Florida ran through Ole Miss, Texas escaped Knoxville, Georgia handled business, Iowa waited until literally the last second, and Mississippi State reminded everybody that a football game has four quarters.
By | Sanchez Sideline
Monday came and went.
The Timeout did not.
Our bad.
But college football spent Saturday creating entirely too much foolishness for us to just skip the meeting.
We had an undefeated top-five team get smacked by 24 points. The No. 1 team nearly got caught in Knoxville. Georgia turned Oklahoma turnovers into a public service announcement. Iowa decided two seconds were plenty of time to ruin Michigan's weekend. And Mississippi State waited until the fourth quarter to remember it had a football game to win.
Then the new AP poll arrived and basically said:
Yeah... we're going to need to rearrange some things.
So grab the coffee.
The Sanchez Sideline Monday Morning Timeout is late, but we're calling it anyway.
Florida 52, Ole Miss 28: So... About Those Gators
Let's start in Gainesville because apparently Florida got tired of everybody asking whether it was actually good.
No. 4 Ole Miss came into The Swamp undefeated.
It left with 52 points worth of an answer.
Florida rushed for 302 yards, piled up 498 total yards and scored touchdowns on each of its first five possessions of the second half. Jadan Baugh carried 29 times for 142 yards and three touchdowns, while Duke Clark added 126 rushing yards and another score.
Ole Miss actually made this interesting.
The Rebels pulled within 24–21 during the third quarter.
Florida's response?
Touchdown.
Turnover.
Touchdown.
Another touchdown.
Another touchdown.
Basically:
Thank you for your concern. We're fine.
The Gators won 52–28, improved to 4–0 and were rewarded with a 13-spot jump to No. 8 in the new AP poll—their first top-10 appearance since 2021.
Timeout Take
We can stop asking whether Florida deserves attention.
It does.
You don't run for 302 yards against the No. 4 team in the country and get called a cute little early-season story.
Now comes the harder part.
Do it again.
Florida heads to No. 25 Missouri next.
Welcome back to the top 10, Gators.
Hope you weren't planning on getting comfortable.
Texas 20, Tennessee 17: No. 1 Survives Rocky Top
Texas went into Knoxville ranked No. 1.
Texas left Knoxville ranked No. 1.
Everything between those two events was considerably less relaxing.
The Longhorns escaped Tennessee 20–17 despite committing two turnovers, getting hit with 11 penalties for 115 yards and producing only 262 total yards. Arch Manning finished 14-of-19 for 201 yards with an interception.
Fortunately for Texas, its defense apparently woke up angry.
The Longhorns recorded 10 sacks.
Colin Simmons had five of them by himself.
Five.
At that point you don't need a blocker.
You need to file a missing-person report.
Simmons tied the Texas single-game record, while Raleek Brown scored both Longhorn offensive touchdowns.
And Tennessee STILL nearly pulled this thing off.
The Vols scored with 1:27 remaining to make it 20–17, recovered the ensuing onside kick and got another opportunity.
Texas finally slammed the door.
Timeout Take
Texas survived.
That's the important part.
But there's a difference between winning like the No. 1 team and being No. 1 when the clock reaches zero.
Saturday was the second one.
Still counts.
Georgia 41, Oklahoma 13: Thanks for the Football
Oklahoma actually held the ball longer than Georgia.
The Sooners ran more plays.
They weren't drastically outgained.
And they lost by 28 points.
How?
Four turnovers.
There's your article.
Oklahoma turned the ball over four times, including three lost fumbles, and Georgia repeatedly made the Sooners pay.
At one point John Mateer fumbled and Georgia's Chris Cole returned it for a touchdown.
You know things are going poorly when the opposing defense starts scoring too.
Georgia led 28–0 at halftime and cruised to a 41–13 win. Chauncey Bowens scored twice on the ground, while Dwight Phillips Jr. broke a 54-yard touchdown run. The Bulldogs improved to 4–0 and remained No. 2 in the AP poll.
Timeout Take
Georgia didn't need 500 yards.
Didn't need Gunner Stockton throwing four touchdowns.
Didn't need offensive fireworks.
Oklahoma kept giving Georgia possessions.
Georgia kept saying thank you.
Very polite people in Athens.
Iowa 20, Michigan 19: TWO SECONDS?!
Michigan led Iowa 19–14 with 34 seconds remaining.
Surely that's enough.
Right?
Right?!
Nope.
Iowa quarterback Hank Brown drove the Hawkeyes down the field and, with two seconds remaining, found Reece Vander Zee for a 16-yard game-winning touchdown.
Two.
Seconds.
That's not losing a football game.
That's having your weekend stolen.
Brown finished with 227 yards and two touchdowns, both to Vander Zee. Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood threw for 276 yards and two scores, but also had the game's only turnover.
Final:
Iowa 20. Michigan 19.
And because college football loves consequences, Iowa jumped to No. 14 while Michigan dropped completely out of the AP Top 25.
Timeout Take
Michigan had more yards.
More rushing yards.
More time of possession.
A five-point lead.
And two seconds left.
Iowa had the only thing anybody remembers.
The win.
