More questions than answers: Arch Manning likes the disrespect, Big 12's disaster and a CFP race in disarray
So, turns out 'survival weekend' in college football did not go as planned for a number of teams across the country on Saturday, as for the consecutive weeks the No. 2 ranked team in the sport went down in dramatic fashion.
This time it was No. 2 BYU falling victim to the hangover, losing to UCF in double-overtime that turned into pure chaos over the final few minutes of regulation, after defeating Notre Dame last week.
And, maybe Steve Sarkisian was right this past week in the buildup to the Ole Miss showdown that everyone involved in the talk around Arch Manning, even if warranted, created a monster in the Texas quarterback.
How did Arch feel about the commentary around him this week? He admitted it's a never ending cycle, though he's starting to enjoy the doubters in his 'edgy' era.
"I've been hyped up all my life, the preseason and all this stuff," Manning explained after the win over Ole Miss. "I think I kida like being disregarded kinda now."
A win over the No. 7 Rebels have put the Longhorns back into the CFP conversation in dramatic fashion, with a statement win over an Ole Miss team who was coming off a bye-week.
It was also the Big 12 Conference that was at the forefront of madness this week, taking a page out of the SEC's playbook after last weekend, while both No. 15 Iowa and No. 16 USC lost in Big Ten play.
Did we expect Texas Tech to go on the road and lose to unranked Cincinnati?
No, but we also didn’t think the Red Raiders would look so lethargic in the process behind their expensive roster that is partially funded by mega-booster Cody Campbell.
The fact is that there is so much parity across college football right now that nothing should come as a surprise any longer, at least not during the 2026 season.
Whether it's Oregon losing its third game of the year, with a disaster of a performance against Illinois, or Michigan taking Indiana to overtime in the 'Big House', there is a weird vibe around the sport currently.
Who in the world are the best teams in college football?
What in the world is in the water around the Texas football facility?
One minute it's Arch Manning putting on a show for college football fans, and then it's the Longhorns going cold in the second half that has us all wondering why there is this tale of two halves with this Steve Sarkisian offense.
What we witnessed on Saturday night in Austin was essentially just another night in the SEC.
A back-and-forth slugfest between two teams that are capable of making a college football playoff run if everything is clicking. Somebody had to lose, and we still have plenty of questions lingering around both teams coming out of this one.
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Trinidad Chambliss is still that dude, as he proved in the second half of this matchup, and Arch Manning is still trying to figure out how to play consistent football for four quarters.
Each team is still in the running for the SEC title game, while every conference team besides Georgia and Kentucky has two losses.
And yes, that list now includes Tennessee after a fourth quarter frenzy by South Carolina.
I think Tennessee fans are still trying to figure out how they lost that football game, or putting some of the blame on the officiating (which i'd understand).
But, when the Vols couldn’t get out of their own way, South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers and defensive end Dylan Stewart kicked the door down.
Another one of those hangovers, right? Maybe, but after a dominating performance against Alabama last week, one would’ve expected a better outing from the No. 11 ranked team in the country during the most important times of the game.
But, it was the Gamecocks who reeked havoc on the Vols once again at home, with head coach Shane Beamer even taking shots at those floating out conspiracy theories about the win over Tennessee in 2022 that was absorbed in talk of his team using signals stolen by Connor Stallions to win that game.
Yea, it got pretty weird on Saturday night in Columbia. But the only certain thing in the SEC is that nothing is for certain.
If the Red Raiders are expecting to still have a shot at making the college football playoff after losing on the road to Cincinnati, you can thank BYU for that glimmer of hope.
Judging by what we all witnessed, this Texas Tech team is obviously not in the same stratosphere as the 2025 roster, with Will Hammond struggling to complete passes against the Bearcats defense.
Maybe we can chalk that up to 'karma' for how things went down with former Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby in his transfer to Texas Tech before being ruled ineligible due to his sports gambling.
Who knows, but something is clearly wrong with this Joey McGuire football team on offense.
As for BYU, this squad is providing opportunities to others within the Big 12 to keep pace within the conference after UCF shocked the Cougars 39-31 in double-overtime.
Going on the road this season is clearly a trap for ranked teams, but coming off the win against Notre Dame last week in Provo, I don't imagine many folks thought the Cougars would fall into this category behind an offensive unit that had proven to be a problem through the first half of this season.
Now, we are in store for all sorts of craziness out of the Big 12, and we still have the 'Holy War' in the coming weeks between Utah and BYU.
Just when you thought the SEC and Big Ten were getting a little wild, it's the Big 12 that decided to devour itself on Saturday.
As for the Utah, it was the defense that stepped up in a major way on Saturday night, leading to the win over No. 14 Houston that has left the Big 12 conference in a very weird state.
What happens now when BYU and Utah meet in a few weeks in the 'Holy War'?
Houston suffered its second loss of the season, and it comes at a time when the Big 12 is still in its chaos mode.
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Now that Texas Tech has also suffered a conference loss, we are headed towards a wild final week of October, which will lead to a chaotic month of November as teams fight for a spot in the college football playoff.
I think the obvious answer is that we are living in a time where we don't know who the best teams in college football are.
Besides the other chaos that took place on Saturday, it was No. 15 Iowa losing to Minnesota on a last-second field goal, and No. 16 USC getting destroyed by Wisconsin.
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We might think it's teams like Georgia, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Miami, Indiana and one or two others, but there are so many questions right now that it's hard to pin down just a few teams.
Next week could clear up a few questions about what Ohio State will look like without quarterback Julian Sayin, or how Georgia looks against another tough opponent after having the week off following the loss to Auburn.
A matchup against Florida awaits the Bulldogs in Atlanta, as the neutral site game is moved to Mercedes Benz Stadium this year because of construction to the Jacksonville Jaguars home.
All of that to say that after another critical weekend of college football, we are headed towards the further unknown, with the first CFP rankings set to be released in the coming weeks.
Once again, we leave the weekend with more questions than answers, and that includes whether Arch Manning can keep this up for the rest of this season.