The regular season is officially over in college football, but week 13 gave us one of the most entertaining weeks of Border Eight on the year.
Nebraska got their first divisional win over the year over archrival Iowa on the road 24-17. While this does not do much for the Huskers as they finish the year 4-8, it was incredibly impactful for the Hawkeyes as this is the first loss they have taken to the Huskers since 2014 and ended up keeping them out of the Big Ten Championship.
In Illinois, the Illini took home the Land of Lincoln trophy in dominating fashion over Northwestern 41-3. This caps off Illinois’ best season since 2007 finishing 8-4 while Northwestern did not win a game on American soil.
Down in Kentucky, the Wildcats won their fourth straight over rival Louisville 26-13. Both teams finish the year 7-5.
In Tennessee, Volunteer fans flooded Vanderbilt stadium and snapped the Commodores two game winning streak in dominating fashion 56-0. This is Vanderbilt’s best season since 2018 and Tennessee’s first 10-win regular season since 2003.
Arkansas could not keep the momentum from their huge win over Ole Miss going as they fell to Mizzou on the road 29-27 giving the Tigers their sixth win getting them to bowl eligibility.
In Oklahoma, the Sooners and Red Raiders had an absolute shootout with 99 combined points in their matchup. However, Dillon Gabrial’s six touchdown passes were not enough to beat the Red Raiders as Texas Tech won 51-48 in overtime. This is the first time Oklahoma has not had a winning record to cap off a regular season since 1998.
Their rivals did not have a much better fate as the Oklahoma State Cowboys lost to a subpar West Virginia at home 24-19. This marks their 5th loss in the last seven games after a 5-0 start.
Iowa State was unable to pull off the upset many people predicted as they got demolished by TCU 62-14
In Kansas, The Wildcats won their 14th straight against rival Kansas 47-27 punching a ticket to the Big 12 Championship for Kansas State. This is their first appearance in the game since 2003 and Kansas’s best season since 2008 despite closing out the year with a 1-6 record.
At the group of five level, Northern Illinois closed out a disappointing year with an even more disappointing loss. The Huskies got blown out at home 44-12 to Akron who only had one win on the season.
Western Kentucky won a close game against Florida Atlantic 32-31 in overtime. This win caused ripples on the Owls side as FAU will not be eligible for a bowl game and they have elected to fire head coach Willie Taggart after this loss.
MTSU snuck away from an upset to keep themselves above .500 on the year. The Blue Raiders only beat FIU 33-28 despite being a 19.5-point favorite.
Across the state, the Memphis Tigers came up just short against SMU on the road to finish out 6-6.
In Tulsa, the Golden Hurricanes pulled off a 12.5 point upset over Houston 37-30 to close out the year.
Finally, Arkansas State looked like they were going to pull out an upset against one of the best teams in the Group of Five outscoring Troy 19-14 going into the fourth quarter, however after 34 unanswered points, the Trojans walked away with the W and the Sun Belt West title 48-19.
Tennessee (10-2) (2-0)
Kansas State (9-3) (4-0)
Illinois (8-4) (3-0)
Western Kentucky (8-5) (1-0)
Kentucky (7-5) (2-2)
Iowa (7-5) (1-3)
Oklahoma State (7-5) (1-3)
Louisville (7-5) (0-1)
MTSU (7-5) (0-1)
Memphis (6-6) (2-0)
Oklahoma (6-6) (4-1)
Kansas (6-6) (2-2)
Arkansas (6-6) (0-0)
Vanderbilt (5-7) (2-1)
Tulsa (5-7) (1-1)
Nebraska (4-8) (1-3)
Iowa State (4-8) (1-4)
Arkansas State (3-9) (0-1)
Northern Illinois (3-9) (0-3)
Northwestern (1-11) (1-2)