Week 6’s Turning Points: College football’s winners and losers under the spotlight

Last year, the Sam Houston Bearkats played their inaugural season at the FBS level. They went 3-9. However, please don't let the record fool you. Yes, it's not good but Sam Houston couldn't get the breaks. They were highly competitive and weren't doormats. Six of their nine losses were by 10 points or less. This year, they're getting those breaks and so much more.

Last Thursday, the Bearkats played lowly UTEP in an early Conference USA showdown. SHSU won in a 20-point blowout, 41-21. With the win, the team stands with a 5-1 record. Not only have they already surpassed last year's win total, but the squad is on the doorstep of being bowl-eligible for the first time ever. Even though it's been seen a few times in recent years, this feat is still impressive.

In the dominant win, San Houston racked up 519 yards of total offense. Quarterback Hunter Watson and running back DJ McKinney led the way. Watson completed 19 of 24 pass attempts for 224 yards and two touchdowns. McKinney rushed for 138 yards on 14 carries. He saw the endzone twice. The offense moved the chains 41 percent of the time and averaged 6.1 yards per play.

Defensively, Sam Houston forced three total turnovers. They intercepted signal-caller Cade McConnell and wide receiver Trey Goodman. The defense forced two fumbles and recovered one. Despite UTEP rushing for 123 yards, the Miners only averaged 3.7 yards per carry. They also held UTEP to 4-of-15 on third-down efficiency. The Bearkats were also aided by 12 UTEP penalties.

As of now, Sam Houston is 2-0 in Conference USA play, as they also defeated New Mexico State. This team wasn't expected to be in contention for a conference title but yet here they are. With six games left, the Bearkats are in a two-way tie for first place in the league, with conference favorite Liberty. They have a bye week before hosting Western Kentucky on Wednesday, October 16th.

What the hell was that? Seriously, I don't think anybody believed what they saw last Saturday against Texas A&M. Where do we start? Well, the offense was putrid. The Tigers were only 5-for-15 on third-down efficiency. They tried to move the sticks on fourth down, four times, with a 25 percent succession rate. As a whole, the unit was only able to muster 254 yards of total offense. Only 68 of those yards came on the ground.

Defensively, Mizzou gave up 512 yards of total offense to Texas A&M. The secondary got ripped to shreds. Aggie quarterback Connor Weigman threw for nearly 300 yards after injury. TAMU averaged almost 12 yards per pass completion. The run defense also stunk badly. Star tailback Le'Veon Moss had his best game of the season. He rushed for 138 yards and three touchdowns on just 12 touches.

They weren't to get any semblance of a pass rush. They didn't generate any takeaways. At least, they didn't turn the ball over themselves. That's a positive, I guess. Tigers quarterback Brady Cook was sacked five times, which is alarming. The reason is that he hasn't been touched and challenged all season. He also completed just 42 percent of his passes. In Missouri's first taste of SEC action, they belly-flopped. This was by far, their worst showing of the season up to this point.

Questions are arising as to whether Missouri is overrated and if they were thought of too highly. They haven't looked great in SEC play at all. Remember the week before, they needed overtime to escape an upset loss at home to Vanderbilt. Four of the seven remaining games are against quality SEC teams. They include Alabama, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Arkansas. As of now, things are not looking promising for the remainder of the conference season. No doubt, Mizzou has the pick it up.

This was a big decision to make. Either put Alabama as a big loser or Vanderbilt as a huge winner. The latter was the better option to go. This wasn't supposed to happen at all. Nobody in the country had the historically bad Commodores taking down one of the SEC's mightiest powerhouses. Yet, it did happen. The universe we're living in now is real. We live in a world where this team took down Alabama.

This victory will only propel this consistently dormant program to new heights. Coming into this contest, Vanderbilt had never beaten a team that was ranked at the top in their history. They also had a 23-game losing streak against the Crimson Tide. They finally slayed both dragons in the 40-35 win. Clark Lea, who was on many lists for coaches on the hot seat, has gotten his team to exceed their 2023 win total in just five games. This is without a doubt, the biggest win in school history.

In the high-scoring affair, the Vandy offense shined. The unit racked up 418 yards of total offense. Both facets worked well as the ground game accumulated 166 rushing yards. Sophomore tailback Sedrick Alexander led the team in rushing and had two touchdowns. Quarterback Diego Pavia completed 16 of 20 attempts. He threw for 252 yards and two touchdowns.

His connection with fellow New Mexico State transfer Eli Stowers is tighter than a double-knot on a shoelace. It showed as Stowers was targeted seven times and came up with six receptions. He caught for 113 receiving yards, averaging nearly 19 yards per reception. While the defense did allow 310 passing yards, they sacked Jalen Milroe twice.

