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Texas Survives Tennessee Scare as College Football's Wild Weekend Reshapes Playoff Race
ReTexas Survives Tennessee Scare as College Football's Wild Weekend Reshapes Playoff Race
Texas escaped Knoxville with a narrow win over Tennessee, Oregon rolled past USC behind backup Dylan Raiola, and several coaches are already feeling the heat after a chaotic Week 4 in college football.
Texas left Knoxville with a win and a warning for the rest of college football, surviving a late Tennessee drive to hold off the Volunteers after leading by ten points in the fourth quarter. The Longhorns' defense delivered more than ten sacks on Tennessee quarterback Faizon Brandon, a performance that felt like a revival of the disruptive units Will Muschamp has coordinated throughout his career. Arch Manning did not throw a touchdown pass, but Texas still found a way to win on the road in the SEC, a result that keeps the Longhorns in the thick of the early playoff conversation.
The weekend's chaos extended well beyond Tennessee. Oregon lost quarterback Dante Moore to a head injury in the first half against USC after a hit the Ducks viewed as dirty, but backup Dylan Raiola stepped in and threw for over 280 yards, leading Oregon to a 41-27 win in Los Angeles. The victory put Oregon's season back on track two weeks after a loss to Oklahoma State, while USC fans were left wondering when Lincoln Riley will start winning meaningful games. Raiola's performance may have opened the door to a redemption arc of his own, at least until Moore returns.
Oklahoma's problems are mounting after a 41-13 loss to Georgia in Athens. Just four games into the season, the Sooners are already facing questions about the contract extension given to head coach Brent Venables, and the drubbing by the Bulldogs did nothing to quiet those concerns. Meanwhile, Florida dismantled Ole Miss 52-28 in Gainesville, handing the Rebels a reality check after their win over LSU. The Gators under Jon Sumrall look nothing like the team that struggled during the Billy Napier era, and Ole Miss coach Pete Golding now has to regroup his squad after a rollercoaster two-week stretch.
South Carolina's 49-18 loss to Alabama left the Gamecocks looking like a rudderless ship under Shane Beamer. The defeat was South Carolina's seventh straight in SEC play, and the high expectations surrounding quarterback LaNorris Sellers have yet to materialize. Beamer spent significant money to keep stars like Dylan Stewart from entering the transfer portal, but the on-field results have not followed. In Columbia, the pressure on Beamer is only going to intensify.
Mississippi State may have found its catalyst in Kamario Taylor. The 24th-ranked Bulldogs beat No. 19 Missouri, winning their first ranked game in over a decade, as Taylor passed for more than 350 yards. Mississippi State now looks like a legitimate threat, and Alabama should be on notice with the Bulldogs waiting next week in Starkville.
Michigan's luck finally ran out against Iowa, which scored a touchdown with one second left to stun the Wolverines. The ending felt like karma for Michigan fans who watched their team escape Western Michigan in a Week 1 controversy. Three weeks later, Kirk Ferentz delivered the payback, and college football fans outside the state of Michigan enjoyed the moment. This does not look like a team that should be paying quarterback Bryce Underwood over $3 million per season. Instead, Michigan appears headed for a December bowl game rather than a Big Ten championship, and the win over Oklahoma looks worse by the week.
Lane Kiffin did not go quietly after losing to his former team in Oxford. LSU took out its frustration on Texas A&M in a 38-6 rout, with Sam Leavitt carving up the Aggies' secondary while Kiffin celebrated a fourth-down trick play that went for a touchdown. The Tigers made Mike Elko's squad look like a mediocre SEC team, and it is fair to count Texas A&M out of the College Football Playoff race. LSU, meanwhile, appears to have the Lane Train back on the tracks in Baton Rouge.
Elsewhere, Louisville's surprising season hit a wall with a 30-27 home loss to Wake Forest, extinguishing the Cardinals' early claim as the ACC's surprise team. Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell led the Badgers into Happy Valley and left with a 24-20 win over Penn State, shocking the crowd in State College. Fickell has not simply forgotten how to coach, and Saturday's result served as a reminder that his Wisconsin team can still deliver in big moments.
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