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Dominick ranks the best games from Week 10 of the college football season. What were the best games from Week 9 of the 2023 CFB season?
Week 10 may have been the best week of the season so far.
Not only did Washington finally get back on track, but Bedlam went out with a great game and Rutgers showed something against Ohio State.
If the rest of the season is anything like this week was, we are in for a memorable finish.
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No. 5 Washington Huskies: 52, USC Trojans: 42
Despite only averaging 126.3 yards rushing per game on the season, Washington was able to dominate USC on the ground in this one.
Dillon Johnson ran for 256 yards and four TDs on 26 rushes. Meanwhile, QB Michael Penix kept his Heisman Trophy hopes alive and well with 22 of 30 passing for 256 yards two TDs and, one INT.
MICHAEL PENIX!! TOUCHDOWN!
He needs to win the Heisman 🔥pic.twitter.com/UWMoOfNAfzhttps://t.co/wK5RTW8wRc
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) November 5, 2023
Washington, after two less than stellar offensive showings since the Oregon game, came out and took advantage of a USC defense which has allowed 34.5 points/game and has only allowed one team (Arizona State) to not gain at least 500 yards on them. This was the final straw for Alex Grinch as the defensive coordinator was relieved of his duties on Sunday.
USC has completely wasted the years it had with Caleb Williams. The 2022 Heisman Trophy winner will be the first or second pick in the 2024 NFL draft. But he will go to the NFL after never having played for a playoff team in college -- something he was hoping to do when joining Oklahoma then following Lincoln Riley to USC.
At 7-3, USC now heads to Eugene to take on a determined Oregon Ducks team that is coming off dismantling Cal 63-19. Washington will return home to Seattle to take on a tough Utah team that is coming off its own impressive 55-3 win over Arizona State.
This game officially ended the hopes of USC gaining a spot in the Pac-12 championship game. We will now find out if it also ends the season and career of Williams as a Trojan.
No. 17 Oklahoma State Cowboys: 27, No. 16 Oklahoma Sooners: 24
Despite Mike Gundy wanting this rivalry to end, it is a shame it must go.
Bedlam is a tough, gritty game which all fans in Oklahoma love. Just because Oklahoma is moving to the SEC does not mean this should go away. But so, it goes with life and re-alignment.
In the final game of the rivalry, the Cowboys, who lost 33-7 to South Alabama on September 16, continued their march to a possible Big-12 championship game appearance with the victory. As important for Oklahoma State, this win also knocked the Sooners out of the title game with their second conference loss and a tie-breaker loss to both Kansas and Oklahoma State.
The biggest key to this game was the play of RB Ollie Gordon for the Pokes. Although he did not get to 271 yards like he had in each of the previous two games, he did carry the ball 33 times for 137 yards and two TDs. The 33 carries helped Oklahoma State keep the Sooners offense on the sidelines -- a place where they cannot do any damage. QB Allen Bowman, who did not have a passing TD, was still able to move the ball effectively through the air with 334 passing yards as Oklahoma State jumped from unranked up to No. 17 in the USA Today/Coaches Poll after this win.
Both teams have an easy remaining schedule coming up. This will help the Pokes get to the conference title game and a possible date with Texas.
While neither team has a real chance for the playoffs anymore, Oklahoma State will forever, or at least for now, have the bragging rights of winning the final Bedlam ever played.
No. 8 Alabama Crimson Tide: 42, No. 19 LSU Tigers: 28
This was a close game for a while. But after the injury to LSU QB Jayden Daniels, everything changed.
QBs were the best players in this game. Daniels finished with 219 passing yards with two TDs while also rushing 11 times for 163 yards and one TD. The entire offense changed when he went out.
For Alabama, Jalen Milroe finished with an identical 219 pass yards. He was also the leading rusher for the Tide with 20 carries for 155 yards and four TDs. His four rushing TDs were a school record for any QB at Alabama.
🏈 WK10 | SEC Football Player of the Week
CO-OFFENSIVE: Jalen Milroe@AlabamaFTBL x #SECFB pic.twitter.com/Ns63Og7axB
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) November 6, 2023
With this win, Alabama has a strangle hold on the SEC West. It has already defeated Ole Miss and it has the inside track to face Georgia in Atlanta for the conference title. A win there and Nick Saban could get, perhaps his least talented team, to yet another playoff appearance. LSU still has games left against Florida and Texas A&M. It will need to win both for this season to not be a complete failure in the eyes of Tigers fans.
No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes: 35, Rutgers Scarlet Knights: 16
The score of this game does not define the game itself. Ohio State added two late TDs to make this game a 19-point win. For most of the game though, Rutgers was able to hold the Buckeyes offense in check. It even led the game 9-7 at halftime.
Rutgers coach Greg Schiano was playing to not get blown out. It worked. But he should have been playing to win. Something he obviously was not doing by settling for three field goals of 22, 21, and 20 yards in the first half.
Both defenses are in the top 10 nationally. It showed today as neither offense did much to garner any optimism moving forward.
Rutgers is bowl eligible, something which was not expected. It can be satisfied with what it has done. But more is expected from Ohio State. With its biggest game of the season, a showdown with Michigan -- in just three weeks -- something will need to get fixed in the Ohio State offensive room. Otherwise, Michigan will once again wipe the field with the Buckeyes. With or without its signs.
Iowa: 10, Northwestern: 7
This one will be short but sweet. Much like the game itself.
The score in this game, 10-7, was lower than six Cubs games in Wrigley Field this season. Pretty sad. But this is what you get from two bad offenses and two good defenses. Even knowing he is out of a job; Brian Ferentz could not let it all hang out. Iowa is still playing for the Big Ten West title and has a chance to lose 42-3 to either Ohio State or Michigan in the conference championship game.
With this win, Iowa is alone atop the West and controls its destiny to get to Indianapolis. Northwestern, who has gone through many challenges this season, is still having a remarkable season -- relatively speaking.
This loss will do nothing to hamper this. With remaining games against Rutgers, Illinois and at Nebraska, Iowa will be a favorite in all its remaining games. It will be favored to win the West. If its defense can hold up, expect this to be another Iowa team which finishes 10-2 and exceeds all expectations, despite a horrible offense.
