College Football 2011: Week 3 Surprises and Disappointments

Every season has its share of ups and downs, surprises and disappointments.  This year is certainly no different and this week is holding true as well.

Big names sometimes struggle with "lesser opponents" and sometimes ill-timed mistakes create bad situations for good teams.  It's all part of the game and why the old saying "that's why they play the game" holds true.

Already this season, we've seen TCU struggle, Auburn struggle with Utah State, Ohio State struggle to put away Toledo and Georgia drop from the rankings like a lead-coated rock.

We'll attempt to keep up with some of the biggest surprises and disappointments of the week.

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Surprising and Disappointing: Auburn Loses to Clemson 38-24

We saw Auburn struggle against Utah State.  Then we saw them storm back to knock off Mississippi State and earn their way back into the Top 25.

This game was a back-and-forth affair with both teams throwing shot after shot at the other.

The first quarter looked as though Auburn would run away with the contest.  The Tigers jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead and threatened to turn the thing into a blowout. 

Then Clemson went on a 21-7 second quarter run to tie the game up at the half.

Clemson took control in the third quarter to go up 35-24 and added another field goal in the fourth to ice the game.

Clemson isn't a bad team.  They're now 3-0.  So, why is this so surprising?

For starters, Clemson's first two wins came against Troy and Wofford.  They weren't exactly high-profile opponents.  What's more, Wofford made a game of it, losing by only eight points.

After Auburn's win over Mississippi State, they looked all the world like a team that belonged in the Top 25 and could at least make waves in the SEC. 

Today, Auburn benefited from a fumble recovery and an interception, but still couldn't pull out the win.  It was both a little surprising and disappointing.

Surprising: Iowa's James Vandenberg Passes for 399 Yards in Win over Pitt

While Iowa may not be a Top 25 team, and may not be looking like a Big Ten title contender at the moment, what James Vandenberg did today against Pitt was pretty special.

You've got to go to the fourth quarter to see the brilliance in this performance.  Hey, he's not a Heisman candidate, okay? 

Through the first three quarters, Iowa looked pretty mediocre and Vandenberg really looked like he was in his first year as the full-time starter.  He gave up an interception and repeatedly threw into traffic or made poor decisions.

As a result (though not necessarily directly) Iowa trailed Pitt 24-10 heading into the final quarter.  Another field goal put the Hawkeyes into no-man's land and it looked like the Hawkeyes were going to start their 2011 campaign at 1-2 (they lost last week in 3OT to Iowa State).

Then Vandenberg and his offense came alive.

At one point in the fourth quarter, Vandenberg completed ten straight passes as he led his Hawkeyes in a hurry-up offense to score after score after score.  Literally.

Vandenberg accounted for all of Iowa's 21 fourth quarter points as he led Iowa to a 21 unanswered points and an epic come-from-behind victory.

In the process, he racked up 399 yards on 36 completions and three touchdowns to one interception.

What makes this so surprising, besides the huge turnaround victory?

Iowa is a run-first team.  The pass is typically not utilized by the Hawkeyes so intensely.  Of course, when your back is against the wall, what else do you do but pass?

Well, for Iowa and their fans, this is a wonderfully surprising twist of fates.  As they usually make hay on the back of thundering running backs, to turn around and win on the back of such a great up-tempo pass attack is hugely surprising.

For Pitt, it's also incredibly disappointing as they watched a 3-0 start and a 17-point lead fade into the Iowa sunset.

Surprising: Notre Dame Destroys Michigan State

Notre Dame came into this game at 0-2.  Michigan State meanwhile, came in at 2-0.  Michigan State is (for a few more hours) ranked in the Top 15.  Notre Dame hasn't been ranked in nearly two weeks.

This is a huge victory for the Irish and a bit surprising.

Michigan State has a dangerous offense.  Edwin Baker and Le'Veon Bell are both quality running backs.  Kirk Cousins is an excellent and veteran quarterback.  B.J. Cunningham is a dangerous and veteran receiver.

