Winners and losers from Week 6 of the college football season

The Terrapins led 7-0 after one, and the Buckeyes only pulled away in the fourth quarter when they scored 17 unanswered points. The performance is particularly concerning considering it came after No. 4 Ohio State’s bye. 

The Buckeyes play three of their next four on the road, with the only home game during that stretch against No. 6 Penn State. 

Winner

No. 14 North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye: A masterful performance in the Tar Heels 40-7 win over Syracuse reaffirmed why Maye is considered an elite NFL prospect. He finished 33-of-47 for 442 yards and three touchdowns, including several beautiful throws.

Loser

Texas A&M-Bama clock management: What the heck was in the drinking water in College Station? Jimbo Fisher and Nick Saban tried their hardest to lose Saturday’s Bama-Texas A&M game with some inexplicable late gaffes with clock management. 

First, Fisher wasted a timeout down two scores with 2:14 remaining, only to decide to kick a field goal. Saban’s blunder moments later was just as bad. After No. 11 Alabama wrapped the game by picking up a first down with under two minutes, Saban never communicated with his offensive coordinator — or quarterback Jalen Monroe — to get in victory formation. 

Instead, Monroe was in the shotgun after gaining a fresh set of downs and threw an incomplete pass on first down, stopping the clock and making the final 90 seconds more interesting than they should have been in Bama’s 26-20 win.

Winner

Northern Illinois running back Antario Brown: Northern Illinois defeated Akron 55-14, and while neither team is having a good season, Huskies running back Brown had one of the best games a running back will have in 2023. 

He finished the game with 13 carries, 280 yards and four touchdowns, each of his scores on runs 46 yards or more. 

Loser

Miami’s contender status: These Hurricanes looked more like a tropical depression during their stunning 23-20 loss against Georgia Tech (3-3). All Miami needed to do was take a knee to secure a win but for some reason ran the ball with under 40 seconds remaining, which was fumbled. No. 17 Miami dropped to 4-1 after some believed it could compete with Florida State and North Carolina in the ACC. Saturday showed how far Mario Cristobal’s squad has to go.

Winner 

Georgia’s chances of a three-peat: The Bulldogs reminded us on Saturday that as fun as the college football season is, there might not be as much drama at the top as we think. No. 1 Georgia eviscerated Kentucky 51-13, with quarterback Carson Beck having his best game as a starter. 

After sleepwalking through a few games early this season, plus other teams looking excellent in September, there was some doubt about Georgia’s place on top of the college football hierarchy. Not anymore.

Loser

Brian Ferentz: Iowa’s embattled offensive coordinator has a mountain to climb. The Hawkeyes are 5-1 and play Wisconsin for first in the Big Ten West next Saturday, but Ferentz might not be celebrating after his offense fell further behind in its quest for 325 points in a 20-14 win over Purdue. 

A clause was added to his contract during the offense requiring the team to average 25 points per game, which for a 12-game regular season is 325 points. Midway through the season, Iowa has scored 131 points, leaving the team 194 points shy of reaching the threshold necessary for Ferentz to keep his job. 

Iowa needs to average more than 28 points per game over its final six games but has only matched that twice since the start of 2022.

Winner

Offseason coaching hires: Deion Sanders has Colorado two wins away from bowl eligibility after a 27-24 win at Arizona State. No. 25 Louisville already is under Jeff Brohm, improving to 6-0 with an upset 33-20 win over No. 10 Notre Dame. 

Luke Fickell has Wisconsin (4-1) threatening for first in the Big Ten West while Tom Herman (FAU), Brent Key (Georgia Tech) and Matt Rhule (Nebraska) scored wins this weekend after early struggles.

Loser

Marcus Freeman: Speaking of Louisville-Notre Dame, the Irish head coach lost a lot of goodwill among fans after Notre Dame’s ugly loss. He made a terrible decision to go for it on fourth-and-11 at Notre Dame’s 35-yard line in a 24-13 game with 9:42 remaining, which quarterback Sam Hartman failed to convert, leading to an easy field goal for the Cardinals. 

Against Ohio State, Freeman drew criticism after Notre Dame only had 10 men on the field on the game’s final play. His poor decision-making in Week 6 didn’t win back any fans.