Week 9 was not a particularly thrilling weekend, but there were still plenty of interesting storylines and memorable moments starting all the way back on Thursday evening. From a head coach trying to cool off his hot seat to a historic performance to make it a not so Happy Valley, college football delivered once again. 

Wake Forest Beats Wake Forest

Louisville and head coach Scott Satterfield, who is on the hot seat according to many, beat No. 10 Wake Forest 48-21 for the Cardinals’ first top 10 win as an unranked team since 2002. Well, that is one way to put it…

Ladies and gentlemen, that is all just from the third quarter. That does not include a fumble on Wake Forest’s next possession after the last pick-six listed, which was then followed by another interception which was fumbled by Louisville and recovered by Wake Forest. It is one of the more absolutely bonkers drive charts I have ever seen. For the Cardinals, they are now on a three-game winning streak and have forced 15 turnovers and had 16 sacks over this streak. 

East Carolina Plunders BYU

Thursday night featured another winning streak as ECU beat BYU 27-24 to get its fourth straight win and get to bowl eligibility. It was not the prettiest game or even the prettiest game-winning field goal as Andrew Conrad’s 33-yard attempt was a low line drive that snuck through as time expired. After their six-year bowl drought was snapped last year and with this 6-3 start this year, the Pirates under Mike Houston are a team no one wants to play again. If anyone forgot, they were inches away from beating a healthy NC State in Week 1. The Pirates are once again going to be going bowling, health permitting, after Boston College wasn’t able to participate in the Military Bowl last year.

J.T. Tuimoloau Tames the Nittany Lions 

Things were looking dicey for No. 2 Ohio State, who was in a tight game against No. 13 Penn State in the fourth quarter. But then J.T. Tuimoloau, a sophomore who was a headline maker throughout his time in high school but had yet to truly make an impact in college, took over. He had already secured one interception in the first quarter, he forced another turnover by stripping Sean Clifford and recovering the fumble himself. That led to an Ohio State touchdown to make it a two-possession game. Then with the Buckeyes up 37-24, Tuimoloau iced the game after getting chop blocked, stepping over the blocker and intercepting a Clifford pass and taking it back 14 yards for the eventual 44-31 win. He finished with six tackles with three for a loss, two sacks, the forced fumble and fumble recovery, his two interceptions and one pass deflection that led to another interception. It has been a few seasons since there was a completely dominant Ohio State pass rusher, and Tuimoloau has all the promise to become one, and this game could just be the start of something great. 

Holy Cross vs. Fordham 

In an exciting FCS game, Holy Cross stayed undefeated as it beat Fordham 53-52 in overtime to stay atop the Patriot League. The Crusaders make their second appearance in this article series, with the previous coming from their Hail Mary win against Buffalo. In this game, it once again came down to the last play as they scored a touchdown to go down one then drew up a play similar to the Philly Special. But in this case, the potential passer Ayir Asante did not have to throw to the quarterback Matthew Sluka. 

Crowd Costumes 

Spooky season is fully upon us, and wherever you looked there were all kinds of crazy getups. This amazing thread by Bryan Fischer is just a small sampling. Please make sure to peruse the internet to get a full scope of all the costumes people wore. 

Shoutouts:

Shoutout Brock Bowers for an absolutely insane tip drill catch in the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.” Please look it up for your viewing pleasure. Shoutout Miami and Virginia for delivering a beautiful slogfest with the Hurricanes winning 14-12 in four overtimes after a first half featuring punts on 10 of 11 drives. Shoutout No. 7 TCU for another big win and going for a jump ball on fourth-and-1 to score a touchdown to seal the win. Shoutout UConn and FIU for picking up victories. It’s always good to see these teams on the winning side of things. Shoutout Iowa for getting nearly 400 total offensive yards and scoring 33 points on offense in a win. Shoutout Southeast Missouri State receiver Ryan Flournoy, who in a tough loss put up 256 yards on 15 catches with a touchdown.