Notre Dame got burned last week by Michigan.  The stage was set for the Spartans to walk away with a big victory over the Irish today.

That didn't happen.  It didn't even come close to happening.

Right from the beginning, Notre Dame dominated the Spartans.  While Michigan State put up as many yards as Notre Dame, they couldn't put points on the board.  Instead, Notre Dame jumped out to a 21-10 first half lead and just added to it as the game wore on.

In the end, the Fighting Irish blew out Michigan State 31-13, handing the Spartans their first loss and a ton of questions that need to be answered.

Disappointing: Penn State Squeaks by Temple

It's one thing for Penn State to struggle against Alabama.  But Temple? 

The Owls had the Nittany Lions down 10-7 at the half, and that's the way the game stayed until late in the fourth quarter.  Is the Temple defense really that tough?

I somehow doubt it.

The stats would bare it out to a degree, as well.  After all, Penn State put up 308 total yards to Temple's 198.  They put up 216 passing yards to Temple's 123.

Yet, Penn State couldn't find ways to get points on the board.  Drives stalled out.  An interception was thrown. 

The ground game never got going and the pass game only worked to chew up yards, but couldn't score.

This is the Penn State team that was supposed to potentially throw their hats in the ring for a Big Ten championship? 

A win is a win, and right now Penn State has to be happy with that.  Still, to allow Temple to hold them to just two touchdowns is disappointing. 

This team should have won this game by at least 17 points.

Disappointing: Are Pitt and Syracuse Really Going to Break Up the Big East?

With all of the conference realignment talk going around lately, none of it centered on Pitt, Syracuse and the Big East.  At least, not in the sense it is now.

Both Pitt and Syracuse have sent letters to the ACC, asking for admission into their conference. 

Could this be the death of the Big East as a football conference?  If Pitt and Syracuse are looking at leaving, who might be next to bolt?  Will it matter?

The Big East had scored something of a bonus by getting TCU to make the long trek East.  While the Horned Frogs may not have the biggest or best facilities in the nation, they were bringing a strong program with a growing following that could help the conference maintain its automatic BCS qualifier status.

Now, it's losing two long-time teams, one of which has been a fairly consistent contender for the conference title.

While the Big East may not play the most exciting football in the nation, it's always a little disappointing to see a conference tossed asunder, especially by its own members. 

This isn't a case of the ACC, Big Ten or SEC pillaging the Big East into non-existence, as so many expansion scenarios have predicted over the last two years.  This is two teams preemptively looking for new homes.

Now questions will begin with a sense of urgency.  Who can they get to replace these two schools?  Will those additions be enough to maintain their AQ status? 

Or worse, will it simply cease to exist as a football conference at all? 

Let the debates begin...again.

Disappointing: Barrett Trotter, QB Auburn

Barrett Trotter's performance this week wasn't what the Tigers needed in their 24-38 loss to Clemson.

I'm not trying to pick on Auburn this week.  It's just disappointing.  As good as they looked last week, they needed the same kind of performance all the way around, and blew it.

Trotter was just 12 of 25 passing for 198 yards a touchdown and an interception.  He ran the ball four times for 14 yards.

The yards don't bother me.  We've seen solid performances this year from quarterbacks (Wisconsin QB Russell Wilson) who didn't throw for tons of yards.  If the offense doesn't need the QB to take chances airing it out, then fine. 

However, Auburn needed Trotter to be more than he was.

His counterpart, Tajh Boyd threw for 386 yards and four touchdowns without an interception.  He was accurate, efficient, and put a lot of points on the board for his team, while protecting the ball the whole time.

Granted, Clemson didn't have Michael Dyer running for 151 yards.  That inflates Boyd's numbers a little.

Still, Auburn's attack is not balanced, and it hurt them today. 

A dangerous pass attack backs defenses off the ball.  It forces them to think twice about loading the box and selling out on the run.

Trotter didn't provide that for his offense. 

Disa—wait for it—pointing.