Texas spent Sept. 12 prying the No. 1 spot away from Ohio State. By Saturday, the Longhorns had managed to hand that shine right back.
Florida’s 27-24 win in Austin left Texas in a messy place, and it doesn’t figure to get cleaner anytime soon with the 24-team CFP drawing closer. Steve Sarkisian has lifted the program well beyond what it was under Charlie Strong and Tom Herman, but there’s still been a familiar frustration hanging over this team: the sense that bigger results keep slipping through its hands.
Saturday fed that feeling again. Texas was up 10-0 and later 17-3 before the Gators chipped away and then finished the job by pouncing on an Arch Manning fumble late.
Manning was uneven throughout the game, Colin Simmons left with an apparent leg injury, and the Longhorns never helped themselves on the margins, going 2 for 10 on third down and 1 for 3 on fourth down. The schedule doesn’t offer much breathing room either, with Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Missouri and LSU next.
Elsewhere, Indiana came out of Bloomington with a bitter what-if. In a day when quarterback play was rough for both sides - Ohio State and Indiana’s quarterbacks combined to go 35 for 71 with three passing touchdowns and two interceptions - the Hoosiers had a chance late when Josh Hoover found Nick Marsh open for what looked like a go-ahead touchdown with 1:07 remaining.
But Marsh’s foot was out of bounds, turning the play into a gut punch instead of a game-winner. It had a strange echo to Omar Cooper Jr.’s miraculous catch against Penn State a year ago, only this time the break went the other way.
Ohio State took a costly blow too, with Julian Sayin’s injury looming as a major middle-term problem. Indiana now has some CFP work ahead, with trips to Michigan and Washington coming over the next five weeks.
Mississippi State’s day in Baton Rouge was more straightforward, and far uglier. With Kamario Taylor out because of a foot injury, the Bulldogs had nothing left to lean on and were blanked 31-0 by LSU.
The box score wasn’t as lopsided as the final read - LSU outgained Mississippi State 379-291 - but Parker Puckett couldn’t provide the spark the Bulldogs needed in Taylor’s absence. It was another reminder of how quickly a team can unravel when its starting quarterback goes down, much like Boston College’s 27-21 home win over Pitt.
In Other News...
Floridas Passing Game Just Took Another Scary Hit
Floridas passing game took another blow in Austin when senior wide receiver Bailey Stockton went down with a non-contact ankle injury against No. 7 Texas. He had already been a game-time decision before the kickoff, but still suited up and gave the Gators a useful early stretch, finishing with four catches for 31 yards before he had to leave the game.
Stockton had been grinding through injuries for much of the season, which made his presence on the field all the more important for Floridas offense. Losing a veteran target like that in a game of this size only adds to the pressure on the Gators passing attack, and it leaves another question hanging over a group that has already had to adjust on the fly. [Read more 🡒]
Floridas Texas Game Suddenly Rests On One Huge QB Decision
Aaron Philos shoulder issue has turned Floridas trip to Texas into more than just another late-season road test. The Gators are waiting until game time to see whether their quarterback is available, and that uncertainty ripples through the offense because if Philo cant go, Tramell Jones is in line for the first start of his career.
The rest of the injury picture is just as unsettled, with Vernell Brown III and Bailey Stockton also listed as game-time decisions. Florida already knows it will be without backup running back Duke Clark, which only adds to the list of moving parts the staff has to sort out before kickoff. [Read more 🡒]
Florida Just Proved It Can Still Take Down SEC Heavyweights
Floridas win over Texas did more than just hand the Longhorns a bruising home loss. It also showed that the Gators can still rise to the moment against elite opposition, with backup quarterback Tramell Jones delivering two touchdown passes in the upset and helping Florida claim a 27-24 road win over the top-ranked team.
Arch Manning finished 14 of 20 for 173 yards and a touchdown, but Texas still stumbled to a second straight defeat after entering the slide at No. 1. For Florida, the victory carried extra weight because it marked the programs first season since 2012 in which it has beaten two top-10 teams, a reminder that the Gators can still land a punch when the stakes climb. [Read more 🡒]