College football Saturday: Missouri and VT fall, other favorites cruise

There are losses that make you mad. There are losses that make you throw things. There are losses that cause you to shave your cat. And then there are losses that collapse your whole being, leaving you sitting in a chair staring at the wall for a period of time. Could be minutes. Could be days. Nothing matters anymore, including time.

You’re still here. Here’s this other stuff. The immediate aftermath:

Week in which I will be sporting some sort of Auburn-related goodness for my Twitter avatar. From a September game preview:

I figured the Ole Miss game was the difference-maker, and it probably was, but the win over Texas A&M last week was icing on the cake. I had accepted defeat long before Auburn’s romp of FAU on Saturday.

Agony. The north end zone at Missouri should be wiped from the face of the earth, yes. But let’s be really specific about the kind of agony it’s unleashed. It is not a paper cut kind of agony. It is getting that paper cut, and then discovering the offending piece of paper has been laced with anthrax. It is pulling a Margaret Wise Brown, then dying from the aneurysm you suffer while kicking your leg in the air to show the doctor how good you feel. It is pulling a Rosalind Shays, then stepping into an open elevator shaft without looking.

Boston Molasses Disaster. And this is usually the point where you point out exactly how these things happen, and what someone did wrong, and no. You can’t do that to this game, because there are some moments that are not even helped by explanation.

It was a great recruiting weekend for the top teams in college football.

Starting in the early games, Alabama and Florida State hosted a lot of top recruits over the weekend. And they did not mess around on the field, putting their games away early with a combined score over Tennessee and NC State of 77-0 in the first half. That’s domination.

Last Week: 16-for-26, 292 passing yards, three TDs, one INT; defeated N.C. State, 49-17

2013 Season: 128-for-183, 2,177 passing yards, 23 TDs, four INTs; 126 rushing yards, three TDs

I think Winston’s going to win the Heisman Trophy, and I think he’s been the best player in college football in 2013 — at least, he’s the first name I’d throw out when starting the discussion.

He was uncharacteristically inaccurate (though drops helped) against N.C. State last weekend in another Florida State immolation of an overwhelmed ACC foe (FSU has steamrolled its five ACC opponents by a 142-34 score in the first half), but that’s the only criticism there is to level. Winston’s still the trigger man for an insanely efficient offense that gives him many opportunities to throw down the field, which he does exceedingly well.

It’s the flashes that cause the flashbacks. Like so many others, I’m scarred and guarded enough to know not to completely believe in a win until the game is over. No matter what the score, no matter how much time is left, I don’t completely let go of the fear until the clock hits 0:00.

But sometimes instinct takes over. Sometimes your reflexes abandon you. In a tight, heartbreaking loss like what my team, Missouri, suffered on Saturday, it’s the reflexes that I’ve been reliving.

Last week: Lost 34-23 at Minnesota

Record: 5-2 (2-1 B1G)

Years: 6

Overall record: 54-22

School record: 54-22

Three-year record: 24-10

Salary: $2,875,000

Three-year dollars per win: $359,375

Buyout: $4.5 million

Football ratio: 65.4%

Subsidy: None

Nebraska got pushed around by Minnesota Saturday, and Bo Pelini has been pushed onto the trapdoor. The vaunted Cornhusker offense managed just 328 total yards against a Gopher defense that had been allowing 375 yards per game. Minnesota ran for 271 yards on Nebraska’s defense, which is now ranked 77th nationally in total defense and 75th against the run. Fourth-year starting quarterback Taylor Martinez was just 16/30 for 139 yards.

The second BCS standings of the season were released on Sunday night, with some shakeup in the top-five. While Alabama held strong at the top, Oregon leapfrogged Florida State after a big win over UCLA. Ohio State remained No. 4, but Missouri dropped from fifth to ninth following their heartbreaking loss to South Carolina. Stanford is now No. 5 and quietly remains in the hunt for the national title game.

