Big uglies still on top
Some wins aren’t the prettiest, but they’ll have to do
1 It was survive and advance for top teams: It may not have been pretty, but for many of the top-ranked teams in the country, a win is a win. Clemson, Oklahoma, Penn State and USC all needed late heroics to avoid upsets.
2 Bret Bielema, Hogs wallow in mediocrity: Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long has done his best to squelch talk of Bielema being under fire, but Razorbacks fans and boosters watched the program fall to 10-23 in the SEC with a disappointing 50-43 overtime loss to Texas A&M.
3 Tennessee continues to underwhelm under Butch Jones: The Vols were coming off a disheartening last-second loss to Florida, but that doesn’t excuse looking disinterested throughout their matchup with UMass, needing a late stop to hang on for a 17-13 win.
4 Some Florida State fans need to step away from Twitter: Some disgruntled Seminoles fans took to social media to voice their displeasure with the team’s 0-2 start after a 27-21 loss to N.C. State, calling for firings. Unreal when you consider the effect of losing quarterback Deondre Francois and the long layoff caused by Hurricane Irma.
5 Florida has Kentucky’s number: And that number is 31 … and counting. Kentucky fans suffered another painful loss when the Wildcats failed to account for a wide-open Freddie Swain, who scored easily in the final minute to give the Gators an improbable 28-27 victory in Lexington. It extended the nation’s longest active winning streak over a single opponent to 31 games.
6 Georgia’s defense gives the Bulldogs bite: Mississippi State came into Saturday’s game averaging 41 points and 400 yards of offense, but Georgia’s defense held the Bulldogs to three points and 280 yards.
7 Saquon Barkley boosts Heisman case in Penn State’s walk-off win: The Nittany Lions tailback used a combination of downfield speed and bruising runs on his way to a career-high 211 rushing yards, helping Penn State cap a 21-19 come-frombehind victory over a tenacious Iowa team.
8 TCU is a legitimate contender in the Big 12: The Horned Frogs were just 6-7 last season, but Gary Patterson’s team has bounced back in a big way thanks to a solid defense that forced three Mason Rudolph inter- ceptions during a 44-31 upset of Oklahoma State. TCU improved to 6-5 under Patterson against teams ranked in the top six, including 2-2 since joining the Big
9 John O’Korn could be the answer to Michigan’s offensive struggles: The transfer from Houston came off the bench to replace injured quarterback Wilton Speight and helped spark the offense, helping Michigan score two touchdowns in the red zone during a hardfought 28-10win over Purdue.
10 ACC’s strong start continues: The ACC finished Saturday with five undefeated teams — the most among the Power Five conferences. The list includes Clemson, Wake Forest, Duke, Virginia Tech and Miami. The Pac-12 started the day with seven undefeated teams, but Cal, Oregon and Colorado all lost.