Arizona State Football: Michigan and Illinois Upsets Give Hope for ASU at Oregon

It has been a big day in college football so far. Division play has really begun, and it has been pretty eventful so far for some ranked teams.

We have seen some major upsets. The day started with the No. 23 Michigan State Spartans upsetting instate rivals No. 11 Michigan at home.

Coming into the game, Michigan was undefeated and heavily favored to enter the BCS ranks. Of course there were high hopes for the Spartans coming into the season, so there was not much surprise here.

The Spartans took care of Denard Robinson, who has been one of the most electrifying players of the 2011 season. Robinson was knocked out in the fourth quarter, but the game was already getting far out of reach.

The upsets continued in the Big 10, as No. 16 Illinois lost to unranked Ohio State 17-7. Illinois was coming into the game undefeated, and Ohio State just hasn't been the team they were in the past. With the return of Ohio State senior running back Daniel Herron, Ohio State was able to easily take care of Illinois on the road.

Illinois had a chance to take a nice spot in the BCS if they started out 7-0, but now it will be interesting to see where they fall considering their competition thus far this season.

The upsets also reached out to the Big 12. Even though No. 20 Baylor and No. 21 Texas A&M are so close in the rankings, no one likely expected the Robert Griffin-led Bears to lose in such lopsided fashion. The Bears lost 55-28, dropping them to 4-2 on the season.

Griffin, who has been one of the best performing quarterbacks this season, was actually outplayed by A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who threw six touchdowns compared to Griffin's three. Still, Griffin threw for 430 yards, but the Bears offense was just outplayed in the end.

We saw an upset in the ACC as well, as unranked Virginia took down No. 12 Georgia Tech at home. 

The game was close, but Virginia ultimately squeezed out with a 24-21 win with a scoreless second half. Georgia Tech's passing game was invisible, though. Quarterback Tevin Washington only threw the ball eight times, completing two passes while also tossing two interceptions.

Washington was effective on the ground, though, as he gained 115 yards on 26 carries for two touchdowns. Virginia's defense was just incredibly effective against the 6-0 Yellow Jackets.

There are many games still going on, and there is no doubting that we could see some more upsets. Perhaps the biggest upset of the night would be in tonight's final game of No. 18 Arizona State at No. 9 Oregon.

This game has huge implications for both teams following today's upsets. Whoever wins has a great shot of now entering the top 10 in tomorrow's BCS rankings. 

The Sun Devils have a huge challenge on their hands in upsetting Oregon, as the Ducks rarely lose at home, especially at night. With star running back LaMichael James out, though, the Sun Devils have an opportunity to continue today's trend.

Quarterback Darron Thomas will be in control, but he has certainly limited himself on the ground this season. If the Sun Devils can stop Thomas, they could take over this game.

It will not be easy for the Sun Devils, but today we have seen things that many didn't expect coming into the day.

The Sun Devils will need a big game from their trio of juniors in quarterback Brock Osweiler, running back Cameron Marshall and middle linebacker Vontaze Burfict. All three have been contributing significantly to the Sun Devils' 5-1 start, so look for them to try and continue their efforts tonight against the Ducks.

In their last three games, Arizona State has forced 14 turnovers on their opponents. Those teams were Oregon State, USC and Utah. Oregon is a whole different animal, but there is no reason to dismiss this defense's efforts as of late.

Autzen Stadium will be loud, especially with College Game Day on campus. Don't expect the Ducks fans to be easy on the Sun Devils, but with an early defensive surge by ASU, there could perhaps be another upset on the day.