Clemson falls during frenetic week
For about 45 minutes late Saturday afternoon, college football was on overload.
North Carolina State went from agony to ecstasy against then-no. 9 Clemson. Baylor stopped a 2-point conversion
NOTEBOOK
to upset Iowa State. Arkansas beat Texas A&M to claim a Lone Star state title.
Michigan held off Rutgers. UTSA remained unbeaten with a last-second field goal against Memphis. An LSU transfer rallied Auburn from behind against Georgia State, and Uconn ALMOST won.
It was a time for multiple screens and social-media reactions, and a reminder that any random Saturday in the season can feel like the first couple of days of the NCAA basketball tournament.
There was just so much going on.
The most significant development was in Raleigh, North
Carolina, where N.C. State missed a potential game-winning field goal in the closing seconds but still managed to beat Clemson in double overtime.
The six-time defending ACC champion Tigers have lost two games in September for the first time since 2014, the last time they failed to win the league and go to the College Football Playoff.
Clemson’s offense is a mess. The Tigers have scored five offensive touchdowns against FBS opponents and needed overtime against the Wolfpack to get No. 5.
Clemson fans are turning on offensive coordinator Tony Elliott.
“You know what? That comes with the territory because the expectation and the standard at Clemson and who we are, we’re not meeting it. It’s just that simple,” coach Dabo Swinney said.
Calling all Hogs
When Arkansas hired Sam Pittman, the former offensive line coach who had never led a program, it seemed as if the Razorbacks had settled.
Even Arkansas native Eli Drinkwitz passed on the Razorbacks’ coaching job to go to Missouri. That opened the door for Pittman.
The eighth-ranked Razorbacks are 4-0 for the first time since 2003 and have beaten Texas and Texas A&M in the same season for the first time since 1989.
Around the country
■ Oklahoma fans were chanting for backup quarterback Caleb Williams as Spencer Rattler and the offense slogged to victory against West Virginia. The No. 6 Sooners are unbeaten, and considering the way ranked teams have been dropping, that’s got to count for something
■ Even in a blowout for No. 11 Ohio State against Akron, some drama for the Buckeyes when linebacker K’vaughan Pope stormed off the field after not playing.
■ Bowling Green pulled off the biggest upset, stunning Minnesota as a 30-point underdog. It was baffling loss for the Gophers against a program that has been one of the worst in major college football over the last five seasons.