It’s an Unhappy Valley in State College, competence returned to UCLA’s sidelines and the winless programs deserve your pity in this week’s Flop 10.

Here’s some of the lowlights from Week 7 of college football:

Penn State

Three weeks ago, Penn State was ranked No. 2 in the country. Life comes at you fast. The Nittany Lions have lost three in a row and the vultures are circling. Losing in double-OT to a top-5 team, while disappointing, is tolerable. But back-to-back losses to previously winless UCLA and at home to Northwestern will test the resolve of those needed to sign off on James Franklin’s near-$50 million buyout. Penn State trailed Northwestern, 22-21, prior to Drew Allar suffering a season-ending injury. Add injury to insult. It doesn’t get any easier for the Nittany Lions, who are 0-3 in the Big Ten. They travel to Iowa, then face No. 1 Ohio State followed by Indiana, who may be ranked No. 3 come Sunday. From preseason expectations to the harsh reality of what may lay ahead, this Penn State team could go down as one of the most disappointing of the 2000s.

Luke Fickell

You’d be hard-pressed to find a coach in hotter water than James Franklin, but Luke Fickell’s seat is molten. And problem for Fickell is his buyout is half of Franklin’s. (Though getting paid handsomely not to work doesn’t sound all that bad.) Saturday’s embarrassing 37-0 home loss to Iowa was the Badgers’ fourth in a row, and you’d have to hope rock bottom. ‘Well, that’s as low as it can be,’ Fickell said afterward. ‘I apologize. I apologized to our guys. To not be ready, to not have them ready, I’m dumbfounded in a lot of ways. But that’s my job.’

Wisconsin finished last season on a five-game losing streak and seem like a program in major regression.

Brent Venables’ Red River record

Oklahoma had its quarterback back and Texas was clinging to its top-25 spot with Arch Manning looking lost. All signs pointed to a Sooners win. About that… Manning made just enough plays, the Texas defense was dominant and that was that as the Longhorns beat the No. 6 Sooners, 23-6. OU coach Brent Venables is 1-3 in the Red River Rivalry, and in those three losses, the Sooners have been outscored 106-9.

DeShaun Foster and Tino Sunseri

So what was DeShaun Foster actually doing as Bruins coach?

Foster was fired after an 0-3 start, which included two losses to Group of Five teams — punctuated by that 35-10 home loss to New Mexico. UCLA hadn’t led at all in its first three games and averaged 16.5 points per game, tied for 115th in FBS out of 133 teams. In Tim Skipper’s first game as interim coach, the Bruins almost completed a comeback win at Northwestern (falling 17-14) and then pulled off the surprise of the season, upsetting Penn State, 42-37. On Saturday, UCLA continued its improved play with a dominating 38-13 win in East Lansing. And it’s not all on Foster. Lets save some admonishment for discarded playcaller Tino Sunseri. Out with Tino, and in with the Pasadena Kid. New playcaller Jerry Neuheisel has unlocked Nico Iamaleava and the Bruins have scored 80 points combined the past two weeks.

Mike Norvell

Not the birthday present the Seminoles coach was hoping for. Pitt, who was starting a true freshman at QB in just his second start, scored 34 points in Doak Walker Stadium and handed Florida State its third straight loss. This was Pitt’s first win over a ranked FSU team since 1981. Rick Springfield introduced us to ‘Jessie’s Girl’ and faces were melting in ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark.’ Only thing melting here is FSU’s ACC title hopes. Consider that season-opening win over Alabama an aberration — and ancient history. What have you done for me lately? FSU is going from top-10 to out of the rankings in less than a month. Folks in Tallahassee were restless after last year’s 2-10 season. Norvell can’t afford too many three-game losing streaks.

Refs in Auburn vs Georgia

Officials became the story of the 20-10 Georgia win on Saturday, and no sequence was more scrutinized than a would-be touchdown-turned fumble in Georgia’s favor. Auburn quarterback Jackson Arnold appeared to score from a yard out on a QB sneak, but officials ruled it a defensive touchdown on the field for Georgia’s Kryon Jones, who ran the ball back while Georgia and Auburn players were still in a scrum on the opposite end of the field.

However, replay appeared to show Arnold reach over the goal line with possession of the ball before the ball was knocked out of his hands. Moreover, replay showed Jones was never down on the play after he recovered the ball.

Despite both pieces of evidence, officials gave Georgia the ball at its own 1-yard line. Georgia turned the possession into a field goal that cut the Auburn lead to 10-3 — a 10-point swing.

Per Josh Pate, the final two minutes of the first half took 36 minutes of real time. ‘No injuries or weather delays.’

