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Michigan State's Elijah Collins rises to celebrate his team's victory over Penn State on Saturday. (Chris Knight / AP)
A glimpse of the highs and lows of Saturday in college football.
Take a look at Mark Dantonio, the Michigan state coach, outside and you'll feel like there's only one emotion in the game at all times.
His team? The one with a penchant for making all kinds of surprises in the last five years? The Spartans' personality can be everywhere.
Sometimes it's daring. Sometimes it's wise. Sometimes it's effective. But almost always, the Spartans are perfectly satisfied to stay in the hunt and snatch a match in the final minutes.
One could forgive Penn State (4-2, 1-2 Big Ten) for asking himself how he had wasted a game in which he had accumulated an average of 6.2 yards per game, got 162 yards rushing by Miles Sanders and committed a single turnaround, a fumble on his first possession that led to a punt.
The real mistake was to let Michigan State linger after taking a 17-14 lead over an investment with 9:21 to go. Michigan State's next game ended with a false goal, the sort of thing that taciturn Dantonio seems to dust off in away games once or twice a year. It did not work, but he gave the world a pass for the 6-foot-4, 300-pound defensive tackle, which was worth it.
Penn State's next mistake was to burn 70 seconds before handing it to the Spartans with 4:09 to go. The Nittany Lions then made another mistake after Michigan State took a cautious approach and cashed three times the time lost. They went three-and-after and came back to the defense with 1:19 remaining.
And now, it's time for the effective version of the Spartans to appear, triggering three first duels in five games. Three times later, Felton Davis III managed a 25-yard touchdown pass to win.
Once again, the state of Michigan (4-2, 2-1) has lingered long enough to charge the opponent. The Spartans have now won 10 of their last 15 games against teams ranked in the top 10 of the Associated Press poll. And they could get another shot or two to extend their success later this season with Michigan (next week) and Ohio State (Nov. 10), both expected for a visit to East Lansing.
[Complete college football scoreboard]
WINNERS:
Oregon. Do not worry about bananas, suggesting that the Ducks are back by dint of winning their 30-27 overtime win over Washington.
For starters, defeating a Huskies team with a loss is not the most upsetting development yet. In addition, Washington was lucky to win in the last game of the fourth quarter. And perhaps even more significant, Oregon was a playoff team four years ago and lost 9-4 in 2015. If the Ducks are gone, it's not long.
That said, there is plenty to do for Oregon (5-1, 2-1 Pac-12) after being crushed by rival Pacific Northwest over the past two years. The Ducks collected 111 yards and two touchdowns (including winner) from backstroke CJ Verdell, and are now tied in the Pac-12 North defeats column. They could still be undefeated, but that should make up for last month's loss to Stanford.
Saturday was a growth for Mario Cristobal's group. Oregon dominated for 40 minutes against Stanford, but found a way to lose. The Ducks did not dominate a more experienced and experienced Washington team and sailed on the road to victory.
Kansas State. What's the best way to handle a tenuous quarterback situation that leaves a coach in his seventies in a particularly pungent mood? Generate a dominant game and restore the problem.
The Wildcats ran the ball 55 times in their 31-12 win over Oklahoma State. Offensive half Alex Barnes had 34 runs for 181 yards and four touchdowns. Quarterback Skylar Thompson ran 12 times for 80 yards for the Wildcats (3-4, 1-3 Big 12), who took a step forward to save part of their season while losing the Cowboys their third defeat in conference.
our Lady. The Irish Fighting (7-0) survived Pittsburgh's visit, winning a 19-14 victory. All that really matters for Notre Dame, is to stay undefeated, which means winning at its best (Stanford) and relatively disappointing (Ball State, Pittsburgh). Until now, the Irish have done it.
Central Florida. The Knights (6-0, 3-0 AAC) are in the same boat as Notre Dame, apart from an obvious problem: even if they remain undefeated, they are not a good bet to clinch a playoff spot. But even if there is not much hope, there is always a fight as long as there is no zero in the losses column.
It was in jeopardy for much of the day in Memphis, with 16 points ahead. But McKenzie Milton managed a comeback limited by a seven-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter and Florida's center won 31-30 wins after a rematch of last year's conference league title .
Nate Stanley. The Iowa quarterback has thrown six touchdowns in a 42-16 loss to Indiana, a record for a Hawkeye since Chuck Hartlieb had seven against Northwestern in 1987.
losers
Auburn. Luckily, coach Gus Malzahn's Tigers (4-3, 1-3 SEC) followed the defeat loss to Mississippi State last week with a stunning 30-24 home defeat against Tennessee.
The same Tennessee who had not won an SEC match since 2016.
The same Tennessee was ranked 100th in the national offensive (360 yards per game), 107th in the attack (182.8) and tied for 113th in terms of turnover margin ( less-4).
Naturally, Jarrett Guarantano threw for 328 yards and two touchdowns for the Volunteers (3-3, 1-2). And of course, Tennessee did not have a gift by turning three Auburn errors into 14 points.
The sobering part for the Tigers, who are less than a year away from what amounts to a playoff round in the SEC title game: they still have to travel to Alabama and Georgia. What could have been a fun season has become something amazing for pedestrians.
Washington. The defeat in Oregon ended the Huskies' qualifying hopes in the playoffs and eliminated what was probably the Pac-12's best hope of taking a 12-1 team to the selection on Sunday.
This one will sting a little more, considering that Washington (5-2, 3-1) was fit for a positive score after converting the fourth and thirds of the 33-meter Oregon line with a little more from one minute to go. But Peyton Henry missed the right post at 37 yards in the final regulation game to send him into overtime – and prepared the Huskies for their second setback.
Nebraska. The Cornhuskers are almost inventing ways to lose at this point. Nebraska led by 10 after placing with 5:41 to go to Northwestern and retained a touchdown advantage after blocking the Wildcats on their one meter line with 2:02 to go.
Northwestern did not have a timeout, but he still finished walking the full length of the field with 12 seconds to spare. Then quarterback Adrian Nebraska Adrian Martinez launched an interception in overtime. And then Drew Luckenbaugh made 39 yards to capture Northwestern's possession. And just like that, the Cornhuskers were 0-6 and somehow more miserable than they were already this season.
Rutgers Pass. That the Scarlet Knights (1-6, 0-4 Big Ten) are not good is not new. And at this point, they do not deserve to stack unless the situation is really heading south.
Saturday's poster in a 34-7 loss to Maryland is qualified. Rutgers got 2 points out of 17 for 8 yards and five interceptions. Starting quarterback Artur Sitkowski took most of the statistics. The team's pass efficiency was -43.11. Yuck.
Learn more about college football:
Alabama, faithful to tradition, brings back 'Dixieland Delight'
The Pac-12: Conference of champions, but also football players
Jimmye Laycock leaves William & Mary on his terms. But after 39 years, it will not be easy.
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