Brett Hundley hasn't even said hello yet to what should eventually be a promising pro career, but he all but said goodbye to the Heisman Trophy Saturday.
Among the early-season favorites for college football's most prestigious individual award, Hundley became one of the first, if not the first, to bow out of the chase in a 42-30 loss to Oregon. And strangely enough, he didn't play at all bad statistically speaking. The Bruins' highly-touted fourth-year junior completed 26 of 37 passes for two touchdowns passing, and ran for another 89 and a third touchdown on the ground. The trouble for Hundley is, what Heisman voters will remember about his day is that it was UCLA's second loss, essentially dashing the Bruins' College Football Playoff hopes, and that it wasn't particularly competitive. They'll remember that the Ducks had a 42-10 grip on the game with 10 minutes to go. And they won't be able to forget the talented passer took 10 sacks in the previous game against Utah, also a loss.
NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah has indicated Hundley's pocket awareness was a contributing factor.
Hundley has all sorts of skills and an outstanding arm. But at this point, he's clutter on a midseason list of legit Heisman candidates.
Consider the field narrowed.
Here are 17 other things you need to know from the day in college football:
- Never enough cowbell. Mississippi State will continue into October as a serious contender for an SEC title and the College Football Playoff berth that would almost certainly go with it. With help from **Dak Prescott**'s rushing exploits, the Bulldogs buried a 38-23 win over defending SEC champion Auburn and kept the brightest light to ever shine on Starkville, Miss., burning for at least another week.
- They played pinball in Waco. And a football game broke out. Baylor and TCU got together and embarrassed each other's defenses for 1,265 yards, ending with a Bears field goal to cap a 61-58 thriller. With his hope of winning the Big 12 Conference for the second year in a row looking bleak, down 21 points in the fourth quarter, Baylor QB Bryce Petty staged a furious late comeback that kept the Bears' College Football Playoff chances in good shape. Now, about that tackling.
- This is what Oregon's offense does to reasonable people. UCLA head coach Jim Mora got in defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich's ear just a little too deep Saturday, and Ulbrich appeared to hand his DC duties to Mora out of frustration. It happened right on the sideline, making for some pretty dramatic theater. Fitting, in Los Angeles.
- Jameis Winston used Syracuse for target practice Saturday. And the Orangemen obliged. The Florida State quarterback led the No. 1 team in the nation to a 38-20 road win, and Winston faced little resistance in completing 30 of 36 passes for 317 yards, three scores and no interceptions. If a pending disciplinary hearing on Winston's never-ending sexual assault case was a distraction, the third-year sophomore hid it well.
- The Red River Shootout brought the fireworks it's known for. Oklahoma and Texas scored touchdowns four different ways (passing, rushing, interception return, kickoff return), leaving nobody wanting for more excitement. In the end, however, Texas was left wanting for a much-needed win as OU avenged last year's upset loss in the series, 31-26. The bright spot for the Longhorns? Defensive tackleMalcom Brown.
- Keeping up with the cowbells. Ole Miss wasn't about to let Mississippi State take all the applause in the Magnolia State this week, so the Rebels matched their archrivals by hammering Texas A&M 35-20 in College Station. And, yes, it was a hammering, far more lopsided than the final score indicated. The Rebels and Bulldogs are now a combined 12-0, 6-0 in SEC play, and are well on their way to setting up the most highly-anticipated Egg Bowl in ... well, ever.
- "Old Man" football prevailed Saturday in Columbia, Mo. When CFB 24/7 previewed the Georgia-Missouri game on Friday, we predicted that the absence of suspended Todd Gurley wouldn't prevent Georgia from trying to grind out its offensive will on the ground in an attempt to neutralize Missouri pass rushers Markus Golden and Shane Ray. The outcome? Freshman running back Nick Chubb got a whopping 38 carries, Ray and Golden were held sackless, and the Bulldogs rolled 34-0. Old man football, indeed.
- These are turbulent times in Ann Arbor, Mich. How badly do Michigan fans want embattled coach Brady Hoke out? This bad.
- This will certainly help a per-catch average. Perhaps no player in college football made better use of three touches Saturday than Kentucky receiver Javess Blue: three catches, 109 yards, and two touchdowns in a blowout win for UK. One of those scores was a one-handed grab.
- Nobody can say Clint Trickett is inconsistent. The West Virginia quarterback maintained a season-long streak of 300-yard passing games in a narrow win over Texas Tech with 301 yards on Saturday. And the Mountaineers' fast-emerging NFL prospect at receiver, Kevin White, piled up 123 yards on 13 catches.
- There's nothing lucky about this Irish offense. It's just plain good. Notre Dame kept itself unbeaten against North Carolina, and quarterback Everett Golsonsparked a 519-yard night with 300 yards passing, three touchdown passes and another 71 yards on the ground. Golson does need to cut down on the turnovers, though.
- What do Vic Beasley, Michael Dean Perry and Gaines Adams have in common? Not as much, now that Beasley broke their three-way tie as Clemson's all-time sack leaders. With his 29th career sack, Beasley provided the highlight for what was otherwise a forgettable game for the Tigers.
- There wasn't a decent quarterback on the field. At least, not one that could be counted on to play well, in LSU's road game at Florida. So the Tigers leaned on 195 rushing yards and an opportunistic interception by Rickey Jefferson in the final minute of the game to nip the Gators 30-27. UF pretty much stole one last week at Tennessee, so consider the theft returned in kind by LSU. And consider Florida coach Will Muschamp's days officially numbered.
- Wisconsin's rushing attack is one of the great modern constants in college football. And Melvin Gordon is doing more than his part to uphold the standard. The Badgers' star ran for 175 yards in a win over Illinois Saturday to cross the 1,000-yard mark in only his sixth game. Now with 1,046 yards and 13 touchdowns for the year, the junior could be on his way to a 2,000-yard season, particularly if the Badgers can reach the Big Ten Championship Game.
- Alabama tried to redefine the phrase "winning ugly" Saturday. It succeeded. But the Crimson Tide survived a rainy, error-filled encounter at Arkansas that is sure to keep **Nick Saban** busy at practice this week.
- Shaq Thompson didn't get 100 yards rushing Saturday. But the two-way Washington standout must have felt like it. The standout linebacker, who moonlights as a running back, scooped a fumble in his own end zone and raced 100 yards for a touchdown for the opening points in a 31-7 win over Cal.
- And then there were five. After Saturday's action, just five teams at the top of the polls will still be undefeated going into next week: Florida State, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Baylor and Notre Dame. Four of those five play in head-to-head action later in the season (FSU vs. Notre Dame, Ole Miss vs. MSU), assuring two more losses among them. Taking their first losses of the season Saturday were Auburn, Arizona, Texas Christian and Georgia Tech.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread*.
