Good morning, and welcome back to CFB Roundup from CFB Home – the first daily newsletter that’s all college football, all the time with no bias, no slant, and no fluff.

YESTERDAY’S RESULTS:

#16 Ole Miss Defeats #3 Georgia 28-10 As Ole Miss Defense Stymies Georgia All Game

Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart threw an interception on the Rebels’ first drive, which Georgia capitalized on with a touchdown. From that point forward, Ole Miss outscored Georgia 28-3.

Ole Miss outgained Georgia 397-245, with a yards per play difference of 6.20 to 3.83 while also winning the turnover battle 3-1.

Georgia QB Carson Beck finished 20/31 with 186 yards passing and an interception. He also fumbled the ball twice, losing it once. Ole Miss also sacked Beck 5 times, as Jared Ivey and Princely Umanmielen each tallied a pair of sacks.

Georgia RBs Nate Frazier and Trevor Etienne also struggled to get going, not finishing with a single rush over 8 yards (Frazier: 12/47/1; Etienne: 6/24).

5 different Georgia receivers finished with at least 30 yards, but Dominic Lovett led all Bulldog pass catchers with just 41 receiving yards.

Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart briefly went to the locker room for an ankle injury, during which time backup QB Austin Simmons handled himself well, going 5/6 for 64 yards. But Dart came back and had a great game, finishing 13/22 with 199 yards passing, a touchdown, and the early interception he bounced back from. He also led all rushers in this game with 50 rushing yards on 8 carries.

Ole Miss RBs also struggled to get anything going consistently, as Ulysses Bentley IV and Domonique Thomas combined for 52 yards on 22 carries (Bentley: 13/28/1, Thomas: 9/24). Bentley did also add 4 catches for 38 yards.

Georgia’s loss now leaves 3 teams with one conference loss in the SEC: Tennessee, Texas, and Texas A&M. Ole Miss also now presumably holds an all-important tie breaker over Georgia, whose odds of making it to Atlanta for the Conference Championship is now likely exceedingly low with no tie-breaker over Alabama or Ole Miss.

Georgia Tech Once Again Beats #4 Miami in Dramatic Fashion, This Time 28-23 With a Late Turnover

#4 Miami lost for the first time this season as Georgia Tech gets to bowl eligibility with a 28-23 home win over the Hurricanes.

Considering Georgia Tech was looking to shorten this game, and Miami only therefore got 10 total drives, Miami turning the ball over on downs 3 times should make an upset fairly unsurprising. Miami had the opportunities, it just did not execute well enough when it put itself in a position to execute. Or, in other words, Georgia Tech bended (but did not break) just enough to withstand Miami’s elite offense.

The lone turnover in this game was a late sack-fumble against QB Cam Ward as he danced around in the backfield looking downfield.

Ward finished 25/39 with 348 yards and 3 touchdowns. Jacolby George led all receivers in this one (7/88), but Elijah Arroyo (3/82/1), Xavier Restrepo (4/78/1), and Isaiah Horton (5/37/1) all were responsible for the touchdowns.

Damien Martinez got the lion’s share of the carries for the Hurricanes (15/81).

Defensively, Jaylin Alderman was perhaps the best box score performer for Miami in defending Georgia Tech’s predominantly rushing offense, as Alderman finished with 9 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss.

The rushing attack of Georgia Tech, though, finished with 271 yards rushing.

QB Haynes King led all rushers in this game (20/93/1), with 5 other Yellow Jackets getting at least 3 rush attempts. QB Aaron Philo actually threw for more yards than King, the starter, as Philo is the more traditional passer (5/10 for 67 yards, touchdown), but King finished a perfect 6/6 with 32 yards and a touchdown.

With Miami’s loss, SMU is the final unbeaten team in conference play and is also now clearly in the driver’s seat for making the ACC Conference Championship, a surprise to some in the Mustangs’ first season in the ACC (and the Power 4, generally).

#11 Alabama ROLLS Over the #16 LSU Tigers in Death Valley at Night, 42-13

Jalen Milroe. Jalen Milroe. Jalen Milroe. Jalen Milroe.

That’s one “Jalen Milroe” for each rushing touchdown Jalen Milroe had against LSU last night in Death Valley.

Milroe was only 12/18 for 109 yards passing, but he finished with 185 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns on just 12 carries. All other Crimson Tide ball carriers finished with 126 yards on 36 carries, good for just 3.5 yards per carry.

RB Jam Miller was actually Milroe’s leading receiver (5/50), as other targets had a quiet night, with WR Ryan Williams coming the closest to playing a factor in the box score (2/29).

