It’s been a quiet start to the week with only three ranked teams playing in the early slate of games.
Here’s what we’ve learned so far. And make sure to check back later today as games end for an updated look at the day’s impact.
No. 3 Ohio State 30, Minnesota 14
Nothing seemed to go right for Ohio State in its game against Minnesota, but the Buckeyes still came away with the win. The defense has been an issue for Ohio State all season and the struggles continued on Saturday. Ohio State gave up 169 rushing yards to a team that ran for 86 against Iowa the previous week. The Buckeyes struggled running the ball themselves, only gaining 71 yards on the ground. Injuries have factored in to some of these stats for Ohio State, but a lot of the issues have been lingering. It might not come back to haunt them during the regular season, but if the team has playoff hopes, it needs to eliminate the repetitive mistakes. — Tom VanHaaren
No. 5 Notre Dame 19, Pitt 14
Notre Dame’s offense came back to Earth this week in a survive-and-advance kind of week among college football’s top teams. The Irish defense managed to hold Pitt to a single offensive touchdown (they added another on a 99-yard kickoff return to start the second half) and make enough plays down the stretch to avoid the scare from the Panthers. This Saturday is evidence that despite a remaining schedule full of winnable games, the rest of the year won’t be a cakewalk. Notre Dame will need its offensive line, now without veteran starter Alex Bars, to keep improving if it’s going to make it through the back half of the season unscathed. it. — Dan Murphy
No. 14 Florida 37, Vanderbilt 27
It looked ugly, then it turned ugly just before halftime against Vanderbilt, when Dan Mullen and Todd Grantham got into an expletive-filled verbal confrontation with Derek Mason. But that little brouhaha seemed to fire up the Gators, who came back from a 21-3 deficit to beat the Commodores. Florida had too many undisciplined plays, from busts on defense to poor red zone execution in the first 25 minutes. But as has been the case over their past five wins, Florida found a way to win. Behind Jordan Scarlett and Lamical Perine, Florida made some big plays in the run game, and special teams came up big, too, when punter Tommy Townsend executed a fake punt to perfection. The games between these two teams are often chippy, and this was a tricky spot for Florida, a game it should win sandwiched between a huge victory over LSU and its rivalry game with Georgia in a few weeks. It was far from perfect, but Florida will take it. — Adelson
Tennessee 30, No. 21 Auburn 24
There was already major unrest on the Plains, and even some reported dissension in the locker room, but Auburn’s 30-24 home loss Saturday to Tennessee — snapping the Vols’ 11-game SEC losing streak — will take that unrest to a whole different level. With an ominous schedule remaining, the Tigers — after starting the season as a top-10 team — could be hard-pressed to even have a winning season. The pressure on Gus Malzahn will only ratchet up, but with his enormous buyout, he’s not going anywhere. — Chris Low
No. 23 South Florida 25, Tulsa 24
The Bulls are 6-0, but it has not looked pretty for much of this season. Their 25-24 comeback win over Tulsa provides the latest example. For three quarters, USF quarterback Blake Barnett had trouble getting the offense moving. Even though Jordan Cronkrite had another 100-yard performance, without any balance in the passing game, USF could not move the ball consistently. Meanwhile, the defense tackled poorly and had major lapses against the run (Tulsa had 220 yards rushing). But Barnett played on a different level with USF down 14, using both his arms and legs to rally USF to its largest fourth-quarter comeback in school history. Still, Barnett ended up completing less than 50 percent of his passes. The warning signs are all there in wins that have either required comebacks or been too close for comfort, all against overmatched opponents. The back end of the schedule gets much tougher, and there is little doubt USF is going to need a better overall effort moving forward. — Adelson