Carolina Beats Alabama-Last 2 Minutes & Post-Game Celebration

The 19th-ranked University of South Carolina Gamecocks thrashed the #1 team in the nation, the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday, October 9, 2010 by a score of 35-21. The greatest win ever for the University of South Carolina football program, this afternoon was a historic one: -The highest-ranked opponent ever beaten by the Gamecocks -Steve Spurrier's 107th SEC win, placing him alone in second place, behind only Bear Bryant (of Alabama). -The Gamecocks' first win in the SEC on CBS (3:30 slot) -Snaps a 19-game Alabama win streak (29 regular season games) -Greg McElroy's first loss since 8th grade -Marks the third major Gamecock sport to defeat a Number 1 team in the calendar year 2010 (Basketball over Kentucky in January, Baseball over Arizona State in June at CWS were the other two).



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EK2fWlv7-TA&hl=en

College Football - Florida, Oklahoma, USC, Virginia Tech, East Carolina and Buffalo Win Titles

It was the biggest game of college football regular season play, No. 1 and unbeaten Alabama (12-0) versus No. 2 Florida (11-1) at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta for the Southeastern Conference Championship and the right to play in the BCS National Championship Game.

When it mattered the most, the Florida Gators-led by junior quarterback and last year's Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow-showed up. Tebow was 0-5 in games when his Gators trailed in the second half, but he overcame that statistic Saturday (12-6-08) by throwing the last of his 3 touchdown passes with less than 3 minutes remaining to seal Florida's 31-20 victory.

Despite trailing in the second half, Florida did win the first half 17-10 and also won the second half 14-10. Tebow was 14-of-22 passing for 216 yards and led his team in rushing with another 57 yards. When Florida needed a play the most, Tebow played a big role in making it happen.

The win gave Florida another SEC title under coach Urban Meyer and its second trip in three years to the BCS National Championship Game. The Gators routed Ohio State for the national championship in 2006. Florida will now face No. 4 Oklahoma for the BCS national title in Miami (FL).

Oklahoma staked its claim to face Florida by dusting off No. 19 Missouri, 62-21, for the Big 12 Championship. All you need to know about this game is that it was 38-7 at the half.

The 4 teams in contention for the BCS game during the final two weeks of the season were Alabama, Florida, Texas and Oklahoma. All had one loss except Alabama. Florida, which eventually prevailed over Alabama, had lost at home to Ole Miss 31-30 in its 4th game of the season, and then rattled off 8 wins in-a-row by huge margins before ruining Alabama's run for the national title.

Oklahoma had lost at home to Texas 45-35 in its 6th game, and then routed 6 teams before its big win over Missouri. The Sooners scored 60+ points in their last 5 wins.

The Texas Longhorns won 8 straight before losing on the road to Texas Tech, 39-33. After winning their last 3, they needed Oklahoma to lose to Missouri to have any chance at a title shot.

Elsewhere, No. 12 and unbeaten Ball State (12-0) joined Alabama by losing its first game in the Mid American Conference Championship as Turner Gill's 7-5 Buffalo team took down the Cardinals, 42-24, for the title. In just 3 years, coach Turner Gill has turned around a Buffalo program that was one of the worst in America.

East Carolina (8-4) hung on and hung tough in beating Tulsa (10-2) in the Conference USA Championship game, 27-24. Coach Skip Holtz won 3 games, including victories over Virginia Tech and West Virginia, lost 3 games and then won 5 of his last 6 before beating Tulsa for the title.

Virginia Tech (8-4) went on to capture the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship by beating No. 18 Boston College (8-4), 30-12. Not to be outdone, Southern Cal kept UCLA at bay on the road, 28-7, to win its 7th straight Pac 10 Championship and 4th straight BCS bowl appearance.

With Alabama and Ball State losing their first game, only No. 7 Utah at 12-0 and No. 9 Boise State at 12-0 remained unbeaten among the 119 Division 1-A schools.

