Kansas pulled off a stunner, making it one of the day's biggest winners. Meanwhile, Clemson turned in another clunker, relegating it to the loser bracket.
Here is a look at them, as well as the rest of the winners and losers from Week 9 of the college football season.
Kansas: After 26 years and 18 games of misery, Kansas (6-2, 3-2 in Big 12) got the last laugh against Oklahoma as a member of the Big 12. The Sooners are headed to the SEC and the Jayhawks gave them a memorable parting gift with their 38-33 win. It can't be overstated the phenomenal job Lance Leipold has done in three seasons as Kansas head coach. He took over a program that went 0-9 in 2020 and hadn't made a bowl game since 2008. With the victory, the Jayhawks matched their win total from last season and are one win away from securing only their fourth winning season since 1996.
Big 12: While the Jayhawks' win might make conference commissioner Brett Yormark happy in the short term, it could end up as a significant loss. Oklahoma (7-1, 4-1 in Big 12) was the Big 12's last unbeaten team, giving the conference an uphill climb to make the College Football Playoff. Conferences receive $6 million for getting a team into the College Football Playoff, money the Big 12 could miss out on due to the Sooners' loss. Texas and Oklahoma are the only one-loss teams remaining in the conference. Yormark might want to start rooting for both.
Oregon: The Ducks solidified themselves as the best one-loss team in the country with their dominant 35-6 road win against No. 13 Utah (6-2, 3-2 in Pac-12). The defending Pac-12 champion was no match for No. 8 Oregon (7-1, 4-1 in Pac-12). The Ducks outgained the Utes 390-241, quarterback Bo Nix averaged eight yards per pass attempt and running back Bucky Irving averaged 5.9 yards per carry. Outside of a tight road win at Texas Tech, Oregon has been dominant in its six other wins. When the first CFP rankings are released on Tuesday, the Ducks should be the top one-loss team.
Being ranked No. 10: The No. 10 ranking in the Associated Press top 25 poll is the 13th floor of the college football season. In Week 5, Utah was ranked 10th and lost to Oregon State, 21-7. The following week, Notre Dame lost 33-20 to Louisville. The Irish got revenge in Week 7 in a 48-20 win against USC. The streak continued last week when Virginia defeated North Carolina 31-27. Penn State escaped Week 9 with a 33-24 win over Indiana, but let's face it: a win by single digits against the Hoosiers is basically the same as a loss. For the fifth consecutive week, a team ranked No. 10 looked nothing like one of the 10 best teams in the country.
Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis: The Seminoles made their case for a top-four ranking in the CFP with an impressive 41-16 win over Wake Forest, and Travis led the charge. He finished with 388 total yards and four touchdowns. This season, he is 164-of-253 (64.9 percent) for 2,109 yards, 24 total touchdowns and only two interceptions. Per OddsChecker, Travis (+900) is fifth in Heisman odds. His stock will rise after Week 9.
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney's words coming back to haunt him: The Tigers dropped to 4-4 with their 24-17 loss to the Wolfpack, their worst record through eight games under Swinney since 2010. The Action Network's Brett McMurphy recalled Swinney's comments from two weeks ago that haven't aged well.
Clemson’s Dabo Swinney on Oct. 17: “Honestly, maybe we need to lose a few games & lighten up the bandwagon. Sometimes the bandwagon can get a little too full.” Mission accomplished: Tigers are 0-2 since then & drop to 7-7 in last 14 games
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) October 28, 2023
Swinney's ensured no one's hopping on the Clemson bandwagon for the rest of the season. Unless he turns things around, he'll be the next one pushed off it.
Colorado defensive back/wide receiver Travis Hunter: The Buffaloes two-way star continued to amaze, even in a 28-16 loss to UCLA. He intercepted two passes, giving him three this season. The first came when he dove for the football and the second after he baited the quarterback into making the throw before dropping back and snagging the ball.
TRAVIS HUNTER IS AN ATHLETE pic.twitter.com/x2TU3Kkl1C
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 29, 2023
TRAVIS HUNTER DOES IT AGAIN
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 29, 2023
He brings down a second pick in the first half for @CUBuffsFootball pic.twitter.com/I9uOgqkGMl
Hunter might only be a sophomore, but he's playing like a seasoned vet.
This targeting call: Colorado head coach Deion Sanders's son, Shilo Sanders, was ejected in the Buffaloes' loss after a dubious targeting call.
Shilo Sanders has been called for targeting... pic.twitter.com/CViXa2Tbdm
— Mr Matthew CFB (@MrMatthew_CFB) October 29, 2023
Shilo Sanders has been disqualified. pic.twitter.com/TDcXHwkhzI
— Mr Matthew CFB (@MrMatthew_CFB) October 29, 2023
Sanders led with his shoulder but was ejected seemingly because the crown of his helmet hit the receiver's facemask. It was by no means a dirty play, hardly worthy of an ejection.
Louisville head coach Jeff Brohm: The best coaching hire during the offseason? That would be Brohm, who has No. 18 Louisville (7-1, 4-1 in ACC) in the hunt for a berth in the ACC title game after it tied for sixth in the conference last year. The Cardinals have their best record through eight games since 2016. That season, they finished 9-4, tied for their best finish as an ACC member (2014-present). On Saturday, Louisville relied on its defense and running game in a 23-0 win over No. 20 Duke (5-3, 2-2 in ACC). The defense held the Blue Devils to a season-low 202 total yards while running back Jawhar Jordan continued his fantastic season with 21 carries, 163 yards and two touchdowns.
Fans going out of control: College football fans are a passionate bunch. During Texas A&M's 30-17 win against South Carolina, two fans' passion extended to baseball with disastrous results.
Responded to Section 235 for 2 people fighting over Rangers vs Astros. Ejected. #BTHOsouthcarolina
— Texas A&M Police (@TAMUPolice) October 28, 2023
Getting ejected from a football game for arguing over Jose Altuve and Adolis Garcia is an impressive failure. Even more impressive was Colorado State's fans' ability to negatively impact the actual game with the best penalty call in the history of college football in a 30-13 loss to No. 19 Air Force (8-0, 5-0 in Mountain West).
"Unsportsmanlike conduct on the Colorado State bench. Will the audience please refrain from throwing snowballs?" ♂️❄️☃️ pic.twitter.com/qnJEHqtnd0
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 29, 2023
best graphic of all time just dropped pic.twitter.com/AGflKyXCRb
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) October 29, 2023
Rams fans were responsible for as many penalty yards as the Falcons had as a team. Not many fanbases can say they had a direct impact on a game. In Colorado State's case, they probably wish they hadn't.
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