Each week, there are surprise teams that dominate the discussion of Saturday’s college football action. College Football Week 13 didn’t disappoint. Whether it was Ole Miss falling to 4-3 in SEC play, a matchup between two top-five teams, or Colorado’s latest upset loss, Saturday’s college football results provided plenty of talking points.
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Recapping Saturday’s college football games, here were the biggest winners and losers from Week 13.
Winner: DJ Lagway and the Florida Gators
Before the season began, Jaxson Dart would have been the quarterback to watch closely in this highly anticipated Ole Miss versus Georgia matchup. Yet, it was true freshman DJ Lagway who stole the show. He did so while displaying excellent field vision, both as a passer and as a rusher, resulting in the biggest win of what’s likely to be a college football career filled with accolades.
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Loser: Jaxson Dart and Ole Miss
While DJ Lagway put off superstar vibes, Jaxson Dart was busy tanking his draft stock by throwing two interceptions in the game’s final two minutes. Dart’s Ole Miss Rebels came into the day ranked eighth and were taking on an unranked Gators team, giving them two losses to opponents outside the AP top 25. While Dart accounted for 323 yards through the air and led the team with 73 rushing yards, the game-sealing interceptions are what people will remember most.
Winner: SMU Mustangs defense
The SMU Mustangs had the nation’s 11th-best defense in 2023, playing in the American Conference. Now in the ACC, SMU’s defense has slipped to 45th in points allowed. Perhaps they were saving their best for Saturday, where Southern Methodist racked up nine sacks while holding Virginia to just 108 passing yards, and 65 rushing yards while scoring just one touchdown. At 10-1, SMU, who boasts a top-ten offense, has been a force to be reckoned with.
Loser: Kurtis Rourke, Indiana QB
Kurtis Rourke was an excellent quarterback in the MAC conference at Ohio. Now he’s in the Big Ten with the Indiana Hoosiers, where he’s forced to face off with stiffer competition like the Ohio State. Saturday’s test didn’t go well. Rourke had his worst game of the season, completing just 8-of-18 passes for 68 yards and a lost fumble. While the Hoosiers managed to put up 15 points, that’s well below their season average of 43.9 PPG, which ranks second in the nation.
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Winner: Caleb Downs, Ohio State DB/Returner
The Ohio State Buckeyes have the nation’s best defense, allowing just 10.3 PPG, and safety Caleb Downs is a big reason why. While he was a key part in holding Indiana to a season-low 15 points, he also helped Ohio State on the scoreboard too by housing a 79 yard punt return for six points when the Buckeyes were ahead by just seven points.
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Loser: Rutgers Scarlet Knights commit biggest college football blunder this week
It doesn’t get worse than what happened to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Saturday. Illinois lined up for a potential game-winning field goal, but from 53 yards, by no means a lock in college. Yet, Rutgers decided to call a last-second timeout in an attempt to ‘ice’ the kicker. Making matters worse, the kick missed, but of course the timeout wiped it away. Perhaps losing confidence after seeing the ball land outside the uprights, Illinois then decided to go for it on 4th-and-13 at the 40-yard line.
Amazingly, Illinois actually connected on the improbable attempt, with Luke Altmyer finding Pat Bryant for a 40-yard game-winning touchdown. That’s not supposed to happen at any level, but especially not in front of your home crowd.
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Winner: Devin Neal, Kansas Jayhawks RB
Few teams gave the Kansas Jayhawks a chance to take down the Colorado Buffaloes. Kansas running back Devin Neal took that personally. Neal had a day he’ll never forget, going off for 207 rushing yards and three touchdowns, which is 165 more yards than Colorado’s rushing game produced all day. But Neal wasn’t done. He also led Kansas with 80 receiving yards and a touchdown in one of the best performances in college football this week.
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Loser: Deion Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes
Just when people start believing in Coach Prime again, the Colorado Buffaloes drop a game they shouldn’t have had any trouble with. While Kansas did just become the first team with a losing record to beat three ranked opponents in a row, Deion Sanders deserves some blame too for allowing Kansas to score on all but one of their drives. He had no answer for the Jayhawks’ running game, which averaged 5.8 YPC. After entering the day with control of their destiny in the Big 12 Championship, now Colorado will have to scratch and claw their way to securing a spot in the College Football Playoff.
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Loser: BYU Cougars
They may have been in first place of the Big 12 and the 14th-ranked team when Saturday’s college football games kicked off, but the BYU Cougars were no match for Arizona State. Suddenly, the Sun Devils have a chance at the Big 12 Championship, and Jake Retzlaff tossing two interceptions certainly didn’t help.
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Winner: Bryson Barnes, QB, Utah State
Utah State quarterback Bryson Barnes put on a two-way clinic in Week 13 against the San Diego State Aztecs. After Utah State got shut down in the first quarter, Barnes came through with four touchdowns in the final 45 minutes. He had a modest 139 passing yards on the day, but that’s because he dominated on the ground (193 yards) to carry Utah State to a 41-20 victory over SDSU.
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