In other action, it was No. 19 Pittsburgh on the road over Connecticut 34-10, California at home horsewhipped the winless 0-12 Washington Huskies 48-7, Navy shut out Army 34-zip, Arizona ripped Arizona State 31-10, and No. 13 Cincinnati on the road outlasted Hawaii 29-24.

So it's Florida and Oklahoma in the BCS National Championship Game, and the other 4 BCS Bowl Games will find Penn State and Southern Cal in the Rose Bowl, Ohio State and Texas in the Fiesta Bowl, Utah and Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, and Cincinnati and Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl.

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

College Football Wrap-Up Week 6 - 3 Unbeaten Teams Fall and South Carolina Upsets Alabama, 35-21

Three unbeaten teams bit the dust this week, and none was bigger than the No. 1-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide who showed that South Carolina is not only a very good team, but is tough to beat at home.

The Gamecocks spotted 'Bama a field goal and then South Carolina's Stephen Garcia threw 3 touchdown passes to put the Gamecocks up, 21-3. Garcia would go on to have the best day of his collegiate career, completing 17-of-20 passes (85%) for 201 yards.

When the Tide tried to play themselves back into the game, South Carolina's Marcus Lattimore took over, scoring once on a 9-yard TD pass, and rushing for 2 short-yardage touchdowns while piling up 93 yards on the ground on 23 carriers (4.04).

About all Alabama had to take home with its hurt pride and a 35-21 loss was the fact that its defense had held another runner to less than 100 yards gained for the umpteenth game.

The defense was really all South Carolina's as the Gamecocks sacked Alabama's Greg McElroy 7 times. Their offense shredded the country's top-rated scoring defense, putting the most points on the board since a 41-34 'Bama lost to LSU in 2007.

The win lifted South Carolina from 19th place to 10th in the AP Top 25 Poll.

South Carolina's victory was its first-ever against a No. 1-ranked team. The Gamecocks win snapped defending national champion Alabama's 19-game win streak, and threw the national championship race wide open.

There are now only 13 BCS teams left with an undefeated record. Ohio State, Oregon, TCU, Auburn, LSU, Michigan State and Nevada are all 6-0. Boise State, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Utah, Oklahoma State and Missouri are all 5-0. There are 120 Division 1-A teams.

The second biggest upset of the week was due in large part to sophomore quarterback Ryan Katz of Oregon State. Katz declared himself as a quality Pac-10 QB by completing 30-of-42 passes (71%) for 393 yards and 2 touchdowns, and rushing for another score as the Beavers traveled to 9th-ranked Arizona and took down the unbeaten Wildcats, 29-27.

It was a huge win for Oregon State as the Arizona defense had been ranked 2nd nationally, giving up only 230 yards per game.

The Wildcats' Nick Foles, one of the Pac-10's best, completed 35 of 46 (76%) for 440 yards and 3 touchdowns, but it was not enough. Worse yet, Arizona was coming off a bye week and had double the time to prepare for Oregon State's visit. The Beaver victory was their 5th straight against Arizona on its home field.

The third biggest upset was the 17th-ranked Michigan State Spartans, a 4.5-point underdog, upending and then thrashing the 18th-ranked Michigan Wolverines at the Big House in Ann Arbor, so-called because it is the largest football stadium in the country, holding 113,000+ fans.

Michigan State jumped out to a 17-10 halftime lead and then won the 2nd half 17-7, and the game, 34-17. And it was not close at the end.

Michigan's wunderkind, superstar quarterback Denard Robinson, who came into the game on everyone's Heisman list and leading the nation in rushing with an average 181 yards a game for his first 5 games, looked a lot more human when the game was over.

Robinson was held to 86 yards on 21 carries (a 4.1 average per carry) and was intercepted 3 times. This was primarily because Michigan State was the first team Robinson played against this year that actually had a defense.

Meanwhile, Spartan running back Edwin Baker rushed for 147 yards on 22 carries (6.68 ypc) and scored on a 61-yard touchdown dash. I say dash because Michigan State's offensive line opened up a hole that a Mac truck could have driven through.

