We got the Red River Rivalry in Week 6 of college football, which already means it should be a fun weekend of games. Before we dive into that game and others later in the week, we have news to catch up on. Every week in college football, there are multiple headlines the majority of fans miss; here are some that may have gone over your head.

Florida State removed a running back from its program, one FBS team is struggling to find the win column, and an FCS team is making a strong case to earn the No. 1 ranking. Here’s everything you need to know heading into Week 6.

Mike Norvell’s RB No Longer with FSU

Florida State made a decision to remove senior running back Gemari Sands from the roster on Monday. Sands wasn’t dressed or on the sideline in Saturday’s 38-7 win against Virginia. At this time, the reasons for the departure or dismissal are unclear.

Sands, a Florida Atlantic transfer, arrived in Tallahassee in January. He went through the entire offseason program and mainly competed for a reserve role behind Ousmane Kromah, Samuel Singleton Jr. and Quintrevion Wisner. When Singleton Jr. went down with an injury, Sands wasn’t mentioned as one of the options to step into his place. Instead, it was Wisner and freshman Amari Thomas who saw more volume.

Sands spent three seasons at Florida Atlantic before arriving at Florida State. In 24 games with the Owls, he accumulated 136 carries for 582 yards and 2 touchdowns, while adding 43 receptions for 277 yards. He led the team in rushing in 2025.

Oregon State Takes Mumps Precaution Ahead of San Diego State Game

Oregon State is hosting a San Diego State team dealing with a massive outbreak of mumps. The San Diego Union-Tribune was the one who first reported the outbreak among SDSU’s football team last week. It is yet to be determined how many of the 14 confirmed cases will impact roster depth for Saturday’s game.

As a way to combat this health problem, OSU is going to make the booster shots of the MMR vaccine available to its players, according to their coach JaMarcus Shephard.

“We are taking our own precautions at this point in time, Shephard said. “Most of us have actually had that shot; in order to go to school, you pretty much had to have that shot early on. This is just an opportunity for us to get a booster on that and make sure we keep our team safe.”

As of Monday, Shephard says he has not heard from San Diego State or anyone else at the Pac-12 conference office regarding this mumps outbreak.

WSU OC Loses Play-Calling Duties

Washington State is making a change for play-calling duties. Head coach Kirby Moore announced Monday that he is taking over offensive play-calling duties as the Cougars look to improve on the offensive end after a slow start to the season.

Moore was the offensive coordinator and play-caller at Missouri before taking over as WSU’s head coach, and left open the possibility of him taking over play-calling duties himself.  The decision comes after a 1-4 start in which the offense averaged 19 points per game.

“As the leader of this program, it has not been good enough. I look forward to working with the offensive staff and calling plays moving forward,” Moore said.

Charlotte Hits 14 Straight Losses

It couldn’t get much worse for Charlotte. Memphis beat Charlotte, 59-8, and the 51-point gap was the Tigers’ largest win since 2022. Since Memphis joined the FBS, it was also the program’s largest road margin of victory ever.

Coming off a bye week, Memphis came out strong against the 49ers, having an early 93-yard touchdown. Quarterback Marcus Stokes went 20-of-25 passes for 318 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions. Even the backup quarterback, Air Noland, came in and threw a touchdown pass.

Charlotte is one of the three teams left in the FBS who are winless, along with Northern Illinois and ULM. The 49ers own the FBS’s longest losing streak at 14 games. Charlotte has yet to beat one under head coach Tim Albin. Things have been ugly for the 49ers, but last Saturday was lower than usual. The 51-point loss was their largest as an American Conference institution and fourth largest since joining the FBS in 2015.

HBCU Team Erases 24-Point Deficit to Stun Defending Champion

The Mississippi Valley State football team returned from a 24-point deficit to beat Prairie View A&M, 28-27, and get its first SWAC victory of the season.

The Delta Devils now have a 2-4 overall record which is also 1-1 in SWAC play. Prairie View A&M’s 24 point advantage started to crumble in the second half. Quarterback Josh Brown was a big reason for the comeback, completing 13-of-25 passes for 144 yards and a touchdown while adding 101 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries, accounting for 245 yards of total offense and all four of Valley’s touchdowns.

When the final whistle blew, the Delta Devils had 306 yards of total offense, including 162 on the ground and 144 through the air. They also dominated possession for 31:19 and converted six of its 13 third-down opportunities.

Mississippi Valley State now goes back to the road on Saturday, when they take on Texas Southern.

