What We Learned in NCAA Football Week 6: Horned Frogs Win a Big 12 Thriller Against Upstart Kansas
Each of the Top 10 Ranked teams in Action Pick Up Wins
Things got back to normal for most of the national title contenders with three ranked teams falling to unranked squads.
Each of the Top-10 ranked teams in action posted victories although No. 1 Alabama’s struggle to put away Texas A&M could impact the voting in the two national polls.
There are still 15 undefeated teams with 13 of them from the Power-5 conferences and that should make for some intriguing matchups later this season.
Arizona State, Notre Dame, and South Carolina were the three unranked teams to take down ranked opponents over the weekend.
According to the college football playoff odds, Georgia and Ohio State lead the way at +200 in the odds to win the national championship while Alabama’s odds moved from +200 to +250. Clemson (+1400), Southern California (+1800), and Michigan (+2000) are the other top contenders.
Here’s a look at some of the noteworthy events that took place in Week 6.
Horned Frogs, Jayhawks Put on a Show
Few people were expecting a Week 6 showdown between Texas Christian and Kansas to be one of the games of the year in the Big 12.
However, two of the last three undefeated teams in the conference put on a show that lived up to all the hype.
In a game with nearly 1,000 yards of total offense, Quentin Johnson’s 24-yard touchdown catch with 1:36 left to play lifted visiting TCU to a 38-31 victory.
What a throw. What a catch. 🔥
TCU retakes the lead!
— PFF College (@PFF_College) October 8, 2022
Johnson finished with 14 catches and 206 yards as TCU improved to 5-0.
It could be a costly loss for Kansas as quarterback Jalon Daniels was injured during the game.
As for TCU, the Horned Frogs will be meeting an undefeated team for the second week in a row when Oklahoma State comes to town. The Cowboys improved to 5-0 with Saturday’s 41-31 win over Texas Tech
Bruins Take Down Defending Champions
All the attention was centered on the Southern California Trojans thanks to the hiring of Lincoln Riley away from Oklahoma and securing the top class of transfers in the country.
It might be time to give UCLA its due. Opening up the season against Bowling Green, Alabama State, South Alabama, and Colorado impressed just about nobody. However, after back-to-back wins over ranked opponents, it might be time to start taking this UCLA team seriously.
Just over a week after outscoring Washington, the Bruins topped defending Pac-12 champion Utah 42-32.
Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson threw for four touchdowns and ran for another while Zach Charbonnet ran for 198 yards as UCLA remained undefeated despite committing 11 penalties and 11th-ranked Utah having the ball for nearly eight more minutes.
Scary Moment For Wolverines
Fourth-ranked Michigan had an unexpected scare early in Saturday’s game against Indiana.
In the first quarter of a tie game, Michigan’s all-time leading rusher and run game coordinator Mike Hart collapsed on the sideline and had to be taken to a nearby hospital.
Michigan outscored Indiana 21-0 in the second half on the way to the 31-10 victory. Freshman quarterback J.J. McCarthy had his first career 300-yard passing game with 304 yards and three touchdown passes while the Wolverines. the defense had seven sacks.
Hart remained in Indiana overnight and was in stable condition.
Harrison Continues to Display The Gift of Grab
The son of legendary receiver Marvin Harrison continues to prove that he knows how to shred an opposing secondary just like his dad.
Harrison Jr. recorded his third game of the season with multiple touchdowns catches as he finished with 131 yards on seven catches. His three TD grabs led No. 3 Ohio State to the 49-20 win over Michigan State.
C.J. Stroud strengthened his hold as the Heisman Trophy favorite as he was 21 of 26 for 361 yards and six touchdown passes.
Coaching Change Doesn’t Slow Down Badgers
The first drive ended with a missed field goal and that might have been one of the few things that went wrong in Jim Leonhard’s debut as Wisconsin’s interim head coach.
The Badgers scored touchdowns on four of the next five drives. Quarterback Graham Mertz threw for five touchdowns while Braelon Allen had 135 rushing yards and had a TD pass in the 42-7 win over Northwestern.
Kamo’i Latu had two interceptions for the Badgers as Wisconsin picked up its first Big Ten win of the season.
Another interim coach helped pull off a Pac-12 upset as Shaun Aguano’s Arizona State team overcame an injury to starting quarterback Emory Jones to stun Washington 45-38. Trenton Bourguet came off the bench to throw for three touchdowns.
Longhorns Make Quite the Statement
Texas and Oklahoma were expected to compete for the Big 12 title per the college football picks. However, the Week 6 showdown between the Longhorns and Sooners was a matchup of teams looking to salvage their season.
Only one of them delivered as Texas rolled to the 49-0 victory.
Quinn Ewers returned after missing three games by throwing for four touchdowns while Bijan Robinson rushed for 130 yards and two scores.
Oklahoma was playing without injured quarterback Dillon Gabriel. Five different players attempted passes as Oklahoma finished with just 39 passing yards, the fewest in a game for the Sooners since a 2014 win over Kansas.
Abanikanda Hits Ground Running
There were questions about the availability of Pittsburgh junior running back Israel Abanikanda heading into Saturday’s showdown with Virginia Tech as a result of an upper-body injury.
Abanikanda looked pretty healthy when the game began when he set a program record with 320 rushing yards on 36 carries. He scored six times in the 45-29 victory. He is the national leader with 12 touchdown runs.
Abanikanda rebounded after being limited to 31 yards on 10 carries in a loss to Georgia Tech.
Tennessee Receiver the Real McCoy
It was a pretty quiet start to the season for Tennessee receiver Bru McCoy with 109 receiving yards in the first three games. However, the highly touted transfer out of USC is certainly making up for a lost time.
McCoy has posted back-to-back games with more than 100 yards. He posted season highs with seven catches and 140 receiving yards as Tennessee rolled past Louisiana State in a matchup of ranked teams.
Quarterback Hendon Hooker threw for 239 yards and a pair of touchdowns and he now leads the SEC with +1200 odds to win the Heisman Trophy.
Tennessee scored on its first four possessions en route to the easier-than-expected 40-13 win at LSU.
Crimson Tide Survive Without Young
Playing without one of the Heisman Trophy front-runners according to the college football betting lines, No. 1 Alabama was lucky to escape with a four-point win over rival Texas A&M.
Texas native Jalen Milroe threw three touchdown passes in the absence of reigning Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young as Alabama held on for the 24-20 win over the Aggies.
Alabama scored on its first possession of the second half and overcame a lost fumble and two missed field goals to improve to 6-0.
No. 2 Georgia won by 32 points, No. 9 Ole Miss posted a 24-point victory and 23rd-ranked Mississippi State cruised to a 40-17 win over Arkansas as the top teams in the SEC took care of business.
There was one top-25 team in the SEC that suffered an upset as No. 13 Kentucky fell to South Carolina 24-14. Kentucky was 3-0 when listed by the college football picks as a favorite this season before falling as a 4½-point favorite.
Then There Was One
With many teams at the halfway point of the regular season, only one more winless team remains in major college football.
Colorado State picked up its first win of the season with some help from host Nevada.
Michael Boyle’s 43-yard field goal with one second left was no good.
However, a running into the kicker penalty on Nevada moved the ball five yards closer. This time Boyle connected on the 38-yard field goal to lift the Rams to the 17-14 win to snap a 10-game losing streak. The Rams came into the game listed by the sportsbook as a 3½-point underdog.
Colorado is the lone remaining Football Bowl Subdivision yet to win this season.
