LSU, Florida Lead College Football Teams Coming Back to Life in October

Following slow starts, these teams’ latest play sets them up to cause chaos across conference races and perhaps even the College Football Playoff picture.

Forty names, games, teams and minutiae making news in college football, where even the security guards lay down big licks in Bryant-Denny Stadium :

First Quarter: Top Coaches-Gone-Wild Moments

Second Quarter: October Revivals

Seasons are long, often filled with twists and turns. Some teams that are declared disappointments in the first few weeks turn it around and get back on track. The Dash appraises nine October reclamation jobs, including chances for those teams to wreak havoc on conference and College Football Playoff races.

Daniels (5) leads the country in total yards per game :: Gerald Herbert/AP

LSU (11). Where the Tigers stood after September: 3–2 and in possession of one of the worst defenses in the country. Where they stand now: 6–2 heading into an open date, then a very big SEC West showdown with Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

After trailing most of the game at Missouri on Oct. 7, LSU scored the final two touchdowns in the final three minutes to hand Mizzou its only defeat of the season and salvage its own. The Tigers followed that up with a blowout of Auburn and a shutout of Army, the latter of which is a bigger accomplishment than it might seem when you consider where the defense was a few weeks ago.

LSU wisely took the running load off dual-threat quarterback Jayden Daniels against Army. He’s a Heisman Trophy candidate as is, leading the nation in total offense at 386.8 yards per game and accounting for 30 touchdowns. More will be needed from him against Alabama’s fierce defense Nov. 4, not to mention subsequent games against Florida and Texas A&M.

Chance to wreak havoc: If LSU beats Bama and wins out, and Mississippi loses at Georgia Nov. 11, the Tigers could win the West for the second season in a row. The first part is an admittedly big if, but the path exists.

Florida (12). Where the Gators stood after September: 3–2, with double-digit losses to Utah and Kentucky on the road. Where they stand now: 5–2 and headed to Jacksonville for the Cocktail Party game against rival Georgia.

Similar to LSU, Florida needed a late rally on the road to pull out an SEC game and keep the season from derailment. The Gators were down 10 points at South Carolina before mounting two 75-yard drives in the last half of the fourth quarter to take the game back. Florida converted three fourth downs on those drives, one of them a fourth-and-11 and another fourth-and-10. Quarterback Graham Mertz was big in those moments.

Chance to wreak havoc: Saturday at 3:30 pm. ET against the Bulldogs. The Gators haven’t been very good outside The Swamp this season—they’ve allowed 21 points more per game on the road than at home—so that will have to change. But this is a good time to catch Georgia, with star tight end Brock Bowers out after ankle surgery.

Oklahoma State (13). Where the Cowboys stood after September: 2–2, with a 26-point home loss to South Alabama weighing heavily. Where they stand now: 5–2 overall and tied for second in the Big 12 race at 3–1.

The Cowboys have gradually tuned up what had been a shaky offense, scoring season highs three straight games—29 against Kansas State, 39 against Kansas and 48 against West Virginia. After a streak of 15 straight games averaging fewer than six yards per play, Oklahoma State was over seven per play against both the Jayhawks and Mountaineers. Sophomore running back Ollie Gordon has become the workhorse, compiling 586 rushing yards on 79 carries during the winning streak.

Chance to wreak havoc: Oklahoma’s trip to Stillwater for what is, at the moment, the final Bedlam game, looms large Nov. 4. The rest of the Pokes’ slate consists of the four Big 12 newcomers, who are a combined 2–11 against the rest of the league.

Iowa State (14). Where the Cyclones stood after September: 2–3, with a loss to Ohio on the résumé. Where they stand now: 4–3 and, like Oklahoma State, tied for second in the Big 12 at 3–1—including a victory over the Cowboys.

Matt Campbell has done some fine coaching work at Iowa State, but this season has a chance to be his most impressive. The Cyclones lost their starting quarterback, leading returning rusher, No. 3 returning receiver and a starting defensive lineman to the state gambling investigation—enough to hamper any team to start the season. The Clones have pulled things back together with wins over TCU and Cincinnati, with redshirt freshman quarterback Rocco Becht improving along the way. Becht in Iowa State’s four wins: eight touchdowns, no interceptions. Becht in Iowa State’s three losses: four touchdowns, five interceptions.

Chance to wreak havoc: Texas will visit Ames on Nov. 18. Iowa State has beaten the Longhorns in three of the last four meetings, fumbling inside the Texas 30 last year on what could have been the drive for four straight.

