Every week the college football world gets another reminder of just how volatile and unpredictable the game can be with teams rising and falling in pretty epic fashion. That was certainly the case again this week with Michigan State’s incredible comeback win over Michigan that will be talked about for decades based on how it went down. Meanwhile, Alabama and Baylor both managed to record statement wins against conference rivals.
Here is a look at the biggest winners and losers from Week 7 of the college football season.
Loser: Michigan
It’s pretty easy to forget now that Michigan linebacker Joe Bolden was wrongly ejected following a targeting foul that shouldn’t have been called. And also that the Wolverines were awarded a controversial touchdown at the goal line that really shouldn’t have happened either.
That’s because that game will forever be remembered for its epic ending and the way Jim Harbaugh’s side let the potential upset win slip from their grasp. Up 23-21 with seconds to play, Michigan opted to punt in order to force the Spartans to either try to win on a punt return or put up one final Hail Mary play.
However, the punter fumbled the snap, he was tackled as he tried to recover it and it was scooped up by the Spartans and run back for the game-winning touchdown in the final seconds. It’s one of the most improbable endings that could have ever been imagined.
Michigan had a potentially huge upset win snatched from its hands on the most unlikely of plays in the final seconds of a game against its biggest rival. It would be hard to dream up a more devastating loss for the Wolverines than that one.
Winner: Francis Owusu, Stanford
Stanford wide receiver Francis Owusu could very well finish his college football years and go on to play an extended NFL career but if he never took another snap, he would still be remembered forever for the incredible catch he made in Stanford’s 56-35 win over UCLA on Thursday night.
The catch came off a reverse-pass from quarterback Kevin Hogan that traveled 41 yards and ended up in the hands of Owusu, who managed to hold on as he fell to the ground. He did so despite that he was also hugging an opposing cornerback and holding the ball behind that defender’s back in the process. There is absolutely no doubt it is the catch of the year so far in college football and a case can certainly be made for it as one of the best catches of all-time.
Loser: Texas A&M
Alabama showed up at College Station and beat up on Texas A&M in a 41-23 win, so they deserve a ton of credit. At the same time, the Aggies have to be disappointed with their performance and how the offense in particular fared. Sophomore quarterback Kyle Allen threw three pick-sixes, which translated to more than half of the Tide’s 41 points in the game and freshman Kyler Murray wasn’t any better in relief.
The fact that Alabama gave up a blocked punt as well as a punt returned for a touchdown and still won the game by three scores is testament to how poor the Aggies played as they failed to show up in a crucial SEC game and the result was their first loss of the season.
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Winner: LSU
All of the talk about LSU continues to revolve around its star running back and the Heisman trophy favorite Leonard Fournette and justifiably so when you consider that he has already put up 1,202 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns through six games. However, it’s about time that sophomore quarterback Brandon Harris also gets acknowledged after he completed 13-of-19 passes for 202 yards and two touchdowns in this week’s 35-28 win over Florida.
Harris has completed 68.4% of his passes for 812 yards and six touchdowns without a single interception thrown so far this season and suddenly LSU is the team to beat in the SEC. They’ve got a showdown against Alabama right around the corner and Les Miles has his team in prime CFP position.
