Saturday Chaos: Texas Stuns No. 1 Ohio State as College Football Delivers a Wild Weekend

College football Saturdays have a way of reminding us why preseason predictions can become irrelevant in a matter of hours.

Saturday, September 12, gave us one of those days.

The No. 1 team in America watched a 20-point fourth-quarter lead disappear. A program coming off a 1-11 season knocked off the No. 6 team in the country. Michigan answered a week of criticism by taking down a ranked Oklahoma team. And while chaos consumed parts of the Top 25, Georgia and Notre Dame spent the afternoon looking every bit like national championship contenders.

But there is only one place to begin.

Texas Pulls Off the Impossible

For three quarters in Austin, Ohio State looked like the best team in college football.

Then everything changed.

No. 1 Ohio State carried a commanding 23-3 lead into the fourth quarter against No. 4 Texas. The Buckeyes had controlled the game, quieted the crowd and put the Longhorns in a position where simply making the final score respectable seemed more realistic than winning.

Texas had other ideas.

Arch Manning connected with Ryan Wingo for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, finally giving the Longhorns life. From there, the entire complexion of the game changed.

Texas’ defense began getting stops. Ohio State’s offense, which had operated comfortably for most of the night, suddenly couldn’t finish the job. Manning settled into the moment. The crowd came alive.

And Hollywood Smothers became one of the heroes of the young season.

Smothers punched in a 1-yard touchdown with just over seven minutes remaining to cut the deficit to six. Ohio State then had an opportunity to essentially put the game away, but a missed 45-yard field goal opened the door one more time.

Manning and Texas walked through it.

With the season’s biggest game hanging in the balance, the Longhorns drove down the field before Smothers went over the top from a yard out for the game-winning touchdown with 25 seconds remaining.

Texas 24. Ohio State 23.

The comeback from 20 points down in the fourth quarter was the largest fourth-quarter comeback ever completed against an AP No. 1 team. (AP News)

Manning finished with 195 passing yards, a touchdown and an interception, but the final numbers don’t adequately explain what happened. After struggling for three quarters, he completed 11 of his final 15 attempts and looked increasingly comfortable as the pressure increased. (AP News)

On the other side, Julian Sayin threw for 278 yards while Jeremiah Smith once again looked like one of the country’s most dangerous players, catching eight passes for 164 yards and a touchdown.

None of it was enough.

Texas is now 2-0, owns the best win in college football and has a legitimate argument to become the new No. 1 team in America.

Sometimes a team’s championship credentials aren’t revealed when everything goes according to plan.

Sometimes they’re revealed when absolutely nothing does.

Saturday night, Texas passed that test.

Oklahoma State Delivers the First True Stunner of 2026

If Texas provided the comeback of the day, Oklahoma State supplied the upset.

No. 6 Oregon entered Stillwater as a 23½-point favorite against an Oklahoma State program that went 1-11 last season and had not defeated an FBS opponent in 21 consecutive games.

The Cowboys didn’t care.

Oklahoma State stunned Oregon 39-31, producing one of the most improbable results of the young season. (CBS Sports Games)

Quarterback Drew Mestemaker was sensational, throwing for 317 yards and two touchdowns while adding 109 rushing yards and another score. Oklahoma State piled up 554 total yards compared with only 281 for Oregon. (CBS Sports Racing)

Oregon briefly grabbed a 31-30 lead early in the fourth quarter when Dante Moore connected with Evan Stewart for a 38-yard touchdown.

Instead of folding, Oklahoma State responded.

Mestemaker led a 75-yard touchdown drive and finished it himself, launching over defenders on a 10-yard run that returned the lead to the Cowboys.

From there, Oklahoma State’s defense closed the door and Boone Pickens Stadium erupted.

For Oklahoma State, it was a program-resetting type of win under Eric Morris.

For Oregon, it’s a major problem.

The Ducks entered the season with national championship expectations and were ranked No. 2 in the preseason. After looking vulnerable in their opening victory over Boise State, Saturday’s defeat will send them tumbling in the rankings and immediately reduces their margin for error in the College Football Playoff race. (AP News)

Michigan Answers Its Critics

Few teams needed a convincing performance Saturday more than Michigan.

A week after surviving Western Michigan in bizarre fashion, the Wolverines hosted No. 11 Oklahoma with questions surrounding their offense and young quarterback Bryce Underwood.

Michigan responded with a 17-10 victory.

It wasn’t always pretty, but it looked much more like Michigan football.

Underwood threw for 111 yards and ran for another 87, including a 38-yard touchdown. Most importantly, he protected the football against an Oklahoma defense capable of creating pressure and changing games. (CBS Sports Racing)

The Wolverines defense did the rest.

With the game tied in the fourth quarter, Michigan intercepted John Mateer and turned the mistake into the decisive Jordan Marshall 1-yard touchdown.

Oklahoma finished with 289 total yards and committed two turnovers. Michigan didn’t turn the ball over once.

