College football Saturday Superlatives: Every play’s bigger — and pettier — in Rivalry Week
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Welcome back to Saturday Superlatives, our review of the best plays, players, moments and more from the weekend in college football. It’s rivalry week, and that means this week’s edition is loaded with nothing but petty college rivalry hatred, one of our nation’s finest renewable energy sources.
Game of the Week: No. 3 Michigan 30, No. 2 Ohio State 24. We expected one of the most consequential games in the recent history of this rivalry, and that’s certainly what we got. Interim head coach Sherrone Moore showed zero fear in the biggest game of his career, and his Wolverines showed just how tough they really are by outmuscling the Buckeyes for a third year in a row.
Buckeyes quarterback Kyle McCord got his chance to lead a game-winning drive with one minute left and silence the crowd in Ann Arbor. The raw tension at the beginning of that possession was unbelievable, even for those of us who weren’t rooting for either side. Michigan’s Rod Moore , an Ohio native, brought all that to a screeching halt with a diving interception for the win.
Michigan is heading back to the Big Ten title game against Iowa . This team is capable of playing for a national title. And Jim Harbaugh is back after his three-game ban. Whatever happens next for this squad promises to be endlessly fascinating to watch.
Player of the Week: Alabama QB Jalen Milroe , Iron Bowl legend. Milroe’s legacy in Tuscaloosa is far from solidified, but he’ll always be admired for this moment. Against a tough Auburn defense, Milroe had another strong dual-threat day with 259 passing yards, 107 rushing yards and two touchdowns. But all anyone will remember is how he finished.
On the 10-year anniversary of Chris Davis’ legendary Kick Six, it was Alabama that delivered a shocking heartbreaker in the form of a game-winning touchdown pass from Milroe to Isaiah Bond on fourth-and-goal from the 31 in the final minute of a 27-24 comeback victory that kept Alabama’s College Football Playoff hopes alive. If you watch closely, Milroe actually threw this ball 45 yards. It was an absolute dime in an absolutely impossible situation.
MILLY BONDCBS pic.twitter.com/CaG4QyY0i8
— Alabama Football November 25, 2023
Best call: This is as gutsy as it gets. Washington faced a fourth-and-1 at its own 29-yard line with 1:11 left in a 21-21 game against Washington State . Kalen DeBoer was not going to punt. He obviously trusted his quarterback Michael Penix Jr. to deliver in a moment like this and put an extreme amount of faith in him with this play. DeBoer said after the game this was actually an option play and Penix got the right look and made the correct decision on the pitch, which makes this even more incredible. If the Huskies get stopped here, they’re undoubtedly 11-1 today. Instead, Rome Odunze rushed for 23 yards to help set up a game-winning field goal.
WHAT A CALL ON 4TH & 1 pic.twitter.com/6jPTLEtCc0— FOX College Football November 26, 2023
After the game, DeBoer surprised everyone again by rewarding walk-on kicker Grady Gross for his clutch 42-yard kick with a full scholarship.
Best upset: Kentucky 38, No. 10 Louisville 31. Pretty big day for Mark Stoops. His Wildcats, a 7.5-point road underdog, extended their Governor’s Cup win streak to five in a row with a road victory that could end up spoiling Louisville ’s chances of getting into a New Year’s Six bowl. Ray Davis took the lead for good with a 37-yard touchdown run with 1:02 remaining, and Kentucky’s defense saved the day by picking off Jack Plummer in the final seconds.
. takes it 37-yards for the go ahead TOUCHDOWN. pic.twitter.com/aiADQwfiE2— Kentucky Football November 25, 2023
After spending some time celebrating that one, Stoops announced late Saturday night that he’s staying at Kentucky and is not leaving for the Texas A&M job.
I know there’s been much speculation about me and my job situation the last couple of days. It’s true I was contacted about a potential opportunity this weekend, but after celebrating a big win against our rivals with players I love like family, I knew in my heart I couldn’t...— Mark Stoops November 26, 2023
Best comeback: No. 20 Oklahoma State 40, BYU 34 (2 OT). The Cowboys rallied back from an 18-point halftime deficit and clinched a trip to the Big 12 title game to face Texas. Ollie Gordon II rushed for 166 yards and five touchdowns, including the go-ahead score in double overtime, and Trey Rucker clinched the win with a forced fumble and recovery. Mike Gundy’s Pokes, picked to finish No. 7 in the league, will play for a conference title for the second time in three years.