Linebacker Randon Fontenette picked him off once and returned it for a touchdown. The unit also recovered a fumble. Alabama only had the ball for 17:52 of game time. Vanderbilt perfected the art of controlling the clock. The Commodores had nine possessions. Eight of those possessions were beyond four plays. The offense ended the first quarter on a 17-play drive that lasted nearly 10 minutes, which resulted in a score.

As of now, Vanderbilt sits a 3-2. When looking at their remaining games, it's safe to assume that they are in a prime position to play in the school's first postseason bowl game since 2018. They do have three games against ranked teams. Those opponents are Texas, LSU, and Tennessee. However, they do have several beatable opponents such as Kentucky, Ball State, Auburn, and South Carolina.

It's also important to note, they gave Missouri a scare the week before. This team is not the same old Vanderbilt Commodores. They aren't a doormat and are very competitive. They've proven that they can put up a fight against anyone. This win has surely emphasized that and has given the team even more momentum. It'll be interesting to see where they go from here. For now, Vanderbilt is in the best position they've been in for a long time.

I don't even know what to say here. Like what is there to say? Anybody who stayed awake until the early morning hours last Sunday was treated to one of the craziest moments this season and in recent memory. The California Golden Bears hosted the No. 8 Miami Hurricanes last week. It was supposed to be a coming-out party for the new ACC kids on the block.

Before the game, ESPN's legendary College Gameday came down to Berkeley for the first time. After kickoff, things were looking great for Cal and their fans. With a 3-1 record, Cal was dominating Miami in their first ACC home game. They did lose a stinker to Florida State the week before but those memories were long gone by halftime. The team had a 21-10 and extended it early in the third quarter.

With just over eight minutes left in the third period, Cal led 35-10. The Bears had a 25-point advantage. Usually, the game is over at that point, right? Well, not in this case. After shutting down the Hurricanes' vaunted and electric offense, Cam Ward went on a sizzling barrage. Over the final 18 minutes of regulation, Miami outscored Cal 29-3.

With 26 seconds left, Cam Ward completed a short pass to Elijah Arroyo, who wasn't having a good game, for a touchdown. After Miami converted the extra point, they held onto a slim 39-38 lead and won. Cal only had 12 first downs throughout the game and moved the chains only 20 percent of the time. While their pass game accumulated nearly 300 yards, it was the running game that was stifled.

Cal only rushed for 73 yards. Despite their huge lead, it was these aspects that ended up being the difference. A 4-1 record quickly turned into a 3-2 mark, in the blink of an eye. Now, Cal is still in good shape to play in a postseason bowl game. Their remaining slate is filled up with opponents that have either been struggling or haven't been good.

After next week's road title with No. 22 Pitt, Cal hosts North Carolina State and Oregon State. They then play Wake Forest on the road before playing Syracuse and Stanford in the home finale. However, with this loss, it's understandable to question if this team will collapse. Is their confidence shot? We will find out as the year progresses but as of now, these Golden Bears aren't so golden.

Is Virginia back to being relevant in football? With their win over Boston College over the weekend, it can be logical to assume so. Virginia has been a wreck ever since Bronco Mendenhall left town. Tony Elliot hasn't had any success as head coach, until now. The Cavaliers have evolved from an ACC doormat to a respectable team in the conference.

This story is even more uplifting when you remember the program also dealt with an unfortunate tragedy in the death of three players a few years ago. Virginia, a program that's been mired in mediocrity, now stands at 4-1 overall and 2-0 in conference play. In their 24-14 win over the aforementioned Eagles, the team rallied from a 14-point deficit.

The defense shut out Boston College in the second half. Thomas Castellanos got sacked three times and threw two bad interceptions. He also had an embarrassing fumble that led to Virginia scoring the winning points. Against the run, the Hoos defense held the Eagles to 65 rushing yards. Offensively, UVA had a different type of production. Usually, their running game led the way.

In their victory last Saturday, it was the aerial attack that took over. The ground game did muster 121 rushing yards. However, quarterback Anthony Colandrea had his best performance of the year. He threw for 179 yards and a touchdown. There have been games where he's thrown for more yardage and scores, but he's had some turnover issues.

He threw no interceptions in this contest and he completed 57 percent of his passes. Malachi Fields caught Colandrea's only touchdown score but made three other catches for a total of 63 yards. J.R. Wilson and Andre Greene Jr. also caught four passes each. The Hoos are two wins away from being bowl-eligible, something that barely anybody predicted at the start of the season.

Their remaining schedule is filled with challenging matchups. Next week, they take on Louisville at home. After that, they will face four opponents that are currently in the national rankings. They play at Clemson, at Pittsburgh, and SMU at home in late November. They also have to play Notre Dame in South Bend.

Needless to say, Virginia has lots of work to do to achieve that goal but they are on the right track. It helps that they have struggling North Carolina and Virginia Tech on their slate. A postseason game is certainly within reach.

