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...
LSU Defense Just Took Another Hit It Couldnt Afford
LSUs defense was already working through plenty of strain, and it took another scare early against Mississippi State when edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen left in the first quarter after making his second tackle. He was evaluated by LSU trainers on the field before spending the rest of the first half on the sideline, a development that immediately raised more concern for a unit that has been hit hard already this season.
The Tigers have already lost two other starting defenders to injuries, so any health issue on that side of the ball carries extra weight. Umanmielens status loomed as the kind of update LSU could ill afford to wait on, especially with the defense trying to hold together depth and production at the same time. [Read more 🡒]
LSUs Dominant Win Also Exposed One Offensive Concern
LSUs 31-0 shutout of Mississippi State was about as complete a Saturday as the Tigers could have hoped for. Sam Leavitt carved up the Bulldogs with four touchdown passes and no interceptions, and the defense and special teams did their part in a game that never really gave Mississippi State a chance to settle in, especially with the Bulldogs already short-handed at quarterback and running back.
Even so, the win didnt fully paper over one lingering offensive concern. LSU still had trouble getting much going on the ground, and that part of the attack remains worth watching as the schedule stiffens. The Tigers were efficient enough to overwhelm Mississippi State anyway, but if they want this kind of control against better opposition, the run game will need to become more than a background piece. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Got The Bounce-Back Win Fans Wanted At A Cost
LSU got the kind of clean, confidence-building win it badly needed Saturday, blanking Mississippi State 31-0 behind a defense that set the tone from the start. The Tigers made life miserable for the Bulldogs all afternoon, stuffing key drives and repeatedly ending possessions on failed fourth-down attempts while the offense did enough to keep the pressure on the other sideline.
The broader concern, though, is what came with the victory. LSU added injuries to key players, including wide receiver Jackson Harris and edge rusher Lamar Brown, even as Sam Leavitt and Dilin Jones helped steady the offense and Leavitt looked more comfortable with his timing and confidence. For a team trying to build momentum, the result was exactly what it wanted, but the health of a few important pieces leaves the next stretch of the season a lot less comfortable. [Read more 🡒]