College Football Week 7: Ohio State a BCS Dud and 25 Things We Learned
Every time I think college football can't get any better, the next weekend trumps the one that just went by.
That's exactly what happened this weekend as we'll nickname this past Saturday "Upset Saturday," because there were more than a few of those just 24 hours ago.
There were several schools that looked like they could make some noise the day before the official BCS rankings were released but instead were left wondering what went wrong.
I'm not going to give you which schools fell victim to the "upset bug," but we'll cover each and every one as we wrap up an incredible Week 7 in college football.
No. 25: Notre Dame Gets a Rest Before Navy
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A week before they travel to take on the Naval Academy, Notre Dame had a warm-up game in South Bend against Western Michigan.
A game the Irish easily won, 44-20. Quarterback Dayne Crist threw for 255 yards and three TDs, all of which ended up in the hands of wide reciever Michael Floyd who had those three scores and added 157 yards receiving.
No. 24: Boise State's Win Over Virginia Tech Gaining Strength
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After Virginia Tech's loss at home to James Madison and after they had just come off a hard-fought loss to Boise State, people began calling the Broncos' win a "soft win over a bad team."
Since those back-to-back losses, the Hokies are a perfect 5-0 and are back in the top 25 at No. 23.
Still want to call that win "soft?"
No. 23: Rutgers' Eric LeGrand Suffers Paralyzing Injury
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During Rutgers' 23-20 overtime win over Army, defensive tackle Eric LeGrand was paralyzed from the neck down after making a tackle.
LeGrand was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center where friends, family, teammates and head coach Greg Schiano spent a considerable amount of time with him.
Schiano told the media, “As I talked to our team, we’re just going to believe that Eric LeGrand is going to walk onto that field again with us. That’s what we believe. We’ll see with the speed of which that happens.”
My thoughts and prayers are with him as well as his family.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
No. 22: N.C. State Was Destined for the Rankings
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After last Saturday, N.C. State was on the outside looking in on the top 25. They had received the highest number of votes of those outside of the rankings.
All they needed was a win over East Carolina on Saturday and they were almost assured a spot in the top 25. Unfortunately for the Wolfpack, they didn't get the win, as they were beaten 33-27 at home.
No. 21: Tim Brewster Out at Minnesota
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After a 28-17 loss to Purdue on Saturday, the University of Minnesota fired head coach Tim Brewster.
News surfaced this afternoon that the school had reached out to Tony Dungy, an alumni of the school, to see if he was interested in taking over.
Dungy denied their request but did say he would help them find a suitable replacement.
No. 20: Arizona Loses Quarterback Nick Foles
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The Arizona Wildcats will be without their starting quarterback, Nick Foles, after he suffered a sprained knee against Washington State on Saturday.
Taking over for Foles will be junior Matt Scott.
No. 19: Texas A&M Struggles Continue
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Texas A&M had a big chance to prove that they weren't as bad as the team that had turned the ball over nine times in three games.
Missouri wasn't about to let them get a single opportunity to prove a thing as they took a 16-0 lead at halftime, increasing it to 30-3 by the end of the third and ended the game with a 30-9 blowout win over the Aggies.
No. 18: Montel Harris, the Lone Bright Spot for Boston College
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Boston College hung with Florida State the entire game but just couldn't make one more big play to come out with a win over the Seminoles.
What they can look back on and smile about is the efforts of running back Montel Harris, who finished the day with 26 carries for 191 yards, averaging 7.3 yards per carry.
No. 17: Hawaii Takes Down Another Defector
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Hawaii is enjoying themselves these days, and I'm sure their writers are as well.
They took down one so-called "traitor" in Fresno State at Bulldog Stadium and completed the "traitor" sweep, taking down 19th-ranked Nevada 27-21.
Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick didn't help his team's case much, turning the ball over four times, including two interceptions, one of which sealed the game for Hawaii.
No. 16: Jake Locker Has a Big Day for the Huskies
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The Huskies needed a big effort from their quarterback on Saturday and that's exactly what they got.
Jake Locker had 286 yards passing and five touchdowns, two of which came in overtime to help his team knock off Oregon State 35-34.
No. 15: A Rivalry Ends in a Blowout
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This is usually a big rivalry in the Mountain West. Between TCU, Utah and BYU, one of these three teams is always at the top of the conference.
TCU and BYU met in Fort Worth, Texas to try and continue that rivalry. Except BYU apparently forgot to bring their defense along with them.
The Horned Frogs of TCU ran up 405 yards of total offense, got four touchdown passes from quarterback Andy Dalton and held BYU to just 147 yards of offense in a 31-3 beat down of the Cougars.
No. 14: Air Force Falls to the Aztecs
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San Diego State was back home after a disappointing loss to BYU a week earlier. A game that some would say was stolen from them thanks to a poor call by the replay officials.
A week later, the Aztecs took their frustration out on the 23rd-ranked Air Force Falcons and did just enough to upset them 27-25.
