October Surprise: Oklahoma's Streak Ended, Oregon Looks Playoff Ready, ACC Is Chaotic, While Monster Weekend In SEC Awaits

I told you heading into this weekend that we were bound to see some type of chaos, on a 'slow' college football Saturday in the eyes of some. Well, not only did Kansas shock Oklahoma, but the ACC is looking a bit chaotic behind Florida State.

The matchups weren't sexy enough for some, without many top-25 showdowns, but that didn't stop us from seeing a little college football madness.

In case you were wondering how Georgia would respond without Brock Bowers on the field, just ask Florida Gator fans how that turned out. Speaking of the SEC, we're on a collision course for a massive weekend for the conference, more on that later.

We saw pregame protests, referee mismanagement in the Pac-12, upsets and wild finishes. Oh, and one coach in the ACC decided to throw his own team under the bus following a loss. Really, it was just another Saturday in college football.

Kansas Throws A Wrinkle Into Big-12's Playoff Chances

All the credit goes to the Kansas Jayhawks, who found a way to knockoff #6 Oklahoma with backup quarterback Jason Bean leading the way. The Jayhawks hadn't beaten the Sooners since 1997, eighteen consecutive losses, but this all ended in Lawrence, Kansas on Saturday afternoon. Head Coach Lance Leipold summed it up perfectly following the win.

"It's time for me to start talking about how far we've come," Leipold mentioned about his Kansas squad. He's right, this team is 6-2 and continues to find ways to make a statement that progress is being made. Even without starting quarterback Jalon Daniels, Kansas still found a way to takedown the undefeated Sooners.

This will create a few interesting dynamics as we head into the final month of regular season play. Next week, Oklahoma will face Oklahoma State for the final 'Bedlam' showdown, which should make for an incredible atmosphere. As for Kansas, the Jayhawks will face Iowa State.

If you were worried about how Texas would handle BYU without starting quarterback Quinn Ewers, well the Longhorns won 35-6. Behind backup Maalik Murphy's 2 touchdowns, Texas can now focus on a matchup with Kansas State next weekend.

Georgia Thrashes Florida Without Brock, Setting Up Monster SEC Weekend

We were all wondering what this Georgia offense would look like without Brock Bowers on the field for Carson Beck. But the Bulldogs did not force their fans to worry much, creating a double-digit lead in the first half. It might've been close for about ten minutes of play, but Kirby Smart and his Bulldogs ran away from Florida, winning 43-20.

Now, all eyes are on next weekend in the SEC. After the both LSU and Alabama had Saturday off, the focus now turns towards the matchup in Tuscaloosa next weekend. Right on cue, this game between Nick Saban and Brian Kelly will be the separator in the West, with Ole Miss paying close attention. It's the Tigers versus the Tide, just prepare yourself for battle.

Head coach Brian Kelly of the LSU Tigers and head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide talk before a game at Tiger Stadium on November 05, 2022 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

But on the Eastern side of the conference, there's a matchup in Athens that not many folks thought we'd be talking about before the season. The 16th ranked Missouri Tigers will take a trip to Georgia next weekend for a showdown with the Bulldogs, with SEC East implications on the line. If the Tigers can play like they did last season, this could turn into a war in Athens.

Oh, and can we please stop talking about Kentucky's chances of competing for the SEC East every preseason. Tennessee put down the Wildcats Saturday night, keeping them in the division race, with upcoming games against both Missouri and Georgia in the next three weeks.

Two games, with a lead in division standings on the line in Athens and Tuscaloosa.

Pac-12 Is The Oregon-Washington Show After College Football Saturday

A dominating win over Utah on Saturday proved that the Oregon Ducks are going to be fighting for a playoff berth down the stretch. There were some, myself included, that thought Utah could beat the Ducks, but we were highly mistaken. Bo Nix continues to prove he's a Heisman contender, while Dan Lanning has his Ducks quacking on both ends.

Next up for the Ducks is a trip to Cal, where USC barely survived an upset on Saturday.

As for 11th ranked Oregon State, the Beavers dropped their second game of the season, this time to Arizona, early Sunday morning. The Wildcats finished the job this time in the fourth quarter, after coming up short against USC earlier in the season.

Speaking of USC, I don't know how DC Alex Grinch keeps his job following the season. Obviously some changes are needed, and Lincoln Riley is very lucky he didn't pickup his 3rd loss of the season. Besides the offense, and even that's shaky at times, the Trojans just aren't a championship caliber college football program.

But, there will be plenty of folks hoping the Trojans play their best game of the season next weekend, as they host 5th ranked Washington, A showdown between Michael Penix Jr. and Caleb Williams has the makings of a shootout, so that at least gives us something to look forward to.

ACC Is A Mess, Led By North Carolina, Clemson, Pittsburgh

Is there some kind of voodoo on this conference right now? After losing to Virginia last weekend, North Carolina showed up in Atlanta and took the loss to Georgia Tech. Seriously, this conference is starting to run on fumes, behind Florida State and Louisville.

The TarHeels slide continues, as North Carolina dropped its third consecutive game to Georgia Tech. This time it was Yellow Jackets quarterback Haynes King who delivered the knockout punch to Mack Brown's squad, who have lost two-straight.

The Seminoles took care of Wake Forest and Louisville won its game against a beaten up Duke squad. Besides that, Clemson continues its path to irrelevancy in the ACC, in ugly fashion, losing to NC State 24-17. The Tigers started the season ranked 9th, and are currently fighting to stay out of the ACC cellar, with a 4-4 record.

Maybe this is really Dabo Swinney's plan to rid the Clemson fanbase of all the bad apples. If so, it's working.

Speaking of coaches trying to agitate the fanbase, consider the job done by Pittsburgh's Pat Narduzzi. After getting destroyed 58-7 by Notre Dame, the Panthers head coach decided to throw his whole team under the bus in his postgame press conference. Then, after his players started to see his quotes on social media, he backtracked on social media and tried to save what's left of his time at Pittsburgh.

Surprisingly, Michigan wasn't in the news today for anything related to the sign stealing investigation currently being conducted by the NCAA.

We now head into week ten of the college football season, and it feels like we just started. The critical month of November begins, where we decide who will play for conference titles.

The CFP rankings will be released on Tuesday night, so prepare your best arguments now.