‘There’s more stoppages, more, that may be the longest half of football ever,’ Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said at halftime. ‘I don’t know how many timeouts Georgia got with all the stoppages. I have no clue how that doesn’t break the plane (on the sneak), no clue. And we’re due a break, maybe, one of these damn times.’

Oregon State

A team without a conference is also a team without a win — one of three FBS teams without a win. And the Beavers weren’t anywhere close in Saturday’s 39-14 home loss to Wake Forest. Wake led 32-0 and won by 25 despite going 1-of-9 on third down and committing 12 penalties for 109 yards. It was so bad, Oregon State fired its coach Trent Bray on Sunday, less than two years into a five-year contract. Oregon State has a chance to pick up its first win of the season against FCS Lafayette next week. After that, it’s fellow Pac-12 outcast Washington State, who has managed to be competitive despite living in conference purgatory. Then, its one of those other winless programs — Sam Houston State. 0-9 vs. 0-9? One can dream.

UMass

The other FBS 0-fer? That would be UMass, who lost 42-6 to a pretty bad Kent State team Saturday. Against FBS opposition, the Minutemen are being outscored 194-32. UMass also lost to FCS Bryant. The program has lost 18 in a row to FBS teams. Its last FBS win was Oct. 28, 2023 vs. Army. The Minutemen’s only wins since? Merrimack, Central Connecticut State and Wagner. It seems the FCS is more UMass’ level than the MAC, which they joined this summer.

Old Dominion

A sleeper from the Group of Five bunch hoping to stake a claim to the College Football Playoff, the Monarchs tripped over themselves Saturday at Marshall, doomed by five turnovers. Up until this week, ODU’s only blemish was a closer-than-expected loss on the road at Indiana (an Indiana team that will likely be ranked No. 3 in Sunday’s US LBM Coaches Poll). Maybe they were looking ahead to next week’s Sun Belt showdown at James Madison, another CFP hopeful. Whatever it was, the Monarchs lost 48-24 to a Thundering Herd team that lost to FBS debutant Missouri State earlier this year. So ODU, you can cross them off the list.

Fresno State

Fresno State was riding a five-game win streak and facing Colorado State, which was 1-4 and had lost three in a row. CSU’s lone win was against FCS Northern Colorado. Easy, pick right? Pfft. Fresno trailed 35-7 in the second quarter after the second TD catch of the day from Rocky Beers (if this guy doesn’t have an NIL deal with Coors, what are we doing!?!). The Bulldogs were called for 13 penalties for 117 yards, had four turnovers and eventually lost 49-21. The Rams hadn’t won a game by 28 points (or more) since 2021 and their 49 points were the most they’ve scored since 2017. A win would have made Fresno bowl eligible in new coach Matt Entz’s first season. It also would have come with a $50,000 bonus. Hold off on those home renovations for at least one more week.

USA TODAY Sports reporters Steve Berkowitz and Zac Al-Khateeb contributed to this story.

Given their 1-4 start to the 2025 season, the New Orleans Saints appear to be a clear ‘seller’ ahead of November’s NFL trade deadline. That doesn’t mean every veteran is on the trading block.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, several teams have contacted the Saints about trading for ninth-year running back Alvin Kamara. But New Orleans has held out on taking a seat at the negotiating table for such a trade.

The five-time Pro Bowler is signed to the Saints through the 2026 season after inking a two-year, $24.5 million extension last year. Kamara, according to Rapoport, also expressed to Saints general manager Mickey Loomis that he prefers to stay in New Orleans, the only place he’s played in his nine-year career.

With the NFL trade deadline still more than three weeks away, there’s still time for things to change. As the NFL playoff picture rounds into shape, contenders in need of a veteran boost might be willing to put together more enticing trade packages.

However, Rapoport also pointed out that Kamara is just one of several potential veteran trade candidates on the Saints. He reported that wide receiver Rashid Shaheed and defensive end Carl Granderson were among other New Orleans players that could be the subject of trade rumors.

Alvin Kamara trade rumors

Rapoport’s reporting Sunday morning indicated that the Saints are not expected to move Kamara ahead of the Nov. 4 trade deadline.

Kamara reportedly told Loomis, the Saints’ general manager, that he would prefer to stay in New Orleans. The 30-year-old running back has played only for the Saints after the team drafted him in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft. His decision to sign a two-year extension last year, keeping him in the Big Easy through 2026, indicated his intentions to remain with the Saints for his entire career, Rapoport reported.

Other veteran Saints players may be on the trading block, but Kamara should be expected to remain in New Orleans for the rest of this season.