For LSU, dual-threat QBs had been a bit of an Achilles heel, but this was, frankly, even worse than many were expecting. Offensively, also, the Tigers looked quite poor, as the Tigers averaged 5.2 yards per play and did not score a touchdown until there were only 11 seconds left and the score was 42-6.

QB Garrett Nussmeier finished 27/42 with 239 yards, a touchdown, and 2 interceptions.

WR Kyren Lacy led all receivers in this one (5/79/1), with Mason Taylor (4/50) and Josh Williams (6/38) also contributing some. RB Caden Durham led all non-Milroe rushers (8/63), but that was largely aided by an early 45-yard rush. Taking away that outlier early, LSU averaged 2.57 yards per rush attempt.

#8 Indiana Remains Unbeaten Thanks to Early Touchdowns to Get Past Michigan 20-15

#8 Indiana scored a couple times early in a gritty game against Michigan and managed to maintain that lead and hold off Michigan long enough to win 20-15.

Worth noting, this was Indiana’s first time in program history reaching 10 wins in a season, as it’s fairly safe to say the Hoosiers are officially having the best season in program history.

For the Hoosiers, a lot of that starts with QB Davis Rourke, who finished 17/28 with 206 yards, 2 TDs, and an interception. Omar Cooper Jr. and Elijah Sarratt caught the touchdowns, finishing with statlines of 3/53/1 and 1/36/1, respectively. But, it was Ke’Shawn Williams who led all receivers in this game with 70 receiving yards on 6 catches.

RBs Ty Son Lawton (12/55) and Justin Ellison (9/17) also fought the good fight in an uphill battle against that Michigan interior, but 3.43 yards per carry was about all they could muster as an RB room.

For Michigan, Colston Loveland was once again the Wolverines’ leading receiver (4/37), though Tyler Morris and Peyton O’Leary both caught 3 passes each (3/36 and 3/24, respectively).

QB Davis Warren finished 16/32 with 137 yards and no touchdowns, but also no interceptions. RBs Donovan Edwards and Kalel Mullings couldn’t quite break out, as neither had a single run go over 8 yards all game. Edwards finished with 46 yards on 15 carries, while Mullings finished with 30 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. Mullings also added 2 catches for 8 yards.

Michigan also finished with 4 sacks on Rourke, with TJ Guy having 2 of those. Ultimately, neither team got to 250 yards in Indiana’s first test against a team with a top defense, even if Michigan is a fairly flawed team (especially offensively).

#9 BYU Wins on Last Second Field Goal to Sneak Past Utah 22-21

#9 BYU tallied a win in The Holy War over rival Utah with a late field goal after ESPN’s win probability graphic looked like the game was securely in the hands of the Utes to deliver BYU its first loss of the season.

Utah was quarterbacked by Brandon Rose, it’s 3rd starting QB for a game this season. Rose provided a spark for the Utes, finished 12/21 with 112 yards, 2 touchdowns, and an interception. He also added 55 rushing yards on 7 carries. But after 3 consecutive touchdown drives in the 2nd quarter, Utah was not able to find the end zone (or even score a field goal) for the rest of the game.

BYU, on the other hand, was able to chip away at the Utes’ lead one field goal at a time. Utah finished 6/12 on 3rd down, compared to BYU’s 1/12 3rd down success rate, but kicker Will Ferrin was 3/3 on field goals, including a field goal with just 3 seconds remaining to give BYU the ultimate lead of 22-21.

BYU QB Jake Retzlaff was 15/33 for 219 yards and a rushing touchdown, BYU’s lone offensive touchdown. Keelan Marion also returned a kickoff for a touchdown in the 2nd quarter. RBs LJ Martin and Hinckley Ropati both led the charge on the ground, as they finished with statlines of 11/68 and 8/38, respectively. Every BYU receiver averaged at least 10 yards per reception, as Chase Roberts led the way with 6 catches for 91 yards, the most receiving yards of a player on either team.

But for Utah’s defense, the Utes finished with 9 tackles for loss and only allowed 3.8 yards per rush attempt, as Zemaiah Vaughn finished with 3 TFLs (4 total tackles).

RB Micah Bernard led all rushers (17/78), and also found the end zone in the passing game, finishing with 6 receiving yards and a touchdown on 2 catches.

The loss drops Utah to 4-5 (1-5 in Big 12 play), meaning the Utes need to win 2 of 3 to make a bowl (rem. sched.: @ Colorado, vs. Iowa State, @ UCF).

