The second to last week of the season has come and gone. Teams are starting to find out what their fate is for the postseason. Some teams are staying home, some teams are going to bowls, and some still have playoff aspirations and that chaos continues inside the Border Eight.

In Nebraska, the Huskers had started the season off 5-3 and just needed one more win to send themselves off to their first bowl game since 2016, but after two straight losses to teams .500 or worse, things seemed bleaker and bleaker. They had a chance to change that fate as they went on the road to play rival Wisconsin who also sat at 5-5. Both teams were on a losing streak of at least two games, so an even matchup was expected. At first this game seemed like it would be all Nebraska as they scored 14 unanswered points in nine minutes, but after that Nebraska completely sputtered out. They allowed Wisconsin to score the next 17 and go up halfway through the third quarter. The Huskers were able to squeeze out a little bit of offense as they kicked a game tying field goal to go into overtime. Braelon Allen found the endzone to go up 24-17 and the defense was able to stuff Nebraska and win their sixth game of the year. There was a bright spot for Nebraska on offense though and that was Chubba Purdy who was making his first start of the season. Purdy threw for 169 and a touchdown and rushed for 105 and another touchdown. He only turned the ball over one time which was on a fourth and long attempt in overtime, a nice change of pace from the five they had last week. The Huskers must beat No. 17 next week to make a bowl game, however, they have not lost as a home favorite this season and they also have not lost to a divisional opponent at home this year. 

Over in Iowa, the Hawkeyes had a chance to put an end to the chaos of the wild wild west and clinch a spot in the BIG 10 championship with a win over Illinois. The game was expected to be very defensive as Iowa games usually are and after Illinois led 3-2 at the end of the first quarter, things were going according to plan. Both teams traded touchdowns and Illinois held the lead 10-9 going into the second half. The third quarter was scoreless, but Illinois kicked a field goal early into the fourth to extend the lead to four. Iowa found the endzone with just under five minutes left to take the lead, 15-13. Iowa’s defense would hold on to win the game and clinch the BIG 10 West. Neither team would break 300 yards, but the defense was enough to get the Hawkeyes their ninth win of the season.

Despite all the turmoil and controversy that surrounded Northwestern during the off season, the Wildcats had a chance to clinch a bowl game slot with a win over a struggling Purdue team. Northwestern scored a touchdown in less than four minutes to go up 6-0 and never looked back. While Purdue fought hard and cut the lead to as small as two at one point, the Wildcats never trailed in this matchup. While the Boilermakers had a respectable 443 yards of offense, they only found the endzone twice and threw two interceptions. Northwestern only had 329 yards and quarterback Ben Bryant was sacked five times, but they were able to find the endzone three times to win 23-15 and make a bowl game for the first time since 2020. 

Louisville has had an unexpectedly incredible season and had a shot at getting to double digit wins for the first time since they have joined the ACC. They also would clinch a spot in the ACC title game against Florida State with a win on the road against Miami. The Hurricanes controlled the game through the first half as they only trailed for about two minutes and even had a one point lead going into halftime. The Cardinals made the necessary adjustments at halftime and took the lead early over the Hurricanes. The two battled for a while, but Louisville managed to pull out the win 38-31. They finish ACC play 7-1, their best record in conference play since 2016 and have a shot at the playoffs if they can win out.

Down in the SEC, Kentucky had to go on the road to play a hot South Carolina team. The Gamecocks were on a two game win streak after starting 2-6, but had not faced a team as good as Kentucky. South Carolina was ready though and came out the gate swinging and started on a 10-0 run. Kentucky would punch back though as they scored the next two touchdowns and take the lead halfway through the third quarter. South Carolina managed to take that lead back with 7:44 left and the defense did the rest. The South Carolina defense stepped up strong on the day as they held the Wildcats to just 296 yards, picked Devin Leary off twice and only let star running back Ray Davis notch 61 yards. South Carolina won the game 17-14 to get to 5-6 and have to beat Clemson next week to make a bowl game. 

