Oklahoma, Cincinnati win ugly, stay perfect
Both survive after struggles against 1-6 teams
A College Football Playoff race is developing between an outgoing Big 12 school and an incoming Big 12 school.
No. 2 Cincinnati, heading to the Big 12 at some point, and No. 4 Oklahoma, leaving the Big 12 at some point, remained undefeated Saturday, though neither was at its best.
The Sooners trailed
Kansas — yes, that Kansas (1-6) — by 10 at the half before Caleb Williams led a second-half surge that put away the 38-point underdog Jayhawks.
“I’m excited for the win, but we played poor football in the first half,” Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley said.
The Bearcats trailed Navy (1-6) deep into the first half before taking a three-point lead at the break. Cincinnati looked as if it had pulled safely away in the third quarter but needed a late interception to seal a seven-point victory.
“We’ve got to find ways, especially on the road, when you’re up, whatever it is, 13 points or something, to kind of close things out,” Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell said. “That’s probably the only thing that I’m somewhat disappointed we couldn’t and didn’t do today.”
Winning ugly is still winning, and in a season in which nine top-10 teams have lost to unranked teams, including two on Saturday, maybe don’t get too caught up in style points.
For Cincinnati (7-0), one sluggish clunker is no reason to panic. Almost as important to the Bearcats on Saturday: Notre Dame handled Southern California fairly easily to keep their signature victory against the No. 11 Irish looking good.
For Oklahoma (8-0), the struggles with Kansas looked familiar. The Sooners have won five one-score games, and Saturday would have been six if they didn’t punch one in from short range in the final minute.
The emergence of freshman quarterback Williams has brought the explosiveness back to the Sooners’ offense. The defense that was expected to be one of the best in the Big 12 is simply not.
So who is better? The Sooners or Bearcats, one of the three American Athletic Conference teams the Big 12 has announced will join the league to help replace Secbound Oklahoma and Texas?
Throw away the Power Five benefit of the doubt for the Sooners, and it could be a tough call.
Both teams will have winnable homes games this week (OU vs. Texas Tech; UC vs. Tulane) before the College Football Playoff selection committee gets to weigh in, but a Cincinnati-oklahoma debate could be one of the juicer possibilities for the stretch run.
The longest yards
The new overtime rules put in place this season by the NCAA were intended to decrease the chances of marathon games that go beyond three possessions for each offense.
Illinois and Penn State blew up that plan with an epic performance of ineffective offense that produced the first nine-ot game in NCAA history.
The Illini and Nittany
Lions went through the first two OT periods matching field goals and tied at 16.
The third round now goes to a 2-point shootout under the new rules. One play for each team from the 3 yards out.
Never has 9 feet felt so far away.
The Big Ten teams put up five straight double zeroes before trading scores in the eighth possession. The Illini finally won it in the bottom of the ninth with a score after stopping Penn State.
The Nittany Lions (5-2) have lost two straight heading into a road game at No. 5 Ohio State this week that is difficult to see being much of a fight with the way Penn State is playing offense. The Nittany Lions fell from No. 7 to No. 20 in Sunday’s updated Associated Press Top 25 poll.
Around the country
Being an Oregon fan must be incredibly stressful. For the second straight week, the Ducks’ defense needed a late defensive stop to hold on for a victory. Nice to have Kayvon Thibodeaux in those situations. The defensive end and possible first NFL draft pick wrecked UCLA with nine tackles, including 4½ for loss and two sacks. The Ducks rose from No. 10 to No. 7 in the poll.
No. 3 Alabama has won 15 straight games against Tennessee. Is this rivalry worth saving the Southeastern Conference’s divisional setup?
Army has been playing football since 1890 and never has played in a higher-scoring game than it did Saturday. No. 13 Wake Forest beat the Cadets 70-56 to stay unbeaten. The Demon Deacons put up 638 yards on 52 plays and had the ball for only 17:17.
Michigan and former Michigan coach Brady Hoke are 7-0. Hoke’s No. 21 San Diego State team beat Air Force with another swarming defensive performance and heads to Fresno State this week for a Mountain West showdown.