#25 Army Remains Unbeaten But Does Lose Streak for Not Trailing in 14-3 Win Over North Texas

Army fell behind 3-0 against North Texas – its first deficit of the entire season – but it did not last long as the Black Knights responded with a touchdown drive of its own. And from there, Army maintained that lead with almost 36 game-minutes of scoreless football.

It was clear that Army’s game plan was ball control. The team usually rushes more than it passes, but a 94.12% rush rate is extreme, even by Army’s usual standards. By rushing 64 of 68 offensive plays, Army was able to control the time of possession, having the ball for 41:45 of the 60 minutes.

It also allowed North Texas to only have 6 drives for the entire game. Six. Drives… SIX!

Perhaps the magnum opus of Army’s gameplan yesterday was when it went 94 yards on 21 plays and drained just about 14 minutes off the clock. When it got the ball, it was 7-3 and there was 10:37 left in the 3rd quarter. By the time UNT got the ball back, it was 14-3 and there was 11:44 left in the 4th quarter.

North Texas finished with 283 yards in 6 drives, including one 3-and-out. Excluding the 3-and-out, North Texas finished with 282 yards in 5 drives – that’s 56.4 yards per drive. And the Mean Green finished with 3 total points. A field goal, 2 turnovers on downs, and 2 interceptions will do that, but so much of this box score is anomalistic.

Army QB Bryson Daily led all rushers (and by a wide margin) with a statline of 36/153/2 while also adding 15 passing yards and an interception on 2/4 passing. Kanye Udoh and Noah Short also played a noticeable roll in the run game, finishing with statlines of 13/65 and 6/41, respectively. Udoh also lost a fumble, recovered by UNT’s Brian Nelson II, who was also responsible for Daily’s interception.

For UNT, QB Chandler Morris was 24/37 with 214 yards and that pair of second half interceptions. RBs Shane Porter and Makenzie McGill II tried to get something going on the ground, but the Mean Green struggled to get the ground game going with any consistency, as Porter finished with 33 yards on 6 carries, and McGill finished with 25 yards on 8 carries.

5 Mean Green players finished with at least 3 receptions, as Damon Ward Jr. led the way with 4/63.

Kansas Keeps Bowl Dreams Alive with 45-36 Upset of #17 Iowa State

Iowa State unfortunately laid a bit of an egg yesterday coming off of a bye in a loss to Kansas, 45-36. Kansas gets to keep the dream alive of making a bowl game, as the Jayhawks improve to 3-6. The loss does cleanly put Colorado (5-1 in conference play) and BYU (6-0 in conference play) in the driver’s seat to make the Big 12 conference championship.

After a 99-yard drive for Iowa State to kick off scoring, Kansas went on a 31-3 run before an Iowa State kick right before halftime made the score 31-13.

Iowa State battled back a bit to cut it to a 10 point game early in the 4th quarter, but after a pick-six scored by Kansas’ Mello Dotson with around 6 minutes to go made it a 17 point game, this game was effectively over. Though, Iowa State had one more late touchdown in it to get to the final 45-36 score.

Iowa State QB Rocco Becht finished 24/37 with 383 yards, 3 touchdowns, and the interception mentioned earlier.

For Kansas, QB Jalon Daniels was 12/24 with 295 yards and 2 touchdowns passing, however, he also added 68 yards rushing and a rushing touchdown on 12 attempts.

The ground was the biggest difference, as 237 of Kansas’ 532 offensive yards were on the ground. RB Devin Neal led all rushers in this one with a statline of 18/116/2. Daniels obviously had 12/68/1, as mentioned. And Daniel Hinshaw Jr. also contributed with 12/56.

Receiving, Kansas WRs Quentin Skinner and Luke Grimm both hauled in touchdown passes, as Skinner finished with a statline of 4/135/1 and Grimm finished with a statline of 2/76/1 (including a 70-yarder).

However, the leading receiver on the game was Iowa State WR Jaylin Noel, who finished with 8/167/2. Jayden Higgins also put up a statline of 7/88. Iowa State RB Carson Hansen finished with 8/48/1 on the ground, though the Cyclones only finished with 24/78/1 as a team, good for only 3.25 yards per rush attempt.

Ashton Jeanty Runs for 209 and 3 TDs as #12 Boise State Beats Nevada 28-21

Boise State played a close game last night against Nevada to win 28-21, as the Broncos struggled to move the ball through the air with consistency.

The Wolfpack defense held QB Maddux Madsen to just 119 yards passing on 45% passing, also throwing an interception late in the 1st quarter. Madsen did add 58 rushing yards on 8 attempts.

