Georgia’s win in Tuscaloosa changed the whole feel of the unbeaten race.
With a 20-17 victory at Alabama, the Bulldogs grabbed the top spot among college football’s nine remaining undefeated teams after Week 6. The result pushed Georgia just ahead of Notre Dame, a team that has rolled through a schedule that has not tested it the same way.
That Alabama loss was part of a wider shakeup. Texas, Alabama, Nebraska, Pitt, Duke and North Dakota State all dropped off last week’s list, cutting the unbeaten field from 15 to nine. Notre Dame’s next shot comes Oct. 17 at BYU, so another perfect record is guaranteed to disappear next weekend.
Georgia’s statement win came with plenty of substance behind it. The Bulldogs snapped a road drought in Tuscaloosa, winning there for the first time since 2007 and giving Kirby Smart his first victory at Bryant-Denny Stadium as Georgia’s head coach.
Gunner Stockton completed 18 of 22 passes for 249 yards and a touchdown and added a 14-yard scoring run, while Dwight Phillips Jr. posted a career-high 17 carries for 120 yards. Georgia piled up 455 yards and held Alabama to just three second-half points.
“We’ve got a really good offensive coordinator (Mike Bobo) that y’all like to criticize, he called those plays, he designed them, him and his staff put them together,” Smart said.
Notre Dame stayed unbeaten too, but its path has looked different. The Irish blasted Stanford 58-7 for their 16th straight win, limiting the Cardinal to 202 total yards and 58 rushing yards.
Freshman running back Jonaz Walton delivered a school record for a true freshman with 181 yards on 13 carries, including a 97-yard touchdown. Boubacar Traore made his presence felt immediately, strip-sacking Stanford’s quarterback on the opening snap and later picking off a pass.
ESPN lists Notre Dame’s schedule at 63rd, compared with Georgia’s 34th, and the Irish still don’t have anything on the resume that matches a road win at Alabama. Marcus Freeman’s team heads to BYU on Oct.
BYU also stayed perfect after beating Iowa State 24-10 on Friday. Bear Bachmeier turned in his best passing and rushing day yet, throwing for a season-high 329 yards and running for a career-best 109.
Iowa State finished with just 200 total yards, and the Cougars went 0-for-3 on fourth down. They did it without running back LJ Martin.
“We know Bear can throw the ball, so I feel good about Bear throwing the ball,” Kalani Sitake said.
The Cougars’ next test is a big one: Notre Dame visits LaVell Edwards Stadium on Oct. 17 at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC, the Irish’s first trip to Provo since 2004.
James Madison kept its name in the conversation with a comeback in Statesboro. The Dukes trailed Georgia Southern 10-6 at halftime before scoring 17 straight points in a 27-24 win, their first ever in Statesboro.
George Pettaway ran for 151 yards for his third straight 100-yard game, and backup quarterback JC Evans threw two touchdown passes in his first action since Week 1. Georgia Southern had a chance to tie late, but missed a 52-yard field goal.
James Madison hosts Georgia State at noon ET on Oct. 17.
Texas Tech moved up two spots while on a bye, climbing because Nebraska and Pitt lost. The Red Raiders’ 28-26 win over Houston remains their best result, and that Cougars team is now 5-1.
Will Hammond threw for 134 yards in Boulder during Tech’s 29-7 win at Colorado, and the defense has done more of the heavy lifting than the offense. Joey McGuire’s team returns home for homecoming against Arizona State on Oct. 17 at 3:30 p.m.
ET on FOX.
UCLA delivered one of the weekend’s loudest wins, forcing seven turnovers in a 17-15 upset at Oregon. It was the Bruins’ first win in Eugene since 2004, and it came against a Ducks offense that had been averaging 505.5 yards.
UCLA held Oregon to 272 yards, then stopped a game-tying two-point try twice after a facemask penalty gave the Ducks another shot. Nico Iamaleava did not return after halftime because of an injury, and Ty Dieffenbach came off the bench to throw the go-ahead touchdown pass to Wayne Knight.
Bob Chesney summed it up simply: “We just played physical, we played tough,”. Wisconsin comes to UCLA on Oct.
Utah also stayed unbeaten by handling Kansas 41-24. The Jayhawks had trimmed the margin to 27-24 going into the fourth quarter, but the Utes finished strong behind Devon Dampier, who accounted for four touchdowns, and Wayshawn Parker, who rushed for 171 yards and broke it open with a 90-yard touchdown run.
Utah has now scored at least 30 points in 11 straight games, the longest active streak in the country, and every one of its five wins has come by at least 14 points. The Utes travel to Colorado at 10:15 p.m.
ET on Oct. 17.
Indiana survived the latest scare to keep its winning streak alive at 22 games. The Hoosiers trailed Nebraska 17-6 early in the fourth quarter before Josh Hoover connected with Nick Marsh on touchdown strikes of 75 and 44 yards, the second coming on fourth-and-1, to pull out a 20-17 win in Lincoln.
Marsh finished with six catches for 187 yards, and Curt Cignetti was blunt about what his team needed. “You got to have an indomitable will, a will that cannot be defeated, and you have to be resilient,” he said.
Indiana scored only six points through three quarters. Ohio State visits Bloomington at noon ET on Oct. 17 on FOX.
Miami did not play in Week 6, but the Hurricanes still moved up after Alabama fell. Their rise followed a 41-13 win at Clemson, Miami’s first victory there since 2010.
Mario Cristobal’s team also sits ahead of Indiana in ESPN’s Football Power Index, and quarterback Darian Mensah leads an offense that has outscored Indiana’s in conference play. Florida State visits Miami at 7 p.m.
ET on Oct. 17 on ESPN, and the Seminoles are 3-3 after a 44-20 loss at Louisville on Friday.
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