The game looked to be tied after Air Force had apparently made their two-point conversion attempt to tie the game, but after a replay showed otherwise, the Aztecs got the break they wanted and a win they fought for.
No. 13: USC Side Steps Cal
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USC was apparently ready for Cal, more so than the Bears were ready for the Trojans.
USC quarterback Matt Barkley threw for 352 yards and tied a school record of five touchdown passes en route to a 48-14 throttling of Cal.
The Trojans had a 42-point halftime lead in this game.
No. 12: Florida Forgets Their Offense
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A week after scoring 29 points against LSU, a game the Gators felt got taken from them, they apparently forgot they had another game this weekend.
Either that, or their offense decided to take the day off.
The Gators scored just seven points in a 10-7 loss to Mississippi State. They had a chance to tie but a 42-yard field goal sailed wide right and the party was on for the Bulldogs.
No. 11: Alabama Back on Track
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After a disappointing 35-21 loss to South Carolina, the Alabama Crimson Tide brought their shutdown defense back against Ole Miss.
They held Jeremiah Masoli and the Rebel offense to just 41 yards in the entire first half.
Alabama went on to win 23-10.
No. 10: Auburn, Arkansas Put on Offensive Show
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Auburn and Arkansas gave fans everything they could have hoped for—points and a lot of them.
The two teams combined for 1,034 yards of total offense, 565 yards passing, 469 yards rushing, 59 first downs, 14 penalties, two replay calls that could have gone either way and 109 total points.
Every fan's dream right?
Well, the only fans that ended up happy at the end of the night were those that were cheering for Auburn, as the Tigers took home a 65-43 win over Arkansas.
No. 9: Oregon up to No. 1 Without Playing a Game
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The Oregon Ducks had a bye week and still made a big move in the top 25.
Thanks to Ohio State, the Ducks now stand at the top of the college football mountain at the No. 1 spot in the polls.
We'll have to wait for the BCS rankings to come out later tonight before we know if they are the No. 1 team in their eyes.
No. 8: Iowa Upends Michigan
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Quarterback Ricky Stanzi and running back Adam Robinson did everything they could think of to make sure their team left with a win over Michigan.
It worked.
Stanzi finished the day with 247 yards through the air and three touchdowns, while Robinson added 144 yards on the ground.
Michigan lost quarterback Denard Robinson to an arm injury, but head coach Rich Rodriguez says Robinson should be good to go for next weekend.
No. 7: South Carolina Did What?
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One week after the South Carolina Gamecocks upset top-ranked Alabama, they did the unthinkable.
The Kentucky Wildcats overcame a 18-point halftime deficit and shocked the Gamecocks 31-28. It was Kentucky's first win over a Steve Spurrier coached team in 18 tries.
No. 6: Rob Harley Finishes 2-3 This Week
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Rob Harley, former Ohio State defensive back, was our guest picker this week. Here's a quick rundown of how he did.
Pick 1: Arkansas over Auburn (Loss)
Pick 2: Iowa over Michigan (Win)
Pick 3: Nebraska over Texas (Loss)
Pick 4: TCU over BYU (Win)
Pick 5: Ohio State over Wisconsin (Loss)
Overall finish: 2-3
Guest picker overall record: 11-8
No. 5: Nebraska Gets Beat at Home by Texas
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Texas handed Nebraska a parting gift in what could be their final matchup, as the Cornhuskers are headed for the Big Ten after this season.
In a game no one saw coming, the Longhorns were so good that it got Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez benched in favor of their backup.
Shows you what I get for picking Nebraska.
No. 4: Heisman Race Shakeup
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Taylor Martinez benched, Ryan Mallett leaves with a concussion and Denard Robinson re-injures his shoulder.
Is anyone going to challenge Auburn quarterback Cam Newton for the Heisman Trophy?
No. 3: Ohio State Gets Knocked off the Top
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Ohio State was the top team in the country after Alabama suffered a loss to South Carolina.
The Buckeyes held that spot for just one week after they, too, were bitten by the "upset bug" at the hands of the Wisconsin Badgers on Saturday.
No. 2: BCS Poll Should Be Interesting
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The first BCS rankings are due out later this evening and they should be very interesting.
After losses by Ohio State, Florida, South Carolina and Nebraska, the top 10 could have a vastly different look than what we first expected a few weeks ago.
No. 1: In My Own Words
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Just when I thought the look of college football couldn't get any stranger, it surpasses even my own expectations.
Alabama loses last week and gives way to Ohio State at the top of the polls. Ohio State holds it for one week before getting beaten by Wisconsin on Saturday.
Now, it's Oregon's turn to see how long they can hold the top spot in college football. They are in the driver's seat and hold their fate in their own hands. Win out and you might be a lock for a spot in the BCS title game.
If the Ducks end up losing, Boise State and TCU, the two teams right behind Oregon, will start a fire storm of debate that college football has never seen before.
Hold on to your hats folks, the ride is just getting started.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