The two big stories at the moment are the Ducks and Noles battling for second, which will continue as long as both remain undefeated, and the push by Fresno State and Northern Illinois to rank either in the top 12 or in the top 16 and ahead of a BCS-conference champion. If either can do that, the BCS’ final season will produce some bizarre bowl matchups. As you can see below, both are well within BCS-buster range already.

As expected, Florida State’s thin advantage in the BCS standings over Oregon is gone after one week. The Ducks, who were surprisingly ranked No. 3 last week, have now slipped into position to play in the BCS National Championship -- assuming both that they remain undefeated and that nothing else crazy happens the rest of the way. As always, expect crazy things to happen and know that going undefeated is very hard for anybody.

This week’s full BCS top 25:

Alabama continues its run atop the polls after beating Tennessee at home, 45-10, which looks similar to the scores turned in by Oregon, Florida State, Ohio State, and Baylor. The top of the rankings will likely hold steady all day long, while the bottom half of the top 10 should continue to see plenty of shakeup.

The new Coaches Poll, the first poll to be released Sunday:

The people’s champ. In the way that Mao Zedong was the people’s champ: by oppressing the people at every turn and beating down on the necks of serfdom like the hateful rays of a blazing sun.

You miss the obvious. Nick Saban got the students to stay in the stadium first, and then will get the state to congregate in Tuscaloosa, all before forcing the masses to the giant practice field he has made of the state, which he will turn into a football-agrarian utopia where The Process rules everything and all are subject to ruthless film evaluation.

I don’t know whether Florida State or Oregon is better. I don’t even know whether Alabama’s better than either of them. All three teams are really good, and chances are all three won’t go undefeated, based on last week’s numbers. But if they do, the Ducks will play in the BCS National Championship, due to having a tougher schedule down the stretch. That’s all there is to it.

And since neither Alabama, Florida State, or Oregon has a projected loss left on the schedule (most of the amalgamated possible roadblocks -- Missouri, Miami, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, and Virginia Tech -- looked flawed Saturday), let’s ride with what we’ve got. Alabama-Oregon finally happens, and an angry Florida State stews all offseason, then unleashes ever-loving hell on the world in the first year of the Playoff.

Not content to settle for a mere moonwalk this week, the Ohio State band launched into the stratosphere on Saturday when they did the above. Below you can see GIFs of the spectacle, which were made by For the Win and good lord Ohio State at least you’ll be the national champion of musical formations.

• All of Week 9’s scores, with game recaps

COLUMBIA, Mo. - There were dots of red inside sold-out Faurot Field. There was red up and down campus, dotted among the black and gold that made up Missouri’s crowd of 67,124. And even those in red saw red. A South Carolina fan in garnet, fresh to this new Columbia, saw a friendly shade a block away and yelled, “Go Cocks!”

Long before Connor Shaw’s miraculous resurrection and Steve Spurrier’s taunting tunnel screens created a 27-24 comeback overtime win over unbeaten Missouri, the pesky matter of the World Series floated about the tailgates.

Here are the results for Week 9 in college football, where we saw two national title contenders fall and plenty of upsets go down, while the top four contenders eased to victory.

No sweat for Alabama as the Crimson Tide handled Tennessee, 45-10. A pick-six at the end of the half by Landon Collins was the exclamation point on the game, and tailback T.J. Yeldon’s three rushing touchdowns were all the offense Alabama needed.

Minnesota started an upset-filled Saturday by beating No. 24 Nebraska, 34-23, putting Bo Pelini squarely on the hot seat. Duke (DUKE!) beat No. 14 Virginia Tech, 13-10, despite being outgained 387-198 by the Hokies. And No. 21 South Carolina erased a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat No. 5 Missouri, 27-24. The game ended when Tigers kicker Andrew Baggett missed a field goal in double overtime.

Quarterback Nick Marshall was taken to the locker room after suffering an arm injury in the Tigers’ win over FAU, and did not return due to “precautionary reasons.”

