 pic.twitter.com/BMMGuLFZCI
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) October 25, 2025
Player I pick for the Heisman Trophy Today: Ty Simpson, Quarterback, Alabama
Ty Simpson is playing at a high level for an Alabama team that has now won 7 straight after their opening week loss to Florida State. Simpson has been excellent this season and continues to play at a high level for Alabama. Needing to secure a win on the road at South Carolina, he led Alabama to two scoring drives to close out the game and to win 29-22.
Ty Simpson throwing some shade at South Carolina fans🤣#rolltide #alabamafootball pic.twitter.com/ysto1AnJzu
— Alabama Crimson Tide | AL.com (@aldotcomTide) October 25, 2025
The group of 5 team who is now in the driver's seat for a playoff spot: Memphis
The 12-team playoff allows one team to make the College Football Playoff from the group of 5 conferences. Memphis beat South Florida on Saturday, 34-31, and now has the best chance at winning the American Conference and receiving the automatic bid in the College Football Playoff.
Best win of the week award: 34 Ole Miss-26 Oklahoma
Ole Miss went into Oklahoma and beat them to secure a gigantic SEC road win for Ole Miss and its head coach, Lane Kiffin. Ole Miss looks like it has a good chance to make the College Football Playoff because the rest of its schedule is very manageable.
Another week, another big win award: Vanderbilt 17-Missouri 10
Vanderbilt beat LSU last week and then beat Missouri this week. They are 7-1 on the season and look like a legit College Football Playoff team. They matched their win total of 7 wins last year, and they look like they will be a tough team to beat the rest of the season.
This team is a legitimate national title contender: Texas A&M
All Texas A&M has done this year has become one of the most dominant teams in the country. This week, they went into LSU and destroyed them in Death Valley, considered one of the hardest places to play in the country. Texas A&M is now 8-0 on the season and has a manageable schedule for the rest of the season.
The next hot seat coach award goes to: Brian Kelly, Head Coach, LSU
Brian Kelly has had a disappointing season for LSU, and they picked up their 3rd loss of the season. This was supposed to be Kelly’s season to turn around the program and make a National Title run, but all he has done is struggle against Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, and now got smacked at home against Texas A&M.