Michigan State's outstanding freshman, Le'Veon Bell, picked up another 78 yards on 7 carries (11.14 ypc), and scored on a 41-yard run that the offensive line opened up like a crater. Not to be outdone, Michigan State's 3rd outstanding runner, Larry Caper, picked up another 34 yards and scored on an 8-yard run.

Michigan, which had the 2nd-best total offense in the nation at 565 yards per game, was held to 377 yards while Michigan State rolled up 536 yards, 249 rushing and 287 passing. Spartan QB Kirk Cousins went 18-for-25 (72%) for 284 yards and a 42-yard TD strike to Mark Dell.

The Wolverines got a good butt-kicking, the Spartans won their 3rd straight over Michigan, and by doing so Michigan State became the dominate team in the State of Michigan.

The fourth biggest upset saw 12th-ranked LSU travel to 14th-ranked Florida and slide past the Gators, 33-29, in a game Florida will not soon forget. The Gators saw their unbeaten record fall by losing 31-6 last week at Alabama, and hosting LSU was the Gators 3rd ranked opponent in 3 weeks, and proved too much.

The Louisiana gambler, coach Les Miles, rolled the dice again against Florida by keeping the winning drive alive with a successful fake field goal that allowed Jarrett Lee to throw a 3-yard pass to Terrence Toliver for the victory with 6 seconds remaining.

Worse yet, LSU tried to run the same play to the same player, Toliver, on their previous last-second play. It was successfully defensed the first time, but not the second time as Toliver, with a height advantage, made it count.

Last week Miles was criticized for poor clock management in the final moments as Tennessee almost upset the Tigers, but LSU won anyway, 16-14. Miles just smiles, and wins again as opposing coaches pull out their hair in frustration.

The fake field goal by LSU you may never see again. With 35 seconds left and clock ticking, the holder Derek Helton throws a no-look pitch over his head that bounces off the turf and into the hands of place-kicker Josh Jasper who scampers for the first down to keep the winning drive alive. They couldn't pull that stunt off again in the circus.

Nonetheless, LSU is 6-0, fat, sassy, and really lucky. This is college football, folks, expect the unexpected and unanticipated EVERY week - that's why it is so much more exciting and topsy-turvy than pro football.

The fifth upset saw the 23rd-ranked Florida State Siminoles fly into Miami and upend the 13th-ranked Hurricanes, 45-17. The Hurricanes saw a lot of Jermaine Thomas' taillights as he scored a career-high 3 touchdowns (1 passing and 2 running) during the first 21 minutes.

Miami players then spent the rest of their time chasing Siminole Chris Thomspon's rear end as he rushed for 158 yards and logged in the longest run Miami has allowed in its illustrious history - a 90-yard scoring jaunt. It was an easy win for Florida State.

The win lifted Florida State from 23rd place to 16th in the AP Top 25 Poll.

Six other Top 25 teams had impressive victories Saturday.

They included the 5th-ranked Texas Christian University Horned Frogs who ran their record to 6-0 with a 45-zip shut out of Wyoming, and the 24th-ranked Missouri Tigers who stayed unbeaten with their 5th victory, a 26-zip shut out of Colorado at home.

Seventh-ranked Nebraska ran its record to 5-0 as the Cornhuskers traveled to Kansas State and handed the Wildcats their first loss, 48-13. Some thought K-State should have been ranked with a 4-0 mark. Now we see why they were not.

The 2nd-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes (6-0) hosted Indiana and reminded the Hoosiers why Ohio State is unbeaten and the premier team in the Big 10, thumping them 38-10, while showing a lot more offensive weapons.

Tenth-ranked Utah went on the road and won convincingly while staying unbeaten in notching its 5th straight victory over Iowa State, 68-27 -- a 41-point margin. The 4th-ranked Boise State Broncos remained unbeaten while hosting Toledo and beating the Rockets, 57-14 -- a 43-point margin.

Eight other Top 25 teams won, but were hardly dominate in doing so. Two of them were lucky to get out of town alive.