When the first BCS standings of the year were released last week, Florida State was the surprise No. 2, just edging out No. 3 Oregon. Six days later, the Seminoles and Ducks both won -- Florida State dominating NC State to the tune of 49-17 and Oregon scoring 21 fourth-quarter points in a 42-14 win over No. 12 UCLA. When the Week 10 standings are released, the Ducks will likely move ahead of the ‘Noles into the coveted No. 2 position, but is it warranted?

Entering Saturday, Florida State led Oregon by .0028 percentage points, the smallest margin separating any two teams in the BCS. The Ducks were solidly No. 2 in the human polls, but the Seminoles were favored by the computers, earning the average No. 1 ranking. After Saturday’s results, that computer advantage should narrow. While Oregon struggled for much of the game against the Bruins, UCLA was ranked No. 12 in the standings and No. 14 in the computers. Florida cruised past NC State, taking a 42-0 lead in the first half, but the Wolfpack were unranked.

San Diego State nearly pulled off the upset, but No. 17 Fresno State was able to hang on and remain undefeated with a 35-28 win in overtime.

Fresno State scored on its second offensive possession of the game, but the defenses got the better of the first three quarters. The teams combined for 10 punts through three quarters and entered the final period tied 14-14.

Oregon State rallied late, but Stanford’s defense stopped the Beavers shy of the endzone on fourth down to preserve a 20-12 win.

That would make the score 13-9 heading into the fourth, when Gaffney scored his third touchdown to stretch it to 20-9. Stanford looked like it would cruise from there, and was set to run out the clock with four minutes to go, when Gaffney fumbled. Oregon State capitalized on the turnover for a field goal to close within eight, and when Stanford punted it back with 1:32 to go, the Beavers put a serious scare on the No. 6 team in the country.

Nature proved to be a more worth adversary to the Longhorns than TCU did on Saturday night, as Texas coasted to a comfortable 30-7 win that was delayed several hours due to lightning. The Longhorns remain undefeated in Big 12 play and can claim the conference title if they win out.

Even though the Horned Frogs did an adequate job slowing down Johnathan Gray and the Texas rushing attack (3.6 yards per carry), TCU’s own inability to move the ball by either air or ground proved costly. TCU moved the ball 70 yards and 43 yards on two possessions (the former ended in a touchdown, the latter in an interception) but otherwise failed to move the ball more than 21 yards on any single possession.

Stanford defensive end Ben Gardner left the game against Oregon State in the third quarter with a left arm injury. Gardner took off his pads and was seen on the sidelines wearing a parka instead, signifying that he was indeed done for the night.

This is the same arm that has been a repeated issue going back to the Washington game, where he was accused by some of faking an injury.

Washington wide receiver Kasen Williams suffered an Lisfranc injury in the first half of the Cal-Washington game. After being hit by Cal’s Kameron Jackson, Williams remained remaining motionless on the field for several minutes and was eventually carted off with his leg in an air cast.

The injury could could force him to miss the rest of the year.

Here are the results of the afternoon and evening games here in Week 9; as more games go final they’ll be added to the list. You can also check out the scoreboard for live results here, and click on final scores for full recaps where available.

No sweat for Alabama as the Crimson Tide handled Tennessee, 45-10. A pick-six at the end of the half by Landon Collins was the exclamation point on the game, and tailback T.J. Yeldon’s three rushing touchdowns were all the offense Alabama needed.

That was the first of many scrambles for Miller on the evening -- some planned, some unplanned, but all of which immensely frustrated the Penn State defense, which proved unable to contain him. Though his Heisman chances are now shot, Miller showcased all the talent people expected of him coming into the season.

The Nittany Lions got on the board with a Hackenberg touchdown pass, but it would make little difference, as Ohio State tossed in two more scores of their own -- one on a connection from Miller to Corey Brown and one on a 39-yard touchdown run by Carlos Hyde.