Talk about chaos all around the country this past weekend.  Although it wasn't on the picks and thank goodness it wasn't, Oklahoma upset #1 Texas in the annual Red River Rivalry with a walk off field goal.  As the saying goes, "All stats go out the window in rivalries".  

UCLA decided to march into Autzen stadium to take down Oregon 17-15.  This marks UCLA’s first victory in Eugene since 2004, extending their undefeated season to 5-0 while dealing a devastating blow to Oregon's playoff hopes.  The story of the game was Oregon’s crippling 7 turnovers.

The Arizona Wildcats dominated West Virginia 52-31.  Despite missing their top three wide receivers due to injuries, Arizona’s backup options stepped up beautifully to handle West Virginia's defense, giving the Mountaineers their third consecutive loss.  While West Virginia's offense ran a grueling 104 plays and gained 522 total yards, Arizona's defense made the critical plays that mattered —notching 10 tackles for loss and a defensive touchdown when Lee Molette III scooped and scored on a fumble recovery.

The No. 7 Indiana Hoosiers executed a stunning 20-17 fourth-quarter comeback victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers.  The win keeps the defending national champion Hoosiers undefeated at 6-0 and extends their overall winning streak to 22 games, while Nebraska dropped to 5-1.  The Cornhuskers dictated the pace for the first three quarters, smothering Indiana's offense and holding them to just two field goals.  With 7:13 remaining, facing a crucial 4th-and-1 at the Nebraska 44-yard line, the Hoosiers crowded the line with an extra lineman. Expecting a run, Nebraska's secondary bit hard, allowing Hoover to float a 44-yard game-winning touchdown pass over the top to a wide-open Marsh.

Wake Forest rode a massive second-half surge to defeat NC State 38-14.  NC State controlled the early tempo. Wolfpack quarterback CJ Bailey opened the game by completing 16 consecutive passes, helping NC State head into the locker room with a 14-10 halftime lead. However, the Wolfpack offense completely stalled in the rain during the second half.  Wake Forest exploded for 28 unanswered points after the half to secure their best season start since 2022.  

Army edged Tulane 20-17 following a dramatic fourth-quarter comeback.  After a crucial fourth-down stop by the Army defense at their own 33-yard line with four minutes left, Hellums orchestrated a clock-draining 12-play, 58-yard march to set up Jones’ walk-off kick. 

 

A dominant first half and a record-tying passing display propelled Houston to a comfortable Big 12 road victory over Kansas State 35-16.  Kansas State is winless in the Big 12 and still have Oklahoma State, Kansas, Arizona State, and some others on the schedule that may not be easy wins.  

Illinois survived a furious second half comeback to defeat Michigan State 38-37 in overtime. After a failed 2-point conversion by the Spartans ended the game in extra time, the Fighting Illini clinched their homecoming spoiler and advanced to 3-3 on the season.  Illinois came out on fire, scoring on their first five drives to comfortably lead 20-7 at halftime while outgaining Michigan State 261 to 83 yards early on.  Michigan State is tied for dead last in the conference.  

In a tense, high-stakes SEC slugfest at Bryant-Denny Stadium the No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs defeated the No. 6 Alabama Crimson Tide 20-17. The victory marks Georgia's first regular-season win in Tuscaloosa since 2007 and leaves them as one of the nation's premier undefeated teams.  Alabama controlled the early momentum to take a 14-10 lead into halftime. However, the Crimson Tide offense entirely stalled out in the second half, failing to find the end zone and leaving critical points on the board.  Some may say The Tide lost due to officiating, which was bad throughout the game, but there were a lot of no calls on both sides.  

The No. 19 USC Trojans silenced a record-shattering Beaver Stadium crowd by defeating the Penn State Nittany Lions 31-23 in front of a "White Out" crowd of 114,419—the largest attendance in Beaver Stadium history—USC played its most complete road game of the Lincoln Riley era to become bowl-eligible at 6-1.  USC’s defense clamped down when it mattered most, punctuated by a critical forced fumble from Christian Pierce to break Penn State's rhythm. Maiava closed out the game by finding Kayden Dixon-Wyatt in the back of the end zone to extend the lead and put the game on ice.

Purdue completely dismantled Minnesota 41-13, delivering their most complete, complementary performance of the year.  The Boilermakers dominated the trenches on both sides of the ball to lock up their second consecutive Big Ten victory.  Any hopes of a Gopher rally were erased late in the third quarter when a series of critical defensive penalties—including an offside and a pass interference call—gifted Purdue field position. Browne subsequently rushed for a 12-yard touchdown to cap off the rout. 

On to Pick’ems…

Well, well, well. We have a new leader at the top.  However, Jacob still has the Meggers breathing down his neck in 2nd and 3rd place with Kim and Noah not too far behind.  Can Jacob handle the pressure of what it takes to stay in 1st place?  We’ll find out soon enough.

I guess Kim’s picks are mortal after all. She’s been fantastic from the start of this contest but her ho-hum 34 points this past week made her slip just a tad bit. Don’t kid yourself though…she’s in a much better place than the majority of us.

Chris needed a good week just as much as he needed Texas to win.  Unfortunately, he achieved one of those and it wasn't a Texas win.  Even though he scored 39 points, he still finished 4th for the week and inched further from Evelyn who sits in last place.  I guess Chris got that last piece of fried chicken from the buffet last week. 

Cindie, David, Marc, and I continue to have rough weeks with Teddy and Sam not doing much better.  Maybe this week, the top tier will be at the bottom for this coming week to give us bottom feeders a chance to do some catching up.  One can only hope but looking at this week's picks, I am not holding my breath.

Is Evelyn even trying at this point? 

Most Points for the week: Jacob snagged 47 points and $10 in a very challenging week. Bet he can’t do it again. 

Least Points for the week: Christian won only three games totaling 18-points this week and is on his way to the bottom to hang out with Chris and Evelyn. What a thoughtful guy.

Best Pick of the week: Rick, Chris, and Noah placing their bet on Purdue beating Minnesota.

Worst Pick of the week: everyone but Jacob going high on Oregon.

They sure are looking the part and they don't have much left on the schedule as far as competition. They could easily win out. (Wisconsin, Michigan State, Nevada, Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan, USC)

Because no one talks about teams in the Big 12 unless it’s BYU, Texas Tech, and maybe a couple of others...and they are 7th in the conference.

When have they been good in the last several years? <Editor’s note: Okay, who submitted that question?>

Here’s how we rank heading into Week 5:

1. Jacob - 265 points

2. Sean - 262 points

3. Rick - 261 points

4. Kim - 255 points

5. Noah - 253 points

6. Sam - 243 points

7. David - 236 points

8. Wendi - 235 points

9. Teddy - 226 points

10. Cindie - 225 points

11. Adam - 223 points

12. Mike - 222 points

13. Marc - 221 points

14. Christian - 213 points

15. Chris - 212 points

16. Evelyn - 191 points

There is a 74-point difference from 1st to last place.