Oklahoma fans have spent the entire offseason tweeting about how the program would be better off without Lincoln Riley. Let Lincoln’s brother, TCU offensive coordinator Garrett Riley, help put this narrative to bed in one of the most emphatic upsets in years.
The Horned Frogs gutted Oklahoma’s No. 18 team of Brent Venables 55-24 on Saturday. Young Riley gave the Venables defense nightmares, scoring touchdowns for 73, 68, 67 and 62 yards. It was the Sooners’ worst loss since a 63-28 embarrassment at the hands of LSU’s Joe Burrow in the 2019 College Football Playoff semifinals and the conference’s worst loss since 2014. Baylor took the Sooners from Bob Stoops at the stake 48-14. And really, it could have been even worse than those performances if Sonny Dykes hadn’t canceled the dogs.
Now an Oklahoma team that entered the year as expected Big 12 title favorite and preseason top 10 team faces a 0-2 start in Big 12 play at the first non-pandemic season since John Blake was the Sooners’ coach in 1998. Needless to say, stumbling out of the gate in the Big 12 game wasn’t on any Oklahoma fan’s bucket list.
Here are more winners, losers and overreactions from across the country
Winners
State of Mississippi: It’s starting to look like 2014 in Magnolia State. Ole Miss pulled off a 22-19 upset against No. 7 Kentucky on a forced fumble on the final drive of the game to make it 5-0. The Rebels are expected to enter the top 10 on Sunday. Statewide, Mississippi State made its case for the top 25 by demolishing No. 17 Texas A&M 42-24 in a game that wasn’t nearly as close as the final score. Add to that another strong start from Jackson State, and Mississippi’s top three teams are combined 14-1. Oh, and by the way, the state might have the best passing game and rushing game in the SEC.
Undefeated Big 12: There are only three undefeated teams left in the Big 12. These teams? No. 9 Oklahoma State (sure), TCU (huh), and Kansas (what?!). It’s been a weird year in the conference, but all three teams didn’t add to their impressive resumes until Saturday. Oklahoma State proved its high ranking was well deserved with a dominating road win over Baylor. Kansas relied on their defense to shock Iowa State. TCU picked up perhaps the most emphatic victory of the weekend by smashing Oklahoma. None of the remaining undefeated teams in the Big 12 have won an outright conference title in the last decade, so we should expect a thrilling finish down the stretch.
Clemson: Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei proved his impressive performance against Wake Forest was no fluke in an impressive 30-20 win for No. 5 Clemson over No. 10 NC State. Uiagalelei threw for 209 yards and was a big part of Clemson’s running game with 73 total yards and three touchdowns. He’s avoided mistakes and seems to be building a solid relationship with tight end Jake Briningstool. If Uiagalelei can maintain that level of performance, Clemson has a legitimate chance to return to the college football playoffs.
losers
Wisconsin: The Badgers are officially dead after an embarrassing 34-10 loss to Illinois to fall to 2-3. Wisconsin rushed for two yards. Of them! Illinois’ defense is very good, but 208 total yards against a Big Ten West opponent isn’t enough. With such a decisive defeat against Illinois, the rest of the schedule is suddenly in question. Will the Badgers miss a bowling game? Can they survive road trips in Iowa, Nebraska and the state of Michigan? What is this team? Barely competing for bowl eligibility is way below the expectations people expect in Madison.
Washington: I’ve been beating Washington’s drum for most of the season, but the schedule is starting to crumble under the scrutiny. Michigan State’s victory seems meaningless and doesn’t look like the signature victory it seemed to be at the time. Stanford does not have a win over an FBS team as of press time. UCLA is a good team that should enter the top 15 after crushing UW, but it’s hard to erase the Huskies who lost 40-16 in the Rose Bowl. Washington is still a great story, but far from the Pac-12 competitor we envisioned.
Overreactions
Georgia does not repeat: A bad game is an aberration. Two is a trend. Missouri and Kent State may be the two worst FBS teams the Bulldogs have faced all season, but Georgia let the two stay until the fourth quarter.
In the narrow 26-22 victory over Missouri, the Bulldogs didn’t score a touchdown until 9:39 from the end of the game. Georgia didn’t take the lead until 4:03 from the end of the game. He had to settle for three field goals from 35 yards or less after conversion problems in the red zone against an overmatched Mizzou defence.
Georgia can get through most of its soft SEC East schedule, but battles against No. 8 Tennessee, No. 7 Kentucky and Mississippi State remain. It’s hard to imagine this nonchalant version of Georgia getting away with it unscathed.
The ACC Coastal is the craziest division in football: The ACC Coastal has earned a reputation for chaos. In fact, each of the seven members has won the division at least once since 2013, with Pitt being the only repeat champion over that span. However, the ACC Coastal’s final year before splits are eliminated could be one for the ages.
Georgia Tech shocked No. 24 Pitt – the expected Coastal favorite – in a 26-21 decision the same week the Yellow Jackets fired coach Geoff Collins. Conversely, Duke and North Carolina are the only remaining undefeated teams in ACC play, except for a Miami team that has yet to play a conference game. With Georgia Tech now on the board, virtually any team can win the ACC Coastal this season. It’s a fitting tribute for the division.