It’s an Unhappy Valley in State College, competence returned to UCLA’s sidelines and the winless programs deserve your pity in this week’s Flop 10.
Here’s some of the lowlights from Week 7 of college football:
Penn State
Three weeks ago, Penn State was ranked No. 2 in the country. Life comes at you fast. The Nittany Lions have lost three in a row and the vultures are circling. Losing in double-OT to a top-5 team, while disappointing, is tolerable. But back-to-back losses to previously winless UCLA and at home to Northwestern will test the resolve of those needed to sign off on James Franklin’s near-$50 million buyout. Penn State trailed Northwestern, 22-21, prior to Drew Allar suffering a season-ending injury. Add injury to insult. It doesn’t get any easier for the Nittany Lions, who are 0-3 in the Big Ten. They travel to Iowa, then face No. 1 Ohio State followed by Indiana, who may be ranked No. 3 come Sunday. From preseason expectations to the harsh reality of what may lay ahead, this Penn State team could go down as one of the most disappointing of the 2000s.
Luke Fickell
You’d be hard-pressed to find a coach in hotter water than James Franklin, but Luke Fickell’s seat is molten. And problem for Fickell is his buyout is half of Franklin’s. (Though getting paid handsomely not to work doesn’t sound all that bad.) Saturday’s embarrassing 37-0 home loss to Iowa was the Badgers’ fourth in a row, and you’d have to hope rock bottom. ‘Well, that’s as low as it can be,’ Fickell said afterward. ‘I apologize. I apologized to our guys. To not be ready, to not have them ready, I’m dumbfounded in a lot of ways. But that’s my job.’
Wisconsin finished last season on a five-game losing streak and seem like a program in major regression.
Brent Venables’ Red River record
Oklahoma had its quarterback back and Texas was clinging to its top-25 spot with Arch Manning looking lost. All signs pointed to a Sooners win. About that… Manning made just enough plays, the Texas defense was dominant and that was that as the Longhorns beat the No. 6 Sooners, 23-6. OU coach Brent Venables is 1-3 in the Red River Rivalry, and in those three losses, the Sooners have been outscored 106-9.
DeShaun Foster and Tino Sunseri
So what was DeShaun Foster actually doing as Bruins coach?
Foster was fired after an 0-3 start, which included two losses to Group of Five teams — punctuated by that 35-10 home loss to New Mexico. UCLA hadn’t led at all in its first three games and averaged 16.5 points per game, tied for 115th in FBS out of 133 teams. In Tim Skipper’s first game as interim coach, the Bruins almost completed a comeback win at Northwestern (falling 17-14) and then pulled off the surprise of the season, upsetting Penn State, 42-37. On Saturday, UCLA continued its improved play with a dominating 38-13 win in East Lansing. And it’s not all on Foster. Lets save some admonishment for discarded playcaller Tino Sunseri. Out with Tino, and in with the Pasadena Kid. New playcaller Jerry Neuheisel has unlocked Nico Iamaleava and the Bruins have scored 80 points combined the past two weeks.
Mike Norvell
Not the birthday present the Seminoles coach was hoping for. Pitt, who was starting a true freshman at QB in just his second start, scored 34 points in Doak Walker Stadium and handed Florida State its third straight loss. This was Pitt’s first win over a ranked FSU team since 1981. Rick Springfield introduced us to ‘Jessie’s Girl’ and faces were melting in ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark.’ Only thing melting here is FSU’s ACC title hopes. Consider that season-opening win over Alabama an aberration — and ancient history. What have you done for me lately? FSU is going from top-10 to out of the rankings in less than a month. Folks in Tallahassee were restless after last year’s 2-10 season. Norvell can’t afford too many three-game losing streaks.
Refs in Auburn vs Georgia
Officials became the story of the 20-10 Georgia win on Saturday, and no sequence was more scrutinized than a would-be touchdown-turned fumble in Georgia’s favor. Auburn quarterback Jackson Arnold appeared to score from a yard out on a QB sneak, but officials ruled it a defensive touchdown on the field for Georgia’s Kryon Jones, who ran the ball back while Georgia and Auburn players were still in a scrum on the opposite end of the field.
However, replay appeared to show Arnold reach over the goal line with possession of the ball before the ball was knocked out of his hands. Moreover, replay showed Jones was never down on the play after he recovered the ball.
Despite both pieces of evidence, officials gave Georgia the ball at its own 1-yard line. Georgia turned the possession into a field goal that cut the Auburn lead to 10-3 — a 10-point swing.
Per Josh Pate, the final two minutes of the first half took 36 minutes of real time. ‘No injuries or weather delays.’
‘There’s more stoppages, more, that may be the longest half of football ever,’ Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said at halftime. ‘I don’t know how many timeouts Georgia got with all the stoppages. I have no clue how that doesn’t break the plane (on the sneak), no clue. And we’re due a break, maybe, one of these damn times.’
Oregon State
A team without a conference is also a team without a win — one of three FBS teams without a win. And the Beavers weren’t anywhere close in Saturday’s 39-14 home loss to Wake Forest. Wake led 32-0 and won by 25 despite going 1-of-9 on third down and committing 12 penalties for 109 yards. It was so bad, Oregon State fired its coach Trent Bray on Sunday, less than two years into a five-year contract. Oregon State has a chance to pick up its first win of the season against FCS Lafayette next week. After that, it’s fellow Pac-12 outcast Washington State, who has managed to be competitive despite living in conference purgatory. Then, its one of those other winless programs — Sam Houston State. 0-9 vs. 0-9? One can dream.
UMass
The other FBS 0-fer? That would be UMass, who lost 42-6 to a pretty bad Kent State team Saturday. Against FBS opposition, the Minutemen are being outscored 194-32. UMass also lost to FCS Bryant. The program has lost 18 in a row to FBS teams. Its last FBS win was Oct. 28, 2023 vs. Army. The Minutemen’s only wins since? Merrimack, Central Connecticut State and Wagner. It seems the FCS is more UMass’ level than the MAC, which they joined this summer.
Old Dominion
A sleeper from the Group of Five bunch hoping to stake a claim to the College Football Playoff, the Monarchs tripped over themselves Saturday at Marshall, doomed by five turnovers. Up until this week, ODU’s only blemish was a closer-than-expected loss on the road at Indiana (an Indiana team that will likely be ranked No. 3 in Sunday’s US LBM Coaches Poll). Maybe they were looking ahead to next week’s Sun Belt showdown at James Madison, another CFP hopeful. Whatever it was, the Monarchs lost 48-24 to a Thundering Herd team that lost to FBS debutant Missouri State earlier this year. So ODU, you can cross them off the list.
Fresno State
Fresno State was riding a five-game win streak and facing Colorado State, which was 1-4 and had lost three in a row. CSU’s lone win was against FCS Northern Colorado. Easy, pick right? Pfft. Fresno trailed 35-7 in the second quarter after the second TD catch of the day from Rocky Beers (if this guy doesn’t have an NIL deal with Coors, what are we doing!?!). The Bulldogs were called for 13 penalties for 117 yards, had four turnovers and eventually lost 49-21. The Rams hadn’t won a game by 28 points (or more) since 2021 and their 49 points were the most they’ve scored since 2017. A win would have made Fresno bowl eligible in new coach Matt Entz’s first season. It also would have come with a $50,000 bonus. Hold off on those home renovations for at least one more week.
USA TODAY Sports reporters Steve Berkowitz and Zac Al-Khateeb contributed to this story.