B/R's College Football Weekly Awards: Week 9

Oh, this beautiful, nonsensical sport.

Oklahoma hadn't lost to Kansas during this millennium. So, naturally, as the undefeated Sooners eyed a trip to the College Football Playoff in their last Big 12 season, Kansas pulled off a shocking win.

Because, of course!

Georgia Tech has made a single bowl appearance in the past seven seasons. So, it's only logical that the Yellow Jackets have now defeated North Carolina—a five-time bowl qualifier in that span—in five of their six matchups, right?

Because, of course!

As always, we're embracing the ridiculousness here at Weekly Awards while looking back at the biggest news of Week 9.

If you're new here, hi! B/R's Weekly Awards is an often-lighthearted review of what happened in college football over the weekend.

Sorry, Oklahoma fans. The proper jokes launched at Texas for losing to Kansas are coming back your way.

Despite a mistake-filled fourth quarter, the Jayhawks stunned sixth-ranked OU 38-33. They overcame a missed field goal and two late interceptions from Jason Bean before Devin Neal capped the upset with a nine-yard touchdown run in the final minute.

Kansas ended a host of inglorious streaks in the process.

Among others, KU secured its first victory over Oklahoma since 1997 and first over a top-10 opponent since 2008. Plus, the Jayhawks toppled a top-10 team at home for the first time in 39 years.

Truly, what Lance Leipold has accomplished with KU in less than three seasons is amazing. The program has risen from a laughingstock and noncompetitive Big 12 team to a bowl qualifier in consecutive years.

Utah far exceeded all expectations without star quarterback Cam Rising, compiling a 6-1 record heading into Saturday. However, the scrappy, resilient Utes simply didn't have the offense to keep up with Oregon.

Bryson Barnes, the hero of last weekend's win at USC, completed just 15 of his 29 passes for 136 yards with two interceptions. Oregon also limited Utah to just 2.8 yards per carry in a comfortable 35-6 win that likely removed the Utes from Pac-12 championship contention.

Oregon quarterback Bo Nix threw for 248 yards and two touchdowns, adding a third on the ground. He's still sitting on the fringe of the Heisman Trophy radar, too.

If the Ducks beat Cal next weekend, they'll be 8-1 heading into a pivotal clash with USC on Nov. 11.

The way Oregon is playing right now, though, it'll be a clear favorite at home for that matchup.

Georgia Tech is wonderfully confusing.

One week after losing to Bowling Green, the Yellow Jackets capitalized on Miami's meltdown to stun the Hurricanes. They promptly followed that up with a 15-point loss at home against Boston College.

So, why wouldn't Tech manage to overcome an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat No. 17 North Carolina 46-42? I mean, what in the Jackets' recent history would suggest that "normal" is an option?

Jokes aside, that's a tremendous win for Georgia Tech—and a similarly awful loss for UNC.

Haynes King's last-minute touchdown pass to Brett Seither propelled Georgia Tech to 4-4, keeping the Jackets in the hunt for a bowl. North Carolina, meanwhile, has lost its inside track to the ACC Championship Game and slipped out of the AP Top 25, too.

It's not quite the biggest headline, but Louisville's victory still demands the front-page treatment.

Louisville blanked 20th-ranked Duke 23-0 to snag a vital ACC win. Running back Jawhar Jordan scampered for 163 yards and two scores, while the Cardinals held Duke quarterback Riley Leonard to a 9-of-23 mark for 121 yards. Duke gained just 202 yards on the day.

North Carolina's loss doubled the value of the result for Louisville, which is an unexpected 7-1 overall and 4-1 in ACC play.

Next week, the Cardinals host Virginia Tech in a another key league game. The winner will be the last ACC program behind undefeated Florida State with a lone conference loss.

Louisville being in position to compete for an ACC crown during Jeff Brohm's debut season is highly impressive.

The metaphorical hits keep coming for USC, which continued its midseason slide and yielded 49 points on Saturday.

At least the Trojans won this time?

Caleb Williams threw for 369 yards and totaled four touchdowns, helping USC recover from a 43-29 deficit to Cal in the closing frame. Running backs MarShawn Lloyd and Austin Jones both scored in the fourth quarter, which included a not-so-calm ending for the Trojans.

While they clung to a 50-43 edge, the much-maligned defense gave up a nine-play, 79-yard touchdown drive. Jaivian Thomas turned a swing pass into a 13-yard score with 58 seconds left in regulation.

Cal tried a two-point conversion for the win—always the smart choice as a clear underdog, in my opinion—but the pass fell incomplete.

USC improved to 5-1 in Pac-12 play, so the Trojans are soundly in the conference race with Washington and Oregon. The eye test is not telling such a convincing story lately, though.

September: Good.

October: Woof.

After a chaotic summer that severely complicated the future of the program, Washington State experienced a thrilling month. Victories over then-No. 19 Wisconsin and then-No. 14 Oregon State headlined a 4-0 start for the Cougars.

But the surge disappeared when the calendar changed. Wazzu lost on the road to UCLA—understandable, for the record—before Arizona absolutely waxed the Cougs 44-6.

Oregon handled Washington State 38-24 last weekend, and Arizona State finished off Wazzu's imperfect month. The defense ceded 215 yards and five touchdowns on the ground to ASU, which entered Saturday's clash at 1-6 overall with an 0-4 mark in Pac-12 games.

For the Cougs' sake, hopefully a matchup with 2-6 Stanford is the spark for a more September-like November.

Encore Encore of the Week: Ollie Gordon II Stays Hot

We can't stop talking about him until he cools off! Two weeks ago, Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordon II piled up 284 scrimmage yards and two scores in an upset of Kansas. Then, he rushed for 282 yards and four touchdowns in a victory at West Virginia. Gordon continued his torrid run with 271 yards on the ground and two more trips to the end zone in Saturday's rout of Cincinnati.

Thorn of the Week: Arizona Gets It Done

After taking Washington and USC to the wire, Arizona smacked then-No. 19 Washington State 44-6 two weekends ago. But the 'Cats weren't finished. They just clipped No. 11 Oregon State 24-21 behind freshman Noah Fifita, who threw for 275 yards and three touchdowns. Arizona is 5-3 and primed to make its first bowl appearance since 2017.

Golf Clap of the Week: G5 Title Chasers

Conference races are heating up, and Group of Five leagues should not be overlooked. On midweek nights, Liberty sealed a spot in the Conference USA title game and Georgia Southern grabbed a key Sun Belt victory. Saturday's action included massive wins for Miami (MAC), Boise State (MWC), Fresno State (MWC) and Troy (Sun Belt). Each one defeated an opponent that entered with no more than one conference loss.