Utah (15). Where the Utes stood after September: 4–1 and injured, with a diminished offense and a lot of tough games remaining. Where they stand now: 6–1 after conquering USC yet again, turning their pig-farming, former backup quarterback into a hero in the process.

Utah has more than doubled its scoring average against FBS opponents from September to October, going from 16.3 points per game to 34. Cam Rising was supposed to be the star quarterback, and Brant Kuithe was supposed to be the star tight end, but neither have played nor will play this season due to injury. After mixing and matching backup QBs Bryson Barnes and Nate Johnson, Kyle Whittingham turned over the job full time to Barnes—the aforementioned pig farmer from southern Utah. Barnes produced 470 yards total offense in victories over California and the Trojans, including two huge runs against USC to set up the winning field goal at the gun.

Chance to wreak havoc: There are two big ones left for the two-time Pac-12 champions, hosting Oregon on Saturday and at Washington on Nov. 11. The longer the Utes stay in the conference title hunt, the more nervous the rest of the league should get.

Virginia (16). Where the Cavaliers stood after September: 0–5, a battered program still working its way back from the killing of three players in November 2022 by a former teammate. Where they stand now: 2–5 coming off the biggest Power Five upset of the year to date, taking down No. 10 North Carolina in Chapel Hill, 31–27.

Running back Mike Hollins, who was shot in the back during the mass shooting and underwent multiple surgeries, scored three touchdowns against the Tar Heels. “We knew we had the capability to do it,” Hollins said Saturday night. “We just had to put it all together.”

Chance to wreak havoc: Virginia has games remaining against three teams that currently are tied for second in the loss column in the ACC—Louisville on Nov. 9, Duke on Nov. 18 and Virginia Tech on Nov. 25.

Allen (0) has rushed for 704 yards and 8 touchdowns this season :: Charles Rex Arbogast/AP

Wisconsin (17). Where the Badgers stood after September: 3–1, with a loss at Washington State and not much in the way of quality wins. Where they stand now: 5–2, with a win over bowl-bound Rutgers and a rally at Illinois sandwiched around a dismal defeat against Iowa.

No, the revival is not complete and compelling in Madison—but there is opportunity ahead. We’ll get to that in a minute. Beating Rutgers amounts to something in 2023, and the Badgers avoided a season-killing loss to the Illini with the help of a backup quarterback who was pressed into service after starter Tanner Mordecai broke his hand. But the star of that game was a familiar one: running back Braelon Allen, who was his old self with a season-high 145 rushing yards on a season-high 29 carries. On Wisconsin’s two fourth-quarter touchdown drives that erased a 21–10 deficit, Allen converted four third downs himself, three on runs and one on a reception.

Chance to wreak havoc: Here’s where it gets interesting, with No. 3 Ohio State coming to Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday. Pull the upset and the path is clear to the Big Ten West title for the Badgers. They will, of course, have to play their best game of the year to have a chance.

Nebraska (18). Where the Cornhuskers stood after September: 2–3, with empty-calorie wins over Northern Illinois and Louisiana Tech. Where they stand now: 4–3 for the first time since 2019, with a shot at their first bowl game since ’16.

Nebraska is a very good defensive team, ranking fifth nationally in rushing yards allowed per game (76.57) and per play (2.55). The offense has been a mess but at least coalesced around a run-first mentality led by dual-threat quarterback Heinrich Haarberg, who has cut down on the number of turnovers committed by former starter Jeff Sims. Haarberg has run for more than 70 yards and a touchdown in all four Nebraska wins to date.

Chance to wreak havoc: Havoc is a weekly reality in the flawed but entertaining Big Ten West, and the Huskers will close the season with the two top contenders in the league in Wisconsin on Nov. 18 and at Iowa on Nov. 24.

UTSA (19). Where the Roadrunners stood after September: 1–3 after an unexpectedly bumpy nonconference slate. Where they stand now: 4–3 and tied for first in the American Athletic Conference, with all three wins by 15 points or more.

Star quarterback Frank Harris didn’t play in two of UTSA’s three losses, and he threw three interceptions in the other one. In the four wins: eight touchdowns, two picks, 246 yards per game.

Chance to wreak havoc: Signs point to a collision with Tulane in New Orleans on Nov. 25 and a potential rematch a week later for the AAC title. (Though SMU could have something to say about that. The Mustangs play neither Tulane nor UTSA in the regular season.)

First Quarter: Top Coaches-Gone-Wild Moments