By It was another thrilling day of college football as several teams narrowly escaped upset losses in overtime, while No. 3 Oregon stunned No. 2 Ohio State 32-31 in a Big Ten thriller, completing their first-ever win over a top-two ranked opponent.
The first ever top-five matchup played at the Autzen Stadium in Eugene lived up to its billing as a venue-record 60,129 fans were treated to an electrifying game in which both squads kept trading scores.
The Buckeyes took a 31-29 lead after a field goal with six minutes left but on the next drive, Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel led the Ducks down the field, completing all five of his passes for 41 yards, and eventually Atticus Sappington converted a 19-yard field goal to give the Ducks a 32-31 lead.
Ohio State got the ball back with just over a minute left but came up short after quarterback Will Howard tucked the ball and ran with it but didn’t get down in time to call a timeout as the clock expired. Not since 1991 has an AP top-three matchup been decided by just one point, according to ESPN Research.
Still buzzing from all this adrenaline, thousands of Ducks fans rushed the field afterwards, celebrating one of the program’s biggest wins.
“It’s a fun moment, man,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said afterwards. “It’s a fun moment that I know that everyone in that stadium that’s wearing green got to enjoy and celebrate, and everybody that worked so hard got to enjoy.
“For me, that’s the rewarding part, is that so many other people could share joy in a moment like that. Our players, our fans, the people this program means so much to — that’s as much for them as anybody else.”
Until this win, the Ducks had previously been 0-19 against top-two ranked opponents. They improve to 6-0 on the season while Ohio State falls to 5-1.
Elsewhere, No.4 Penn State downed USC in overtime, narrowly avoiding an upset behind a historic day by tight end Tyler Warren. The senior caught 17 passes, which ties a single game record for tight ends in FBS.
For almost all of regulation, the Nittany Lions trailed the USC Trojans at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and came back to tie the score on three separate occasions.
With just under three minutes left, down a score, Penn State running back Nicholas Singleton caught a touchdown to tie things up and force overtime. Kicker Ryan Barker later nailed a 36-yard field goal in OT to help the Nittany Lions improve to 6-0 on the season. Quarterback Drew Allar had a career high 391 yards passing and two touchdowns while Warren alone had 224 receiving yards and a touchdown.
There was almost another upset in Tennessee as the No. 8 ranked Volunteers squeaked past Florida 23-17 in overtime. Initially, Florida’s defense neutralized Tennessee’s offense, allowing zero points and just 130 total yards while sacking freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava three times in the first half.
After halftime, the Vols came to life and held a 17-10 lead going into the last minute of regulation but the Gators’ backup quarterback DJ Lagway threw a 23-yard pass to Chimere Dike for a touchdown to force OT, though Tennessee eventually came out on top.
No. 13 LSU upset No. 9 Ole Miss 29-26 in the third ranked overtime game of Week 7 in Death Valley. Down seven in the final minute of regulation, LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Anderson to tie the game.
Nussmeier then threw a 25-yard touchdown to wide receiver Kyren Lacy to give LSU the win in overtime after holding the Rebels to a field goal in the first possession of overtime.
It marks LSU’s fifth straight win as they move to 5-1 on the season while Ole Miss drops to 5-2.
In the Red River Rivalry, No. 1 Texas blew out No. 18 Oklahoma 34-3 to reclaim the famed golden hat after their last-second loss in last year’s game.
Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers returned from injury to mixed results, throwing for 199 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Running back Quintrevion Wisner led the way on the ground with 118 yards and a touchdown.
With their win, the Longhorns improve to 6-0 on the season and now turn their attention to next week’s showdown against No. 5 Georgia, who defeated Mississippi State 41-31 on Saturday.
