While Missouri dispatched Mid-American Conference foe Buffalo without incident Saturday, MAC power Northern Illinois shocked Notre Dame 16-14 in South Bend.
That was very good news for Truman. To reach the College Football Playoff, Mizzou needs to win the games it’s supposed to win this season and watch some national powers fail to do the same.
The Not-So-Fighting Irish took such a pratfall.
As a result, they fell to No. 18 in the latest Associated Press poll and No. 19 in the coaches poll. Meanwhile the Tigers climbed to No. 6 in the AP poll and No. 8 in the coaches poll.
Notre Dame’s remaining schedule doesn’t offer much opportunity to score impressive victories, so losing to Northern Illinois was doubly painful for coach Marcus Freeman.
Here are some other programs feeling sad this week:
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- Michigan is already hurting in its Post-Harbaugh Era. Without Coach Khaki on the sidelines and proven quarterback at the helm of their offense, the Wolverines fell hard at home to Texas 31-12. While that loss hardly disqualifies Michigan from CFP consideration, it makes the path to the bracket much harder. This was an opportunity missed for the Wolverines.
- Colorado suffered a humbling 28-10 loss to long-suffering Nebraska in Week 2 after barely escaping North Dakota State 31-26 in Week 1. The Deion Sanders regime began with much fanfare but, as it turns out, coaching at the major college level is hard. Coach Prime has run a legion of players in and out of his program while failing to advance it. The fundamentals are lacking in Boulder, especially on the offensive line.
- Remember when Kentucky was managing to stay a step or two ahead of Mizzou in the SEC year after year under coach Mark Stoops? Those were good times in Lexington. The Wildcats suffered a 31-6 beating from South Carolina at home ahead of their game against No. 1 Georgia. Later this season they play at Ole Miss, Tennessee and Texas. Things can turn quickly in the SEC.
- In a do-or-die season for Sam Pittman at Arkansas, the Razorbacks had a chance to do something at Oklahoma State. They nearly doubled up the Cowboys in total yardage, but turnovers, penalties and missed field goals doomed them to a painful 39-31 loss. They muffed a key opportunity to in their quest for bowl eligibility.
- Auburn, another team back in the SEC pack, looked lackluster in its 21-14 loss to Cal at home. Coach Hugh Freeze was hired to build a dynamic offense and move the Tigers back into prominence, but that’s not going to happen this season. Auburn mustered just 286 yards Saturday and committed five (!) turnover. Ugh.
Missouri can’t get too cocky, though. Boston College is now a Top 25 team and Saturday’s game will be a big test for the Tigers – who have yet to hit top gear in their passing attack.
And South Carolina’s powerful showing at Kentucky reminded everybody of the danger that will lurk in the other Columbia later this season. That Nov, 16 game will be critical to the Gamecocks' bowl hopes.
THE GRIDIRON CHRONICLES
Here is what folks have been writing about college football:
Dan Wolken, USA Today: “Freeman’s tenure is just 29 games old, but there’s been a concerning and unmistakable trend: The Irish quite simply don't show up to play every week. Sure, Notre Dame has had some really great moments under Freeman, including last Saturday when the Irish gutted out a 23-13 win at Texas A&M. But there have been far too many head-scratching, out-of-nowhere losses than should be acceptable at Notre Dame. It can happen to anyone once in a blue moon. But losing to Marshall, a 3-9 Stanford team and now Northern Illinois in fewer than 30 games reflects a level of inconsistency that is deeply concerning and needs to be corrected. Even last year, after Notre Dame played and incredible game in a 17-14 loss to Ohio State  and then came back the next week to beat a good Duke team, the Irish went to Louisville and really got embarrassed in a 33-20 loss that wasn't as close as the final score. Great programs don’t have these wild swings in performance, and the question for Freeman and Notre Dame is why it’s still happening three years into his tenure. There’s almost certainly an answer more complicated and nuanced than Freeman being too nice of a guy to lead a program with Notre Dame's expectations. But it’s the critique that is going to resonate the most within a fan base that is growing impatient -- and rightly so — with their team laying a couple eggs per season.â€
Bill Connelly, : “Since the start of the 2022 season, FBS home teams are 618-38 as favorites of 14 points or more, a win percentage of 0.942. Notre Dame has suffered three of those 38 losses. Home favorites of 20 or more are 446-16 (0.965). The Fighting Irish have suffered two of those 16 losses. If there's anything we've learned from this season's early going, it's that teams can look completely different from one week to the next. Maybe the Irish will go right back to looking like the top-five team it sure seemed they might be. But with a pretty weak schedule -- there are only two more SP+ top-30 opponents on the Irish's schedule thanks to Florida State's early season faceplant -- they won't have many more opportunities to score marquee wins. If they finish 10-2, they'll be at the back of a line of two-loss teams, most of which will feature harder schedules and no loss as bad as this one. This was as devastating as a loss can be in Week 2 of a season with a 12-team playoff.”
