College Football Week 7 Live Winners and Losers: Texas Is in Free Fall—and Things Could Get Worse

It took Texas 60 hard-fought minutes to wrest the No. 1 ranking from Ohio State back on Sept. 12—and 35 excruciating days for the Longhorns to give all the glory they earned from that win back.

After losing 27–24 to Florida on Saturday, Texas is in a weird spot, and figures to exist in a weird spot going forward as the advent of the 24-team CFP nears. The Longhorns function at a significantly higher level than they did under their last two coaches—Charlie Strong and Tom Herman—but under Steve Sarkisian, there has been a frequent sense they’ve left potential accomplishments on the table.

That unease will continue, as it will continue for the slew of contenders that seemed to drop Saturday. Here’s hoping your team was fully at ease Saturday, a nippy one across much of the United States. Welcome to Week 7’s winners and losers, updated throughout the day.

Loser: Nick Marsh’s feet

On an abysmal day for quarterback play in Bloomington, Ind., (Ohio State and Indiana’s quarterbacks combined: 35 for 71, three passing touchdowns, two interceptions), Hoosiers gunslinger Josh Hoover appeared to have wide receiver Nick Marsh wide open for a go-ahead touchdown with 1:07 to play. Alas, the foot Marsh grounded after catching the ball was out of bounds—a fun house mirror image of wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr.’s miracle catch against Penn State a year ago. Neither the Buckeyes nor Indiana played their best game, and Ohio State suffered a catastrophic middle-term loss with quarterback Julian Sayin’s injury. The Hoosiers, however, now find themselves with a little CFP work to do; trips to Michigan and Washington loom over the next five weeks.

Loser: Texas

Everyone betrayed the Longhorns in Austin on Saturday. Quarterback Arch Manning was inconsistent; fate dealt defensive end Colin Simmons an apparent leg injury; and Texas itself went 2 for 10 on third down and 1 for 3 on fourth down. The Longhorns led the game 10–0 and 17–3 before the Gators pulled back and scooped up a Manning fumble late to seal the deal. Texas’s next four games: Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Missouri and LSU.

Loser: Mississippi State sans Kamario Taylor

The Bulldogs’ status as a one-man show has been obvious this season, but Mississippi State took it to extremes Saturday with quarterback Kamario Taylor sidelined with a foot injury. The Bulldogs completely folded on the road against LSU, losing 31–0 in a game that wasn’t that lopsided on paper (LSU outgained Mississippi State only 379–291). In the end, untested quarterback Parker Puckett couldn’t spell Taylor for the shorthanded Bulldogs. It was yet another recent example of a starting quarterback’s absence knocking down the entire house; for another, see Boston College’s 27–21 home win over Pitt.

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