Winners and losers of college football's Week 9: Kansas rises up to knock down Oklahoma
Games against SMU, Cincinnati and Central Florida made Oklahoma look beatable. The rivalry win against Texas made the Sooners look like the best team in the Big 12 and a legitimate contender for the College Football Playoff.
More so than any of the other unbeaten Power Five teams at the top of this week's US LBM AFCA Coaches Poll, the Sooners were a question mark. Was this truly an elite team, or simply one that had outplayed expectations?
The reality might land somewhere near the middle: Oklahoma is clearly capable of reaching the conference championship game but is not good enough to run the table in coach Brent Venables' second season.
Kansas handed the Sooners a 38-33 loss behind 280 yards of total offense from backup quarterback Jason Bean, a combined 225 rushing yards and four touchdowns as a team and some solid defense from the secondary, which corralled Dillon Gabriel and the Sooners' passing game to score the upset. It was the first victory for the Jayhawks against Oklahoma since 1997, ending a string of 18 consecutive losses, and their fans responded by hauling off the goal posts after storming the field.
The loss erases Oklahoma's wiggle room when it comes to the playoff and demands a clean sweep through the rest of the regular season and conference title game to secure a top-four finish.
After flirting with danger in a series of competitive wins, Oklahoma ran into trouble against an offense that ranks among the best in the Bowl Subdivision even without Jalon Daniels, who has missed extensive time this season with a back injury.
Bean has been very good in Daniels' place, going for over 400 yards through the air in last week's loss to Oklahoma State and offsetting a pair of interceptions against the Sooners to lead four touchdown drives, the last capped by a nine-yard run by Devin Neal to give KU the lead with 55 seconds left.
Oklahoma is now one of four teams sitting at 4-1 in league play, along with the Texas, Kansas State and Iowa State. At 3-2, Kansas is one of nine teams in the Big 12 with two fewer conference losses. The tiebreaker against Texas and a manageable November schedule makes OU a favorite to finish in the top two of the final Big 12 standings.
The Jayhawks and Sooners lead this weekend's winner and losers:
Winners
Oregon
Teams don’t do to Utah what Oregon did to the Utes. The Ducks averaged 5.3 yards per carry, gained 390 yards of offense and scored a 35-6 win that sends a major message — one that says Oregon is an elite team that should not be counted out as one of the top championship contenders despite this month’s loss to Washington. Bo Nix continued to build his Heisman Trophy argument by completing 24 of 31 throws for 248 yards and two touchdowns as the Oregon defense forced two turnovers and held the Utes to 2.8 yards per carry, with almost all of that damage coming with the game out of reach. The 29-point margin of defeat is Utah’s worst since losing 38-10 to Texas in the 2019 Alamo Bowl.
Georgia
Georgia’s first game without star tight end Brock Bowers went well. Facing off against Florida, which had been streaking behind some strong play by quarterback Graham Mertz, the Bulldogs got 315 yards on 11.2 yards per attempt from quarterback Carson Beck and dominated the neutral-site rivalry game from the start, taking a 26-7 halftime lead and sailing to a 43-20 win. Even without Bowers, the passing game connected on three gains of at least 40 yards and loosened things up for Daijun Edwards and Kendall Milton, who finished with a combined 151 yards and three scores on 28 carries. Georgia might not be able to three-peat without Bowers, but this team can clearly keep winning and take home the SEC while he’s sidelined with an ankle injury.
Air Force
Air Force remained unbeaten with a 30-13 win in the snow against Colorado State, setting up one of the most important final months in program history as the Falcons look to secure the Mountain West crown and the automatic Group of Five bid to the New Year’s Six. The Rams have been much better than its 3-5 record and has clearly made big strides in Jay Norvell’s second season, as shown in competitive performances against Colorado, UNLV and, for most of the three quarters, the Falcons. In the end, Air Force had the defense and run-first offense to fend off Colorado State and keep on track for the program’s best year in decades. Air Force ran for 259 yards, didn’t commit a turnover and went a combined 9 of 16 on third and fourth down.
Northwestern
The Wildcats are making a remarkable push toward bowl eligibility after a disruptive offseason that featured the dismissal of longtime coach Pat Fitzgerald. His interim replacement, first-year defensive coordinator David Braun, has Northwestern at 4-4 following an upset of Maryland, which has dropped three in a row after a 5-0 start. The 33-27 victory also has Northwestern in the mix for the Big Ten West heading into crucial games against divisional front-runners Wisconsin and Iowa. Even if they go winless in November, the Wildcats have well surpassed the minimal, one-win expectations placed on this team heading into the regular season.
