Kansas State is coming off a historic victory. Now it’s time to prove that it was not a fluke.

The Wildcats, ranked No. 13 in the first College Football Playoff poll, defeated then-No. 9 Oklahoma State 48-0 last Saturday, the largest shutout ever over a top-10 team by a team lower in the rankings. It was the Wildcats’ first victory over the Cowboys in Chris Klieman’s four years as head coach.

They’ll face another squad Klieman hasn’t defeated when No. 24 Texas comes to Manhattan, Kan. on Saturday for a primetime showdown.

K-State (6-2, 4-1 Big 12) played exceptionally well against the Cowboys, and two Wildcats earned Big 12 player of the week honors. Quarterback Will Howard, who played for injured starter Adrian Martinez, earned offensive player of the week after going 21-of-37 for 296 passing yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions.

Punter Ty Zentner was selected special teams player of the week after serving as punter, place kicker and kickoff specialist. He hit both field goals and all six extra points, plus placed two of his four punts inside the 20 without a touchback.

The defense shut out the Cowboys, who came into the game averaging 44.7 points per game, tied for third in the FBS. The last time the Cowboys were shut out was Nov. 28, 2009, when they were blanked by Oklahoma, 27-0. The Cowboys also were held to 217 yards of total offense, less than half their season average (466.9 yards per game).

Klieman knows it will take an equally stout effort to defeat the Longhorns.

“I know they’re extremely well coached and they have great talent,” Klieman said at his Tuesday press conference. “They’ll have some things we haven’t seen. We know they’ll attack us where other teams have hurt us.”

Klieman said he didn’t know whether Martinez or Howard will start Saturday, and he probably won’t say when he does figure it out.

“Adrian is closer (to playing),” the coach said, adding that Howard is playing well enough to consider starting him regardless of Martinez’s health.

Texas (5-3, 3-2 Big 12) was off last weekend after being defeated by the same Oklahoma State team that K-State pummeled. With a win over K-State, the Longhorns will have a good chance to compete for a spot in the Big 12 championship game Dec. 3. A loss will make it nearly impossible. The Longhorns lost to Oklahoma State and play conference-leading TCU, ranked seventh in the CFP, next week in Austin.

Texas is 3-7 all-time in Manhattan, including wins in each of the last two meetings. The Longhorns won the last game in Manhattan, 69-31, but that was against a COVID-depleted team in 2020.

No one expects that kind of result Saturday.

“They’re talented in all three phases,” head coach Steve Sarkisian said of the Wildcats. “They take care of the ball on offense and create a bunch of turnovers on defense. They limit their penalties. This is a great task, going on the road into a really cool environment, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Freshman quarterback Quinn Ewers will hope for improvement after he completed just 19 of 49 passes against the Cowboys for 319 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. Bijan Robinson leads the Longhorns on the ground with 920 yards and 11 touchdowns; he’s broken the 100-yard mark in six straight games and gained at least 130 rushing yards in three straight.

–Field Level Media

Michigan debuted at No. 5 in this year’s College Football Playoff rankings Tuesday night. The Wolverines control their own destiny if they win out in November, including the traditional season finale with No. 2 Ohio State.

But all of that was secondary for the program this week in the wake of what Jim Harbaugh called an assault on two of his players following Michigan’s game against Michigan State.

The team’s focus remained on the wellbeing of defensive backs Ja’Den McBurrows and Gemon Green, who were injured in the incident, ahead of its trip to Rutgers this Saturday at Piscataway, N.J.

Harbaugh said what transpired Saturday night in the Michigan Stadium tunnel was “egregious” and traumatic for the whole program.

“An apology will not get the job done in this instance,” Harbaugh said Monday. “There should be serious consequences for the many individuals who are culpable.”

Green retained an attorney, who said the graduate student suffered a concussion when a Spartans player hit him in the head with a helmet. McBurrows, who was already sidelined with an ACL injury, was the victim in a video posted online that showed several Michigan State players ganging up on him in the tunnel.

The ugly event overshadowed Michigan (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten) snapping a two-game losing streak in the rivalry. Blake Corum ran for 177 yards and a touchdown on 33 carries to build upon a Heisman Trophy campaign; he now ranks second in the country with 14 rushing touchdowns and fourth nationally with 1,078 yards.

