Texas Tech’s quarterback situation has turned into one of the wildest storylines of the season, and Saturday’s answer looked a lot cleaner than the weeks leading up to it.
After an upset loss to Cincinnati and a messy stretch that included the fallout from Brendan Sorsby’s eligibility issues, Joey McGuire and his staff went in a different direction. Thomas Castellanos got the start against Arizona, and the veteran delivered the kind of dual-threat performance that can change the feel of an offense in a hurry.
He wasn’t sharp through the air, finishing 11 for 24 for 144 yards, but he found the end zone twice as a passer and added 117 rushing yards and another score on the ground. Texas Tech also got a season-high 175 rushing yards and a touchdown as a team, and Castellanos put the game away with a 64-yard touchdown run on the Red Raiders’ final drive.
McGuire said after the game that he expects Castellanos to be the guy against West Virginia next week. For a Texas Tech offense that has been sputtering, the change is already reshaping things in real time.
Elsewhere, Halloween night belonged to Syracuse at the JMA Wireless Dome, where No. 19 SMU walked into a bad situation and left with a loss that could haunt its postseason path.
The Mustangs trailed 20-10 at halftime, clawed back to take the lead in the fourth quarter, and then watched it slip away on back-to-back scoring drives from Steve Angeli’s offense. The finish came on a go-ahead touchdown pass to little-used tight end Noah Meyers in the final seconds.
The defeat doesn’t necessarily slam the door on SMU’s ACC title or College Football Playoff hopes, but the margin for error is now tiny. According to CBS Sports’ Brandon Marcello, the network’s model dropped the Mustangs’ CFP chances from 21.2% to 9.1%. With two losses on the board, SMU likely has to win out, including an ACC championship game victory, presumably against Miami, to get back into the conversation.
The ACC still has a few other teams hanging around the edges of the playoff picture. No.
14 Wake Forest has been strong all year and led Virginia 10-0 as of this writing. Sports Illustrated’s Bryan Fischer also still has Clemson, Duke and Virginia Tech alive in his weekly CFP eliminator column, though all three would need a conference title path and then an upset for an automatic bid.
The league’s room for a second playoff team is getting tighter by the week.
Sacramento State finally got something to celebrate after a brutal transition to the FBS level. The Hornets, who made a quixotic jump to the MAC and effectively replaced Northern Illinois after the Huskies left for the Mountain West, came into Friday night at 1-7 overall and 0-5 in league play, with their lone win coming against Mississippi Valley State. They had lost their first five conference games by more than 25 points per game.
That changed on Mischief Night against Kent State. Sacramento State took advantage of a sloppy Golden Flashes performance and posted a 31-10 win, its first against an FBS opponent at the same level.
The Hornets were outgained 302-287, went just 6-for-17 on third down and were flagged 10 times for 89 yards, but Kent State gave the ball away repeatedly with two interceptions and three lost fumbles. For Alonzo Carter’s program, the result at least offers a little relief after a rough start to life at the higher level.
Wisconsin’s recent progress hit a wall against Iowa, and the Hawkeyes made sure there was no doubt about it. The Badgers entered the week ranked No. 25 in the AP poll, their first appearance in the Top 25 in three years, and there had been signs that Luke Fickell’s team was turning a corner. But Kirk Ferentz’s group has been a problem for Wisconsin for a while now, and that didn’t change in 2026.
Iowa rolled to a 30-0 win, controlling the game in just about every way and wiping away some of the momentum Wisconsin had built with its win over USC. It was the second straight shutout Iowa has posted against the Badgers, following a 37-0 win in 2025, and the third consecutive Hawkeyes victory in the series by 30 points or more after a 42-10 result in ’24.
The Badgers’ improvement is real, but it hasn’t come in a straight line. The good news is that the final stretch - vs.
Rutgers, at Maryland, at Purdue, vs. Minnesota - looks manageable enough for Wisconsin to keep building.
In Other News...
Arizona Opens With UCLA Facing A Problem That Could Swing It
Arizonas 2026-27 opener already had the feel of a measuring-stick game, with Tommy Lloyds group set to meet Mick Cronins UCLA team on Nov. 2 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It is the kind of early-season stage both programs usually embrace, and it comes with a little extra intrigue because the Bruins are bringing back a familiar core while also adding a new face who could matter right away.
For Arizona, the bigger issue is the frontcourt picture. The Wildcats will be without projected starting power forward RJ Godfrey as his legal situation continues to keep him out, leaving Lloyd to sort through an important lineup hole before the season even begins. UCLA, meanwhile, appears ready to lean on continuity and a fresh piece on the wing, which could make the matchup feel even more lopsided in the areas Arizona most needs to settle. [Read more 🡒]
Arizona Let A Big Road Test Slip Away For One Troubling Reason
Arizona had a chance to leave Lubbock with a statement win after taking a 17-10 lead into halftime, but the Wildcats could not hold off No. 13 Texas Tech in a 34-26 loss. Noah Fifita kept Arizona in the fight with 417 passing yards and a touchdown, and the return of Richardson gave the offense another needed target with six catches for 90 yards.
The troubling part for Arizona was how little resistance it could offer on the ground, where Texas Tech controlled the game and the Wildcats never found enough balance to match it. Even with a productive passing day, the loss exposed how fragile Arizona can be when it cannot complement Fifita through the run game, and that issue will loom again when TCU comes to Tucson on November 6. [Read more 🡒]
Arizona Has A Huge Week 9 Chance In The Big 12 Race
Week 9 is shaping up as one of those Saturdays that can redraw the Big 12 picture in a hurry, and Arizona is right in the middle of it. The Wildcats are part of a slate loaded with conference and playoff implications, with a matchup against Texas Tech carrying real weight for where the league race stands when the dust settles. Around them, other games involving Utah, Cincinnati and the national powers are only adding to the sense that this weekend could separate the contenders from the pack.
For Arizona, the stakes are obvious even before the ball is kicked. A strong showing against Texas Tech would give the Wildcats a major boost in a crowded Big 12 race and keep their playoff hopes in view, while the broader weekend results could either open the door or tighten it again. It is the kind of spot that can define a season, and the Wildcats do not have to look far to see how much is hanging on it. [Read more 🡒]