Alvin Kamara stats

Through five weeks, Kamara is currently on pace to surpass his previous career single-season rushing total. Here’s a complete look at his marks ahead of his Week 6 meeting with the New England Patriots:

Rush attempts: 73
Rushing yards: 283
Yards per attempt: 3.9
Receptions: 17
Receiving yards: 77
Touchdowns: 1 rushing, 0 receiving
Fumbles: 1 lost

Denny Hamlin has driven for Joe Gibbs Racing since 2005. In 2021, he also launched 23XI Racing, a team he co-owns with Michael Jordan.
Hamlin’s unique conflict came to a head two weeks ago at Kansas Speedway while he was racing 23XI’s Bubba Wallace for the win.
Hamlin, who will turn 45 on Nov. 18, is still seeking the one thing missing from his résumé: a NASCAR Cup championship.

LAS VEGAS — Denny Hamlin will start on the pole at South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, Oct. 12 in the middle of an ongoing predicament in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Hamlin, a likely Hall-of-Famer with 59 career victories, is chasing his first NASCAR Cup championship while testing the boundaries between driving for one team (Joe Gibbs Racing) and co-owning another team (23XI Racing) with Michael Jordan.

“It sounds easy, running a race team, but it’s not,’’ Hamlin told USA TODAY Sports while addressing the dynamic. “You’re always putting out fires and then understanding how to manage those fires is the key.’

It was a fire Hamlin started that drew attention to the predicament.

On Sept. 28 during the second round of the NASCAR playoffs, Hamlin drove his No. 11 Toyota onto Kansas Speedway for the Hollywood Casino 400 amid the field of 37 cars, which also included 23XI Racing’s top drivers, Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick. On the final lap of the race, with Hamlin and Wallace competing for the win in overtime, the aggressive-driving Hamlin forced Wallace up the track, into the outside wall and out of the lead.

“You’re going to have those situations, and it won’t be the last where I’m racing a 23XI car for a victory,’’ Hamlin said. “And do I wish that I could do things maybe differently had things happened all over again? Yeah, that’s part of life lessons that you continue even as an adult.

“Been doing this 20 years. I always feel like I’m a student of the game and a student of learning as a person and a man how I can be better.’’

Hamlin did not elaborate what he would have done differently in Kansas. But the heart-to-heart he later apparently had with Wallace did not extinguish all embers of the fire.

A Wallace victory would have guaranteed a 23XI Racing driver a berth in the Round of 8, which kicks of at Las Vegas as the playoffs continue with four races remaining in the 2025 season. Instead, Wallace and Reddick were both eliminated the next week at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Hamlin, the driver, remains in championship contention after safely advancing to the third round on points.

“I think about it every day,’’ Wallace, who has driven for 23XI Racing since its inception, told USA TODAY Sports about the incident with Hamlin at Kansas. “It’s still difficult to swallow just being out (of the playoffs) at this point because I didn’t have it in our playbook when the playoffs started.’’

Hamlin likely didn’t either, despite having to navigate the delicate balance between racing for one team and owning another since 23XI Racing debuted as a NASCAR Cup Series team at the 2021 Daytona 500. It’s one of the most unique conundrums in sports, especially as Hamlin, who will turn 45 on Nov. 18, seeks the one thing missing from his résumé: a NASCAR Cup championship.

“I’m in a tough situation because I also compete, so there’s a couple days of the weekend where I can’t really be the owner of 23XI. I have to go and compete against them,’ Hamlin told USA TODAY Sports. ‘But for the rest of the time … my success long term is in that (23XI Racing) building. That’s where my goals are long term, is to see that team succeed. In the short term, they’re competitors of mine, on at least Sunday.

‘What I’ve found for myself is I’ve got a really big tackle box in my brain that’s able to compartmentalize different parts of my life. Even though I’ve got so much going on, I find little spaces for each one of them.’

Hamlin, brought to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway media room after winning the pole Saturday, ended up fielding questions about the incident with Wallace yet again, two weeks after that race. He also addressed the issues with USA TODAY Sports before qualifying started.

“I’ve been with Joe Gibbs Racing for over 20 years now and I have to make sure on Sundays I have to do everything to win for that team,’’ Hamlin said. “Because they’re the ones that hired me and they wouldn’t hire a driver that is conflicted in the end.’

While Hamlin sounded contrite at one point, he later stressed how he’s helped 23XI Racing drivers and that he works more with them than with his teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing, fellow playoff drivers Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe.

“Not because I chose that, but because they (23XI drivers) pick my brain a little bit more than my Joe Gibbs Racing teammates do,’’ he said. “So I try to make them faster for six days of the week and sometimes they go out there and use that information I give them and they go and beat me with it, and then I’m kicking myself. But I always bring myself back to, their success is going to be good for me in the long term.’’

Hamlin said he’s not surprised the incident with one of the 23XI Racing drivers took place.