Ahead of the Wolverines’ first road game since Oct. 8, Harbaugh agreed it will be difficult to put the Michigan State incident behind them and focus on Rutgers.

“Yeah, it’s been a challenge,” Harbaugh said. “It’s been traumatic, but we’re getting (ready) right now. We’ll face the challenge head-on and support our players in every way possible.”

Rutgers (4-4, 1-4) is coming off a 31-0 drubbing at the hands of Minnesota, the Scarlet Knights’ fourth loss in five games. Michigan has won seven straight games in the series after Rutgers beat the Wolverines in 2014, the year Rutgers joined the Big Ten.

But since coach Greg Schiano returned to Rutgers in 2020, the Scarlet Knights have played Michigan close. Michigan won 20-13 last season and 48-42 the year before.

“It’s always been a challenging team to play,” Harbaugh said. “They’re a very physical team. Defense, offense, special teams very well-coached. Same thing you say about a Greg Schiano team every time you go to play them.”

Rutgers was hindered by the surprise season-ending foot injury to true freshman running back Samuel Brown V. Brown had a career game in Rutgers’ Oct. 22 win over Indiana, racking up 101 yards and a go-ahead touchdown. But he injured his foot in the fourth quarter of that game and will undergo surgery.

Without him against Minnesota, the Scarlet Knights managed just 48 rushing yards on 21 carries.

“We didn’t do our best,” Schiano said. “We missed some block combinations. We missed some reads in the run game. When you drop some of those RPOs, they are not quite as scary to the defense anymore. So it all goes together. … It’s never one thing or one person. But it certainly wasn’t effective.”

Schiano also said Rutgers will start Gavin Wimsatt at quarterback again over Noah Vedral and Evan Simon. Wimsatt, a former four-star recruit, has struggled in limited opportunities this season and completed 6 of 17 passes for 68 yards and an interception against Minnesota.

“I think he showed what he’s capable of, and now we have to get consistent of doing that, but that’s not just Gavin,” Schiano said. “As I’ve talked to you guys before in building a program, there’s a lot of steps. The last step is consistency because it’s the hardest step. … That’s consistency and that’s where we are working to get there.”

–Field Level Media

Ranked No. 9 in the initial College Football Playoff poll, Southern California is home in Los Angeles on Saturday to continue its pursuit of a Pac-12 Conference title when it hosts Cal.

The Trojans (7-1, 5-1 Pac-12), playing in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the first time since Oct. 8, outgunned Arizona in a wild 45-37 win last week.
The high-scoring affair was USC’s second in as many contests. A 43-42 loss Oct. 15 at Utah and the Oct. 29 trip to Arizona bookended the Trojans’ bye week.

Quarterback Caleb Williams bolstered his Heisman Trophy case with 411 yards on 31-of-45 passing and five touchdowns, all with primary receiving target Jordan Addison sidelined due to a knee injury sustained at Utah.

Tahj Washington and Kyle Ford picked up the slack with Washington’s seven catches for 118 yards and two touchdowns, and Ford’s six grabs for 114 yards and a score.

“If you kind of look at how the targets were spaced out, a lot of guys got opportunities and obviously, a lot of them stepped up,” USC coach Lincoln Riley said on Tuesday. “It was a good lesson for him (Williams) of regardless who’s in: An offensive system runs best when it’s going where it needs to go.”

Cal (3-5, 1-4) understands what’s coming. The Bears know they stand out for failing to defend the pass with one of the nation’s most prolific attacks up this week. The Golden Bears rank No. 126 nationally and last in the Pac-12 with 292.3 yards allowed through the air per game.

Last week, Cal gave up 412 passing yards to Oregon’s Bo Nix.

“(Williams) is a unique talent; his ability to throw the ball, be accurate with it,” Cal coach Justin Wilcox said during his Tuesday media availability. “And then he’s a really strong individual. He’s got great instincts. When it’s time for him to run or move in the pocket or buy time, he’s really adept at that.”

Finding ways to limit USC’s 41-ppg offense, which ranks tied for eighth in the nation, should be critical to the upset chances of a Cal team that has not played like it is built to win a shootout.

Since going 3-1 in the first month, a stretch capped with a season-high 49 points scored in a win over Arizona, Cal has dropped four straight. The Golden Bears have not scored more than 24 points in any of the four defeats.

