What a terrific Saturday full of close games – of course, if you are a fan of a team that wound up on the losing end of the ledger, your thoughts are probably entirely different. Indiana, Iowa, Oregon, Rutgers, and USC all have a bye week to regroup and get ready for their next games on October 11th; Indiana will actually be traveling to Oregon for the first time since the 2004 season (Indiana 30, Oregon 24). With both Indiana and Oregon 2-0 in Big Ten play, one of those teams will be knocked from the perch of the unbeaten. Rutgers now has 2 Big Ten losses this season (3-2 overall), while USC fell to 2-1 within the conference (4-1 overall).

For Illinois, Minnesota, Northwestern, Penn State, and UCLA, it is right back to work. Northwestern will host UL Monroe in a non-conference game, while Penn State will travel to UCLA for the first time since 1968 (Penn State 21, UCLA 6). It will bear watching to see how James Franklin, Drew Allar, and the Nittany Lions respond after such an intense battle against Dan Lanning’s Oregon Ducks. UCLA rallied on the road at Northwestern, but came up short as time ran out for the Bruins as they were driving against the Wildcats.

Illinois travels to Purdue, as the Boilermakers had a bye week to prepare for the Fighting Illini. It was an impressive bounce back win for Bret Bielema’s team, after being routed at Indiana the previous week.

For Minnesota, they will travel to Ohio State for a night game against the Buckeyes; Minnesota will look to end a losing streak versus Ohio State that dates back to the John Cooper era, when the Golden Gophers last defeated the Buckeyes 29-17 during the 2000 season. Speaking of the Buckeyes…

Snapping The Streak: Ohio State went on the road at Washington for the first time since the 2007 season and defeated the Huskies, 24-6. Washington led Ohio State 3-0 in the first quarter, marking the first time this season the Buckeyes trailed in a game. Ohio State’s win snapped an impressive 22 home game winning streak by Washington that dated back to the 2021 season.

Ohio State’s defense had themselves a day, with 6 sacks and 9 tackles for loss against a dangerous Washington offense. Washington will make their first trip ever to Maryland, with the only other time the Huskies and Terrapins have played was in the 1982 Aloha Bowl (Washington 21, Maryland 20).

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(Non-Conference) Rivalry Wins: The Civil War and The Apple Cup have traditionally been played at the end of the regular season, but with Oregon and Washington leaving for The Big Ten, it has necessitated the need to play those games in a non-conference setting. Both Oregon (Oregon 41, Oregon State 7) and Washington (Washington 59, Washington State 24) emerged victoriously in their games against their in-state rivals. Oregon travels to play at Penn State for a 7:30pm ET night game in Happy Valley (NBC), while Washington will welcome in Ohio State for a 3:30pm ET game in Husky Stadium (CBS).

Better Than 2024, But Still A Loss: Purdue has improved since last season, but the Boilermakers still wound up on the losing side of the ledger with a loss at Notre Dame in non-conference play, 56-30. Purdue has a bye week this coming weekend.

Gutty Road Wins: Iowa battled Rutgers into the 4th quarter before clinching the win over the Scarlet Knights, 38-28. This handed Rutgers their first loss of the 2025 season. Iowa hosts Indiana at 3:30pm ET in Kinnick Stadium (Peacock). Michigan went on the road and ran all over Nebraska for 290 yards on the ground, with a close 30-27 win in Lincoln. Both teams have a bye week this coming weekend.

Did Not See That Coming: Indiana had no problems with dispatching Illinois, 63-10. The Hoosiers served notice to The Big Ten, and to college football, that their 2024 season was no fluke with that performance. Indiana travels to play at Iowa this coming weekend at 3:30pm ET (Peacock).

Storm Cloud Are Gathering: Maryland went on the road to take on the Wisconsin Badgers in Camp Randall Stadium and handled Luke Fickell’s team, winning 27-10. Wisconsin did not score a touchdown until less than a minute remaining in the game. The fans chanting “Fire Fickell” were audible to the television viewing audience, and things do not look promising for the Badgers as they get deeper into Big Ten play. Mike Locksley said, “We made just enough plays on offense and took advantage of some of the things that they gave us.”. Both teams have a bye week this coming weekend.

Saturday Night Was Right For The Trojans: In a game that kicked off after 11pm ET, USC defeated Michigan State 45-31. The Trojans are 2-0 in The Big Ten, and will be traveling to Champaign, Illinois for a 12pm ET conference game (Fox) versus the Fighting Illini, who will be looking to bounce back after their disastrous performance versus Indiana this past weekend. Michigan State has a bye week this coming weekend.