Pete Fiutak, College Football News: “This was a big deal. It doesn’t matter that it was an SEC win - that’s just starting to take hold. This was about Texas as a program going into Ann Arbor, Michigan, and beating the program that just won the national title. That’s after going into Tuscaloosa and beating Alabama early last year. And now it’s time to recalibrate just how good the Longhorns are, just how much work the Wolverines need to do, and what's next . . . Was Michigan even in the game? It held on early helped by a few Texas mistakes, it managed just one field goal to break up the first half parry, Texas didn't seem particularly worried, and in workmanlike fashion this was 24-3 and over by halftime. And it wasn't even about the Texas speed and explosion. The third down stops, and midrange plays, and the working the ball down the field with way too much ease.â€
Chris Wright, Saturday Down South: “Saturday, reality hit in arguably the most embarrassing/discerning loss of the Mark Stoops era. (Overreacting? Kentucky was more than a TD favorite at home against South Carolina and lost by 25. Celebrated transfer quarterback Brock Vandagriff threw for 30 yards before being yanked after tossing a pick-6.) . . . The question is: How will Kentucky respond? More to the point, how will Stoops and/or the Kentucky administration respond. Stoops spent the offseason exploring his options. He has called out boosters, all but blaming some previous losses on an inability to spend enough to compete. There’s no denying the overall impact Stoops has made on Kentucky football. He made people care. Now that they do, there is an expectation for more. We could be watching the final months of the Stoops era in Lexington.â€
Shehan Jayarajah, : “Beating No. 24 North Carolina State 51-10 was plenty impressive on its face. The Wolfpack are a legitimate ACC contender. What's more impressive, though, is that the Volunteers did it on the back of serious defensive dominance, holding NC State to just 143 total yards and a shocking 1.4 yards per carry. Tennessee's offense was solid, posting 460 yards and 6.9 yards per play. Quarterback Nico Iamaleava didn't exactly need a breakout performance, throwing 23 passes and turning it over twice. However, the defense gives this program a floor that it simply hasn't had under previous coaching staffs.”
Paul Myerberg, USA Today: “Doing such a number on one of the best in the ACC shows that the Volunteers deserve to be included among the elite teams in the FBS. Josh Heupel's team are rolling early behind new quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who had 211 passing yards, 65 rushing yards and three combined scores against the Wolfpack and continues to look like one of the most promising young players in the sport. But it was the defense that delivered on Saturday, limiting the Wolfpack to just 143 yards and 1.4 yards per carry. After taking a slight step back to nine wins last season, Tennessee has a chance at putting together a special season.â€
MEGAPHONE
“I mean, you gotta understand when you’re in a situation like this, you gotta find something to hold onto that you can encourage your team. And I’m truly excited about the second half of football that we played.â€
Coach Prime, grasping for straws after his team’s collapse.