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Best of Week 6: A Mountaineers marriage proposal

Week 6 has already seen some big happenings on the field including Texas' big win over Oklahoma in the Red River Showdown. Here's the best stuff off the field and around the games.


A Mountaineer marriage proposal

West Virginia defensive lineman Reese Donahue proposed to his girlfriend Sarah Moore after the Mountaineers' homecoming win over Kansas while "Country Roads" played in the stadium.


Fair game

It's a big day at the State Fair of Texas, where Texas and Oklahoma met on Saturday in one of college football's greatest rivalries.

Baker Mayfield weighed in early with his version of an "on this day" memory.

There was that post, and this tweet from February -- neither aged well.

Speaking of spicy burns, here's this year's State Fair of Texas winner for Best Taste in the savory division, Fernie's Hoppin' John Cake with Jackpot Sauce.

What is a Hoppin' John cake, you ask? It's a "traditional New Year's Eve 'good luck' dish," combining black-eyed peas, white rice, spicy smoked sausage, green onions and a spices, bread crumbs and eggbeaters formed into a cake. It's then deep fried and topped with a black-eyed pea relish, garnished with pickled okra, and served with a side of Jackpot sauce. OK, now what is Jackpot sauce, you ask? Yeah, I don't know anything about that.

This cotton candy taco was a big winner, claiming Best Taste in the sweet category, and Most Creative. It's graham cracker waffle-cone batter that's formed into a taco shell, coated with a marshmallow glaze, then stuffed with chocolate, toasted marshmallow and organic cane sugar cotton candy and topped off with chocolate cookie crumbles.

That's the beauty of the Red River Showdown. Even devastated Sooners fans can head out, dip their sorrows in some Jackpot sauce and go stare at the Mattress Firm Illumination Sensation.


Video game numbers

After Trevor Lawrence got knocked out of the game last weekend, Clemson nearly lost its undefeated record to Syracuse. The Tigers survived and Lawrence didn't leave anything to chance this week in Clemson's 63-3 win over Wake Forest.

That's the spirit

Facing the unstoppable force that is No. 1 Alabama, it's best to manage your expectations, as this Arkansas fan did.


Refreshing revenge

Vince Young became a legend in the 2006 Rose Bowl, beating Matt Leinart and USC to win the national title. On Saturday, however, Leinart got his long-awaited retribution, besting VY in a contest to throw footballs into big Dr Pepper cans. Even, Steven, I guess?


Running it up (and down the field)

Georgia Tech completed one pass against Louisville on Friday night and won 66-13. The Yellow Jackets ran 65 times for 542 yards and eight touchdowns and scored on every offensive possession.

It was a clinic in the triple option, perfect for the history between two of the coaches involved.

Our David Hale wrote in 2015 about Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson's seeming distaste for Brian VanGorder, now Louisville's defensive coordinator.

Johnson served as the offensive coordinator at Georgia Southern in the mid-1980s and as head coach there from 1997 through 2001, running his trademark option offense. Following the 2005 season, Georgia Southern hired VanGorder, who swiftly ditched the offense in favor of a pro-style attack. Around a proud program that had won six national championships in the FCS (including two under Johnson), VanGorder's breaks with tradition were extremely unpopular.

"He said something about bringing them into the 21st century," Johnson recalled. "And I said, 'There's a [scoring] record there, shoot for it.' So that was it."

VanGorder even made a commercial for the Eagles' 2006 season that ended with him pointing at the camera, saying, "There is no option."

Johnson tries to downplay his feelings now. Back then, not so much.

"The guy who took over acts like they've got to go back to ground zero," Johnson, then the coach at Navy, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution during VanGorder's first season at Southern. "It's not like it was broke, but if you listen to him, it's like they're starting from nothing."

USA Today reported that Johnson even called a Georgia Southern official that year and told him that he wanted to schedule them "because I want to beat the hell out of Brian VanGorder."

He didn't get that chance. VanGorder lasted one 3-8 season, the worst in school history. His offense averaged 22 points per game (a steep drop from the 38 PPG the previous season). Then he abruptly left three weeks before signing day -- with three years left on his contract -- to be the Atlanta Falcons' linebackers coach.

On Friday night, Johnson got another shot and ran wild, piling up the most rushing yards Louisville has allowed since 1932.

"We didn't have any answers for their offense," Louisville coach Bobby Petrino said.


Hey, check out these uniforms

It's a throwback kinda thing on Saturday when Texas A&M and No. 13 Kentucky meet for the first time since 1953 -- the season before Bear Bryant left Lexington for College Station. Texas A&M is honoring its 1998 Big 12 title team with replicas of the jerseys from that season, complete with mesh-look numbers, a BCS sticker on the helmets and a fauxback SEC patch.


Going hog wild

Arkansas is officially unveiling its new "Wild Band of Razorbacks" monument in the north end zone complex at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, honoring its undefeated 1964 team. According to sculptor Dick Idol, who has worked on the monument for about six years, it's 25 feet tall by 50 feet wide and features six bronze hogs that are each about 7 feet tall and 12-14 feet long. The $2 million project was paid for by a gift from Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, a co-captain of that '64 team.


Haskins for Heisman?

Joe Burrow lost the Ohio State quarterback derby to Dwayne Haskins, before transferring to LSU. But he's doing his own campaigning for Haskins, who is completing 70.8 percent of his passes for 1,464 yards, 19 touchdowns and just two interceptions this season.


Eyes on the prize

A few weeks ago, we highlighted the mesmerizing spectacle of the UCF fan who had a knack for staring through the television camera and into your inner being.

Now it can be told that he is a freshman civil engineering major named Anthony Allan, and that if the "Ellen" show would give him a call "that would be so sick."