Another painfully close loss for Texas. Another Florida State flop.
Long before Saturday's showcase games with College Football Playoff consequences kicked off at Notre Dame and Penn State, the Longhorns and Seminoles both let home games get away. Tom Herman was as close as he has been in his first season to getting that breakthrough victory. For Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher, a season that started with so much hope is really starting to spiral.
Later Saturday, No. 2 Penn State hosted No. 19 Michigan and No. 13 Notre Dame met No. 11 Southern California as the field of playoff contenders starts to shrink.
Thoughts, takedowns and takeaways from week seven of the college football season:
1. It was reasonable to cut Florida State some slack for its 2-3 start because of the injury to Deondre Francois, rescheduled games, difficult opponents and some bad luck. Now the Seminoles are 2-4 after losing at home to Louisville and the slack is gone .
2. According to 247 Sports' composite recruiting rankings, Florida State's last four signing classes have ranked fourth, third, third and third nationally. The Seminoles are now 0-3 at home for the first time since 1974, and freshman quarterback notwithstanding, that should not happen.
3. Bowl eligibility is no lock for Florida State, which only has 11 games after having the Louisiana-Monroe game in September canceled by a hurricane .
4. Florida is 3-3 and facing similar bowl concerns, which could make for one heck of a Seminoles-Gators game in Gainesville the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
6. Figure Fisher will be making some staff changes after this season, though he was not having a fan telling him that after the game .
6. Lamar Jackson is probably not winning the Heisman Trophy, but voters should not forget about him as Louisville finishes out its season away from the spotlight. Try finding five better players than Jackson.
7. If this is Jackson's last college season — and it probably will for the junior — Fisher and the Seminoles will be thrilled to see him go. Jackson has thrown for 679 yards, run for 356 and accounted for 10 touchdowns in three games.
8. Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger threw maybe the worst game-ending interception in the history of overtime college football to end the Longhorns' 13-10 loss to No. 10 Oklahoma State.
9. The television shot of Ehlinger's mother in the stands reacting to her son's ill-advised throw was enough to break any parents' heart.
10. Texas has now lost three games to teams that entered Saturday ranked in the top 11 (Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, USC) by a combined 11 points.
11. The Longhorns lost 10 one-score games under Charlie Strong in three seasons, including five last year. Seems weird to say this at Texas, but Tom Herman needs to teach these Longhorns how to win.
12. Teams that have now surprisingly won two straight games, both in conference: Boston College, Rutgers and UConn.
13. BC ripped Virginia and has scored at least 40 in consecutive games for the first time since 2000. Coach Steve Addazio's seat is cooling quickly.
14. Not to be outdone, Iowa State has won three straight games for the first time since 2011 and why don't you just go ahead of give Matt Campbell that Big 12 coach of the year award right now.
15. Campbell is only in year two at Iowa State, but Cyclones athletic director Jamie Pollard might have to fend off suitors.
16. Army (6-2) beat Temple in overtime and immediately after accepted a bid to the Armed Forces Bowl . The last time the Black Knights have played in bowl games in consecutive seasons was 1984 and '85. In coach Jeff Monken, Army has finally found the coach who can get it right at West Point.
17. Army had completed eight passes in its first seven games. The Cadets completed eight passes against Temple.
18. A battle of the winless was another embarrassing loss for Georgia Southern: UMass got its first victory of the season, beating the Eagles 55-20. This has to be rock bottom in Statesboro, Georgia, and for coach Tyson Summers.
19. After two-plus seasons of defenses that ranked in the bottom quarter of FBS, Arizona State now plays good defense. The Sun Devils followed up their upset of Washington by dominating Utah 30-10 in Salt Lake City . Weird, but quite a development for coach Todd Graham and his team, which is now 3-1 in the Pac-12.
20. Coming into this weekend, three quarterbacks were averaging at least 10 yards per completion: Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma State's Mason Rudolph and UCF McKenzie Milton. Milton, a 5-foot-11, 177-pound sophomore, had another huge game Saturday, keeping the 20th-ranked Knights unbeaten against Navy .
21. Tennessee scored a touchdown for the first time in a month and apparently forgot how to celebrate . Everything else in the Vols' game against No. 1 Alabama went pretty much exactly as expected .
22. Syracuse ran 93 plays against No. 8 Miami, but the Hurricanes again did just enough to get the job done again . Coach Mark Richt is right. Miami is not dominant, but the 'Canes are unbeaten and if you had to pick between the two you will take the latter every time.
23. A once-promising Oregon season has gone off the rails since the injury to quarterback Justin Herbert. The Ducks lost their third straight, falling to UCLA. All of a sudden just getting bowl eligible will be a chore for the Oregon.
24. LJ Scott got his driver's license issues in order in time to play for No. 18 Michigan State against Indiana , and ran for 87 yards and a touchdown in yet another grind it out victory. The Spartans have now doubled last season's win total.
25. State of the SEC East: Kentucky entered Saturday in control of its chances to win the division, with a game left against Georgia. And then got beat 45-7 by Mississippi State.
___
Follow Ralph D. Russo at www.Twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP
___
More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