Reserve quarterback Kai Millner boosted the offense last week against Oregon, going 8-of-11 passing for 114 yards with two touchdowns. His performance came primarily against Ducks back-ups, however, well after the outcome was in hand.

Wilcox was steadfast in the postgame press conference that Jack Plummer would remain the starting quarterback.

Plummer is completing 61.2 percent of his pass attempts on the season and has accrued almost 2,000 yards through the air, and has a solid 13 touchdowns against only five interceptions.

Establishing a consistent rushing attack to complement the passing game has proven more difficult. Cal is tied for 106th nationally in rushing offense at 113.4 yards per game on only 3.8 yards per carry.

The USC defense has not been great against the run, allowing 4.7 yards per carry and more than 152 yards per game. But boasting the Pac-12’s most prolific sacking defense with 26 through eight games reflects the Trojans’ ability to get into the opponent’s backfield.

–Field Level Media

First place in the SEC West will be at stake when No. 6 Alabama visits No. 10 LSU on Saturday night in Baton Rouge, La.

The Crimson Tide (7-1, 4-1) can seize control of the West by beating the Tigers (6-2, 4-1), then winning next week at No. 11 Ole Miss, the only other team in the division with just one loss. That defeat came against LSU two weeks ago.

Alabama and LSU were off last week and landed in the top 10 of the initial College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday. A rise in the West standings and the rankings is part of what is at stake Saturday.

“This game has always got significant implications,” Tide coach Nick Saban said. “They’re always ranked, we’re always ranked. It’s kind of a rivalry game that’s always a really important match-up.”

Alabama lost to then-No. 6 Tennessee 52-49 three weeks ago before bouncing back with a 30-6 home victory against Mississippi State a week later.

“You never know how a bye week’s going to affect a team,” Saban said. “Hopefully, it gave us a chance to get some guys healthy. I think psychologically, it gives you a chance to sort of recalibrate a little bit, get a little break.

“The focus is so important, I think, regardless of whether you’re coming off a bye week or you’re playing week in and week out, to be able to sustain that, recapture it, regain it, momentum, whatever you want to call it.”

After giving up 567 total yards and five touchdown passes against Tennessee, the Alabama defense was much improved against Mississippi State, but the offense managed just two field goals in the second half and finished with 29 rushing yards on 27 carries.

“Obviously it wasn’t very good in the last game,” Saban said of the running game. “We’ve got to have a little more diversity in what we’re doing as well as being able to execute it a little better on a more consistent basis.”

The Tigers have been playing better of late in their first season under former Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly.

They won at Florida 45-35 before beating previously undefeated Ole Miss 45-20 in their last two games before the break.

“You have to take this game and think about how you got here,” Kelly said. “We’ve done it by our preparation. We have focused on playing our best when our best is needed.

“Our best players are going to have to play well, we’re going to have to play consistently for four quarters. We must get off to a good start because we’ve shown we’re going to play well in the second half.”

The Tigers have yet to score first in an SEC game, but they have bounced back to win each game except a 40-13 loss to Tennessee.

They weren’t expected to be contending for the division title this late in the season, coming off a 6-7 record last season and a 5-5 record in 2020.

Those seasons in the wake of the 2019 national championship season led to the firing of Ed Orgeron and the hiring of Kelly. LSU beat the Tide 46-41 on its way to that title, but that’s the Tigers’ only victory over Alabama in the last 11 meetings.

“This is why you come to LSU,” Kelly said. “This is why I came to LSU. It’s not pressure, it’s a privilege to play in games like this.”

–Field Level Media

Dabo Swinney took his own measurement of Clemson this week ahead of the debut of the College Football Playoff rankings and determined the Tigers were as close to full strength as they’ve been all season.

Asked where he thought his team might be ranked before Tuesday night’s initial CFP rankings, Swinney had a quick response.

“Doesn’t matter,” he said.

The Tigers came in at No. 4, giving them a path to the CFP semifinals with the softest schedule among the top four. Saturday night’s trip to Notre Dame could be the biggest obstacle between now and January.

The Atlantic Coast Conference favorites are coming off a bye week after a 27-21 win on Oct. 22 at home against previously unbeaten Syracuse. They finish the year with three straight home games against Louisville, Miami and South Carolina, all of which they should be favored in by at least two touchdowns.