The 8th-ranked Auburn Tigers scored 31 points in the first half against Kentucky, and then needed a last-second field goal to nip the Wildcats, 37-34. Eleventh-ranked Arkansas was held scoreless by Texas A&M in the last quarter and slipped out of town with a 24-17 victory.

The 16th-ranked Stanford Cardinal hosted Southern California and darn near lost. Each team scored a touchdown in each of the first 3 quarters, and then USC added a second touchdown in the last quarter with barely a minute to play and took a 35-34 lead.

This happened because Stanford's kicker missed the extra point try after the Cardinal matched USC with its second score in the last quarter. The kicker, Nate Whitaker, redeemed himself with a 30-yard field goal with 4 seconds to play to give Stanford the win, 37-35.

Elsewhere, the 21st-ranked Nevada Wolf Pack had a hardly impressive 35-13 win over an extremely weak San Jose State excuse for a team. Third-ranked Oregon was not much better as the Ducks downed a rebuilding program at Washington State, 43-23.

The 22nd-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys apparently spent more time in the saddle than on the ground as they could only beat an absolutely terrible Louisiana Lafayette team, 54-28. Okie-State gave up 4 touchdowns to a team ranked 172nd out of 120 Division I-A teams. Please don't ask me if they have a defense.

Oklahoma State is now 5-0; little wonder with opponents like Louisiana Lafayette. The Cowboys strength of schedule is currently 118th among 120 teams. In other words, they have played jack and diddly so far. All of this nonsense might stop when they host Nebraska in two weeks.

The 20th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers hosted Minnesota and beat the Golden Gophers (whatever a Golden Gopher is), 41-23. The Badgers were at home and should have won bigger, badder and better. And 25th-ranked Air Force took down a very weak, visiting Colorado State team, 49-27.

I am frankly surprised at how many top-ranked teams this year give up so many points while winning. Very few teams play defense and it is beginning to seem like they all give up a lot of points, except TCU in its last two games, and they have played 5 weak sisters in going 6-0.

Copyright © 2010 Ed Bagley

College Football - No 24 Alabama Stuns No 9 Clemson, East Carolina Upsets No 17 Virginia Tech

After a topsy-turvy 2007 college football season full of surprises, the 2008 college football season opened like business as usual. No less than 20 teams among the AP's Top 25 Preseason Poll won their opener.

It would be hard to call 2 of the 5 losing teams as an upset-No. 9 Clemson lost at home to No. 24 Alabama 34-10, and No. 20 Illinois lost to No. 6 Missouri 52-42 on the road. This was a preseason poll and all 4 teams were ranked.

The only three real upsets were No. 17 Virginia Tech's loss to host East Carolina, 27-22, since East Carolina was unranked, No. 25 Pittsburgh losing its opener at home to unranked Bowling Green 27-17, and No. 18 Tennessee's overtime loss to host UCLA 27-24.

The 20 ranked winning teams racked up some pretty impressive opening victories:

No. 1 Georgia hosted and defeated 1-AA Georgia Southern 45-21. Georgia hosts Central Michigan next, another easy opponent.

No. 2 Ohio State hosted and shut out 1-AA Youngstown State 43-0. Ohio State hosts in-state rival Ohio next.

No. 3 Southern California (USC) traveled to Virginia and won easily on the road 52-7. USC takes a week off and then hosts Ohio State on Sept. 13, giving them lots of time to prepare for the Buckeyes.

No. 4 Oklahoma hosted and ripped apart 1-AA Chattanooga 57-2. Oklahoma hosts Cincinnati next, another lightweight.

No. 5 Florida hosted Hawaii and gave the Warriors a taste of top competition, 56-10. Florida hosts in-state rival Miami next.

No. 6 Missouri hosted and defeated No. 20 Illinois 52-42. Both of these teams should be good again this year, but it does not appear than either of them has a defense against a good offense. Missouri hosts in-state rival Southeast Missouri State next while Illinois hosts in-state rival Eastern Illinois. Both should win easily.

No. 7 Louisiana State (LSU) saw 1-AA Appalachian State coming to Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge and promptly sent them packing with a 41-13 loss. LSU hosts Troy next. Troy should get run over.