“It’s just amazing it took five years …’’ he said. “But when you’re looking for a win, it’s an interesting, complex thing that I find myself in, right?”

(This story has been updated to correct a date.)

Coco Gauff ousted fellow American Jessica Pegula in straight sets on Sunday, Oct. 12, to win the Wuhan Open.

Gauff, ranked No. 3 in the world, claimed her second WTA title of the season, following her triumph in the French Open in June. She rallied from two breaks down in the second set by taking the final four games to prevail 6-4, 7-5 over the sixth-ranked Pegula.

With the victory, Gauff, 21, became the first woman in a decade to win nine consecutive hardcourt finals. Serena Williams was the last to do it when she won 12 in a row from 2013-15. Gauff also joined Venus Williams as the only American women to win the Wuhan title.

Pegula and Gauff, former doubles partners who won titles together in Miami and Doha in 2023, played against each other in a final for the first time in their career.

‘When I came on tour, you were one of the first people to be nice to me and welcome me with open arms. And that really goes a long way and still goes a long way,’ Gauff said during the trophy presentation of the 31-year-old Pegula.

‘So I appreciate you. And it’s great to finally play in a final against you.’

Denny Hamlin has driven for Joe Gibbs Racing since 2005. In 2021, he also launched 23XI Racing, a team he co-owns with Michael Jordan.
Hamlin’s unique conflict came to a head two weeks ago at Kansas Speedway while he was racing 23XI’s Bubba Wallace for the win.
Hamlin, who will turn 45 on Nov. 18, is still seeking the one thing missing from his résumé: a NASCAR Cup championship.

LAS VEGAS — Denny Hamlin will start on the pole at South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, Oct. 12 in the middle of an ongoing predicament in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Hamlin, a likely Hall-of-Famer with 59 career victories, is chasing his first NASCAR Cup championship while testing the boundaries between driving for one team (Joe Gibbs Racing) and co-owning another team (23XI Racing) with Michael Jordan.

“It sounds easy, running a race team, but it’s not,’’ Hamlin told USA TODAY Sports while addressing the dynamic. “You’re always putting out fires and then understanding how to manage those fires is the key.’

It was a fire Hamlin started that drew attention to the predicament.

On Sept. 28 during the second round of the NASCAR playoffs, Hamlin drove his No. 11 Toyota onto Kansas Speedway for the Hollywood Casino 400 amid the field of 37 cars, which also included 23XI Racing’s top drivers, Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick. On the final lap of the race, with Hamlin and Wallace competing for the win in overtime, the aggressive-driving Hamlin forced Wallace up the track, into the outside wall and out of the lead.

“You’re going to have those situations, and it won’t be the last where I’m racing a 23XI car for a victory,’’ Hamlin said. “And do I wish that I could do things maybe differently had things happened all over again? Yeah, that’s part of life lessons that you continue even as an adult.

“Been doing this 20 years. I always feel like I’m a student of the game and a student of learning as a person and a man how I can be better.’’

Hamlin did not elaborate what he would have done differently in Kansas. But the heart-to-heart he later apparently had with Wallace did not extinguish all embers of the fire.

A Wallace victory would have guaranteed a 23XI Racing driver a berth in the Round of 8, which kicks of at Las Vegas as the playoffs continue with four races remaining in the 2025 season. Instead, Wallace and Reddick were both eliminated the next week at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Hamlin, the driver, remains in championship contention after safely advancing to the third round on points.

“I think about it every day,’’ Wallace, who has driven for 23XI Racing since its inception, told USA TODAY Sports about the incident with Hamlin at Kansas. “It’s still difficult to swallow just being out (of the playoffs) at this point because I didn’t have it in our playbook when the playoffs started.’’

Hamlin likely didn’t either, despite having to navigate the delicate balance between racing for one team and owning another since 23XI Racing debuted as a NASCAR Cup Series team at the 2021 Daytona 500. It’s one of the most unique conundrums in sports, especially as Hamlin, who will turn 45 on Nov. 18, seeks the one thing missing from his résumé: a NASCAR Cup championship.

“I’m in a tough situation because I also compete, so there’s a couple days of the weekend where I can’t really be the owner of 23XI. I have to go and compete against them,’ Hamlin told USA TODAY Sports. ‘But for the rest of the time … my success long term is in that (23XI Racing) building. That’s where my goals are long term, is to see that team succeed. In the short term, they’re competitors of mine, on at least Sunday.

‘What I’ve found for myself is I’ve got a really big tackle box in my brain that’s able to compartmentalize different parts of my life. Even though I’ve got so much going on, I find little spaces for each one of them.’