In Tennessee, the Volunteers were hoping to pull off an upset against No. 1 Georgia as they were undefeated at home this season and have not lost a home game since the last time the hosted Georgia in 2021. Early, it seemed like the Vols would have a shot as Jaylen Wright would take the first play from scrimmage 75 yards to go up 7-0 just eleven seconds into the game. It would completely fall apart for them as Georgia would go on a 38-3 scoring run and pummel the Vols 38-10. After that first play, Tennessee would only have 202 yards and not get a single touchdown. Georgia managed to drop 472 yards on the Volunteer’s heads to reach 11-0 and finish undefeated in SEC play for the third straight season. 

Arkansas hoped to bounce back after their 38 point loss to Auburn as they hosted a struggling Florida International team. Arkansas struggled at first as they traded punches for a while and was down 13-7 going into the second quarter, but they outscored the Panthers 38-7 en route to a 45-20 victory. KJ Jefferson put together a 187 yard three touchdown game as well as putting up 90 yards on the ground. The defense also played a good game as they picked off FIU quarterback Keyone Jenkins twice and sacked him three times. 

Vanderbilt was on their second bye week of the season before they take on rival Tennessee. 

Oklahoma had to beat BYU to keep a feasible shot at the Big 12 title game alive. As a 26.5 point favorite, Oklahoma looked like they would absolutely dog walk the Cougars, but that could not have been further from the truth. While Oklahoma never trailed, BYU responded almost every single time Oklahoma scored and never trailed by more than seven. The only time BYU was not able to respond was after the last time the Sooners scored. Oklahoma scored the game winning touchdown with just under eight minutes left and held BYU off for the rest of the game. They forced BYU to punt after three plays and then held the ball for over five minutes to escape with the seven point win. While their defense did not click as much as usual, only putting up 368 yards, their defense stepped up very strongly, recovering two fumbles as well as having a 100 yard pick six run back by Billy Bowman Junior. 

Oklahoma State lost in blowout fashion last week to UCF 45-3, but still had a path to the Big 12 championship game, all they had to do was win out, but Houston looked to make it difficult early. The Cougars dominated early going on a 23-9 run scoring three touchdowns and a safety. Oklahoma State managed to turn things around very quickly though as they scored 34 of the next 41 points as they would go on to win, 43-30. The Cowboys would drop over 500 yards and five touchdowns including 164 yards and three touchdowns by Ollie Gordon II to continue his fantastic season. A win over BYU on Saturday should clinch a spot in the Big 12 title game for the Cowboys baring an insane amount of chaos within the conference. 

Kansas hosted Kansas State in the Sunflower Showdown this past weekend in hopes of getting their first win over the Wildcats in fifteen years. The two went back and forth in the first half with three lead changes and Kansas went into the locker room up 20-16. They wasted no time adding to the lead after halftime scoring another touchdown to go up 27-16, but it was all Wildcats from there. Kansas State scored 15 straight points off of rushing touchdowns to get another win over the Jayhawks, 31-27. The Wildcats would need some major chaos, but they still have a chance at going back to Arlington and winning a second straight Big 12 title. 

Iowa State hosted Big 12 frontrunner Texas in hopes of pulling off the upset to keep themselves alive in the race for a Big 12 title. Early on, it was a very defensive matchup with Texas leading 6-3 going into halftime. Late in the third quarter, the Longhorns finally broke through and made it into the endzone. Iowa State responded quickly to make it 13-9 and with a PAT would make it a field goal game. Texas would not only block the extra point, but would run it all the way back and snag another two points for themselves, and Iowa State would never recover. The Longhorns would outscore the Cyclones 11-7 and would win the game, 26-16 to hit 10 regular season wins since 2009. The Cyclones quarterback Rocco Becht had 323 yards in the air, but they were held to a measly nine yards on the ground while the Longhorns strung together over 400 yards on the ground.

