A wild weekend of college football in Week 6 featured some crazy matchups, some of which played out as expected, and some that most certainly did not.
Fans witnessed more than a few upsets, starting with the No. 18 team in the nation getting knocked off on Friday night. Saturday’s full slate featured a few big upsets as well, along with some crushing losses from teams that should have won.
These are the biggest disappointments from college football Week 6.
Dillon Gabriel, UCF come up small against Cincinnati
The UCF Knights came into college football Week 6 ranked No. 18 in the nation. After getting upset by Cincinnati Friday night, it’s unlikely they will even register in the top-25 next week.
Credit the Bearcats for playing an outstanding game defensively. They held the high-powered UCF offense (49 points per game) to just 24 points, creating four turnovers along the way.
On the other hand, Dillon Gabriel’s mistakes were egregious. He threw three bad interceptions, capping off his brutal night with a ghastly pick-six in the fourth quarter that proved to be the difference in the game. We were hoping to see fireworks from the Knights on Friday night. Instead, the offense was a big dud.
OK State was a wreck
The No. 21-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys had a chance to solidify their standing as a top-tier team on the road against a reeling Texas Tech squad in Week 6. That didn’t happen.
Quarterback Spencer Sanders threw three interceptions leading an offensive attack that couldn’t get out of its own way and finished with five turnovers total. OK State’s defense had no answer for Jett Duffey, whose Red Raiders put 45 points on the board and racked up 586 yards from scrimmage.
It was just a mistake-filled, miserable overall performance from Mike Gundy’s Cowboys.
Hawkeyes left their offense in Iowa
As we predicted, the Iowa vs. Michigan game in Ann Arbor Saturday afternoon was ugly with a capital U. A defensive battle that really had just one explosive play all game long, it was won by Michigan, 10-3.
Nate Stanley and the Hawkeyes had plenty of chances to win, though. But every time they did anything positive, they imploded. The run game was stifled, gaining a single yard in 60 minutes of play. Stanley threw three awful interceptions and was sacked eight times.
The final two drives of the game for Iowa both saw the Hawkeyes with a chance to tie. But instead, mistakes piled up. The final play of the game — a massive failure — was the perfect microcosm of the entire miserable game.
Jordan Love fails huge test
Utah State quarterback Jordan Love has been garnering a lot of hype from NFL draft experts of late. He had a major chance to capitalize on that and build even more momentum with a Week 6 road battle against No. 5 LSU. Unfortunately for Love, his showcase turned into a nightmare.
Love completed just half his passes (15 of 30) for 130 yards, averaging a paltry 4.3 yards per attempt. He didn’t throw a touchdown all game and was picked off three times. There were multiple NFL scouts in the stadium watching him, along with the other top draftable players. Needless to say, Love’s performance was a huge disappointment.
Auburn’s high-powered offense toothless against Florida
One of the matchups we couldn’t wait to see in Week 6 was the one between Auburn’s dynamic offense and Florida’s dominant defense. It’s a matchup that ultimately turned into a one-sided affair, as the Gators dominated the Tigers.
Freshman quarterback Bo Nix made a bunch of first-year mistakes. He threw three bad interceptions, including one into the end zone in the fourth quarter that was, quite simply, just an very poor throw. Nix also took an absurd 22-yard sack late in the fourth quarter that took the Tigers out of field goal range. He managed just 145 yards on 11-of-27 passing in a game he’d rather forget.
Auburn finished the game with 269 total yards and 13 points, having gained a grand total of 12 first downs. It was not Gus Malzahn’s finest hour, to be sure.
Austin Kendall sunk the Mountaineers
West Virginia had Texas’ number for much of the game. After kicking a field goal in the third quarter, the Mountaineers were down by the score of 21-17, and an upset appeared to be very much in the cards.
Then, Austin Kendall threw interceptions on consecutive drives, both of which turned into touchdowns for the Longhorns on their next offensive possession. That huge swing was the difference in the game.
This is a game in which the Mountaineers matched No. 11 Texas in nearly every statistical category. Unfortunately, turnovers are a killer, and Kendall’s four total interceptions proved to be a deficit his team could not overcome.
Nightmare start doomed The U
The start of the game was an absolute nightmare scenario for the Hurricanes.
Starting quarterback Jarren Williams opened the game with three straight drives that ended in interceptions. Then, on Miami’s fourth offensive possession of the game, Mike Harley fumbled, leading to a Virginia Tech touchdown to give the Hokies a 21-0 lead in the first quarter. N’Kosi Perry also threw an interception after taking over for Williams, and it was 28-0 with just seconds remaining in the second quarter.
The Hurricanes very nearly came back and beat Virginia Tech. An offensive resurgence led by Perry, who sparked things with a Hail Mary at the end of the second quarter, gave them a shot. Ultimately, they were unable to complete the comeback, losing 42-35, after doing just a bit too little, too late.
Duke comes back, then collapses
What a difference a week makes. Duke was dominant last weekend taking down Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. Quarterback Quentin Harris led a brilliant offensive attack in that game as the Blue Devils blew out the Hokies.
Back at home Saturday for a date with Pittsburgh, Harris followed up his incredible Week 5 performance with a godawful first half against Pitt. When The Panthers went up 26-3 early in the third quarter, it looked like the Blue Devils were done for.
That’s when Pitt forgot how to football. The offense fell apart, going punt, punt, fumble, interception until the final drive of the game. The defense fared no better, allowing the Blue Devils to score four touchdowns in the game’s final 18 minutes.
But with the game on the line, up by four points and with just 1:29 left on the clock in the fourth quarter, Duke’s defense collapsed. Pitt drove 82 yards in four plays to score the game-winning touchdown and crush the Blue Devils in their own house.
Tulsa with an epic choke against SMU
The Mustangs came into college football Week 6 ranked 24th nationally, and with Tulsa coming into town it appeared they would have little trouble maintaining that ranking.
A wild sequence in the second quarter changed all that. Tulsa scored two touchdowns in the span of one second off the game clock, going from being down 3-6 to going ahead 16-6. It wasn’t until the middle of the third quarter that SMU woke back up offensively after that, and then the Mustangs came on strong to force overtime.
After exchanging touchdowns in overtime, SMU fumbled away its second chance to score. It appeared the Golden Hurricane were set for the epic upset. Instead, they choked.
Needing just a field goal (or any points at all) to win, Tulsa appeared destined to win this one. Then, kicker Jacob Rainey missed from 43 yards out. On their next possession, the Golden Hurricane attempted a 42-yard field goal and missed that one, too. One play later, SMU came through with a touchdown on a jaw-dropping play to win, but the Mustangs never should have had the chance.
Spartans show grit but get mowed down
For a little while Saturday night, it appeared that Michigan State was going to give the mighty Ohio State Buckeyes a run for their money. Despite two early fumbles, and despite some seriously busted coverage on Ohio State’s first touchdown of the game, Brian Lewerke and Co. came charging back and were down 17-10 with just 3:36 left on the clock in the second quarter.
Then, the wheels fell off the bus. Michigan’s stout run defense fell apart, allowing J.K. Dobbins to dart 67 yards for a touchdown, and the Buckeyes added three more points before halftime.
A missed field goal by Michigan State’s offense to open the third quarter heralded what would prove to be a lackluster second half. In the end, Sparty couldn’t come close to beating the best team in the Big Ten, losing 34-10.