Winner: The resurgence of Arizona football
Arizona football fans would like you to forget the past 10 years of its program, when the Wildcats failed to muster more than seven wins in a season after advancing to the Pac-12 Championship in 2014. Things went downhill soon after, as Arizona had just two winning seasons and fired two head coaches in Rich Rodriguez and former Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin.
Now, coach Jedd Fisch has the No. 21 Wildcats on the come-up. They’re 7-3 with wins over No. 19 Washington State, No. 11 Oregon State and No. 19 UCLA, while each of their losses have come by single digits. On Saturday, Arizona snuck past Colorado with a field goal as time expired in a 34-31 win.
An injury to junior quarterback Jayden de Laura earlier this season didn’t slow down the Wildcats, as redshirt freshman Noah Fifita stepped into the signal-caller role with ease. He’ll lead Arizona into another test next week versus No. 18 Utah.
Loser: The decline of Wisconsin football
While Arizona’s stock is trending upward, you may want to sell your shares in Wisconsin’s program. The Badgers made what was seen as a splash hire in the offseason in coach Luke Fickell, who led Group of 5 Cincinnati to the College Football Playoff in 2021. They also reeled in redshirt senior quarterback Tanner Mordecai, who started for two seasons at SMU.
With one of the nation’s top running backs in junior Braelon Allen, it looked as if Wisconsin was poised for a big year under Fickell. That hasn’t been the case, as the Badgers sit at 5-5 and 3-4 in Big Ten play.
A 24-10 loss on Saturday to a surprising Northwestern team marked the third loss in a row for Wisconsin, who needs to beat Nebraska or Minnesota to earn a bowl berth. It’s not an ideal first year for Fickell, and things could get tougher next season if the Badgers lose Mordecai and Allen.
Winner: Cody Schrader/Missouri
The graduate running back erupted for 205 rushing yards and a touchdown in Missouri’s 36-7 win over Tennessee on Saturday. Schrader’s fantastic performance not only helped Mizzou improve to 8-2, but he also surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing mark on the year.
Schrader spent the first three years of his career at Truman State, a Division II located in Kirksville, Missouri. In his time with the Bulldogs, he totaled over 2,000 yards rushing and 24 touchdowns. He was named the 2021 co-Offensive Player of the Year for the Great Lakes Valley Conference and was also named a unanimous All-GLVC first team selection.
Schrader then transferred to Missouri as a walk-on, and in 2022 he started 11 of 13 games and rushed for 745 yards and nine touchdowns. This year, he has rushed for 11 touchdowns and averages 5.7 yards per carry.
It doesn’t look like Mizzou has a chance to win the SEC East with an undefeated Georgia leading the way. However, Schrader and the Tigers are in position to hit the 10-win mark with only Florida and a struggling Arkansas team in the way.
Loser: Oklahoma State
The Cowboys have to be one of the most polarizing teams in college football.
Starting the season with close wins over Central Arkansas and Arizona State is quite something. Throw in losses to South Alabama and Iowa State, and the season looked to be finished four games in. However, the Cowboys went on a five-game win streak, including a win over Oklahoma.
Riding high and being ranked No. 15 in the AP Top 25, the Cowboys looked to continue their winning ways versus a UCF team that had just gotten its first Big 12 win over Cincinnati, another conference newcomer.
Well, Oklahoma State didn’t even come close to winning. UCF blew the Cowboys out, 45-3. Redshirt senior quarterback Alan Bowman threw three interceptions and star sophomore running back Ollie Gordon II rushed for just 25 yards on 12 carries. The Cowboys only converted 16.7% of their third downs and let the Knights rush for 293 yards on a whopping 53 attempts.
Fortunately for coach Mike Gundy’s squad, the Cowboys still sit second in the Big 12 with games at Houston and versus BYU left on the schedule. Win out and Oklahoma State finds itself in the Big 12 Championship game, but that’s a lot easier said than done with this team.
Winner: Michigan without a head coach
Michigan defeated and effectively ended Penn State’s postseason hopes this Saturday, beating them 24-15. The Nittany Lions let the Wolverines stroll right into Happy Valley and demolish them.
In classic Big Ten-style football, Blake Corum recorded 26 carries, 145 yards and two touchdowns, spearheading a dominant Michigan running game. Corum, of course, found great success running behind his back-to-back Joe Moore Award-winning offensive line.
NFL quarterback prospect J.J. McCarthy had just seven completions on eight pass attempts for 60 yards. However, the former No. 1 quarterback in the country and sophomore quarterback for Penn State Drew Allar was also unable to find success in the air.
It was an ugly game for both teams, as Michigan will be without Jim Harbaugh for the remainder of the regular season, in what Ann Arbor fans were finally hoping to be the year of the Wolverine come time for the College Football Playoff.
Penn State and head coach James Franklin remain unable to grab a win against top five teams, and drop another crucial one. Franklin will need to prove the ability to win the big one eventually or else his seat in Beaver Stadium might heat up sooner than later.
Loser: Caleb Williams’ Heisman hopes
With USC losing its fourth game this season, the dream of back-to-back Heisman trophies appears to be dead for Trojan junior quarterback Caleb Williams. He had 291 yards on the day on a 55% completion percentage but just one touchdown to show for it.
Not only is his team underperforming, but Williams has now been outdueled twice by fellow Pac-12 quarterbacks in seniors Bo Nix from Oregon and Michael Penix Jr. from Washington. Both outshined Williams in their defeat of the Californian Trojan army.
The last time a quarterback leading a four-loss team won the Heisman was the 2016 Lousiville Cardinals. That is when eventual NFL MVP Lamar Jackson won the award despite his team finishing just 9-4.
If Williams wants another spot in the Heisman house, he will need his competitors to falter in the coming weeks while he carries the weight of the USC program on his back in the search for a spot next to Archie Griffin in the double Heisman winner club.