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Blowouts Were Still A Theme: Indiana 73, Indiana State 0; Maryland 44, Towson 17; Nebraska 59, HCU 7; Michigan 63, Central Michigan 3; Penn State 52, Villanova 6; Illinois 38, Western Michigan 0; Iowa 47, UMass 7; Rutgers 60, Norfolk State 10. Congratulations to Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz, as he earned his 206th victory to become The Big Ten’s winningest football coach in history.

Costly Win For Sparty?: Michigan State defeated Youngstown State, 41-24. The Spartans had offensive linemen Luka Vincic and Conner Moore, running back Makhi Frazier, and wide receiver Nick Marsh all leave the game due to injuries. Michigan State begins Big Ten conference play next week with a game at USC that will kick off at 11pm ET/8pm PT on September 20th.

First Conference Wins Of 2025 For Ducks & Trojans: Oregon 34, Northwestern 14; USC 33, Purdue 17. The Ducks will have a non-conference game against their longtime rivals in the Oregon State Beavers on September 20th, while USC will be welcoming in Michigan State, as written up above.

Sluggish Yet Still Victorious: Ohio State defeated Ohio University 37-9, after only leading the Bobcats 13-3 at the half. Give credit to Ohio University for playing tough against the Buckeyes, but I believe Ohio State head coach Ryan Day will have plenty to work on in the upcoming bye week, especially as the Buckeyes struggled in the red zone repeatedly Saturday evening.

The First Cut Is The Deepest: Alabama 38, Wisconsin 14; California 27, Minnesota 14. Both the Badgers and Golden Gophers fell from the ranks of the unbeaten, as both were defeated in non-conference play.

DeShaun Foster Is The First Coaching Casualty In The Big Ten: UCLA was dominated by New Mexico 35-10, leaving the Bruins at 0-3 on the season. UCLA decided to pull the plug on Foster’s coaching tenure, appointing Tim Skipper as interim head coach for the remainder of the 2025 season. “I want to extend my sincere appreciation to DeShaun for his contributions to UCLA Football over the course of many years, first as a Hall of Fame student-athlete, then as an assistant coach and finally as head coach,” said UCLA AD Martin Jarmond. Speculation on who the Bruins may target for their next head coach has already begun in earnest, but UCLA will want to take their time and make sure they have the right man in place to rebuild the UCLA program.

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1. You Get A Shutout: Ohio State 70, Grambling State 0; Penn State 34, FIU 0; Nebraska 68, Akron 0; and Minnesota 66, Northwestern State 0. Of this group, Penn State pulled away in the second half, after only leading FIU 10-0 at the half.
2. The Scoreboard Operators Were Keeping Busy: Oregon 69, Oklahoma State 3; Illinois 45, Duke 19; Indiana 56, Kennesaw State 9; USC 59, Georgia Southern 20; Rutgers 45, Miami University 17; Washington 70, UC Davis 10; Purdue 34, S. Illinois 17; Maryland 20, N. Illinois 9; Northwestern 42, W. Illinois 7. Several of these games had impressive results. Illinois going on the road to play Duke helped to answer skeptics who have questioned how good the Fighting Illini may be in 2025. Oregon continues to look as one of the nation’s best teams, despite the amount of roster turnover from last year’s team. Washington’s Jonah Coleman scored 5 touchdowns in the Huskies’ rout of UC Davis.
3. Possibly The Game Of The Week In The Conference: Michigan State came back to defeat Boston College 42-40 in 2OT on Saturday night in East Lansing. This is the kind of game that Michigan State needed to win as they continue to build under second year head coach Jonathan Smith.
4. No Longer Unbeaten: Iowa State 16, Iowa 13; Oklahoma 24, Michigan 13. Both Big Ten teams were on the road and came home with their first loss of the 2025 season. For Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz, the loss at Iowa State delayed Ferentz from taking over as the all-time winningest Big Ten coach. Iowa will look to get Ferentz the record in week three when Iowa hosts UMass. Michigan rallied in the second half after being down 14-0 at halftime, but had struggles offensively to ever take the lead against the Sooners.
5. Still Searching For Their First Win: UNLV defeated UCLA 30-23. The Bruins had a valiant comeback, after being down 23-3 at the half. Too many penalties and too deep of a hole by UCLA were too much to overcome. “I’m just frustrated because when you know we can execute better than we were and put together two halves like I wish we could’ve done, the outcome would’ve been different…” said UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster. UCLA will be looking for his first win of the season when they host New Mexico on September 12th.

