Oklahoma fans spent all offseason chirping about the program being better off without Lincoln Riley. Leave it to Lincoln's brother, TCU offensive coordinator Garrett Riley, to help put that narrative to bed in one of the most emphatic upsets in years.
The Horned Frogs eviscerated Brent Venables' No. 18 Oklahoma team to the tune of 55-24 on Saturday. The younger Riley gave Venables' defense nightmares, scoring touchdowns of 73, 68, 67 and 62 yards. It was the worst Sooners loss since the 63-28 embarrassment at the hands of Joe Burrow's LSU in the 2019 College Football Playoff semifinal and the worst conference loss since 2014 Baylor took Bob Stoops' Sooners to the woodshed 48-14. And really, this could have been even worse than those performances had Sonny Dykes not called off the dogs.
Now, an Oklahoma team that entered the year as projected the Big 12 title favorite and preseason top-10 team has to deal with starting 0-2 in Big 12 play in the first non-pandemic season since John Blake was Sooners coach in 1998. Needless to say, stumbling out of the gate in Big 12 play wasn't on any Oklahoma fan's bucket list.
Here are more winners, losers and overreactions from around the country
Winners
State of Mississippi: It's starting to feel like 2014 in the Magnolia State. Ole Miss pulled off a 22-19 upset of No. 7 Kentucky thanks to a forced fumble on the final drive of the game to move to 5-0. The Rebels should enter the top 10 on Sunday. Across the state, Mississippi State made its own case for the top 25 by demolishing No. 17 Texas A&M 42-24 in a game that wasn't as close as the final score. Add in another strong start from Jackson State, and the three best teams in Mississippi are a combined 14-1. Oh, and by the way, the state might feature the best passing game and best rushing game in the SEC.
Big 12 undefeateds: There are only three undefeated teams remaining in the Big 12. Those squads? No. 9 Oklahoma State (sure), TCU (huh) and Kansas (what?!). It's been a weird year in the conference, but all three squads only added to their impressive resumes on Saturday. Oklahoma State proved its lofty ranking was well-deserved with a dominant road win against Baylor. Kansas leaned on its defense to shock Iowa State. TCU had perhaps the most emphatic win of the weekend by crushing Oklahoma. None of the undefeated teams remaining in the Big 12 have won an outright conference title in the last decade, so we should be in for a thrilling finish down the stretch.
Clemson: Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei proved his impressive performance against Wake Forest was no fluke in an impressive 30-20 win for No. 5 Clemson over No. 10 NC State. Uiagalelei threw for 209 yards and was a massive part of the Clemson running game with 73 yards and three total touchdowns. He avoided mistakes and seems to be building a strong relationship with tight end Jake Briningstool. If Uiagalelei can keep up this level of performance, Clemson has a legitimate shot at a return to the College Football Playoff.
Losers
Wisconsin: The Badgers are officially dead after an embarrassing 34-10 loss against Illinois to fall to 2-3. Wisconsin rushed for two yards. Two! Illinois' defense is very good, but 208 total yards against a Big Ten West opponent isn't good enough. With such a decisive loss against Illinois, the rest of the schedule is suddenly thrown into question. Will the Badgers miss a bowl game? Can they survive road trips to Iowa, Nebraska and Michigan State? What is this team? Barely competing for bowl eligibility is well short of the expectations people have come to expect in Madison.
Washington: I've been beating the Washington drum for most of the season, but the schedule is starting to crumble under scrutiny. The Michigan State win looks meaningless, and not like the signature victory it seemed to be at the time. Stanford doesn't have a win over an FBS team as of publication. UCLA is a good team that should move into the top 15 after crushing UW, but it's hard to erase the Huskies going down 40-16 at the Rose Bowl. Washington is still a nice story but nowhere near the Pac-12 contender we envisioned.
Overreactions
Georgia isn't repeating: One bad game is an aberration. Two is a trend. Missouri and Kent State might be the two worst FBS teams the Bulldogs play all season, yet Georgia let both stick around well into the fourth quarter.
In the narrow 26-22 win over Missouri, the Bulldogs did not score a touchdown until 9:39 remaining in the game. Georgia didn't take a lead until 4:03 remaining in the game. It had to settle for three field goals of 35 yards or shorter after issues converting in the red zone against an overmatched Mizzou defense.
Georgia can cruise through most of its soft SEC East schedule, but battles against No. 8 Tennessee, No. 7 Kentucky and Mississippi State remain. It's hard to imagine this lackadaisical version of Georgia pushing through unscathed.
ACC Coastal is wildest division in football: The ACC Coastal has earned a reputation for mayhem. In fact, each one of the seven members has won the division at least once since 2013 with Pitt serving as the only repeat champion over that stretch. However, the final year of the ACC Coastal before divisions are eliminated could be one for the ages.
Georgia Tech shocked No. 24 Pitt -- the expected Coastal favorite -- in a 26-21 decision the same week the Yellow Jackets fired their coach Geoff Collins. Conversely, Duke and North Carolina are the only undefeated teams remaining in ACC play, other than a Miami team that has not played a conference game yet. With Georgia Tech now on the board, virtually any team can win the ACC Coastal this season. It's a fitting tribute for the division.