Hamlin, brought to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway media room after winning the pole Saturday, ended up fielding questions about the incident with Wallace yet again, two weeks after that race. He also addressed the issues with USA TODAY Sports before qualifying started.

“I’ve been with Joe Gibbs Racing for over 20 years now and I have to make sure on Sundays I have to do everything to win for that team,’’ Hamlin said. “Because they’re the ones that hired me and they wouldn’t hire a driver that is conflicted in the end.’

While Hamlin sounded contrite at one point, he later stressed how he’s helped 23XI Racing drivers and that he works more with them than with his teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing, fellow playoff drivers Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe.

“Not because I chose that, but because they (23XI drivers) pick my brain a little bit more than my Joe Gibbs Racing teammates do,’’ he said. “So I try to make them faster for six days of the week and sometimes they go out there and use that information I give them and they go and beat me with it, and then I’m kicking myself. But I always bring myself back to, their success is going to be good for me in the long term.’’

Hamlin said he’s not surprised the incident with one of the 23XI Racing drivers took place.

“It’s just amazing it took five years …’’ he said. “But when you’re looking for a win, it’s an interesting, complex thing that I find myself in, right?”

(This story has been updated to correct a date.)

EUGENE, Ore. – They don’t want to hear it in Columbus or Miami or Tuscaloosa, or any other high-rent locale in college football. 

They’ll laugh at the absurdity of it all in Athens and Norman and Baton Rouge. But there’s no denying it now. 

Indiana, long the armpit of college football, is as good as any team in the nation. 

Read that again: as good as any in the nation. 

‘We’re not a one-hit wonder,’ said Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza.

If you didn’t believe it before, you better start embracing it now.

It took Indiana coach Curt Cignetti one season to produce the best record in 126 years of Hoosiers football. It may only take another to earn the school’s first No. 1 ranking.

If the annihilation of Illinois in September didn’t do it, the meticulous 30-20 punishing exclamation point of a win over of No. 2 Oregon removed all doubt. The basketball school that has lost more football games than any other program in NCAA history, has this pigskin thing figured out. 

‘The confidence we have right now, it’s hard to describe,’ said Indiana linebacker Aiden Fisher. ‘We were the punching bags of the Big Ten. This program is in a really good spot right now.’

The striking transformation, from caterpillar to scorpion in only 19 games (17 wins) under Cignetti, has been utterly remarkable.

Indiana has done it with a modern day Steve Spurrier offensive savant as a head coach, whose fearless personality has become Indiana’s. Whose cocksure attitude and bravado look a whole lot like another guy from years past who once tossed a chair on the floor at Assembly Hall — whose big and bombastic personality was the story we couldn’t avoid and ignore. 

Welcome to Indiana football, everyone. Loud and proud, and with enough talent and coaching to kick the ever-loving Knight out of you in your building.

They raced down to the field at Autzen Stadium, a couple of thousand Crimson-clad Indiana fans who made the long trek from the Midwest ― and really, from the hinterlands of the sport after decades of pulling up the very end of the rear. They stormed the home team’s field, a wave of emotion and celebration for the greatest win in school history.

Some laughed, some cried. All of them hugged with anyone they could get their hands on.

Who-Who-Who? Hoo-siers!

‘I really felt our team was in a good place, most important, our mindset,’ Cignetti said. ‘We believed we could make it happen.’

Because what would make anyone think the program that had one win in 73 all-time games against Top five teams (and had lost 46 straight), would be the one salting away a victory in the closing minutes?

What would make anyone think the team that lost both games of significance last season — to the two teams that played in the national flipping championship game, by the way — would do anything other than fold after Mendoza threw a pick-six early in the fourth quarter and Oregon somehow tied a game it had no business being in?

Then a funny happened along the way to Indiana playing the role of years past: the Hoosiers peeled off a 12-play, 75-yard drive that included three third-down conversions, and finished it with a dart from Mendoza to Elijah Sarratt from the Oregon-8. On third down.

‘It’s about being resilient with an indomitable will that can’t be defeated,’ Cignetti said.

It wasn’t just that Indiana traveled across the country to win this thing (see, James Franklin, it really does happen), it’s the way the Hoosiers did it. They stood straight and traded blows with the defending Big Ten champions, the team that hadn’t lost in the regular season since 2023.

The Hoosiers absorbed a pick-six when they had complete control of the game. They survived numerous pre-snap penalties brought about from the raucous crowd, and converted critical third downs. 

And they got defensive stops over and over when they needed it most. Oregon’s four offensive drives in the fourth quarter: punt, interception, interception, end of game.

The Ducks, who were averaging 47 points and more than 500 yards a game, ran 15 plays in the fourth quarter for a measly 27 yards.

‘The defense was huge,’ Cignetti said. ‘Just took it to them in the second half.’

