Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott (15) celebrates his 56 yard touchdown run with wide receiver De’Runnya Wilson (1) in the second half of an NCAA college football game against Mississippi State in Baton Rouge, La., Saturday, Sept. 20, 2014. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
It may have seemed like an uneventful week in college football just because the Rebels weren’t playing, but there was plenty of action, intriguing matchups and storylines that interested college football fans everywhere.
As a result of the college football weekend, eight SEC teams are ranked in the AP top 25 and six of those eight reside in the SEC West alone.
The new college football week started off on Thursday night with fifth-ranked Auburn traveling to then 20th-ranked Kansas State in a non-conference showdown in Manhattan, Kansas. Auburn, with the help of three missed field goals by Kansas State, squeaked away with the 20-14 win. The rushing attack for Auburn only had 128 yards total, but quarterback Nick Marshall threw for 231 yards and two scores to help seal the victory.
The sagas of Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston continued this week. The reigning Heisman Trophy winner was originally suspended for the first half for their game against Clemson Saturday for yelling a sexually explicit statement in the middle of the FSU campus. The suspension was increased to the entire game Friday night, but it wouldn’t matter.
It was a roller coaster of a game, but first-ranked Florida State survived against then 22nd-ranked Clemson 23-17 in overtime. FSU backup quarterback Sean Maguire was nowhere close to playing like Winston, but he did enough to win the game, finishing 21 for 39 passing for 305 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Clemson shot themselves in the foot throughout the entirety of the game, with a crucial turnover late and going 5 for 16 on third down.
The Seminoles may have gotten lucky, but winning against a quality opponent without Winston shows well to the playoff selection committee.
The upset of the weekend easily went to Mississippi State as they traveled to then eighth-ranked LSU and pulled off the win 34-29.
The Bulldogs took a commanding 17-3 at the half and had a 31-10 lead to start the fourth quarter. LSU would miraculously score 19 points in the fourth to make the dreams of a comeback live, but the Bulldogs would prevail in the end.
Is Mississippi State that good, or is LSU just overrated? It’s both. The front seven on defense for Mississippi State are the real deal and quarterback Dak Prescott is much-improved from last season. LSU could not stop the Bulldogs at all on defense, and the offense proved to be one-dimensional with no quarterback play.
With the victory by Mississippi State, it’s the first time since 1999 that both Ole Miss and Mississippi State are ranked.
Another upset in the SEC was then 18th-ranked Missouri falling at home to Indiana 31-27. Indiana drove 75 yards in six plays to score the game-winning touchdown with 22 seconds left to pull off the upset.
Continuing in the SEC, third-ranked Alabama pulled away late against Florida 42-21 in Tuscaloosa on Saturday. Georgia took care of business at home to say the least against Troy and won easily 66-0, their largest margin of victory since 1958. Then 14th-ranked South Carolina looked shaky traveling to Vanderbilt, but won 48-34. Sixth-ranked Texas A&M throttled SMU 58-6.
Two top-five teams struggled but came out with the victory. Second-ranked Oregon traveled to Washington State and won 38-31. Quarterback Marcus Mariota went 21 for 25 passing for 329 yards and five scores. Mariota also ran for over 100 yards and a touchdown, proving he’s worthy of the Heisman trophy. Fourth-ranked Oklahoma got the win in Morgantown against West Virginia 45-33.
This could be the year for college football in the state of Mississippi to finally make the next big leap forward. The recent success of football in the state is the best thing any fan of Ole Miss or Mississippi State could ask for.
It’s a good time to be a football fan in Mississippi.