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1. Whew, That Was Close: Rutgers defeated Ohio University 34-31 and Nebraska defeated Cincinnati 20-17, in closer than expected games. In the words of Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule, “There’s going to be a lot of good. There’s going to be a lot of things we want to correct…We’ll be in there tomorrow and start getting better for next week.”.
2. Pitching A Shutout: Wisconsin defeated Miami University 17-0, while Purdue defeated Ball State 31-0. Both Wisconsin and Purdue are coming off disappointing 2024 seasons, so winning their respective first games via shutouts probably provided a boost of confidence. Both Wisconsin and Purdue will need it, with both teams having among the most challenging 2025 schedules within The Big Ten.
3. Slugfest: Ohio State defeated Texas 14-7 in a game dominated by strong defensive performances by both teams. Reflecting on the first game of the 2025 season, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said, “When you start a season, you want to set the tone…There’s a lot of guys who are stepping into roles for the first time ever. And for these guys to step in and really have great energy about them, I thought they were poised. I thought the moment was not too big for them.”.
4. Happy With The Win, But There’s Room For Improvement: Minnesota defeated Buffalo 23-10, Michigan State defeated Western Michigan 23-6, Indiana defeated Old Dominion 27-14, Michigan defeated New Mexico 34-17, and Washington defeated Colorado State 38-21. While all of those teams won their games, each had their respective moments that their respective coaching staffs will be able to identify as areas to improve upon between week one and week two.
5. No Debate About The Dominance: Illinois throttled Western Illinois 52-3, Penn State overpowered Nevada 46-11, Oregon smashed Montana State 59-13, Maryland walloped Florida Atlantic 39-7, Iowa clobbered UAlbany 34-7, and USC crushed Missouri State 73-13. No matter how many words I could search instead of “defeated”, it was a perfect springboard of confidence for each of these teams to start off 2025 in a dominant fashion. Congratulations to Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz, as he tied legendary Ohio State head coach Woody Hayes with his 205th victory. One more win for Ferentz and he will have the record to himself.
6. Back To The Drawing Board: As written up above, two of The Big Ten’s teams lost in week one. Tulane handled Northwestern 23-3, while Utah came into The Rose Bowl and never were threatened by UCLA, winning 43-10. Both the Wildcats and Bruins need to figure things out in a hurry to keep their respective 2025 seasons from spiraling downward.

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Tyler Shoemaker and Kelley Ford break down the weekend’s biggest games from the perspective of the T Shoe Index and the KFord Ratings.

Will there be upsets in the Red River Rivalry and at Kyle Field on Saturday?

Can Louisivlle continue its undefeated run at the expense of Notre Dame’s CFP hopes?

Answers to that and more on this episode of Calculated Risk: CFB by the Numbers.

The post Setting the scene for a solid week six appeared first on Saturday Glory.

Quinn Ewers led the No. 3 Longhorns Saturday night when Texas and the No. 3 Crimson Tide met on the football field. Ewers threw three touchdowns and 349 yards, and he put Texas on his back in the second half. 

The Longhorns already commanded a 13-6 halftime lead after two quarters. What happened next was out of a 12-round boxing match. 

Alabama scored 10 unanswered points to start the third quarter thanks largely in part to a 49-yard touchdown pass from Jalen Milroe to Jermaine Burton. 

Leading 16-13, the Crimson Tide then surrendered a touchdown pass of their own, as Ewers found Adonai Mitchell from seven yards out for the go-ahead score. It flipped the scoreboard in favor of Texas, and the Longhorns held on to a 34-24 victory.

Milroe threw an interception as the Crimson Tide tried to answer Texas’ game-winning score. Jonathon Brooks followed by running in a 4-yard touchdown to give Texas a lead of as much as 27-16 with 13:50 left to play in the fourth quarter. 

Milroe later made up for his interception on a 39-yard touchdown pass to Amari Niblack with just over 11 minutes to play in the final quarter. Milroe finished with 255 passing yards and two touchdowns and interceptions apiece. 

It marked the possible final meeting between Texas and Alabama before the two programs compete against one another in conference play in the Southeastern Conference. It also was the first time the two teams met in Tuscaloosa since 1902, and it snapped Alabama’s 43-game winning streak in nonconference matchups and 21-game home win streak. 

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