From the Couch Sports

WEEKDAY CUSA CONTINUES TO EXCITE

Kennesaw State keeps winning, beat FIU 45-26

After both teams pulled off mid-week upsets last week, this Tuesday night matchup seemed like it would be a good one. The game looked great on television. It was “Vice Night” for FIU, a game where the Panthers donned Miami Vice inspired uniforms and field paint. As far as play on the field, Kennesaw State’s two-quarterback system worked to perfection, Sophomore QB Amari Odom and Senior QB Dexter Williams II each threw and ran for a touchdown and combined for 350 total yards. Despite a strong offensive showing from FIU, which included 166 rushing from Kejon Owens, the Kennesaw State defense got crucial stops in the second half when it mattered most. The win for the Owls ended their 13-game road losing streak and extended their overall win streak to 5 games. Kennesaw State has more than doubled their win total from last year and look poised to secure a bowl appearance in just their second FBS season.

Overtime thriller in Ruston

Western Kentucky 28 Louisiana Tech 27 OT

Something had to give in this matchup between the victims of the CUSA upsets I previously mentioned. Last Tuesday, La Tech lost to Kennesaw State and Western Kentucky dropped at home to FIU. This game was a must win for both teams in terms of conference standings. It did not disappoint. WKU held a 20-7 halftime lead but a throwback trick-play kickoff return TD to open the second half boosted the morale for the home team (La Tech). The Bulldogs would tie the game late in the fourth quarter. Both teams would miss go-ahead field goals and the game was headed to overtime. La Tech scored in the first overtime and when WKU had their possession in OT it would take a clutch completion on 4th & 10 by Hilltopper QB Rodney Tisdale Jr. to keep the game alive. WKU scored on a 4 yard run a few plays later and instead of the extra point to tie the game and send it into another overtime, they went for the win. Tisdale Jr. rolled out of the pocket, stopped, looked and squeezed a tight pass through the middle of the Bulldog defense for the game-winning conversion. WKU kept their conference title hopes alive (for now) with that gutsy play call.

Midnight Overtime Madness

Missouri State 24 New Mexico State 17 OT

Just after midnight (on the East Coast) the Missouri State Bears clinched their fourth win of the season in Las Cruces, NM against the NM State Aggies. The story of this game was turnovers. Seven to be exact. Missouri State QB Jacob Clark threw two interceptions and NM State QB Logan Fife threw four. This is only the second time this season two quarterbacks have combined for six interceptions (DJ Lagway and Brett Nussmeier on Sept 13). New Mexico State overcame their turnovers and a 10-point deficit when Missouri State missed a potential game winning 50-yard field goal with seconds to go. In overtime, the Bears scored first and took the lead. On the first play of the ensuing Aggie possession, Fife threw another interception, his fourth.

FRIDAY NIGHT FUN

North Texas beats Charlotte 54-20, Drew Mestemaker throws for 608

North Texas QB Drew Mestemaker threw for a school-record and American Conference record 608 yards on Friday night against the Charlotte 49ers. The game was tied 17-17 at the half, but North Texas used a huge second half to pull away from Charlotte. Not only did Mestemaker throw for 608, the Mean Green offense had three receivers eclipse the 100-yard mark. The Mean Green improve to 7-1 on the season and take on the undefeated Navy Midshipmen in Week 10.

Virginia Tech beats Cal 42-34 in double overtime

Virginia Tech has had a rough season. They fired head coach Brent Pry after an 0-3 start and have hobbled through their ACC schedule, with just 1 win in 3 ACC games. This didn’t stop the VT fans from showing out and adding a much needed home field advantage to this Friday night matchup. Over 53,000 people were in attendance, impressive for a program that has been in disarray this season. Senior QB Kyron Drones and senior running back Marcellus Hawkins combined for 304 rushing yards, it was Drones who ran and threw for both of the Hokie TDs in overtime, he also ran in a 2-point conversion in 2OT. The VT defense forced a turnover on downs to end the game and give the Hokies their biggest home win of the year.

THE SATURDAY SLATE

#2 Indiana & #7 Georgia Tech Remain Unbeaten

#2 Indiana 56 UCLA 6

Indiana has been one of the best teams in college football this season and Saturday there was no let up in a game where they were heavily favored. This game was pretty much over after they took the first pass of the game back for a pick-six. The Indiana defense held the Bruins offense to just 201 total yards and just 1-11 on third downs. Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza totaled four touchdowns and his brother, back-up quarterback, Alberto Mendoza, added a rushing touchdown in mop up duty. The Hoosiers ended the UCLA 3 game-winning streak.