The play that sent Oklahoma State to the Big 12 Championship game.Tre Rucker forces the fumble as pandemonium ensues in Stillwater.
Cowboys come back from 24-6 at half and walk away with the 40-34 overtime win. pic.twitter.com/pTzCi8CVS1
— Connor Burgan November 26, 2023
Heisman watch: Still trending towards LSU ’s Jayden Daniels vs. Oregon ’s Bo Nix and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. with one week to go. Daniels was mighty impressive in his final opportunity to make his case, leading LSU to a 42-30 win against Texas A&M to move to 9-3. His final totals for the regular season: 3,812 passing yards, 1,134 rushing yards, 50 total touchdowns and just five turnovers.
One more quarterback who’d appreciate it if you didn’t leave him out of this debate: Milroe. He was definitely feeling himself after the Auburn win. “Give me the Heisman!” he shouted. “Give me that motherf—–!”
Bowl bubble: James Madison and Jacksonville State , welcome to the party!
Going into Saturday, 69 teams had become bowl eligible for 82 bids. That left 18 teams still in contention to go bowling and 13 spots available. The bubble matters more this year than most, with James Madison (11-1) and Jacksonville State (8-4) only eligible to earn bowl bids as FCS transition teams if there weren’t enough 6-6 teams. Fortunately, they got all the right breaks to clear the path to their first-ever FBS bowl games.
Ten teams on the bowl bubble earned wins on Saturday to get to 6-6. Clemson knocking off rival South Carolina on Saturday night ended up being the clincher for James Madison and Jacksonville State. This also likely means that Minnesota gets the lone remaining spot for a 5-7 team.
Here’s the recap of who secured bowl eligibility this week:
Bowl eligible (12): Cal, Eastern Michigan , Louisiana , Marshall , Northern Illinois , Old Dominion , Rice , Syracuse , UCF , USF, Utah State , Virginia Tech
Eliminated (11): BYU, Central Michigan , Colorado State , Florida , Illinois , Mississippi State , Navy , Nebraska , South Carolina, TCU , Washington State
Florida came up short against Florida State in a 24-15 home loss to close out its season with five consecutive losses in Year 2 under Billy Napier, clinching the program’s third losing season in a row. The 5-7 Gamecocks took a step back in Year 3 under Shane Beamer after a top-25 finish last year.
But few slides were more surprising than TCU’s. Sonny Dykes’ squad finished 5-7 a year after playing for a national championship. The preseason No. 17 Horned Frogs lost four of their last five and have a lot of work to do this offseason.
But just as many teams were celebrating on Saturday night after finally breaking through and getting that sixth win. USF is going bowling for the first time since 2018. Alex Golesh inherited a 1-11 program and got them to six wins in Year 1, an impressive feat.
Worst tiebreaker: Not every conference title race got settled on Saturday. I know what you’re thinking: How is that possible? The Mountain West doesn’t know which teams will play in its conference title game and is leaving it up to computers to decide. Boise State , San Jose State and UNLV are tied atop the league standings with 6-2 records. The conference’s tiebreaker rules call for a group of four computer rankings to settle the tie since there was no Boise State-UNLV game this season. They’ll announce the verdict on Sunday.
The participants and host for the 2023 Mountain West Football Championship will be determined by computer rankings and announced the morning of Sunday, Nov. 26 pic.twitter.com/Br5TD5ohsY— Mountain West November 26, 2023
Best catch: The ballots to select the Biletnikoff Award finalists were due on Saturday night. LSU’s Malik Nabers and Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. made big impressions yet again in their battle to take home that prize. Nabers put up six catches for 122 yards and two touchdowns, including this toe-tapping score, in the win over Texas A&M.
