Saturdays Feed My Soul

Halloween weekend brought more college football chaos as USC stunned No. 2 Ohio State, Miami and Indiana survived scares, and South Carolina continued its remarkable revival. Throw in a 100-point Big 12 thriller and Georgia's dominant victory over Florida, and Week 9 delivered plenty to savour. Here are five things that fed my soul.

Texas found a way past Ole Miss, the Big 12 race was turned upside down and Indiana made history at Michigan. Add a statement performance from No. 1 Miami and an unbeaten UCLA, and Week 8 delivered plenty to feed the soul.

College football's hierarchy was turned upside down in Week 6. Oklahoma stunned No. 1 Texas, Georgia strengthened its championship credentials, and unbeaten UCLA continued to defy expectations. Meanwhile, LSU and Florida suffered damaging defeats, and Indiana survived another scare. Here are five things that defined a dramatic weekend of college football.

Indiana’s championship win challenged annual assumptions about recruiting class rankings, how rosters are built, which programs can be anointed by the sports media as potential contenders and which programs are barely thought of. The offseason has seen teams try to figure out how they can close the gap.

Indiana’s first national championship was not built on five-star recruits or tradition, but belief, balance and nerve. From 100-1 outsiders to a 16–0 season, Curt Cignetti’s Hoosiers completed one of college football’s most remarkable turnarounds with a gritty College Football Playoff final win over Miami.

"Are Indiana unstoppable?" was the unexpected Whatsapp message I received from my father-in-law the morning after the Hoosiers' stunning 56-22 thrashing of No.5 Oregon in the College Football Playoff semifinals.

College football is changing by the week. Welcome to a new order. The semi-finals of the College Football Playoff, in just its second season of an expansion to 12 teams, will feature two teams in the first game, Indiana and Oregon, who have never won a national championship.

Week 4 in college football reminded us once again why it’s the one of the most unpredictable and entertaining of sports. Traditional...