He called "an impossible decision" in December to leave Penn State as the Nittany Lions were preparing for the College Football Playoff, he did so to set himself up for days like Saturday. Pribula left Happy Valley for the opportunity to compete for a starting job elsewhere, quickly landing at Missouri, where starter Brady Cook was out of eligibility. Coming out of training camp, Mizzou coach Eli Drinkwitz said the quarterback competition between Sam Horn and Pribula would extend into the season, but Pribula inherited the job by default when Horn was injured on his first snap last week. Pribula shined in that game against FCS Central Arkansas, but considering the level of competition, it was hard to read too much into his performance. This week, it was different. With the rivalry against Kansas renewed, Pribula completed 30 of 39 passes for 334 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions in the 42-31 win . He looked the part of a quarterback that can successfully lead the Tigers into the SEC gauntlet that awaits. Considering the circumstances of his departure from Penn State, Pribula’s immediate success must come with an extra layer of satisfaction for him. He would have been stuck behind Drew Allar again at Penn State and now has shown the country he, too, can play at a high level. Pribula’s situation in December was a factor in the recent proposal by the FBS Oversight Committee to move the transfer portal window to January, so it will have less overlap with the playoff.

Arch Manning got off to a bit of a slow start again on a sleepy overcast 11 a.m. Austin kickoff. He started 3-of-6 for 11 yards on the first two drives, including a badly overthrown ball to Ryan Wingo that could've been intercepted if the defender had another step. But on the next drive on third down, Manning got an easy throw and catch to Parker Livingstone , who turned it upfield as a defender slipped and raced 83 yards for a touchdown. By halftime, Manning was on fire and the rout was on, including three straight touchdown passes on three straight attempts, as Texas scored four touchdowns in 4:56 of game time. But it wasn’t all smooth for Manning. He heaved an ill-advised throw into double coverage under pressure for an interception at the San Jose 13. He fumbled on a sack at his own 1-yard line in the third quarter but recovered it. But he came back with a 20-yard touchdown run, tiptoeing down the sideline and showcasing the athletic ability that coach Steve Sarkisian said this week he should embrace. The Longhorns had too many penalties (12-115) and had some protection problems they’ll need to get fixed before SEC play starts and a few dropped passes. But the defense held the Spartans in check, forced four turnovers a week after not having one against the Buckeyes, and Manning joined Colt McCoy, Vince Young and David Ash as the only Texas QBs over the last 20 years with two or more games of two 20-plus-yard TD passes and a 20-plus-yard TD run. Sarkisian said he was pleased with the response for a quarterback who could've let his competitiveness linger after last week’s disappointment. "I think he’s hard on himself differently than maybe I’m hard on him, but I’m also trying to ease some of that," Sarkisian said. "When he gets hard on himself, I try to back myself off of that and try to make sure he’s got the right amount of confidence when he goes and plays because he’s a very talented player."

Illinois eventually resembled a College Football Playoff contender at Duke, but first it reinforced the importance of being opportunistic and finding new ways to win. The Illini were sluggish in the first quarter and for much of the first half. Their celebrated offensive line couldn’t keep Vincent Anthony Jr . and Duke’s pass rusher away from quarterback Luke Altmyer . A Bret Bielema-coached team surprisingly couldn’t run the ball. At times, Illinois didn’t really look ready. But the Illini found themselves on the right side of the handful of plays that determine outcomes. Duke’s repeated mistakes on special teams and on offense in Illinois’ end of the field were too many to overcome. Any team that is minus-5 in turnovers on its home field has no business winning. Still, Illinois had to capitalize and did behind Altmyer, whose experience and talent showed up repeatedly. Altmyer completed 22 of 31 passes for 296 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions, spreading the ball to a largely new group of wide receivers. Illinois certainly misses Pat Bryant and Zakhari Franklin, but offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. hoped for more explosiveness with this receiving corps and got it, as Hank Beatty , Justin Bowick and others delivered. Bielema’s championship teams at Wisconsin were built on elite line play and the power run. This Illini squad hasn’t really hit its stride with the run game, and ultimately might be pass-heavy with one of the nation’s more proven quarterbacks in Altmyer and a dynamic group of wideouts. Illinois won’t be able to count every opponent to make the number of mistakes Duke did, but the Illini now have a track record of taking advantage, which should serve them well during Big Ten play."

The curse is broken. Matt Campbell and his Cyclones have finally defeated Iowa in Ames for the first time in his tenure. Iowa State’s latest bout with its rival, a 16-13 win, was a nail-biter decided in the final minute as usual. In securing its first home win over Iowa since 2011, Iowa State has won three of its last four games decided by one-score margins. Six of the last seven Cy-Hawk winners have scored 20 points or less. It takes a remarkable amount of toughness to survive these low-scoring brawls. But this might be Campbell’s toughest team yet. Throughout his tenure, the head coach has fixated on "winning on the margins," doing all the little things right to overcome any talent deficit and get games into the fourth quarter. These days, the proof is in the results: Iowa State has won eight of its last nine games decided by one-score margins. Kicker Kyle Konradody got to be the Cy-Hawk hero yet again, drilling a clutch 54-yard go-ahead field goal in the final two minutes. He got that opportunity thanks to Rocco Bech guiding a 13-play, six-minute drive in the fourth quarter featuring three third-down conversions. Iowa State’s defense finished the job with pass rusher Tamatoa McDonough , a little-known transfer from Yale, slamming Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski down for back-to-back sacks to kill any hopes of a game-winning drive. "These are milestone moments," Campbell said. "Our kids, the schedule, what we’ve been up against -- real toughness." This team had to have the right stuff from the start to pull this off. It took everything the Cyclones had to survive a 24-21 win over Kansas State in Ireland during Week 0. Then they had to come home and figure out how to keep playing their best ball. In many ways, they still haven’t. But what Campbell loves most is the way this Bech-led squad plays with steady resolve, how they can hang in there when things aren’t going their way and keep pushing. This rivalry win is more proof that this group knows how to win in the fourth quarter -- and they might be ready to go win the Big 12, too."

Max Olson