Southern California
About three weeks ago, there’s no way we would’ve applauded Southern California for a 50-49 win against California. Not that the applause is deafening as is: USC remains inept on defense and very well could’ve lost if not for the Golden Bears’ botched punt return when up 43-36 and, of course, the play of quarterback Caleb Williams. But the math has changed for the Trojans following losses to Notre Dame and Utah, so salvaging any sort of win against Cal is extremely meaningful given the fact that Washington, Oregon and UCLA are still to come in November. In other words, a loss Saturday could’ve set up a seven- or even six-win finish, which would’ve been a complete disaster, not to mention an embarrassment for Lincoln Riley and the program.
Nebraska
After topping Purdue 31-14, a three-game winning streak for the first time since 2016. In a four-way tie atop the Big Ten West with Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Owners of the nation's most improved defenses and one of the top defensive units, period. This Matt Rhule thing is going to work out for the Cornhuskers. With one more victory, they'll be in a bowl game after a seven-year absence, dating to that 2016 season.
Losers
Colorado
The losing stretch continues, and that 3-0 start seems deeper and deeper in the past as Colorado tries and struggles to scratch out six wins in Deion Sanders' debut. As expected, the Buffaloes couldn't get going against the UCLA defense in a 28-16 loss, the team's second loss in a row and fourth in five games. Once a Heisman leader, quarterback Shedeur Sanders cracked 200 yards and had a meaningless touchdown in garbage time but was sacked seven times and again under constant duress behind one of the nation's most sieve-like offensive lines. He was outplayed by the Bruins' Ethan Garbers, who finished 20 of 27 for 269 yards and two touchdowns. The Buffaloes are now sitting at 4-4 with a November slate of Oregon State, Arizona, Washington State and Utah, making it very unlikely that Sanders gets to bowl eligibility.
Clemson
Clemson has dropped off the map in just a fraction of the time it took for Dabo Swinney to turn the program into one of the best in the FBS. After losing 24-17 to North Carolina State, the Tigers are a middling 4-4 overall, owners of four losses before November for the first time since 2010, and losers of six of nine against Power Five competition. This isn’t a fluke or an aberration; this is an average team, befitting the .500 record, and one that no longer deserves the benefit of the doubt. The question is: What will Swinney do, if anything, to try and reverse the way Clemson has suddenly turned pedestrian?
Washington
Washington keeps winning but has slumped in the two games since beating Oregon, raising a questions about the Huskies’ place among the best teams in the FBS. After topping Arizona State 15-7 last weekend, Washington again struggled to nail down a 42-33 win against Stanford, another one of the bottom teams in the Pac-12. What does this say about the Huskies? One individual factor to consider is the play of quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who rebounded from a two-interception game against Arizona State with 369 yards and four scores against the Cardinal, though he did have a late turnover that could've proved very costly. While a better performance, these two weeks have dug into the solid lead Penix had built in the Heisman race. From a team perspective, there’s a chance the Huskies have been unable to get back on track after the emotionally draining win against the Ducks. They need to regain that momentum — and they need to do it fast.
Ohio State
What is Ohio State? One of the best teams in the country? One of the small group of teams that can not only make the playoff but win two games in that setting? Last week’s win against Penn State made the case. But the Buckeyes’ lack of a dominant 60-minute performance is becoming more and more concerning after a 24-10 win against Wisconsin that again saw the offense struggle to find explosive plays and sustained drives against an opponent outside the top third of the Big Ten. And where would the team be without Marvin Harrison Jr.? The All-America pick had 123 yards and two scores receiving and carried the offense to the finish line alongside a long-awaited breakthrough night for running back TreVeyon Henderson, who had 162 yards and the game-icing touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Mississippi State
When it comes to the SEC, Mississippi State is better than Arkansas, Vanderbilt and that’s probably it. That’s the takeaway from a 27-13 loss to Auburn, which came into the weekend winless in league play and much less competitive than expected in coach Hugh Freeze’s first season. The Bulldogs are abysmal on offense. They averaged just 5.2 yards per play against the Tigers and converted just a pair of third downs after managing just one touchdown against Arkansas, though that was enough to pull out the 7-3 win. Since Auburn is already two touchdowns better than Mississippi State in 2023, you begin to wonder how much the gap will grow as the Freeze era continues.
Kentucky
A promising season for Mark Stoops and Kentucky has crumbled amid three losses in a row, the latest a 33-27 decision against Tennessee that could doom the Wildcats to the bottom half of the SEC West. There were issues on offense even during the team’s 5-0 start that have risen to the surface during the losing streak; while Kentucky managed put up 444 yards against the Volunteers, it couldn’t get anything going on the ground and struggled to convert on third down. But of even bigger concern has been the decline on defense, which went from allowing 76 points in the first five games to 122 in the past three. Against Tennessee, Kentucky allowed 253 rushing yards on 5.4 yards per carry and 481 yards of offense overall. While the Wildcats will eventually land another victory and get into a bowl, games to come against Alabama and Louisville could cap this year at seven wins.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College football Week 8 winners, losers: Kansas takes down Oklahoma