None of this should be surprising if you’ve paid attention from the day Cignetti was hired, and declared, ‘I win, Goggle me.’ And has since won like no one ever has in Bloomington.

Indiana has made this happen with a staff that has figured out the transfer portal better than any other. It’s not just who you collect from the grab bin/money pit of the sport, it’s how they fit and develop within your program.

Like Mendoza, lost with California in the ACC, now playing like the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL draft. Officials were allowing tight coverage, and his ball placement and velocity was nearly perfect.  

Or Fisher, virtually unknown at James Madison, now the most impactful linebacker in the Big Ten. He and the rest of the IU front seven constantly harassed Oregon quarterback Dante Moore, sacked him six times and all but eliminated the Ducks’ run game. 

Or tailback Roman Hemby, a talented runner lost on some truly average Maryland teams, giving Cignetti the one thing it lacked in 2024: a bruising, dynamic runner who can move the pile and get tough yards — and break tackles in space and wreck a game plan. He had two big touchdown runs and kept getting critical yards when the offense needed it most. 

‘This is a perfect depiction of why I came here,’ Hemby said.

As the final minute slowly crawled off the clock and the stadium was all but empty with the exception of the Crimson wave heading to the field, Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson stood on the sideline and tried to make sense of this unthinkable ride.

He talked about belief and alignment and buy-in and everything else you’d expect the guy who runs the athletic department to say. Then he finally just gave in.

‘Coach Cignetti is a bit of unicorn,’ Dolson said, almost sheepishly. ‘Everything he told me in our (job) interview that he said was going to happen, he has done.’

If last season was the breakout of Indiana football, this season could be the knockout.

There’s no avoiding it now, everyone. 

Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB.

Hugh Freeze: ‘We find ways to not win football games.’ That’s a hallmark of coaches on the hot seat.
Controversial call on Jackson Arnold fumble sparks Georgia rally.
Auburn makes losing close games an art form.

As soon as Auburn quarterback Jackson Arnold fumbled at the one-millimeter line in the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry, you just sort of knew the game was over.

The Tigers led Georgia by 10 points, but that barely mattered.

Sure enough, Georgia rallied to a 20-10 victory.

Auburn managed just 50 yards in the two quarters following the fumble.

Georgia’s team is incomparable to what it was when the Bulldogs won back-to-back national championships, but Kirby Smart’s program still houses a winning culture. More times than not, Georgia finds a way to win its clunkers.

Auburn remains stubbornly steadfast in how it finds ways to lose games. Depending on your perspective, maybe you saw Arnold break the plane of the end zone before he fumbled. The officials didn’t see it that way and upheld the controversial call of a fumble, marking the latest chapter in the shoulda, woulda, coulda story of Hugh Freeze’s tenure.

Each of Auburn’s three consecutive losses came by no more than 10 points, and dating back to last season, the Tigers’ past six losses were decided by no more than two scores.

“It’s clear that we find ways to not win football games,” said Freeze, whose Auburn record dropped to 14-17.

That’ll be the summary of Freeze’s Auburn coaching tenure when it ends: He came close to winning more.

Freeze moved another step closer to a firing, and never mind his team doesn’t look that far off from having a few more victories, because the landfill of battered and broken coaching careers is full of guys who came close to winning more games. Repeatedly coming close (and repeatedly coming up short) is a loser’s hallmark.

Undisciplined play is another hallmark of losing teams and fired coaches. After Auburn’s 11 penalties in this ninth consecutive loss to Georgia, the Tigers rank as the SEC’s second-most penalized team.

“It’s what I mean when we’re finding ways not to win the games,” Freeze said of the penalties.

He sees the problems, but that’s not the same as fixing them.

Auburn’s next game against Missouri feels pretty darn pivotal to Freeze’s longevity.

Freeze’s buyout will be a tick more than $15 million after this season, and the payments could be spread out over the next few years. That amounts to a line item for a program that shelled out more than $21 million to get rid of a coach who never had a losing season.

Freeze earned an offensive guru membership more than a decade ago at Mississippi, when he helped bring tempo offense and run-pass option plays to the SEC. Back then, that was cutting edge stuff, at least within the conference Nick Saban ruled. Freeze even inspired Saban to evolve his offense by beating him back-to-back seasons while at Ole Miss.

Now, Freeze is like the guy walking around with a flip phone, wondering how he went from pioneer to past his prime. His guru membership got revoked years ago. He’s failed to develop a good quarterback in three seasons at Auburn.

At least when Auburn kept finding ways to lose last season, Freeze could point to his recruiting class as a reason to stay the course. No more. The Tigers’ class ranks 50th nationally in the 247Sports Composite. That’s one spot better than Boise State and one spot worse than Iowa.