No. 8 West Virginia hosted and defeated 1-AA Villanova 48-21. West Virginia travels to East Carolina next and the Mountaineers from the Big East Conference had better be on their game. The East Carolina Pirates from Conference USA are on a big time roll. Coach Skip Holtz led East Carolina past Boise State last year in the Hawaii Bowl, giving him two huge wins in a row.

No. 10 Auburn hosted and shut out Louisiana-Monroe 34-zip. Auburn hosts Southern Mississippi next.

No. 11 Texas hosted and smashed Florida Atlantic 52-10. Texas travels to in-state rival Texas-El Paso (UTEP) next, another easy opponent for the Longhorns.

No. 12 Texas Tech's pass-happy offense blew by 1-AA visitor Eastern Washington 49-24 and will travel to Nevada next.

No. 13 Wisconsin feasted on Akron 38-17 in the Badgers' home opener, and host Marshall next. Many pundits are looking at Wisconsin as a powerhouse in the Big Ten this year. Akron might agree.

No. 14 Kansas treated visiting Florida International like road kill in a 40-10 victory. The Jayhawks host weak Louisiana Tech next.

No. 15 Arizona State hosted and turned back 1-AA in-state rival Northern Arizona 30-13. Next up for the Sun Devils is visiting Stanford, which won a big game in its home opener against Oregon State 36-28.

No. 16 Brigham Young (BYU) hosted and stormed past 1-AA Northern Iowa 41-17 and now travels to Washington to face a young, inexperienced Husky team.

No. 17 Virginia Tech lost to host East Carolina 27-22 and should easily rebound when the Hokies host 1-AA Furman next. Trust me when I say it will not be a good day to be Furman. Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer, the master of special teams play, got beat when East Carolina's T. J. Lee scooped up his own blocked punt and ran it in for a 27-yard touchdown with 1:52 left to seal the Pirates' victory. Beamer and his band of Virginia Tech players will take it out on Furman. Virginia Tech should drop in the first regular-season AP Poll this week, especially since East Carolina was an unranked team.

No. 18 Tennessee traveled to UCLA and lost a heartbreaker to UCLA 27-24. The Volunteers led 14-7 at the half, led 14-10 after the 3rd quarter, watched UCLA take a 24-21 lead with 27 seconds left in the 4th quarter, managed to tie the game at 24, and then lost in overtime when UCLA's kicker made a 42-yard field goal and Tennessee's kicker missed a 34-yarder. The win represented the first game and first win for new coach Rick Neuheisel's UCLA coaching debut at his alma mater.

No. 19 South Florida hosted and stomped Tennessee-Martin 56-7. Next up for South Florida will be a trip to in-state rival Central Florida. South Florida surprised a lot of teams last year with a 9-4 record, including a 56-21 loss to Oregon in the Brut Sun Bowl.

No. 20 Illinois traveled to No. 6 Missouri and lost 52-42 in a high-scoring offensive shootout.

No. 21 Oregon hosted and put a licking on Washington 44-10. The Huskies, who only trailed 14-10 at the half, proved no match for Oregon's spread offense and speed. Oregon hosts Utah State next while Washington has its home opener against BYU. Coach Ty Willingham and his Washington players will be lucky to leave Husky Stadium with their shirts on after BYU gets done with them.

No. 22 Penn State hosted and stomped a mud hole in 1-AA Coastal Carolina 66-10. Penn State will host a very angry Oregon State team next. The Nittany Lions had better be ready because the Beavers play tough, hard-nosed football to say it kindly.

No. 23 Wake Forest traveled to Baylor and got the job done, 41-13.

No. 24 Alabama traveled to No. 9 Clemson and the Crimson Tide rolled out with an impressive 34-10 victory. We predicted that Clemson could be in trouble with a capital T, and in fact they were. Alabama led 23-3 at the half and outscored Clemson 11-7 in the second half. Alabama entertains Tulane next in the Crimson Tide's home opener. The Bryant-Denny Stadium will be rockin', and unless the Earth caves in, Alabama will be 2-0.

