With only one game featuring two Top 25 teams on tap for today -- No. 8 TCU vs. No. 16 BYU -- it’s basically a hold-your-serve kind of day for the remainder of the ranked teams not on their bye weekend.
Thus far in the early games, all five involved have indeed held serve.
Four of the games, in fact, weren’t even close. No. 12 Georgia Tech easily handled “resurgent” Virginia 34-9 in what was actually a key ACC Coastal matchup; No. 15 Oklahoma State is currently taking care of Baylor 34-7 with just over six minutes left in the fourth; No. 19 Ohio State took out their Purdue frustrations on Minnesota 38-7; and No. 20 Pittsburgh used a 31-point effort in the first half to roll over Big East foe South Florida 41-14 and remain unbeaten in conference play.
The closest of the ranked games this afternoon thus far was also the most heartbreaking. In more ways than one.
UConn, playing for the first time since the murder of cornerback Jasper Howard early last Sunday morning, channeled their grief toward the football field but came up just short of what would certainly have been an emotional scene in Morgantown, falling to West Virginia 28-24.
The Huskies took a 24-21 lead with just 3:50 left in the game on an Cody Endres-Marcus Easley 88-yard catch and run. However, that lead was short-lived as Noel Devine raced 56 yards for what turned out to be the game-winning score with just over two minutes left.
A last-minute drive for the Huskies ended on an interception with 55 seconds remaining.
Incidentally, kudos to the WVU fans and programs for the class they showed before the game. Tremendous gestures all around.