That landfill of broken-down coaching careers is also full of guys who stopped recruiting well.

The upside for Auburn is they don’t look too terribly far away. The downside is, the Tigers seem stuck 10 steps short of getting over the hump, stuck one millimeter short of the goal line, stuck explaining how they let another winnable game slip away.

“That locker room is a good enough football team to play with anyone,” Freeze said.

Good enough to lose repeatedly by close margins.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.

The Trojans’ defense held Michigan to 109 rushing yards, well below their season average.
Freshman running back King Miller rushed for a game-high 158 yards and a touchdown for USC.
The victory boosts USC’s College Football Playoff chances ahead of a crucial game against No. 16 Notre Dame.

LOS ANGELES — Just before Southern California took the field against No. 15 Michigan in what was a must-win for the Trojans, the team was led onto the field by someone that knows all about winning in critical contests.

Women’s basketball star JuJu Watkins led the team out of the tunnel in front of a sold-out Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. 

Watkins didn’t play on the field, nor will she be on the court in the upcoming season as she recovers from an ACL injury. But her presence was a reminder of someone on campus it’s time to shine when the lights are bright. It’s been something Lincoln Riley and company haven’t shown much since his arrival.

Turns out maybe all Riley needed was some good JuJu. 

The Trojans didn’t fold and Riley finally picked up what he called ‘an important’ first signature Big Ten victory with a 31-13 decision in a major step to prove USC is a potential College Football Playoff contender.

It was a performance USC fans have been waiting for. For the past few seasons, they wondered if Riley would be able to live up to the lofty expectations and paycheck he’s had since arriving from Oklahoma. Each time during his four seasons he was handed a test, it ended with him falling short of that A-grade. 

When USC lost a heart-breaker against Illinois in Week 5, it felt like it could have been the same story in 2025. With Michigan coming to town, the same team that punched the Trojans right in the mouth in their Big Ten debut last season, it was an opportunity to change the narrative.

USC aced its test in convincing fashion − and sparked optimism back into a fanbase hesitant to fully buy into it.

‘Several years ago, it’s kind of what we all dreamed up,’ Riley said. ‘This would be the Coliseum lit up, two iconic programs going at it in a heavy hitter, Trojans coming off the field with the with the victory, and the place totally on fire.’

USC gets off to fast start

Facing one of the best defenses in the country, the Trojans drove quickly for a touchdown on their opening drive to take the early lead. Mistakes prevented USC from adding to its margin, but what had been a leaky defense stepped up. The Wolverines could only muster up a single touchdown as their power rushing game wasn’t able to generate consistent success.

It gave the offense enough time to settle down, and it took off once it did. Another touchdown from Jayden Maiava to Makai Lemon before the half gave the Trojans the lead once more, and they didn’t let go of it for the remainder of the game.

If there was any indication good JuJu was on USC’s side, it came on a third-and-26 in the third quarter. The Trojans appeared content to cede possession with a run play. But freshman running back King Miller blasted through the Wolverine defense for a 49-yard gain that electrified the home crowd. 

Two plays later, Miller ran it in for a touchdown to extend the lead, and Michigan couldn’t recover from it.

USC defense does its part against Michigan

USC didn’t put up the high scoring performance it has mostly done this season, but it certainly clamped down on Michigan. 

The Wolverines entered the night averaging 237.8 yards on the ground, 13th best in the country. Running back Justice Hayes’ 654 rushing yards was the fourth-most in FBS.

Hayes finished with just 51 rushing yards as he dealt with an injury in the first half, and Michigan finished with 109 total yards on the ground. Meanwhile, King, whose role was suddenly elevated thanks to a depleted running back room, had a game-high 158 rushing yards as the Trojans piled up 224 yards on the ground.

Not a bad performance against a team that was giving up on average 77 yards per game on the ground. It was the most rushing yards Michigan had given up since its 2022 meeting with Ohio State.

It felt like USC took it personal for how Michigan’s physicality was the difference last season. This time around, the Trojans looked far more physical, willing to break free from Riley’s finesse identity and rather be the bullies. Michigan’s defensive line had been exceptional at getting to the quarterback, averaging three sacks a game.

On Saturday night, USC didn’t give up a single sack.

‘We’re a tough-ass, physical program,’ Riley said.

Saturday’s win was a resume booster, but it was just the first part of what’s a crucial midterm for the Trojans. They can’t spend long celebrating their victory with next week’s rivalry game at No. 16 Notre Dame on tap. USC hasn’t won in South Bend since 2011, losing six consecutive games inside Notre Dame Stadium.