After spending a week hearing about everything that went wrong in the opener, the Wolverines now own a win over the No. 11 team in the country and could quickly return to the Top 25. (AP News)

Georgia and Notre Dame Look Terrifying

While several contenders were fighting for survival, Georgia and Notre Dame didn’t leave much room for drama.

No. 2 Georgia demolished Western Kentucky 70-20, with quarterback Gunner Stockton tying a school record by throwing five touchdown passes.

Georgia led 49-0 in the first half, matching the most productive half in program history. Stockton completed 13 of 16 passes for 234 yards and threw his five touchdowns to five different receivers. (CBS Sports Racing)

The Bulldogs have now scored at least 60 points in consecutive games for the first time in more than a century.

The level of competition is about to increase dramatically with SEC play beginning, but Georgia has done exactly what elite teams are supposed to do against overmatched opponents: eliminate hope early.

No. 3 Notre Dame was just as ruthless.

The Fighting Irish crushed Rice 52-0, taking the lead only 14 seconds into the game on Boubacar Traore’s 24-yard fumble return and never looking back.

C.J. Carr completed 16 of 20 passes for 253 yards and four touchdowns, while Notre Dame held Rice to only 128 total yards. (CBS Sports)

With Ohio State losing, both Georgia and Notre Dame have every reason to believe the path toward the top of the rankings has opened.

Texas A&M Pulls Away

No. 10 Texas A&M had to work harder than the final score suggests, but the Aggies eventually overwhelmed Arizona State 48-20.

Marcel Reed threw three touchdown passes, and Texas A&M’s defense scored twice in the fourth quarter to turn a competitive game into a rout.

A&M led by only four before Reed hit Mario Craver for a 33-yard touchdown early in the final quarter. The defense then took over, highlighted by Marco Jones’ 55-yard defensive touchdown. (CBS Sports Games)

The Aggies move to 2-0 and continue building what could become an intriguing SEC résumé.

Alabama Takes Control in Lexington

No. 12 Alabama trailed Kentucky 17-13 at halftime.

Then the Crimson Tide reminded everyone why counting them out remains dangerous.

Alabama scored 32 unanswered points after halftime to roll to a 45-17 victory.

Daniel Hill rushed for 104 yards and a touchdown, while quarterback Keelon Russell threw for 188 yards and a score. Alabama’s defense also found the end zone on an interception return.

The performance wasn’t flawless — Alabama committed three turnovers — but the response after halftime was decisive.

For a young team, learning how to adjust and dominate after adversity can be every bit as valuable as cruising from the opening kickoff.

Tennessee Keeps Rolling

No. 18 Tennessee went into Atlanta and handled Georgia Tech 45-24, using a balanced rushing attack and opportunistic defense to move to 2-0.

DeSean Bishop rushed for 147 yards and two touchdowns, while Daune Morris added 98 yards and a score. Tennessee finished with 447 total yards and forced two Georgia Tech turnovers.

The Volunteers also had to overcome an ugly 14 penalties for 142 yards.

Clean those mistakes up, and Tennessee could become a serious factor as SEC play develops.

Utah Makes a Statement

No. 20 Utah delivered one of the night’s most complete performances, crushing Arkansas 43-10.

Quarterback Devon Dampier was responsible for four touchdowns, throwing for 261 yards and two scores while rushing for another two touchdowns.

Utah produced 442 total yards, averaged more than seven yards per play and led 29-3 by halftime.

The Utes are now 2-0 and quietly building the profile of a team capable of becoming a major player in the Big 12 race.

Iowa Wins Another Iowa Game

You almost knew Iowa-Iowa State would come down to something like this.

No. 21 Iowa escaped the Cy-Hawk rivalry with a 16-13 victory when Caden Buhr drilled a 42-yard field goal with 15 seconds remaining.

The last nine meetings between the rivals have now all been decided by 10 points or fewer, with five straight coming down to one possession. (CBS Sports Games)

Not glamorous. Not explosive.

Just another Iowa football game ending with the Hawkeyes finding a way to win.

The CrossTalk Take

The biggest takeaway from Saturday isn’t simply that Ohio State and Oregon lost.

It’s how quickly the hierarchy of a college football season can change.

Ohio State entered Saturday as the unquestioned No. 1 team. Three quarters into its showdown with Texas, nothing had happened to change that opinion.

One quarter later, the entire sport looked different.

Texas now has the résumé-defining victory everyone else is chasing. Georgia continues flattening opponents. Notre Dame has looked dominant. Oklahoma State suddenly owns one of the best wins in America. Michigan went from punchline to potential Top 25 team in seven days.

And Oregon is already fighting to keep its championship hopes from slipping away.

That is September college football.

There are no elimination games this early anymore in the expanded playoff era, but there are games that reveal weaknesses, games that reshape résumés and games that we will reference again when the playoff committee begins comparing contenders months from now.

September 12 gave us several of them.

And for Texas, it may have given the Longhorns something else:

The No. 1 ranking in college football.