Stanford’s Injury Absences Lead to Week 5 Disaster

Stanford had multiple players out before its game against Wake Forest. Cornerback Brandon Nicholson, already ruled out for an extended period with a non-contact leg injury, was one of the six defensive backs unavailable, joined by Jason Hill Jr., Zaiden McDonald, Chris Garland, Breylan Thompson, and Jack Duckworth.

At linebacker, the group that carried the Stanford defense through its best moments of the season also had absences. Matt Rose, fresh off an ACC linebacker of the Week honor, was out, and Jahsiah Galvan didn’t suit up either.

Rose had been one of Stanford’s most important defensive players through four games, serving as the leader of the defense and ranking second in the ACC with 38 tackles, while Galvan had just a 10-tackle performance against Georgia Tech.

Losing both at once left Stanford without two of its most experienced linebackers against a Wake Forest offense that finished with 519 total yards and converted 10 of 13 third downs. That offensive performance led to a 57-3 win for the Demon Deacons, and Stanford’s schedule doesn’t get any easier.

The Cardinal travel to face Notre Dame on the road, so they’ll need to get healthy soon.

Army and Navy Both Suffer Setbacks

Army struggled to stop a Louisiana Tech offense that gained 503 yards and averaged 8.8 yards per play. The Bulldogs had more than 240 yards both rushing and passing.

The Black Knights tried to come back late, bringing them within two points. Ultimately, their effort was short when an onside kick attempt with just more than a minute left to play went out of bounds. Army lost 31-29 and fell to 2-2 on the season.

Air Force beat Navy 14-9 after a strong performance from quarterback Liam Szarka and a defense that helped the team win. In the second quarter, Szarka attacked Navy’s defense with his arms and legs, helping set up both scoring drives with big passes. Szarka led the Falcons in rushing with 81 yards on 25 carries and scored the team’s only two touchdowns.

Navy was able to get back senior quarterback Braxton Woodson after he was limited to one snap the previous week while dealing with ankle soreness. Woodson went 1-for-3 for 3 yards, while Jackson Gutierrez handled most of the workload, completing 7-of-15 passes for 140 yards. His 68-yard touchdown pass to Truman Brasfield in the third quarter cut Air Force’s lead to 14-9.

Ultimately, Air Force’s defense came up big when Navy had one final opportunity late in the fourth quarter. A play-clock violation backed up the Midshipmen with 2:13 remaining before Max Mustell sacked Gutierrez and the Falcons broke up a deep pass attempt.

Yale QB Wins Game One Day After Losing Father

One day after losing his father, Yale quarterback Dante Reno threw for 298 yards and four touchdowns in a 41-24 comeback win over Merrimack.

Reno played less than 24 hours after Yale announced his father, Tony Reno, died on Friday at age 52 after battling a rare brain disorder. Tony Reno served as Yale’s football coach for 14 years before taking a medical leave of absence in December and stepping away in February.

Yale triumphed over Merrimack 21-7 in the second quarter Saturday but outscored its opponent 34-3 over the rest of the game. Dante Reno, a junior and second-year starter, completed 22 of 39 passes for four touchdowns and an interception while rushing for a career-high 39 yards.

“I know my dad,” Reno said postgame. “He would want nothing (more) than for me to go out there and play, not miss practice. Go out there, go to school, be around the guys. We have a culture here that not everybody has in the country.”

Reno later added in a post on X: “This one’s for you Pops.”

South Dakota State Strengthens Its Case for FCS No. 1 Ranking

South Dakota State has taken over the top spot in both major Football Championship Subdivision polls, which were announced Monday.

The Jackrabbits, 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, moved into the No. 1 position in the Stats Perform media poll and the American Football Coaches Association coaches’ rankings after winning at then-No. 10/11 Illinois State, 31-14 on Oct. 3.

SDSU held the No. 1 ranking two years ago as part of a streak of 29 consecutive weeks atop the Stats Perform media poll that covered portions of the 2022 and 2024 seasons, as well as all of the 2023 campaign.

Florida Atlantic Scores Two Kick-Return TDs Before Offense Takes the Field

It’s not very often you see a team score 21 points before the offense takes the field, but Florida Atlantic did. It defeated FCS opponent Texas Southern 66-10 Saturday for its fourth straight win.

Leonard Farrow scored consecutive kick return touchdowns in the first quarter, tying 26 other players for the FBS record for most kick return touchdowns in a single game. He became the first player since Baylor’s Richard Reese in 2023 to accomplish the feat.

After Farrow’s back-to-back house calls, Wilky Dennard handed FAU a 21-3 lead on a scoop-and-score. The Owls didn’t take their first offensive snap until 2:21 left in the first quarter. By then, Texas Southern had already committed two turnovers.