Why college football is awesome - Week 13: Utah's late charge

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Every week, DAZN News' NCAA expert Simon Carroll reflects on the key action and memorable moments that you just do not get in any other sport, and what makes college football awesome.

A relentless team on offense and a failed fake field goal are just two of the reasons why Week 13 in college football did not disappoint.

1,100 yards of offense

The Big 12 conference has a reputation for high-octane football. In fact, the league’s disregard for defense is either a source of pride or the subject of mockery, depending on your football allegiance. And on Saturday, two conference members leant into the narrative, giving fans an overdose of offense.

The scoreline alone gives you a hint of how this one went; Utah overturning a 10-point fourth quarter deficit to outlast Kansas State 51-47. The 98 total points is just one less than this season’s largest in the FBS (USF 63-36 North Texas, Week 7), with an incredible 15 scoring drives and 53 first downs.

The Wildcats might feel aggrieved to be heading back to Manhattan without a win; going on the road and putting up 472 rushing yards is quite simply absurd. Running back Joe Jackson accounted for nearly 300 of those yards along with three touchdowns as Utah’s defensive front simply couldn’t cope with their opponent’s ground attack. Unfortunately for K-State, they were up against a dual threat QB who was determined to keep his team in the playoff hunt.

Devon Dampier, a transfer from New Mexico this offseason, has been everything advertised and more in 2025. Finishing the game with more than 350 total yards and four scores, he orchestrated back-to-back 70-yard drives to flip this game on its head and hand Utah their ninth win of the season. The Utes are still alive, and head to Kansas on Friday to try and force their way into the Big 12 title game - or even gatecrash the playoffs.

1,125 total yards. 18.75 yards a minute. College football is awesome.

Fake field goal flop

A couple of weeks ago in this very column we highlighted an incredible fake play by USC, the Trojans disguising a backup quarterback as a punter and moving the chains with a cheeky sideline pass. Well, another California team had similar ambitions in Week 13…

It’s been a tough year for UCLA. A rough start to the season saw head coach DeShaun Foster fired after just three games. The Bruins have rallied somewhat under interim HC Tim Skipper, but a 3-7 record heading into Saturday was not what anyone in Los Angeles was hoping for.

This weekend was more of the same as the Washington Huskies left the Rose Bowl with a 48-14 win. Down 13 points close to halftime, UCLA sought to change momentum. Lining up for a 46-yard field goal they attempted the iconic ‘blind holder pass’ that was made famous during the Les Miles LSU era. Unfortunately, the execution was suboptimal; the kicker wasn’t close to catching the pitch, and Huskies safety Alex McLaughlin was first to react - scooping up the loose ball and returning it 59 yards for a Washington score.

If one play could sum up the Bruins’ season it was this one. As far as UCLA is concerned, 2025 can’t finish quick enough.

3-Score Head Start

Notre Dame are a good football team. And they certainly don’t need any help when it comes to winning games. But on Saturday, they were already 21 points ahead before their quarterback CJ Carr had stepped foot onto the field…

Syracuse were the visitors to South Bend. The Orange have had a tougher season in year 2 under Fran Brown after surprising everyone with 10 wins in 2024. One of the hardest schedules in college football this year, the trip to Notre Dame was probably the toughest on the slate. So gifting their opponents three early touchdowns only compounded the size of the task at hand.

On just the second play of the game, ‘Cuse quarterback Joseph Filardi threw the ball straight to ND safety Jalen Stroman, who obligingly took it back 44 yards for the score. On the ensuing drive Syracuse made it to their fourth play before disaster struck, a punt from their own goal line partially blocked, the ball scooped up by Luke Talich who dutifully doubled the Irish’s lead. But the pain wasn’t over, and after moving the ball just 14 yards Filardi once again found an opponent rather than a teammate, this time Leonard Moore with a 54-yard house call.

21-0 in the blink of an eye, this one got ugly. Notre Dame hung 70 on Syracuse, and no team will relish meeting them in the playoffs - even if they’re not so courteous to give them a three-score head start.

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