TE Matt Lauter finished 5/61/1 in the receiving game as the game’s leading receiver. But the story for the Boise State offense was once again Ashton Jeanty. The Heisman contender finished with a statline of 34/209/3 (6.15 yards per carry) as he continues his quest for Barry Sanders’ single-season rushing record.

For Nevada, QB Brendon Lewis was fairly efficient, finishing 17/26 with 188 yards and a touchdown while also adding 32 rushing yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. RB Sean Dollars had a fairly quiet night, finishing with 38 rushing yards on 15 carries, with a long rush of 26. That means, on his other 14 carries, Dollars finished with just 12 yards.

Jaden Smith and Caleb Ramseur each caught a touchdown pass for the Wolfpack, as Smith finished with a statline of 4/57/1 and Ramseur caught a 44-yard touchdown pass as his only catch on a trick-play pass from WR Marcus Bellon.

Virginia Holds Off Pitt 24-19 to Upset #18 Panthers For Panthers’ 2nd Consecutive Loss

#18 Pitt dropped its second straight game as Virginia went to Pittsburgh and won 24-19 after an early 13-7 deficit.

Pitt QB Eli Holstein was injured in the 3rd quarter, forcing backup QB Nate Yarnell in.

Holstein finished 10/23 with 121 yards passing and 18 rushing yards. Yarnell finished 4/12 with 44 yards passing, 23 rushing yards, a passing touchdown, and 2 interceptions – including an interception that gave Virginia very short field for what would go on to be the go-ahead touchdown.

RB Desmond Reid was once again an all-purpose yardage machine, finishing with game highs in all of rushing (16/80), receiving (2/43), and punt returning (2/28).

Virginia also turned the ball over a couple times from interceptions, as QB Anthony Colandrea was 16/24 for 143 yards passing, 40 rushing yards, a touchdown, and 2 interceptions.

Xavier Brown (15/68/1) and Kobe Pace (12/52/1) led the way for the Cavaliers’ rushing.

The loss likely costs Pitt any outside chance at sneaking into the ACC Conference Championship despite Miami’s loss to Georgia Tech today. It also will likely mean that Pitt is out of the rankings for both the AP and the College Football Playoff.

For Virginia, this win brings the Cavaliers one game closer to bowl eligibility at 5-4. It may be tough to get to 6, though, as the Hoos remaining schedule is @ Notre Dame, vs. SMU, and @ Virginia Tech.

Jacksonville State Reaches Bowl Eligibility After Completing Hail Mary But Missing Extra Point to Win By Winning 44-37 in Overtime

Jacksonville State took an early 21-7 lead over Louisiana Tech, before Louisiana Tech battled back and had a 37-28 lead as late as 6 minutes to go in the 4th quarter.

But QB Tyler Huff completed a 49-yard pass to Cam Vaughn with no time remaining – a Hail Mary prayer that was answered when the score was 37-31. All Garrison Rippa had to do was make the extra point and walk-off winners in Ruston, LA. But, it wasn’t that simple.

Jacksonville State missed the extra point and needed overtime. After Louisiana Tech won the coin toss, Jacksonville State’s Tre Stewart scored on an 11-yard rush. After Rippa made this PAT, Louisiana Tech had an opportunity to match, but ultimately could not.

Huff finished 14/31 with 200 yards, 2 passing touchdowns, and an interception. He also added 42 rushing yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. Jacksonville State RB Tre Stewart posted a statline of 34/166/2, an inspiring performance from the bellcow back of the Gamecocks. Even though Jacksonville State is a rush-first team, WR Cam Vaughn finished 7/130/2 in the receiving game, though he did not lead all receivers in the game, as a whole.

That honor is reserved for Louisiana Tech WR Tru Edwards, who finished 6/142/2, including an 86-yard pass early to give Louisiana Tech its first points of the game.

The Bulldogs went with a four running back system between Omiri Wiggins, Jimmy Holiday, Marquis Crosby, and Amani Givens.

Wiggins finished 16/67, while Holiday went 9/41/1. Crosby posted 9/37/1, and Givens was quieter, going 6/13.

Finally, QB Evan Bullock finished 16/22 with 266 yards passing, 3 touchdowns, and an interception.

Louisiana Tech finished with a yards per play of 5.86, while Jacksonville State could only muster 4.34 yards per play. Jacksonville State also lost the turnover battle 3-2. But, timing, timing, timing. Jacksonville State was able to capitalize on opportunities just a little better than Louisiana Tech, and Jacksonville State gets to 6-3 and remains unbeaten (5-0) in Conference USA play.