College football Week 9 overreactions: Oklahoma produces biggest letdown of season, UNC needs to look ahead

This must be a lesson that avid school football enthusiasts are neatly mindful of but it at all times bears repeating: Never cut price this game’s capability for chaos. On paper, Week 9 seemed like the weakest slate of the 12 months with simply two video games that includes ranked fighters. After the mud settled, although, one workforce noticed its College Football Playoff hopes fade whilst a couple of different nationwide favorites escaped slender upsets. 

Of direction, no consequence had a larger have an effect on than No. 6 Oklahoma’s 38-33 loss to Kansas. The Sooners had the ball at Kansas’ 38-yard line and a 33-32 lead with 2:29 ultimate however went three-and-out. They then allowed the Jayhawks to convert on fourth-and-6 at the resulting power and could not resolution when Kansas scored a past due — and decisive — landing. 

But that mustn’t distract from the truth that each No. 3 Ohio State and No. 5 Washington wanted past due, Herculean efforts to dispatch unranked foes. The Buckeyes had been ready trip a robust protection to protected a 24-10 win in opposition to Wisconsin, whilst Washington had to lean on some Stanford errors to grind out a 42-33 victory. 

It was once a a laugh weekend total even supposing no person anticipated a lot getting into Saturday. Week 9 additionally (fortunately) supplied masses to overreactions, which we will get to beneath. 

Oklahoma produced this 12 months’s biggest letdown

Brent Venables has engineered one of the best turnarounds in school football. To pass from 6-7 to a perimeter College Football Playoff contender in 365 days is admirable. But that does not exchange the extent of sadness following Saturday’s loss to Kansas. 

Among the groups realistically left within the playoff race, Oklahoma had the very best trail. It nearly felt like a layup. All Oklahoma had to do after clearing a large hurdle in opposition to Texas was once win out in opposition to a agenda that did not characteristic any ranked fighters and had 4 groups outdoor the highest six within the Big 12 standings. 

The Sooners had been lucky to get away a winless (in convention play) UCF workforce, however their good fortune ran out in opposition to Kansas. Now they have got no margin for error to make the playoff, or even the Big 12 Championship recreation is not a ensure as Oklahoma is now one of 5 Big 12 groups with one league loss. 

Washington goes to get burned

Throughout seven weeks, Washington seemed like arguably the most productive workforce in school football. Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was once cooking as he soared to the highest of the Heisman Trophy odds after main the Huskies to an enormous win in opposition to Oregon with 302 yards passing and 4 touchdowns. Things have taken a serious downturn for trainer Kalen DeBoer and Co. since. 

No, Washington hasn’t misplaced but, but it surely did have to skate alongside a razor-thin edge to beat two of the worst groups within the Pac-12. In Week 8, it took 12 issues within the fourth quarter to come from in the back of and beat one-win Arizona State. Saturday, the Huskies had been a dropped fourth-down conversion clear of perhaps shedding to 2-6 Stanford. Penix had 5 overall turnovers and 4 passing touchdowns in the ones two video games. 

Simply put, the Huskies are surviving in opposition to what must be the very best phase of their convention agenda. With a playoff look at the line, they now have to play 3 AP Top 25 groups over the following 3 weeks. If they continue to exist that, they might see a scorching-hot Oregon workforce within the Pac-12 Championship Game. If Washington continues this degree of play shifting ahead, the CFP is a pipe dream. 

It may well be time for Mack Brown to pack it up 

Mack Brown has had an illustrious profession as a school football trainer. At the very least, he’s going to obtain corridor of repute attention someday down the road. Still, it hasn’t ever been extra transparent that the 72-year outdated is not going to take this North Carolina program the place it needs to pass. 

The Tar Heels fell 46-42 to a Georgia Tech workforce that entered Saturday with a 3-4 file and two wins in ACC play. It was once North Carolina’s second-straight ACC loss in opposition to a workforce with a shedding file. In two weeks, North Carolina went from College Football Playoff darkish horse to “It’s going to take a miracle to even make it to the ACC Championship Game.” 

This is the second one immediately 12 months that North Carolina has fallen flat on its face after the season’s halfway level. The Tar Heels rose as top as No. 13 ultimate season, soaring across the playoff dialog, sooner than shedding 4 video games to finish the 12 months and strolling away with out the rest significant within the postseason. It did not take that lengthy for this season to cave in, and the Tar Heels would possibly not also have megastar QB Drake Maye as a lifeline after 2023. North Carolina could make a transfer for the longer term after the season ends, but it surely must accomplish that respectfully. 

Tennessee has the country’s superb working again room

This is not as impactful as different entries on this column, but it surely actually merits citing. There are different groups that experience higher person working backs however no workforce boasts a greater solid than Tennessee. 

The Vols flaunted their backfield riches in Saturday’s street win in opposition to Kentucky, blitzing the SEC’s second-best rush protection for 253 yards at the flooring. For context, Kentucky hadn’t allowed greater than 200 yards speeding all season even in opposition to the likes of Georgia and Missouri. 

For Tennessee, that was once its 6th recreation with no less than 200 yards speeding. The Vols have reached that mark in 3 out of 4 SEC video games. They have not had not up to 100 yards all 12 months. Tennessee has a skilled trio — Jaylen Wright, Jabari Small and Dylan Sampson — that might almost definitely each and every get started for lots of groups across the nation.