At the Group of Five level, Northern Illinois came into their matchup with two straight losses and had to win out in order to make a bowl game. They were hosting Western Michigan, another team that was sitting at 4-6 on the season, and a close matchup was expected, especially considering that NIU had lost two straight to Western Michigan, but the Huskies did not stray away from the challenge and dominated the Broncos in every facet. Offensively, while they only had 99 passing yards, they had a whopping 287 on the ground with two touchdowns. On top of that they also managed to hang a punt return touchdown on the Broncos. Defensively, they only allowed 206 yards in total and only let them rush for 24. They sacked quarterback Hayden Wolff four times and shut them out en route to a 24-0 victory to keep their bowl hopes alive. 

While Western Kentucky has had a bit of a disappointing season, and will miss the conference championship, they still had a chance to make a bowl game if they could beat Sam Houston State who was sitting at an abysmal 2-8 on the season. Western Kentucky ended up playing terrible on offense and struggled much more than they should have. While Austin Reed threw for nearly 400 yards and three touchdowns, he also turned the ball over an astonishing five times; four off of interception and another off of a lost fumble. The Hilltoppers leaned on their defense though as they picked off Keegan Shoemaker twice and forced the Bearcats to fumble the ball as well. The Hilltoppers managed to sneak out the win though, 28-23 to get to bowl eligibility. 

Middle Tennessee State had a relatively meaningless matchup as they already have seven losses on the season, but they got put into an offensive shootout against UTEP nonetheless. The two teams went punch for punch with each other for 60 minutes trading scores back and forth and with no lead being larger than 10, MTSU never trailed though and managed to pull out the win over the Miners, 34-30. The two teams combined for 880 yards of offense as MTSU advances to 4-7 on the season. MTSU has an outside shot at making a bowl game if they get to 5-7 as they do have a high academic progress rating, but they would need a lot of chaos to get there. 

In the AAC, Memphis sat in fourth place in the conference and was hosting SMU who was unblemished within the American. Like so many matchups before, the game turned into an absolute shootout. The two combined for over 900 yards and nine touchdowns on the day. Neither team led by more than 10, but SMU went up double digits with just under three minutes to go. Memphis scored with just under a minute left, but it was too little too late as the Mustangs won, 38-34. The Mustangs have all but clinched a spot in the AAC championship and have a chance to win the title on their way out the door to the ACC. 

Tulsa had a mostly meaningless matchup against North Texas as both teams sat at 3-7 on the season. The two were playing very evenly early on trading touchdowns and Tulsa even managed to have a 21-14 lead at one point and only trailed for a total of four minutes in the first half. However, the Mean Green made some halftime adjustments and shut out the Golden Hurricanes for nearly 25 minutes in the second half. Tulsa scored late but it was not enough as North Texas would end up winning, 35-28. 

Arkansas State needed a win over Texas State to get to their first bowl game since 2019. Being a three point underdog facing one of the more surprising teams of the year, it seemed like it would be a tall task, but the Red Wolves put on an absolute clinic against the Bobcats. Offensively, they put together 487 yards of total offense and seven touchdowns, all of them coming on the ground. They also managed to get another touchdown on a return. Defensively, they found the endzone three times on a scoop and score as well as two pick sixes. They dominated the Bobcats in every facet and won, 77-31. 

1. Louisville (10-1) (0-0)
2. Iowa (9-2) (2-0)
3. Oklahoma (9-2) (2-2) 
4. Memphis (8-3) (1-0)
5. Oklahoma State (8-3) (3-1)
6. Kansas State (8-3) (1-1)
7. Tennessee (7-4) (1-0)
8. Kansas (7-4) (3-2)
9. Western Kentucky (6-5) (1-0)
10. Iowa State (6-5) (1-3)
11. Kentucky (6-5) (0-1)
12. Northwestern (6-5) (0-2)
13. Arkansas State (6-5) (0-2)
14. Nebraska (5-6) (3-0)
15. Northern Illinois (5-6) (0-2) 
16. Illinois (5-6) (0-3)
17. Arkansas (4-7) (0-0)
18. Middle Tennessee State (4-7) (0-1)
19. Tulsa (3-8) (1-1)
20. Vanderbilt (2-9) (0-1)