This story originally appeared in the Jackson Free Press. It was added to the Mississippi Free Press website in 2025. Note that any opinions expressed in legacy Jackson Free Press stories do not reflect a position of the Mississippi Free Press or necessarily of its staff and board members.
LSU versus Alabama lived up to all the hype on defense. Missed field goals doomed Alabama as the top-ranked Tigers topped the Crimson Tide 9-6 in overtime. Now Alabama has to hope the teams ahead of them lose to get a rematch in the title game.
This weekend, the picture will get clearer when Oregon takes on Stanford. It looks like Arkansas will have a say in the final picture as well. Oklahoma State and Oklahoma will be huge in the final game of the season.
Houston and Southern Miss could be on a collision course in Conference USA. Boise State has become the biggest Georgia fan in the country. The season is fast approaching its end. All the questions will have been answered Dec. 3, when all the conference championships have been played.
The Mississippi Free Press produced this story through the MFP Solutions Lab, supported by the Solutions Journalism Network. This series digs into Mississippiโs systemic issues and sheds light on responses to them in other communities. Beyond just reporting on problems, these stories interrogate their causes and inspect potential solutions.