Clemson (8-0) would also be a solid favorite in a projected ACC title game against No. 17 North Carolina. Take care of business the next five weeks and it could earn a spot in the semifinals, but there will be many more prove-it moments available to the class of the SEC: Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama.

“It has no relevance at this point,” said Swinney of the rankings. “The only thing I’m interested in is trying to win in South Bend. That’s all that matters.”

The Tigers will probably want to get off to a cleaner, better start than they did against Syracuse. The Orange established a 21-10 third quarter lead before Clemson rallied behind backup quarterback Cade Klubnik to score the game’s final 17 points.

But according to Swinney, starter DJ Uiagaleiei’s job isn’t in danger.

“As far as DJ, DJ’s our starter, DJ’s our leader,” Swinney said minutes after the Syracuse game. “Nothing’s changed there.”

Uiagaleiei struggled through his worst game of the year against Syracuse, going 13 of 21 for 138 yards with two interceptions. He’s thrown for 1,803 yards with 17 touchdown passes and four interceptions while rushing for a career-high 350 yards.

Meanwhile, the Fighting Irish (5-3) appear to have found themselves after an 0-2 start. They’ve won five of six, including last week’s 41-24 rout at No. 16 Syracuse that saw them combine 246 rushing yards with a defense that collected four sacks and a game-opening pick-six.

Notre Dame got 123 rushing yards and two touchdowns from Audric Estime, plus another 85 yards and a score from Logan Diggs. Brandon Joseph sparked the defense with a 29-yard interception return for a touchdown on the game’s first play.

“Really, really proud of our guys,” said first-year coach Marcus Freeman. “That’s a big win. It was really good to see this team battle.”

Freeman has characterized this squad as a good team that doesn’t always play like it. Two Top 25 wins last month with a home loss to a 3-5 Stanford team that at one point lost 11 straight games to FBS foes over two seasons validate that claim.

Estime and Diggs have combined for 989 yards on the ground, but the Irish need more from quarterback Drew Pyne. He was just 9 of 19 at Syracuse for 116 yards.

Clemson owns a 4-2 advantage in the all-time series, with the teams splitting two games in 2020, when Notre Dame was an ACC member and reached the championship game before losing to the Tigers in Charlotte.

–Field Level Media

Utah enters the final month of the regular season at No. 14 in the College Football Playoff rankings, hunting a Pac-12 title. But multiple mysteries muddy the waters as the Utes prepare to face Arizona on Saturday in Salt Lake City.

Utah (6-2, 4-1 Pac-12) was without several key players, including quarterback Cam Rising, in a 21-17 victory at Washington State on Oct. 27. Coach Kyle Whittingham, who doesn’t talk about injuries unless they are season-ending, did not rule out anybody new during his Monday press conference.

But who’s in? Who knows.

Whittingham did add: “Cam is much further ahead today than he was a week ago today” and that “we certainly hope so” when asked if Rising would play Saturday.

Standout tight end Dalton Kincaid left the Washington State game with a shoulder injury, leaving the Utes thin at what was a strong position. Brant Kuithe is out for the season with a torn ACL. Kincaid has a team-high 46 catches for 614 yards and seven scores, and Utah would need more out of a pedestrian receiving corps if he is unavailable.

The team’s leading rusher, Tavion Thomas, missed the Washington State game, and Whittingham only offered “nothing to divulge there,” on Monday.

Utah is tied for third with UCLA in the conference standings, trailing Oregon (5-0) and USC (5-1). Arizona (3-5, 1-4) has lost three consecutive games but isn’t the same pushover as last season, when it went 1-11 overall in coach Jedd Fisch’s first season.

The Wildcats are averaging 32.2 points per game, up by an average of 15 from last season.

“Our offense is hitting on all cylinders right now,” Fisch said. “I think we’ve moved up 80 spots (nationally) in almost every offensive category. So that’s what’s exciting.”

Quarterback Jayden de Laura is fourth nationally in passing (331.8 yards per game), and the trio of Jacob Cowing, Dorian Singer and Tetairoa McMillan form one of the most productive receiving corps in the nation.

Defense, however, remains a major issue for the Wildcats, who are allowing 475.0 yards per game and haven’t recorded a sack during their three-game skid. Arizona is also minus-0.62 in turnover margin for the season, needing a clean game to compete against the better teams on its schedule.

“We’ve got to find a way to just bring the point total down, get off the field a couple more times, and then take the ball away,” Fisch said. “If we can just take the ball away a few times, that’ll make a huge difference.”