USC suffered an upset loss to mediocre Minnesota on the road last week. Now, the Trojans sit at 3-2 and have fallen from the No. 11 ranking to being out of the polls entirely. Their two losses have come against teams that they are better than on paper. This game against the Golder Gophers was supposed to be an effortless win before they met with Penn State, now fourth.

Offensively, USC was fine. They did accumulate nearly 400 yards of total offense. Both the passing and running games did contribute. The Trojans did covert 63 percent of their third downs. However, they were undone by untimely mistakes. Miller Moss, despite completing 61 percent of his passes and throwing for 200 yards, tossed two fourth-quarter interceptions. Running back Quinten Joyner also lost a fumble in the second quarter.

Defensively, USC had some good moments. They forced a turnover and held Minnesota to 2-of-8 on third-down conversions. Unfortunately, they allowed the Gophers to average over eight yards per pass completion, Minnesota's ground game also rushed for nearly 200 yards and averaged five yards per carry. Undisciplined play also hindered USC, as they committed eight penalties for 68 yards.

This was an example of this not being a team's night. Through five games, we've seen both sides of the USC conundrum. Their defense looks vastly improved but they have two ugly losses. Even then, the team still had a chance to win the game. All they needed was a goal-line stand from the defense with under a minute left to preserve the win.

However, they couldn't get that stop as Max Brosmer ran in for a touchdown with 56 ticks left. As mentioned, USC faces No. 4 Penn State at home next week. When looking past that, USC is still in a good position to be in contention for the Big Ten title game.

They have a stack of winnable games including matchups with Maryland, Rutgers, and UCLA. They also have a few challenges such as Nebraska, Washington, and Notre Dame in the season finale. However, things are not looking amazing in L.A. right now.

Florida entered the 2024 campaign with the toughest schedule in college football. There have been tons of questions surrounding this once-dominant program. Many of those questions still linger. However, through five games, things aren't too shabby for Florida. After their 24-13 victory over UCF, the Gators stand at 3-2. Don't get anything twisted. The schedule doesn't lighten up at all.

Florida still has to play Tennessee, Georgia, Texas, LSU, and Ole Miss. However, they're in a good spot, probably better than what most people expected. The Gators defense shined in the 11-point win. Florida eliminated UCF's biggest weapon, running back R.J. Harvey. While Harvey notched a touchdown run, he only ran for 75 yards.

The ground game for UCF only averaged 2.7 yards per carry. Quarterback K.J. Jefferson didn't throw a touchdown pass and tossed a pick late in the fourth quarter. Florida held UCF to 4-of-12 on third-down efficiency and stopped the Knights on both of their fourth-down conversion attempts. As a whole, UCF only racked up 273 yards of total offense.

When the Gators had the ball, they flourished. Graham Mertz completed 83 percent of his pass attempts for 179 yards and a touchdown. Florida went 6-for-13 on third-down efficiency. The unit racked up 359 yards of total offense. They also took care of the ball, not committing a single turnover. By halftime, the Gators built a 24-3 lead and they wouldn't come close to relinquishing it.

This was a good win for Florida. They will have to pull off a few upsets to get above six wins. However, if they can get to a bowl game with this schedule, the season should be considered a success. They also have Kentucky and Florida State on the slate. Both are winnable games. Let's see where this momentum takes Florida.

Tennessee messed up big time. Ranked fourth in the country, the Volunteers had their momentum balloon shot by unranked Arkansas. The 19-14 defeat only had Tennessee drop four spots in the nationals rankings to No. 8. However that's only the case because multiple teams at the top suffered upset losses of their own. The offense was fine. The unit was able to get 332 yards of total offense.

They didn't turn the ball over once. However, the big negative was that they struggled to move the chains. Tennessee converted under 50 percent on third-down situations. Arkansas also held the ball for nearly eleven minutes longer than the Vols. Nico Iamaleava threw for just 158 yards and no touchdowns. He also dealt with a consistent pass rush for the first time this season.

Before their loss, Iamaleava was sacked only four times. Arkansas' defense matched that total in last Saturday's game. Defensively, Tennessee gave up 431 yards to the Razorbacks. Their secondary got burnt, as Taylen Green threw for 266 yards and averaged nearly 10 yards per completion. There was no pass rush, as Green only got sacked once.

They didn't generate any takeaways. Arkansas had 23 first downs for the game. Tennessee also committed 10 penalties in the loss. Now, this team is still in a good spot, despite the defeat. They already have an SEC win over Oklahoma under their belt. They only have two opponents left that are currently in the top 25. Those teams are Alabama and Georgia.

Every other team that plays in the conference is mediocre at best. Those opponents are Florida, who they take on next week, Kentucky, Mississippi State, and Vanderbilt in the season finale. They also have one non-conference opponent left when they play UTEP in late November. The Vols can still compete for an SEC Championship Game appearance but they have to not play the way they did against Arkansas.

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