Another week, another massive reshuffling of the top-10 teams in college football as No. 6 Oklahoma became the latest team to fall to an unranked opponent, No. 2 LSU made a claim to the top spot after holding off a surprisingly tough challenge from No. 9 Auburn, and No. 8 Notre Dame suffered their second loss of the season at the hands of the resurgent No. 19 Michigan Wolverines.
The score only showed a one touchdown difference between the Schooners and Kansas State, but the 48 – 41 final doesn’t tell the whole story. After falling behind 17 – 7 in the first quarter, the Jayhawks outscored Oklahoma 34 – 6, scoring 24 unanswered points, to take a 25-point lead in the first minutes of the fourth quarter. Quarterback Jalen Hurts rallied the Schooners for 18-points over the final minutes of the game to turn a blow-out loss into a close game, but the damage had been done and Oklahoma’s post-season dreams appear shattered as they fall out of the ranks of the undefeated and, quite possibly, out of the top-10 overall.
Facing his third top-10 opponent of the season, LSU quarterback Joe Burrows continued his dark-horse campaign for the Heisman against No. 9 Auburn. Completing 32 of 42 attempts for 321 yards and a touchdown, while also running the ball in for another score, Burrows led the Tigers to a narrow 23 – 20 victory and set the stage for a No. 1 vs. No. 2 “game-of-the-century” match with Alabama in two weeks in a game that will determine the outcome of the SEC West and quite possibly serve as a championship preview.
In an odd twist of college football, No. 19 Michigan’s 45 – 14 demolition of the No. 8 Fighting Irish had major implications for No. 10 Georgia’s playoff hopes. As the only top-10 opponent on the Bulldogs schedule thus far in the season, for Notre Dame to lose by such a large margin severely weakens the Georgia strength of schedule and adds another layer of importance to the upcoming battle with No. 7 Florida in Jacksonville this coming weekend.