#7 Georgia Tech 41 Syracuse 16

Georgia Tech QB Haynes King was impressive. He threw for 304 yards, ran for 91, and accounted for 5 total touchdowns. Syracuse sustained some offense but were just 5-14 on third down. This was a milestone win for Georgia Tech, they are 8-0 for the first time since 1966.

Memphis Takes Down #18 USF 34-31

Two Group of 5 playoff contenders matched up in Memphis for a crucial conference matchup. Memphis needed this one if they wanted to keep their hopes alive, they lost last week at UAB in a game they were expected to win and USF was ranked 18th in the nation with a perfect 3-0 conference record. USF QB Byrum Brown threw for 269 yards and ran for another 121, the Bulls offense gained 564 total yards. Somehow it wasn’t enough. Memphis shut out the Bulls in the 4th quarter and overcame a 14-point deficit to take the lead with 1:07 to go. USF had an opportunity to tie the game and were set up for a 42 yard game-tying field goal. A holding penalty pushed them back, USF kicker Nico Gramatica pushed the 52 yard attempt wide left as time expired. The Tigers held on for the upset and created more chaos in the American conference standings.

Wake Forest Hand SMU First ACC Regular Season Loss

Wake Forest 13 SMU 12

Wake Forest kicker Connor Calvert nailed a 50 yard field goal as time expired to give the Demon Deacons a 13-12 upset win in Winston-Salem. Despite 5 turnovers, Wake still got it done thanks to a strong defensive performance that forced 3 SMU turnovers. This ugly game was only had two touchdowns and just 547 combined offensive yards, the major difference in the game was a missed extra point after the only SMU touchdown. This set up the opportunity for the one-point Wake Forest win. SMU joined the ACC last year and went a perfect 8-0, before this game they were 3-0 in the ACC this year. Their 11-game ACC regular-season win streak is over.

Vanderbilt Wins Again!

#10 Vanderbilt 17 #15 Missouri 10

ESPN’s College GameDay was in Nashville for the first time since 2008 to hype up this Top-15 matchup. #10 Vandy and #15 Missouri were locked in a 3-3 stalemate until an 80 yard-run by Makhilyn Young broke open the game. Missouri answered back to tie the game at 10-10 in the 4th quarter with a touchdown pass from backup quarterback Matt Zollers. (Tigers starter Beau Pribula was injured in the 3rd quarter and didn’t return.) Heisman hopeful Diego Pavia ran in the game-winning Vandy touchdown with a minute left and Vandy held on for the win. The underdog story continues for the Commodores. With their 17-10 win over the #15 Missouri Tigers, they now have a school-record 3 wins over Top 25 teams this season.

#4 Alabama Survives in Columbia, SC

#4 Alabama 29 South Carolina 22

Alabama just went through an absolute gauntlet of a four-week stretch. They went to Sanford Stadium and beat #5 Georiga, beat #16 Vandy, won at #14 Missouri, and handled #11 Tennessee in consecutive weeks. Going to unranked South Carolina would be a much needed break for the Tide. Right? Well, not so much. Early it seemed like the classic trap game upset for Alabama, who play rival LSU in Week 10. Bama had trouble scoring offensive touchdowns and couldn’t run the ball. The Williams-Brice Stadium crowd took it upon themselves to be the 12th man, and helped the Gamecocks gain momentum late in the game. South Carolina lead 22-14 with 10 minutes to go. A 14 play almost eight-minute touchdown drive by Alabama tied the game with two minutes left. They forced a fumble on the next South Carolina drive and took the lead with :34 seconds left after a 25-yard touchdown run. Alabama won the game 29-22.

#8 Ole Miss Beats #13 Oklahoma in Norman, OK

#8 Ole Miss 34 #13 Oklahoma 26

In an unofficial SEC title elimination game, the Ole Miss Rebels went on the road and took care of the Oklahoma Sooners 34-26. One way to win on the road in the SEC is to control the clock, which is exactly what the Ole Miss offense did. They held an 11-minute time of possession advantage, more importantly the Rebel defense forced the Sonner offense into quick drives that resulted in punts. Despite that, Oklahoma held a small lead going into the 4th quarter. Ole Miss re-gained the lead with 11 minutes left and never looked back, closing the game with 9 unanswered points.

#11 BYU Wins a Tight one in Ames,IA

#11 BYU 41 Iowa State 27

Four Iowa State turnovers were the difference in the game. Iowa State QB Rocco Becht was picked off three times, two times in the fourth quarter. BYU capitalized by taking one of those to the house and the other, all but sealed the Cyclones fate and ended their upset bid. BYU QB Bear Bachmeier stayed turnover free, throwing for 307 yards and adding three total scores. His freshman campaign is off to a great start as the Cougars are in firm control of the Big 12 with a 5-0 conference record.