One of the best catches you'll see. The best receiver in football.Give that man the Biletnikoff pic.twitter.com/9yXWBlLTmG
— LSU Football November 25, 2023
Harrison finished with five catches for 118 yards and a score against Michigan. His best catch of the day was a one-hander for a huge gain on a wheel route.
Marvin Harrison Jr. caught that ball with one arm wrapped up while being tackled pic.twitter.com/bNRua8gF68— FOX College Football November 25, 2023
Arizona State ’s Troy Omeire deserves some honorable mention love for this diving touchdown grab against Arizona .
Best receiving performance: The hottest team in America got even hotter on Saturday. No. 15 Arizona extended its win streak to six in a row with a 59-23 blowout win against rival Arizona State. Noah Fifita was excellent yet again (527 passing yards, five touchdowns), and his go-to receiver Tetairoa McMillan had an epic day with 11 catches for 266 yards and a touchdown. That’s the second-most receiving yards by any Power 5 receiver in a game this season.
"This guy is like 7/11... open all day"Just air it out to 's !! pic.twitter.com/90ZKv73skg
— FOX College Football November 25, 2023
Wackiest catch: Troy WR Chris Lewis had this ball, lost it, watched it almost get picked, saw it get kicked and finally got it back against Southern Miss .
Wackiest box score: Iowa State defeated No. 19 Kansas State 42-35 in a snow storm in Manhattan on Saturday night. The Wildcats dominated time of possession and ran 102 plays on offense over the course of the night. The Cyclones only needed 35 plays to gain 488 yards (13.9 yards per play!) and pull off the upset. Freshman running back Abu Sama III was unstoppable, with 276 rushing yards and three touchdowns on just 16 carries.
pic.twitter.com/59l8PHDHuy— FOX College Football November 26, 2023
I can’t say I’ve ever seen a box score like this one. That 67-play difference is obviously the most in any FBS game this year. Penn State ran 64 more plays than Iowa earlier this season and won 31-0.
Final: Iowa State 42, Kansas State 35Look at this damn box score.
Total plays: 102-35!!! pic.twitter.com/Dk3zMTzows
— Max Olson November 26, 2023
Best throw: This week, there’s no topping the dime that Milroe tossed to shock Auburn. But Oregon QB Bo Nix did add to his Heisman contender highlight reel on Friday night by ripping this cross-field throw to Troy Franklin for a 41-yard touchdown in the Ducks’ 31-7 victory over No. 16 Oregon State .
How did Bo Nix pull this off!? pic.twitter.com/vAYlt8UcNF— FOX College Football November 25, 2023
Here’s another great one from Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy , a big-time throw against Ohio State with remarkable accuracy to Roman Wilson for a 22-yard score to go up 14-3.
What a THROW this was by J.J. McCarthy pic.twitter.com/SE4XXAHgZM— FOX College Football November 25, 2023
Best interception: Kansas CB Cobee Bryant had this jaw-dropping interception in the Jayhawks’ 49-16 win at Cincinnati to improve to 8-4. Is this the best pick of the year?
#SCTop10The best interception you will see this season pic.twitter.com/pTUoePyYUQ
— Kansas Football November 26, 2023
Best takeaway: Chattanooga QB Luke Schomburg overthrew his receiver Jamoi Mayes on this pass against Austin Peay and was picked off. Mayes still found a way to score on the play. This is one of the great hustle plays of the season, and the Mocs ended up winning their first-round FCS playoff game 24-21.
This one from SMU ’s 59-14 win over Navy was just as improbable. On this punt, the ball touched the towel worn by Navy’s return man, which by rule is considered part of his body. SMU long snapper Will Benton ran all the way down the field, fell on the ball and was credited with a touchdown.
This is Will Benton ( ).Will is our long-snapper.
Will just recovered a punt, that
HE SNAPPED, for a touchdown.
A lot to unpack here. Enjoy pic.twitter.com/JqXp8gXkK3
— SMU Football November 25, 2023
Best pick six: Texas linebacker Jett Bush closed out the Longhorns’ dominant 57-7 win over Texas Tech to clinch a Big 12 title bid by taking this fortunate bounce — a pass that caromed off a receiver’s foot — and turning it into a 43-yard touchdown. Not a bad way for the former walk-on to close out his senior night.
