Bulldogs rising? No. 2 Georgia poised to move up after Texas upset; LSU, Florida stunned
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It was a bad day for No. 1 Texas and No. 16 Florida. It was, however, a very good day for Brent Venables and Shane Beamer.
It was a pretty good day for Kirby Smart and No. 2 Georgia, too. Probably good enough for No. 1.
The Bulldogs went on the road and beat No. 6 Alabama 20-17 behind a terrific day from Gunner Stockton, third-string running back Dwight Phillips Jr. and a defense that sacked Keelon Russell four times and held him to a season-low 185 passing yards.
The win gave Smart a 3-7 record against Alabama, the program he could not beat for many years when the stakes were highest. The Bulldogs now have the inside track to the Southeastern Conference championship game, a marquee win for College Football Playoff seeding and are poised to move up to No. 1 in the AP Top 25 rankings on Sunday.
Venables and Beamer picked up much-needed wins that could ease the pressure building around their programs.
Oklahoma’s Tate Sandell drilled a 47-yard field goal to seal a 27-24 upset of Texas in the Red River Rivalry game, giving Venables and the Sooners a huge morale boost after dropping to 2-2 and heading into the game against their archrival unranked and toothless on offense.
Beamer has been on a major hot seat at South Carolina, but his Gamecocks rolled to a 38-19 upset at No. 16 Florida. LaNorris Sellers accounted for five touchdowns, and the Gamecocks forced three turnovers while shutting down Gators running back Jadan Baugh.
A third top-10 team also went down in dramatic fashion: Kentucky handed No. 10 LSU its second loss in a 35-34 thriller. The Wildcats’ gamble to go for two in overtime paid off for the second straight week, this time at the expense of the Tigers.
UCLA dumps Oregon
No. 21 UCLA remained undefeated with a 17-15 win over No. 13 Oregon in a messy, turnover-filled outing. The Ducks threw two interceptions and lost five fumbles, the last coming on their final drive with less than a minute left.
UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava had 162 yards and two interceptions before sitting out the second half with a lower leg injury. Ty Dieffenbach took over under center and threw for 43 yards and a touchdown as the Bruins look to move up in the rankings.
Oregon backup quarterback Dylan Raiola’s heroic performance against USC felt like a distant memory as he completed just 6-of-18 passes for 43 yards and two interceptions before being replaced by Brock Thomas.
Indiana improves to 6-0 — barely
No. 7 Indiana remained unbeaten but needed a fourth-quarter rally and two late defensive stops to escape Nebraska with a 20-17 win.
The defending national champions erased an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit with back-to-back touchdown drives. Quarterback Josh Hoover connected with Nick Marsh on both, first for a 75-yard score, then on a fourth-down conversion for a 44-yard touchdown.
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