1 – Tulane QB Jake Retzlaff (vs. Memphis)
16/23 – 332 yards – 3 touchdowns / 43 rushing yards – 1 touchdown
Quarterback Jake Retzlaff was the catalyst for the Angry Wave in a late Friday 38-32 road win over Memphis. Fresh off one of the worst losses in recent school history against UTSA a week prior, Tulane needed a win to keep their American Championship (as well as playoff) hopes alive as they faced off against a Memphis squad at the top of the conference, and the BYU transfer accounted for four Wave touchdowns to get it done. With the victory, Tulane moves to 3rd place in the conference with a handful of weeks remaining but a finale stretch of Florida Atlantic/Temple/Charlotte (combined 10-18 record) give the Wave a great shot at sneaking in (Navy and South Florida, currently 1-2 in the conference, play each other still).
2 – UConn QB Joe Fagnano (vs. Duke)
27/39 – 311 yards – 3 touchdowns / 51 rushing yards
UConn moved to 7-3 on the season with a win over fellow basketball blue blood Duke behind the arm of their seventh year senior quarterback. Late in the game, Fagnano led the Huskies down the field with a 6/7 drive that was capped with a touchdown pass to star receiver Skyler Bell and followed by a Fagnano two-point conversion to take the late 37-34 lead. The Williamsport, PA native is having a remarkable season, passing for 25 touchdowns without throwing a single interception while also on pace for 3,000 yards through the air. The Huskies have already secured their second consecutive postseason under Jim Mora Jr, but the jobs not finished as they still have a shot at the programs first 10 win season at the FBS level. They’ll close out the year with Air Force and Florida Atlantic.
3 – Ohio RB Sieh Bangura (vs. Miami OH)
17 carries – 102 yards – 1 touchdown / 3 receptions – 30 yards / 97-yard kick return touchdown
The Bobcats got a much needed conference win against their 2024 MAC Championship opponent Miami Redhawks and did it in part to an all-around effort from the senior running back. After a brief stint at Minnesota last season, Bangura returned to Ohio and is on pace for his second career 1,000 yard season in the green and white. After a Miami touchdown to take a 13-10 lead early in the fourth quarter, Bangura returned the ensuing kickoff 97-yards to reclaim the lead for Ohio. The Bobcats still have games against Western Michigan (this Tuesday night on ESPN2!) and Buffalo, both equally 4-1 in the MAC and tied with Ohio, so Bangura and company essentially control their own destiny when it comes to MAC Championship play and a chance to repeat.
4 – California WR Jacob De Jesus (vs. #15 Louisville)
16 receptions – 158 yards – 1 touchdown / 1/2 – 27 passing yards
The Cal Golden Bears secured bowl eligibility for the third consecutive season under Justin Wilcox with a big road upset against 15th ranked Louisville on Saturday night. True freshman sensation quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele had an impressive game, completing 30 passes for 323 yards, but it was the undersized UNLV transfer De Jesus who caught a remarkable 53% of those completions including the game winner in overtime from 3 yards out. It’s the seniors second game of the season with over 10 receptions and seventh with at least 5 as he’s been a reliable target for the freshman signal caller. The Bears will get a nice late bye week before The Game against rival Stanford and finishing the season with a tough SMU team, but this win and performance continue to signal an arrow slightly up for this team moving forward.
5 – Wisconsin LB Mason Posa (vs. #23 Washington)
6 solo tackles / 2.5 sacks / 1 forced fumble / 1 fumble recovery
It has been a horrible season for Badger fans, watching an offense that can’t muster much fight and playing one of the hardest schedules in the sport, but Saturday had to be a relieving feeling for the Wisconsin faithful (even if the offense still didn’t contribute). The Badger defense stifled a good Huskies offense, limiting Demond Williams to just 134 passing yards and forcing multiple turnovers, and freshman linebacker Mason Posa was major factor in the units performance. Early in the third quarter, Posa sacked Williams and forced a fumble that he also recovered at the Washington 7 yard line. That short field position ended with a Badgers touchdown to tie the game 10-10. Then, on the Huskies final drive of the game Posa sacked Williams on 4th down to secure the Badgers 13-10 win, ending a six game skid and logging their first Big Ten win of the season. Its unlikely the Badgers will win out to go bowling (they play Indiana next week), but a top 25 win after announcing coach Luke Fickell would return in 2026 should make those fans feel good for at least a couple days.