Best fake: BYU ran one of the prettiest fake punts of the season against Oklahoma State and gave defensive end Tyler Batty a chance to hurdle a dude at the end of his 36-yard catch and run.
BYU is feeling it, fake punt and a Seth Rollins knee to the head pic.twitter.com/WwEusGZk1G— Collin Wilson November 25, 2023
Drive to 325 update: No. 17 Iowa 13, Nebraska 10. They actually did it. The Hawkeyes won 10 games with a bottom-10 scoring offense. Defensive lineman Ethan Hurkett picked off Nebraska quarterback Chubba Purdy with 19 seconds left, Leshon Williams broke a 22-yard run on the next play and Marshall Meeder — the backup kicker who hadn’t attempted a kick in a game all season — booted a 38-yard game-winner as time expired on Friday afternoon.
That’s the story of this squad entering the Big Ten title game: ugly games, gritty wins. Iowa scored 18 points per game in the regular season and would need to put up 134 points over its final two games in order to average 25 points per game.
Worst call: Florida State coach Mike Norvell was extra hot about this one. Akeem Dent blitzed and sacked Florida’s Max Brown for a 10-yard loss but drew a baffling flag for a personal foul. Florida would end up scoring a touchdown on the drive and built a 12-0 lead early before the No. 5 Seminoles rallied back to win 24-15. Norvell’s take after the game: “I’ve got strong feeling of how terrible that was.”
This was called for “unnecessary roughness” on Florida State...Wow. #Noles pic.twitter.com/VtbP6RaLeX
— Logan B. Robinson November 26, 2023
Worst brawl: Sam Houston and Middle Tennessee didn’t have a rivalry before ... but maybe they do now?
"This game will end on a tragic note." pic.twitter.com/vMdgJuDp9v— Timothy Burke November 25, 2023
Best entrance: The Oregon Duck descending on Autzen Stadium via zipline on Friday night. I feel like he’s just here for the zipline.
YOUR FAVORITE MASCOT’S FAVORITE MASCOT.Trust me when I say The Duck’s full entrance to Autzen tonight is worth your time pic.twitter.com/Xkpz6Xwd9D
— Brenna Greene November 25, 2023
Not the best entrance: Brent Venables and his Oklahoma squad on Friday afternoon.
For those that have asked, here's Brent Venables tripping and falling while coming out of the tunnel before the game.You can see a ton of other players coming off the ground thru the smoke as well. Never seen that before. #Sooners pic.twitter.com/0Uk030kSGn
— TJ Eckert November 24, 2023
Best nerves: Penix could not bring himself to watch the Huskies’ game-winning field goal try.
Michael Penix Jr. couldn't watch while his team went for the game-winning field goal pic.twitter.com/x3aaGxK1eC— FOX College Football November 26, 2023
Best celebration: Liberty got a mariachi band in the locker room to celebrate its 42-28 road win at UTEP that clinched a perfect 12-0 regular season.
And Jamey Chadwell hired a damn mariachi band to play in the locker room after beating UTEP in El Paso.College Football. pic.twitter.com/Auuwk6pi4V
— Scott Eisberg November 26, 2023
Best trash talk: Michigan WR Roman Wilson. When you win three in a row against your hated rival, you get to drop these disses.
Roman Wilson when asked about the Buckeye's toughness and physicality: "They want to put on the Louis V, the $1,000 outfit and you wanna act hard .. but when were out there, they're not hard. I see the film. You're not tough." pic.twitter.com/vJRf6fda61— Marlee Wierda November 25, 2023
NC State linebacker Payton Wilson also made the most of his moment on the mic after the Wolfpack pulled off a 39-20 rout against rival North Carolina .
State gets to bark and they are barking pic.twitter.com/s6ThCvKGm4— Mark Armstrong November 26, 2023
Best prank: Let’s close out with one more terrific moment of pettiness from rivalry weekend. Virginia Tech coach Brent Pry and his team gathered for a photo on the field at Virginia after a win that clinched bowl eligibility. Virginia turned the sprinklers on.
(Photo: Jesse Beals / Icon Sportswire via )