For Utah, if Rising can’t go, walk-on Bryson Barnes would get his second start. He completed 17 of 27 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown against Washington State, also rushing for 51 yards.

“Bryson Barnes did an exceptional job under the circumstances,” Whittingham said. “Given the preparation, the lack thereof, he responded well.”

The Utes’ defense, which allowed 42 points in back-to-back games against UCLA (10-point loss) and Southern California (one-point win) before playing Washington State, will be without co-leading tackler R.J. Hubert in the first half. He was ejected for targeting in the second half against the Cougars.

–Field Level Media

Defending national champion Georgia had been viewed as the top team in college football this season, but Tennessee has flipped the script.

When the first College Football Playoff rankings of the season were released on Tuesday night, the Volunteers were No. 1 while the Bulldogs were No. 3, creating even more drama for their big Southeastern Conference matchup on Saturday at Athens, Ga.

It’s the latest sign that Tennessee (8-0, 4-0 SEC) is a bona fide national championship contender in Josh Heupel’s second year as coach.

“I don’t know that we placed a timeframe on it,” Heupel said on ESPN after the rankings were unveiled. “I think that is one of the things that had our players buy into what we’re doing. We never set a ceiling. …

“There’s a long way to go. We obviously have a huge step this week in Athens, Georgia, but I love competing with this team every Saturday.”

Georgia (8-0, 5-0) also is behind Ohio State in the initial CFP rankings.

Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart never overlooks information when it comes to motivational speeches, so the current pecking order certainly will be mentioned leading into the showdown.

Georgia has won the past five meetings entering a contest featuring two of the strongest offenses in the nation.

The Volunteers lead the nation in scoring offense (49.4 points per game) and total offense (553.0 yards per game), while Georgia ranks second in total offense (530.1) and is tied for sixth in scoring (41.8).

Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker has become a leading Heisman Trophy candidate by throwing for 2,338 yards with 21 touchdowns and just one interception. Big-play receiver Jalin Hyatt has 45 receptions for 907 yards and a nation-leading 14 touchdown catches.

Smart said Hooker is vastly improved over the quarterback the Bulldogs saw during a 41-17 victory in Knoxville last season.

“He’s one step ahead of where he was,” Smart said of Hooker. “To think of the reps and the games he’s played since the games last year, he’s just as elusive, he’s got probably the same arm talent. Those two don’t improve. It’s his decision-making and his processing. And the guys around him are playing better, too.”

Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett has passed for 2,349 yards with nine touchdowns and three interceptions. He has a 22-3 career record as a starter.

Receiver Ladd McConkey (33 receptions, 413 yards, 2 TDs) and tight end Brock Bowers (31 catches, 547 yards, 3 TDs) are solid players. Bowers had five receptions for a career-high 154 yards and a touchdown last Saturday in the Bulldogs’ 42-20 win over Florida.

Defense is where there is a pronounced difference between the clubs.

Georgia ranks second in scoring defense (10.5) and fourth in total defense (262.6), while the Volunteers are tied for 26th in scoring defense (21.0) and are 82nd in total defense (393.6).

The Bulldogs remained sturdy on defense despite the loss of five NFL first-round picks and eight overall draftees from last season’s unit.

Smart doesn’t understand why outsiders expected a defensive drop-off this season.

“It is not like just because you lose good players, it does not mean you are not going to be good the next year,” Smart said. “Maybe that is an expectation that some teams have, but that is not the expectation of any team I have ever been a part of. The expectation is that you are going to be good because you recruit good players and because you coach hard.”

Hooker surely isn’t expecting an easy time against the Georgia defense.

“The effort and attitude and toughness that they bring to the game is immaculate, and that’s what SEC football is about,” Hooker said. “This is the top brand of football.”

The Bulldogs received a blow on Tuesday when Smart said standout outside linebacker Nolan Smith would miss the remainder of the season due to a torn pectoral muscle. Smith will undergo surgery.

–Field Level Media

No. 18 Oklahoma State will look to rebound from its worst loss in 23 seasons but will visit a rested Kansas team determined to clinch a postseason spot and beat the Cowboys for the first time since 2007 when the two old rivals meet Saturday for a key Big 12 Conference game in Lawrence, Kan.