That's cold.
Alabama 49, South Carolina 18: Keelon Russell Wasn't Interested in Drama
While everybody else was busy manufacturing chaos, Alabama decided to keep things simple.
49–18.
Keelon Russell completed 21 of 27 passes for 365 yards and four touchdowns without throwing an interception. He also added a rushing touchdown.
That's five touchdowns for the quarterback.
Ryan Coleman-Williams caught two of Russell's touchdown passes, and Lotzeir Brooks turned one reception into a 75-yard score.
Alabama led 35–10 at halftime.
Meeting adjourned.
The Crimson Tide remained unbeaten and moved to No. 7 in the new AP poll.
And now?
No. 7 Alabama visits No. 16 Mississippi State.
Oh, speaking of Mississippi State...
Mississippi State 31, Missouri 24: Apparently the Fourth Quarter Counts
Missouri led 24–17 entering the fourth quarter.
Mississippi State apparently considered that a suggestion.
Fluff Bothwell tied the game with a four-yard touchdown run with 7:16 remaining.
Then Kamario Taylor found Sanfrisco Magee for the go-ahead 24-yard touchdown with 4:04 left.
Fourteen unanswered points.
Game over.
Taylor finished with 360 passing yards and three touchdowns, while Bothwell contributed 122 rushing yards and another 55 through the air.
Mississippi State improved to 4–0 and jumped eight spots to No. 16, its highest AP ranking in four years.
Their reward?
Alabama.
Congratulations!
LSU 35, Texas A&M 6: Six Points Is Not Going to Get It Done
Texas A&M traveled to Death Valley.
LSU made sure the name remained appropriate.
The Tigers held A&M to 197 total yards and six points while piling up 506 yards themselves.
Sam Leavitt threw for 312 yards and two touchdowns, both to Jackson Harris, who finished with 163 receiving yards.
LSU led only 14–3 at halftime.
Then the third quarter happened.
21 LSU points.
Game.
LSU moved to 3–1 and climbed to No. 11, while Texas A&M dropped out of the Top 25.
Timeout Take
A&M has now gone from ranked to trying to figure out why its offense scored six points in Baton Rouge.
That meeting probably won't be fun.
Oregon 41, USC 27: The Ducks Took Over Late
USC tied Oregon 27–27 early in the fourth quarter.
And then Oregon said:
That's enough of that.
The Ducks scored the game's final 14 points to win 41–27 at the Coliseum.
Oregon finished with 504 total yards, didn't commit a turnover and got 289 passing yards and two touchdowns from Dylan Raiola after Dante Moore exited the game. USC quarterback Jayden Maiava threw for 326 yards and two touchdowns but was intercepted in the end zone on the Trojans' final possession.
Oregon moved up to No. 15 in the new poll. USC landed at No. 18.
And Everybody Else Who Caused Problems...
Ohio State handled Illinois 42–19.
Notre Dame demolished Purdue 49–10.
Miami embarrassed Central Michigan 52–3.
UCLA went into Maryland and won 54–3.
Wake Forest knocked off ranked Louisville 30–27.
Wisconsin stunned Penn State 24–20, sending the Nittany Lions tumbling completely out of the Top 25.
College football woke up Saturday and chose violence.
The Poll Said WHAT?
Sunday's AP poll had to bring out the moving boxes.
Texas stayed No. 1.
Georgia remained No. 2.
Notre Dame stayed No. 3.
Miami climbed to No. 4.
Ohio State moved to No. 5.
But the headline was Florida.
The Gators went from No. 21 to No. 8 after beating Ole Miss.
Iowa jumped to No. 14.
Mississippi State climbed to No. 16.
Meanwhile, Michigan, Penn State, Louisville and Texas A&M disappeared from the rankings altogether.
That's why September college football is dangerous.
Everybody has a plan until Saturday punches them in the mouth.
What We're Watching Next
The schedule isn't exactly offering anybody recovery time.
No. 5 Ohio State at No. 14 Iowa gives the Hawkeyes an immediate chance to prove the Michigan win wasn't their ceiling.
No. 7 Alabama at No. 16 Mississippi State suddenly looks a whole lot more interesting.
No. 8 Florida at No. 25 Missouri tests whether the Gators can follow their biggest win with another road SEC performance.
And No. 4 Miami at Clemson gives the Hurricanes another opportunity to show they're built for more than beating teams by 40.
Monday Morning Timeout Final Word
The biggest lesson from the weekend?
Stop getting comfortable.
Ole Miss was No. 4.
Didn't matter.
Michigan had two seconds left.
Didn't matter.
Missouri had a fourth-quarter lead.
Didn't matter.
Texas nearly learned the same lesson before escaping Knoxville.
September isn't even over and résumés are already being rewritten, rankings are getting tossed around and fan bases are moving from “national championship” to “so what bowl are we looking at?” in approximately four hours.
And somewhere in Gainesville, Florida is sitting at 4–0 and No. 8 after spending Saturday running straight through the No. 4 team in America.
Yeah.
We probably shouldn't have skipped this Timeout.
Sports. Opinion. No Filter.
This week? Nobody gets comfortable.