#22 Texas Avoids Another Overtime Upset

#22 Texas 45 Mississippi 38

The cowbells were ringing in Starkville. The Mississippi State Bulldogs were on their way to their second upset of a Top 25 team in Davis Wade Stadium this season. By the end of the 3rd quarter they lead the #22 Texas Longhorns 31-14. Texas cut the lead to 31-21 and the Bulldogs answered to go ahead by 17 points again. Mississippi State failed to put the Longhorns away for good with failed fourth quarter drives. Texas cut the lead to 38-31 and with less than two minutes left would have a chance to drive the ball down the field for a game-tying field goal. Mississippi State punted and Texas return man Ryan Niblett caught the ball at the Lonhgorn 21-yard line, worked his way to the sideline, and broke two tackles and raced down the field to tie the game with 1:47 left. Mississippi State failed to end the game with a game-winning score. Texas forced overtime, scored first and closed out the game with a defensive stop. The Longhorns avoided a road upset for the second straight week, last week they beat Kentucky in overtime.

#3 Texas A&M Empties Out Death Valley

#3 Texas A&M 49 #20 LSU 25

Marcel Reed threw for 202 and ran for 108, he totaled for touchdowns for the Aggies as Texas A&M used a strong second half performance to empty out the fans at Death Valley. LSU lead 18-14 at the half but tallied just 9 yards of offense from 12 plays in the 3rd quarter. A 79-yard punt return by KC Cencepcion gave the Aggies a 10-point lead in the third quarter, they scored 35 unanswered points in the second half. This was enough to force the Tiger faithful to leave the stadium, Death Valley was nearly empty of LSU fans by the end of the game. Texas A&M is now 8-0 and look like one of the most dominate teams in the country.

#1 VS #2 FCS Matchup

#1 NORTH DAKOTA STATE 38 #2 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 7

The “Battle for the Dakota Marker” was played on Saturday in Brookings, SD between two of the most dominant teams in the FCS. Both of these teams have combined for the last four FCS National Titles. The game was an absolute blowout, the third straight win for NDSU. Bison QB Cole Payton ran for a career-high 137 yards and 4 rushing TD’s. The SDSU offense was held to just 166 offensive yards.

RIVALRY SPOTLIGHT

There were 11 rivalry games played in the FBS in Week 9. Here’s how the games went:

• “THE SOUTH’S OLDEST RIVALRY”: #16 Virginia 17 North Carolina 16. Virginia survives the near upset bid in Chapel Hill in OT
• “SUNFLOWER SHOWDOWN”: Kansas State 42 Kansas 17. Kansas St. wins their 17th straight Governor’s Cup.
• “ANNIVERSARY AWARD”: Kent State 24 Bowling Green 21. Kent St. improves to 3-5 this year, triples their win total from last year.
• “FLOYD OF ROSEDALE”: Iowa 41 Minnesota 3. Iowa wins 2nd straight in the series & 10 of the last 11 meetings.
• THE “OLD OIL CAN”: San Diego State 23 Fresno State 0. San Diego St. improves to 6-1 on the season, shuts out Fresno St. for the first time since 1998.
• THE “BATTLE FOR THE BRONZE STALK”: Northern Illinois 21 Ball State 7. Northern Illinois wins the last planned matchup of these long-time MAC rivals, NIU will join MWC in 2026.
• THE “BORDER WAR”: Wyoming 28 Colorado State 0. Wyoming wins the Bronze Boot Trophy, first shoutout over CSU since 2010.
• THE “BATTLE FOR THE PAUL BUNYAN TROPHY”: #25 Michigan 31 Michigan State 20. Michigan wins fourth game in a row over Michigan St.
• “RUMBLE IN THE ROCKIES”: Utah 53 Colorado 7. Utah avenges last year’s loss, have now won 8 of 9 in the series
• KENTUCKY-TENNESSEE RIVALRY: #17 Tennessee 56 Kentucky 34. Fifth straight win in series for Tennessee

WEEKLY LEADERS

PASSING

Drew Mestemaker, QB North Texas—- 608 passing yards at Charlotte

RUSHING

Isaac Brown, RB Louisville—- 205 rushing yards vs. Boston College

RECEIVING

KJ Duff, WR Rutgers—- 241 receiving yards at Purdue

UNBELIEVABLE STAT OF THE WEEK

North Texas QB Drew Mestemaker broke the school and American Conference-record with 608 passing yards at Charlotte. He threw for 329 yards in the first half, the most in FBS in one half this season. His 608 yards passing is a season-high in the FBS this season and the most since 2020.