The Cowboys, who were ranked as high as eighth in the nation before losing at TCU in double overtime on Oct. 15, were the third of four Big 12 teams listed in the initial College Football Playoff rankings. TCU is the league’s highest ranked team at No. 7, with Kansas State at No. 13 and Texas 24th.

Oklahoma State (6-2, 3-2 Big 12) enters Saturday’s game with losses in two of its last three games after starting the season 5-0. Most recently, the Cowboys were lambasted in a 48-0 loss at Kansas State on Oct. 29.

Cowboys coach Mike Gundy said his evaluation of the review of the loss to Kansas State confirmed that his team was “outcoached” and “outplayed.”

“Kansas State was just more physical than us,” Gundy said. “We weren’t ready to play. I didn’t do a very good job getting our guys ready. We finished all that Monday. We went through all the plays and tape and such at practice. Back at it to get ready to roll for this week.”

Oklahoma State was limited to a season-low 54 yards rushing and 217 yards of total offense in the loss to Kansas State. It didn’t help that the Cowboys were missing receivers Jaden Bray and Braydon Johnson for a second successive game and were also without running back Dominic Richardson.

Kansas has dropped three consecutive games and out of the Top 25 but remains on the cusp of becoming bowl eligible for the first time since 2008.

The Jayhawks (5-3, 2-3 Big 12) enjoyed an open week on Oct. 29 and, according to several players and coaches, used the time to clear their minds and get their bodies ready for the final month of the season.

“Open weeks are always challenging a little bit on the mental side as you’re trying to get healthy and you’re trying to get a break, but you still have things you want to do,” Kansas coach Lance Leipold said. “I was pleased especially for the younger players — players that haven’t played a lot — that were able to get some extra work.”

Kansas has scored 42 total touchdowns in eight games this season, marking the most TDs in a season since the Jayhawks racked up 42 in 12 contests in 2009.

Injured Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels returned to practice this week and is listed first on the Jayhawks’ Week 10 depth chart along with recent starter Jason Bean. Daniels missed the past two games with a shoulder injury sustained in the first half of the Jayhawks’ home loss to TCU on Oct. 8. His status for Saturday’s game remains to be determined; Leipold said the bye week helped, “but we’ll see.”

Although Kansas has lost all three games in which Daniels has missed time, Bean and the offense have scored 93 points in five halves without him. The Kansas defense, meanwhile, has given up 115 points in those five halves.

Oklahoma State has won the past 12 meetings, with the Jayhawks’ only victory since 1995 — 18 meetings — coming during Kansas’ epic 2007 season. That year, Kansas was ranked 5th at the time of the game, beat the Cowboys 43-28, and went on to win the Orange Bowl.

–Field Level Media

UCF just passed a pressure-packed test, one that coach Gus Malzahn admittedly would have preferred his team not have to take.

Now the Knights, No. 25 in the initial College Football Playoff rankings, have to prove they can win on the road.

UCF (6-2, 3-1 American Athletic Conference) travels to Memphis (4-4, 2-3) on Saturday afternoon.

The Knights are coming off a 25-21 home win over conference power Cincinnati, which was 20th in the AP poll a week ago and was a CFP playoff team last season. Leading 10-6 in the third quarter, UCF twice fumbled in the red zone.

Those missed opportunities loomed large when they trailed 13-12 entering the fourth.

Led by not-so-ordinary backup quarterback Mikey Keene, UCF capped a 77-yard drive with a touchdown with 4:36 left to take an 18-13 lead, surrendered a TD and two-point conversion about 1 1/2 minutes later and trailed 21-18, then responded again with RJ Harvey’s 17-yard scoring run with 48 seconds left.

“During the game, I wish we had scored (instead of the turnovers) and won by 17 points,” Malzahn said Monday. “But after it played out like it did, I’m glad it did that, ’cause that’s what our team needed.

“In college football, there’s very few times that you get a chance to, (when) the pressure is really on, either get it done or you don’t. Are you going to respond? And our team responded in a couple situations like that.”

The Knights have won five of their past six games, but the loss in that bunch was a 34-13 setback at East Carolina on Oct. 22, when they had four turnovers and no takeaways.

“I really feel strong that we’ll learn from that experience. There’s more parity in college football than ever before, and every week you need to bring your ‘A’ game, and obviously we didn’t do that. Lesson learned,” Malzahn said.

