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Northwestern running back Isaiah Bowser (25) scores a touchdown against Wisconsin during the second half of an NCAA college football game in Evanston, Ill., Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018. Northwestern won 31-17. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
This post will be updated.
Taking a look at the highs and lows of the day in college football from around the country:
[Complete FBS scoreboard for Week 9]
Winners
Northwestern. Look who controls their own destiny in the Big Ten West. The Wildcats (5-3, 5-1) dealt Wisconsin a 31-17 defeat, their fourth victory in a row heading into a nonconference date with Notre Dame.
It isn’t a dominant Northwestern team; its five victories have come by a combined 44 points, with Saturday’s dismissal of the Badgers the most lopsided of the bunch. Nonetheless, the Wildcats were opportunistic, scoring a pair of touchdowns on short drives following Wisconsin turnovers.
Northwestern’s path to its first Big Ten title game involves beating Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois in the season’s final three weeks. It isn’t an easy task — especially not with the Hawkeyes game in Iowa City — but it’s still an enviable spot for the Wildcats considering they were 1-3 at the end of September.
Virginia. The Cavaliers are bowl-eligible in back-to-back seasons for the first time since making four consecutive postseason appearances between 2002 and 2005. Virginia upended North Carolina 31-21, earning its first home victory over the Tar Heels since 2008.
Virginia (6-2, 4-1 ACC) now has a clear path to the Coastal Division title. If it defeats Pittsburgh (next week) and Virginia Tech (Nov. 23), it will play in the ACC title game for the first time, regardless of what it does against Georgia Tech in the season’s penultimate week.
[Finally, it’s all good for Virginia football]
Matt Colburn II. The running back ended up with Wake Forest in 2015 only after Louisville changed its offer just before signing day. The Cardinals wanted Colburn to grayshirt, meaning it wanted him to wait till spring to enter college. Colburn didn’t headed instead to Winston-Salem.
That subplot has surfaced every time the ACC Atlantic Division rivals have met over the last four seasons, though never more than Saturday. Colburn steamrolled for 243 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries in 56-35 humiliation of the Cardinals.
For his career, Colburn will finish with 66 carries for 528 yards and three touchdowns in four games against Louisville.
Losers
Florida State. The Seminoles suffered their most lopsided home loss ever, a 59-10 pummeling administered by Clemson. It was also the most points Florida State (4-4, 2-4 ACC) had ever allowed in Doak Campbell Stadium.
Yes, it was against Clemson, which had separated itself from the Seminoles even before Coach Willie Taggart’s first season. But it was still a humbling day for a program a mere five years removed from winning a national championship.
Purdue. A week after throttling Ohio State, the Boilermakers didn’t reload the musket. Instead, they were on the wrong end of a 23-13 loss at Michigan State, committing three turnovers (all David Blough interceptions) and struggling to get star freshman Rondale Moore going despite making plenty of attempts to do so (16 targets, 11 catches, 74 yards).
It’s really no knock on Purdue (4-4, 3-2 Big Ten). It’s more a reminder of the up-and-down nature of the sport, especially for teams on their way to a finish between 4-8 and 8-4.
Wisconsin. Granted, the Badgers (5-3, 3-2 Big Ten) didn’t have quarterback Alex Hornibrook. But that’s only a partial explanation for their latest loss, a 31-17 setback at Northwestern.
Wisconsin now needs help to get back into the Big Ten West title race, and that’s assuming it can sweep past Rutgers, Penn State, Purdue and Minnesota.
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