Jackson Free Press

It was a great first weekend of college football, with memorable games from Thursday to Monday. Hopefully the rest of the season will be a great, as the first week has had surprising turnouts.

One interesting thing from this past weekend is that all three FBS teams from this state were involved in games that featured comebacks. Two of those teams, University of Mississippi and Mississippi State University, were on the wrong end of comebacks, and the University of Southern Mississippi stormed back from what looked like a loss to a win.

MSU looked in total control of the University of South Alabama on Saturday in the first half. The Bulldogs were up 17-0 at halftime and looked like they were going to cruise to their first win of the post-Dak Prescott era.

Then the wheels came off in the second half, as the Jaguars outscored the Bulldogs 21-3 in the second half. MSU had a chance to win the game but missed a field goal attempt that bounced off the upright in the game’s final seconds.

It was the first win over a SEC team in USA history. Before then, the team was 0-4 in tits history against the conference, with two losses against MSU in 2012 and 2014. Both teams missed two field goals, but everyone will remember the field goal MSU missed for a long time.

In the second half, the Bulldogs defense struggled to get off the field as the Jaguars had touchdown drives of 75 yards, 99 yards and 71 yards. The MSU offense stalled most of the second half, as the team could only muster 143 passing yards on the day.

Saturday night was a different story between USM and the University of Kentucky. It was the Wildcats that stormed out to a big lead of 35-10 as the game neared halftime.

USM used a late drive to cut the Wildcats’ lead to 35-17 with 22 seconds left before halftime. The Golden Eagles outscored UK in the second half 27-0 and scored 34 unanswered points, winning the game.

The win was on a night when quarterback Nick Mullens was just so-so in the pocket, as he threw for 258 yards and two touchdowns but had three interceptions. It was on the ground where USM tore away at Kentucky’s will to compete.

Southern Miss had 262 rushing yards, and the Wildcats had just 96 yards. Both Ito Smith and George Payne went more than 100 yards rushing that night.

The USM defense struggled in the first half but became the “Nasty Bunch” in second half. The Southern Miss defense forced three turnovers in the second half, including a fumble that ended any hopes for a Kentucky rally.

Southern Miss offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson got ran out of Lexington last year as the Wildcats offensive coordinator. He saw his new team put up 520 total yards against his old team, as Kentucky amassed 409 total yards.

It was shake up Saturday in college football as the teams that were previously ranked No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 all went down on the same weekend for the first time since 1985. The losses are sure to shake up the college football playoff top 25 when it comes out on Tuesday, Nov. 15.

Just when everything in college football seemed to be going to script, like nearly every year, at some point a weekend like this past weekend happens. The door is now open for several one-loss teams and a few two-loss teams.

There were winners and losers this weekend and not just on the scoreboard. Plus, not all the winners and losers have to deal with the playoffs.

Winners

The University of Alabama is the biggest winner this weekend. Not only did Clemson University, the University of Washington and the University of Michigan all get upset, but Auburn University fell to the University of Georgia.

The Auburn loss gave the SEC West title to the Crimson Tide, and the other losses gave Alabama breathing room it didn’t have until the upsets happened. Now, the Iron Bowl loses some of its luster since a Tide loss won’t have any effect on the division race.

In theory, Alabama can still lose to Auburn, win the SEC Championship game and make the playoffs. Things might change if the Tide stumbles against a weaker foe from the east in the title game.

Right now only one team is a lock for a playoff spot, and that team is Alabama.

Another winner thanks to all the losses is the University of Louisville. The Cardinals were on the outside looking in after falling to Clemson earlier in the season.

Depending on how things shake out, Louisville could end up with one of the four playoff spots. It seems unlikely that Clemson would lose to Wake Forest University this weekend, but if they do, the Cardinals would win the ACC Atlantic division.

Even if Clemson doesn’t stumble, Louisville just needs to win against the University of Houston and the University of Kentucky to end the season. The Cardinals only need a little more chaos to take place to secure a spot in the playoffs.

Penn State University is a winner this week thanks to the University of Iowa’s win over Michigan. The Nittany Lions just need Ohio State to beat Michigan in the season finale and not stumble along the way to Rutgers or Michigan State universities.

If Penn State wins out and Ohio State beats Michigan, the Nittany Lions win the Big Ten East. That would put the Penn State in the conference championship game.

After losing to Michigan, Penn State needed someone to knock off the Wolverines after they upset the Buckeyes. That would be a major accomplishment for Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin.

The University of Mississippi is a winner this week after having …