Week six of college football was like a buffet as it had a little bit of everything, blowouts, a seven overtime game, upsets and heart pounding last minute drives to decide games. Now that the majority of the Power Five conferences are well entrenched into their conference schedules, upsets were imminent. Here are some recaps of some of the most anticipated and most surprising games from last week.
No. 24 N.C. State Continues Impressive Season with Upset of No. 17 Louisville
What was hyped up as one of the best Thursday or Friday night games ESPN had to offer this year, turned out to be a snoozer in the first quarter. As both defenses shut down the opposing offenses.
Then came the second quarter and, oh my was it a different story. N.C. State started the scoring off with Ryan Finley the NC State quarterback completing a 48-yard pass to Kelvin Harmon, which would turn out to be his only touchdown pass on the night. Lamar Jackson responded by leading Louisville on nine-play 75-yard drive that capped off with a 23-yard pass to Seth Dawkins.
The teams traded scoring drives for the rest of the quarter, but the Wolfpack led by seven at the break. N.C. State would extend its lead to 13 entering the fourth quarter but the game was far from over.
In the final frame, Lamar Jackson tried to spur the Cardinals to a comeback win as he closed the gap by scoring a touchdown with a little over four minutes left. Then the Cards defense forced a quick three and out leaving Jackson with three minutes to drive almost the entire field. Louisville’s comeback hopes, however, were dashed quickly as on the second play on the drive, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner threw a pick six to Germaine Pratt for a 25-yard return. Thus sealing Louisville’s fate on the night.
Kempt and Cyclones Storm into Norman and Upset No. 3 Oklahoma
Coming in as 28-point favorites and given two weeks to prepare, the Oklahoma Sooners were expected to dominate an Iowa State team that has been on a roller coaster of season so far. With expected started Josh Parks away from the team due to personal reasons, redshirt-senior quarterback Kyle Kempt made his first collegiate start for the Cyclones.
By the end of the first quarter the Sooners were already ahead 14-3. In the second quarter however Iowa State found its groove on offense, scoring 10 points, while holding the Sooners to the same point total. They entered halftime down just 11, a surprise to a lot of people.
Iowa State received the second half kickoff and started on its own 20-yard line. It drive was a slow and methodical and ended in a field goal. Oklahoma on its first drive of the second half looked like it was going to answer but a turnover deep in the red zone spoiled its chance.
Starting from it own six yard line, Iowa State drove 94 yards on seven plays, and capping off the drive when Kempt connected with Marchie Murdock for a 28-yard touchdown. They would tie the game with a two-point conversion.
After Oklahoma missed a field goal on its next drive, the Cyclones would take the lead for the first time when Kempt completed a pass to Trever Ryen for a 57-yard touchdown. The Sooners, led by redshirt senior quarterback Baker Mayfield, would respond on their next drive to tie the game.
The Cyclones weren’t done yet, though, as they drove 75 yards on their next drive and scored to regain the lead. The Cyclone defense would respond in their next drive as they shut down the Sooners offense and forced a turnover on downs sealing the victory for the Cyclones. This was the first ever road victory over an AP top-5 team in Iowa State program history and only the second win against Oklahoma since 1961.
Preview for Week 7: There will be a critical SEC matchup on Friday night on ESPN as the Auburn Tigers go into Death Valley to face the revitalized LSU Tigers. A historic Big 12 rivalry, The Red River Rivalry kicks off at 2:30 p.m. on ABC or ESPN as Texas welcomes Oklahoma into the Cotton Bowl. Additionally, an important Pac-12 matchup between the USC Trojans and the Utah Utes kicks off at 7:00 p.m. on ABC Saturday night.
