It was a bad day for No. 1 Texas and No. 16 Florida. It was, however, a very good day for Brent Venables and Shane Beamer.
It was a pretty good day for Kirby Smart and No. 2 Georgia, too. Probably good enough for No. 1.
The Bulldogs went on the road and beat No. 6 Alabama 20-17 behind a terrific day from Gunner Stockton, third-string running back Dwight Phillips Jr. and a defense that sacked Keelon Russell four times and held him to a season-low 185
passing yards.
The win gave Smart a 3-7 record against Alabama, the program he could not beat for many years when the stakes were highest. The Bulldogs now have the inside track to the Southeastern Conference championship game, a marquee win for College Football Playoff seeding and are poised to move up to No. 1 in the AP Top 25 rankings on Sunday.
Venables and Beamer picked up much-needed wins that could ease the pressure building around their programs.
Oklahoma’s Tate Sandell drilled a 47-yard field goal to seal a 27-24 upset of Texas in the Red River Rivalry game, giving Venables and the Sooners a huge morale boost after dropping to 2-2 and heading into the game against their archrival unranked and toothless on offense.
Beamer has been on a major hot seat at South Carolina, but his Gamecocks rolled to a 38-19 upset at No. 16 Florida. LaNorris Sellers accounted for five touchdowns, and the Gamecocks forced three turnovers while shutting down Gators running back Jadan Baugh.
A third top-10 team also went down in dramatic fashion: Kentucky handed No. 10 LSU its second loss in a 35-34 thriller. The Wildcats' gamble to go for two in overtime paid off for the second straight week, this time at the expense of the Tigers.
No. 21 UCLA remained undefeated with a 17-15 win over No. 13 Oregon in a messy, turnover-filled outing. The Ducks threw two interceptions and lost five fumbles, the last coming on their final drive with less than a minute left.
UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava had 162 yards and two interceptions before sitting out the second half with a lower leg injury. Ty Dieffenbach took over under center and threw for 43 yards and a touchdown as the Bruins look to move up in the rankings.
Oregon backup quarterback Dylan Raiola's heroic performance against USC felt like a distant memory as he completed just 6-of-18 passes for 43 yards and two interceptions before being replaced by Brock Thomas.
No. 7 Indiana remained unbeaten but needed a fourth-quarter rally and two late defensive stops to escape Nebraska with a 20-17 win.
The defending national champions erased an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit with back-to-back touchdown drives. Quarterback Josh Hoover connected with Nick Marsh on both, first for a 75-yard score, then on a fourth-down conversion for a 44-yard touchdown.
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