UCF’s biggest question is who will be at quarterback on Saturday. Starter John Rhys Plumlee took a huge hit from a Cincinnati defender in the second quarter and then appeared wobbly as he tried to return to the field. He was removed with an apparent head injury.

Plumlee won the job this season over Keene, the 2021 starter as a freshman, and has thrown for 1,883 yards and 11 touchdowns and run for a team-high 532 yards plus seven scores in 2022. UCF enters the weekend fifth in the nation in total offense (510.2 yards per game) and 24th in scoring (35.8 points per game).

“We’ve got two guys, I think, obviously we can win with,” Malzahn said. “I think everybody knew that coming in, but we’ll just take it day by day with John Rhys right now. … We’ll see what happens.”

The Tigers, meanwhile, have lost three straight games: by one point to Houston, by two points in four overtimes at East Carolina and by 10 at Tulane, which sits 19th in the CFP rankings.

What Memphis lacks in momentum, it has in scheduling. It is coming off a bye week.

“Any time you have a bye week that’s really Week 9, talk about a lot of football,” Tigers coach Ryan Silverfield said. “Training camp started three days earlier this year, so you think about it, we’ve been really going at it since Aug. 1.

“(The bye) gave us the chance to do some modified practices, make sure we are healthy, and I feel comfortable with where we’re at from a health standpoint.”

The Tigers are preparing for both Plumlee and Keene.

“Both have a unique skill set,” Silverfield said. “Coach Malzahn is going to do what he does on offense, regardless of who the quarterback is, but they do have different things they bring to the table, so we’ve got to be ready for that as part of our preparation this week.”

Memphis quarterback Seth Henigan, a sophomore, has thrown for 2,236 yards and 15 touchdowns with five interceptions. He has been sacked 24 times.

–Field Level Media

Oregon’s seven straight wins have the Ducks ranked No. 8 in the first College Football Playoff rankings of the 2022 season, and they’ll be heavy favorites to make it eight against Colorado in a matchup of the top and bottom teams in the Pac-12 Saturday afternoon in Boulder, Colo.

Oregon (7-1, 5-0 Pac-12) might need the style points from a blowout win just to keep pace for a shot at a top-four spot in the CFP. But there is no overlooking the Buffaloes (1-7, 1-4) for the Ducks to get to the Pac-12 championship game, and perhaps even more success.

The Ducks are lighting up the scoreboard on offense. Since a 49-3 loss to now-CFP No. 3 Georgia to open the season, Oregon has not lost and has scored no fewer than 41 points in each of its seven straight wins.

Oregon has won 27 straight games when the Ducks scored 40 or more points. The Ducks have totaled 500 or more yards of offense in five straight games and have given up just one sack this season.

Quarterback Bo Nix leads the way on offense. He has three games with three rushing touchdowns, leads the conference in rushing touchdowns with 11 and has thrown 20 touchdown passes.

Oregon’s offense averages 525.8 yards per game to lead the Pac-12. Conversely, Colorado is last in the league in total offense at 295.3 yards per game.

Defensive back Christian Gonzalez, who was a top player for Colorado in his two seasons there before transferring to Oregon prior to this season, had eight tackles and blocked a field goal last weekend at Cal. Gonzalez will face his former team Saturday.

“We’re going to celebrate our wins, but as an offense and as a defense there’s things we’ve got to work on,” Gonzalez said, per Oregon’s athletics website. “We can finish out a game better as a defense. It’s just getting back to work, being humble and hungry.”

Colorado will face its third top-12 program of the season in Oregon, as TCU and UCLA have risen to Nos. 7 and 12, respectively. The Buffaloes still have at least two more current top-25 opponents on their schedule, Southern California and Utah.

In a 42-34 home loss to Arizona State last week, Colorado scored a season-high 34 points. Jordyn Tyson had an 88-yard punt return for a score and caught a 58-yard touchdown pass for the Buffaloes.

Deion Smith rushed for 111 yards, a career high.

Defensively, Colorado struggled in pass coverage against the Sun Devils and were often victimized by big plays. Arizona State had 15 plays in which it gained at least 10 rushing yards or at least 15 yards on a pass completion.

“Our offense goes and has a tremendous drive, the defense has to get a stop,” Colorado interim head coach Mike Sanford said via the team website. “Those are the things I believe we’re going to piece together throughout the course of these next four weeks.”

–Field Level Media