The winner will see a boost to its playoff chances while the loser will be left with little or no margin for error. The elation in Los Angeles can wind up being a short-term celebration.

‘When you play our schedule, there’s not too much time to celebrate. We know we got another big football game coming up, and we’ll be excited to go back and prepare in the way that we did this week and get ready for (Notre Dame,’ Riley said.

But for now, Riley and USC can start to shed that pretender label – all thanks to some positive JuJu.

Illinois became the latest Big Ten carcass left chewed up and spit out by Ryan Day’s Ohio State thresher.
Buckeyes quarterback Julian Sayin is a smooth operator.
No drama from Ohio State. Just dominance.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Around the Buckeye State, the natives say it’s Ohio Against The World.

That amounts to backward look at this college football season.

It’s the World Against The Buckeyes. The World keeps losing. Keeps getting smushed.

No. 17 Illinois became the latest Big Ten carcass left chewed up and spit out by Ryan Day’s thresher.

The No. 1 Buckeyes aren’t the nation’s flashiest team, nor its most explosive.

They’re just so stinkin’ resolute, to the point of being borderline boring. That’s a feature, not a bug.

Searching for an Ohio State weakness amounts to a snipe hunt. You can look the Buckeyes over from every angle, from front to back, from top to bottom, and there’s no apparent crack in this machine.

Ohio State smothered the Illini, 34-16, at Memorial Stadium.

The sell-out crowd filled every nook and cranny here hoping against logic they’d witness a stunner. By the end of the third quarter, scores of orange-clad students headed for the exits in the north end zone. Minutes later, Ohio State scored again, and hundreds more beelined out of the stands.

No drama to witness here. Just another clinically precise Ohio State performance.

Never mind the caveats, because Ohio State looks so darn sturdy

The Buckeyes left gas in the tank, too. This amounted to a vanilla, ho-hum performance. Ohio State even — gasp! — allowed two touchdowns, after they hadn’t allowed one since Week 3. At no point, though, was this outcome in doubt. The Buckeyes had this win in the bag well before halftime. No point showing off all the gadgets.

We can add all the tried and true caveats. Some Southerner is probably already on hold for Monday’s “Paul Finebaum Show,” waiting to exclaim that, Pawwwllllll, Ohio State ain’t played nobody!

Fine, but Ohio State’s also avoided flops like Penn State experienced at UCLA or Alabama endured at Florida State or the Texas debacle at Florida.

And, go ahead, label the Illini a pretender after they got steamrolled by Indiana and dismantled by Ohio State. The Buckeyes don’t need to apologize, though, for smashing a top-20 opponent.

Unless Day’s Buckeyes drift into old habits and experience another seizure upon sight of maize and blue, it’s difficult to envision them being pushed before the Big Ten championship game.

Julian Sayin keeps slinging completions

Ohio State’s defense is suffocating. It forced three Illini turnovers.

True freshman running back Bo Jackson is developing nicely.

The offensive line protects quarterback Julian Sayin as if he’s in possession of the nuclear codes.

Sayin is accurate and steady-handed, and every quarterback in the country must envy Sayin that he gets to throw to this group of incomparable wide receivers. If only every red-zone fade pass looked so smooth as the one Sayin tossed to Jeremiah Smith. More throws like that, and the Heisman Trophy spotlight eventually will find Sayin.

The spotlight keeps focusing on the wrong former five-star quarterback. Truth is, Sayin performs more like a Manning than the guy at Texas with those seven letters on the back of his burnt orange jersey.

We might not know just how good Ohio State really is until it faces Oregon or Indiana the first weekend of December. Until then, the best we can do is trust our eyes. My eyes see a flourishing quarterback, a fierce defense, excellent receivers, and a defending national champion that hasn’t broken its stride.

It’s the World Against The Buckeyes, and the World is the underdog.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.

Things have gone from bad to worse for Penn State as quarterback Drew Allar suffered a season-ending injury in the team’s loss to Northwestern.

‘Drew will be done for the year,’ Franklin said.

Here’s the latest on Allar’s injury:

Drew Allar injury update

With Penn State down 22-21 with less than four minutes left in the fourth quarter, Allar scrambled on a third-down play and was tackled short of the first down. It appeared he got hit in the lower body. He didn’t get up initially and medical personnel came to check on him as the Beaver Stadium crowd went silent.

Allar eventually got up and was noticeably limping on his way to the sideline. He exited the contest and backup quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer took over.

On the ensuing fourth-down play, Penn State was unable to get the first down, giving Northwestern the ball. The Wildcats then ran out the clock after two first downs.

It’s was another disappointing loss in what has been a disappointing season for the Nittany Lions that started No. 2 in the US LBM Coaches Poll and now is 3-3 with three losses in its Big Ten games.