Week six was arguably the craziest week of the 2018 season to date and certainly gave both fans and analysts plenty to discuss. Several top ten teams lost in shocking upsets so this week certainly saw its fair share of heroes and failures. Here are the top five studs and duds from week 6 of the 2018 college football season.
Stud: Pittsburgh’s Ground Game
Pitt locked up its biggest win of their year thus far with a 44-37 overtime victory against Syracuse at Heinz Field.
The Panthers struggled in almost every phase of the game, but they were able to walk away on top thanks to a very impressive rushing attack. Qadree Ollison had a monster game with over 200 total yards and a rushing touchdown on the afternoon. Darrin hall also hit the century mark with 107 rushing yards and a pair of scores of his own.
Dud: Sam Hartman
The Trevor Lawrence vs. Sam Hartman duel had been hyped up all week long, but it turned out to be a very one-sided affair.
Hartman only managed to complete seven of his 20 passes for a total of 74 yards and an interception. He finished with a total quarterback rating of 14.9 before leaving the game. Wake Forest failed to find the end zone and a Nick Sciba field goal was the only thing stopping Clemson from earning a shutout.
The struggles weren’t entirely on Hartman, but poor quarterback play played a large part in Wake Forest’s demise.
Stud: Clayton Thorson
Northwestern stunned the Michigan State Spartans on the road thanks to an incredibly clutch game from quarterback Clayton Thorson.
He turned over the football twice, but he made the big throws when it mattered, completing 31 passes for a total of 373 yards and three touchdowns. Thorson had the Spartans pass rush in his face all day long, but he showed great poise in the pocket and made several clutch plays.
Dud: Virginia Tech’s Defense
The Hokies defense has been one of the biggest enigmas in college football so far this season.
They’ve made numerous appearances on both the studs and duds sections of this weekly list and can’t seem to string together any consistency. At home against the sixth-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the Hokies were gashed both in the air and on the ground, allowing 438 total yards.
This crushing home loss was the final blow to Virginia Tech’s ranked status as the Hokies are no longer ranked in the AP Top 25 poll.
Stud: The Turnover Chain
Talk about an impressive win for the Hurricanes. Down 27-7 in the second half against a Florida State team desperate to get in the win column, Miami’s defense found a way to get them back into the game.
The turnover chain saw two appearances Saturday Night from an interception and sack fumble of quarterback Deondre Francois. Both set Miami up with great field position. These two turnovers marked the game’s turning point as the Hurricanes went on to score 21 unanswered points and win the game. Miami is still very much alive in the ACC.
Dud: Stanford
Only two weeks ago Stanford was in the conversation to make the college football playoff, but in just two weeks their season has completely derailed.
Since stunning Oregon on the road, Stanford suffered blowout losses to both Notre Dame and Utah. The road loss Notre Dame is understandable given they look like a legit playoff threat, but losing at home to an unranked Utah team is inexcusable.
Stanford is no longer ranked and may not even be contenders for the PAC-12 anymore.
Stud: Tom Herman
Tom Herman finally has his signature win with the Texas Longhorns. Another season opening loss made it look like Texas was in for another long year, but a stunning upset of No. 7 Oklahoma put Texas back on the map.
In typical Big 12 fashion, the game was a 45-42 shootout, but Texas was able to slow down Oklahoma enough early on to secure the win. The Sooners uses a massive fourth-quarter surge to tie the game, but quarterback Sam Ehlinger was able to get Texas in position for a game-winning field goal.
Texas and West Virginia are now the only remaining undefeated teams in the Big 12.
Dud: Oklahoma State
It was not a good week for teams from Oklahoma. After finally returning to a ranked status, Oklahoma State was stunned at home by Iowa State.
Their defense allowed 465 yards of total offense and their offense didn’t have enough time to catch up. The Cowboys are now highly unlikely to compete in the Big 12, given the current status of Oklahoma, Texas, and West Virginia.
Stud: Joe Moorhead
One of the least talked about storylines in a wild day for the SEC was the fact that Joe Moorhead got his first signature win as the head coach of Mississippi State.
The Bulldogs upset the ninth-ranked Auburn Tigers in a dominant 23-9 performance. Bulldogs quarterback Nick Fitzgerald struggled, but a powerful rushing attack and strong defense picked him up. Fitzgerald only had 69 yards through the air, but he ran for 195 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
Dud: Non-Alabama and Georgia SEC Contenders
It was a wild week in the SEC, but the nation’s two top-ranked teams Alabama and Georgia were the only teams that were true winners. Kentucky, Auburn, and LSU were the only other SEC contenders with playoff hopes, but all three lost to their opponents.