No. 25 Pittsburgh had its season opener at home against Bowling Green and came up short, losing to the Falcons from the Mid-American Conference, 27-17. Is Pittsburgh that bad? Yes. Bowling Green is a Mid-American Conference team and Pittsburgh plays in the Big East Conference. If Pittsburgh coach Dave Wannstedt keeps this up, he will never get any respect. Are you aware that Bowling Green won the Mid-American East title last year, went 8-4 overall and played in the GMAC Bowl? Yes, the Falcons lost to Tulsa 63-7 in their bowl game, but at least they went.

Pittsburgh last year was 5-7 overall and spent the season sucking pond water. A lot of fans are in prayer in Pittsburgh, hoping the Panthers will get better. Will someone please inform rabid Panther Nation fans that it is OK to pray like it depends on God, but the Panther players need to act like it depends on them. Pittsburgh should fall right out of the first regular-season AP Poll and take its rightful place in obscurity.

Seven of the 8 non-ranked teams that needed to win their opener did. Only Michigan, which lost its opener at home last year to 1-AA Appalachian State 34-32, managed to lose again at home in the Big House to Utah, 25-23. The loss represented the first game and first loss for new coach Rich Rodriguez. Had Michigan not come up with 13 points in the last quarter, the Wolverines would have lost 25-10. Do you think they sell Utah jerseys in Ann Arbor? In fairness, Michigan did end up at 8-4 last year and did beat Florida 41-35 in the Capital One Bowl.

The 7 non-ranked teams that won included:

Arizona over Idaho 70-0 (49-zip at the half), Arkansas over 1-AA Western Illinois 28-24 (don't laugh, at least the Razorbacks won), Boise State over 1-AA Idaho State 49-7, Boston College over Kent State 21-0, Connecticut over 1-AA Hofstra 35-3, Kansas State over North Texas 45-6, and Nebraska over Western Michigan 47-24 (the Cornhuskers still have a lot of work to do).

Add-on winners include Colorado at home over in-state rival Colorado State 38-17 (this game is in the same category as the Oregon-Oregon State civil war shootout every year), and Wyoming at home over Ohio 21-20 (many Wyoming backers have made big bucks betting on Wyoming at home over the years).

And my pick for game of the week? The mighty Buffalo Bulls (hear my mighty roar) scored in every quarter to paste visiting Texas-El Paso (UTEP) 42-17. Keep an eye on Buffalo. The Bulls, with coach Turner Gill, have decided to stop being the NCAA's doormat and start beating people because they can.

That's the story on this opening week wrap-up. Other teams may have played and won, but until they stop standing around and looking important rather than actually beating someone, they get no coverage here.

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

College Football - Week 12 - Florida Crushes South Carolina, Giving Coach Spurrier His Worst Defeat

Sixteen of 20 AP Top 25 teams won in College Football's 12th Week but none won bigger or more impressively than Urban Meyer's Florida Gators, who literally crushed Steve Spurrier's South Carolina Gamecocks, 56-6, in what many thought would be a much closer contest.

After being upset 31-30 at home by Mississippi 6 weeks ago, the No. 3 Gators have gone ballistic, ripping off 5 straight wins by huge margins-38-7 over Arkansas, 51-21 over LSU, 63-5 over Kentucky, 49-10 over Georgia and 42-14 over Vanderbilt. Now they were staring at incoming South Carolina.

The Gamecocks were 7-3 and rated No. 11 in the nation in rushing defense, No. 10 in scoring defense, No. 4 in passing defense and No. 12 in passing efficiency defense. Florida was loaded as well, ranking No. 22 in rushing offense, No. 21 in rushing defense, No. 4 in scoring defense, No. 17 in passing defense, No. 10 in passing efficiency, No. 14 in passing efficiency defense and No. 4 in turnover margin.

Surely, No. 24-ranked South Carolina could at least slow down No. 3-ranked Florida, even in a losing effort. Didn't happen.

Despite some impressive statistics of their own, the Gators were ranked 91 in turnover margin, and did it show against the Gators, who capitalized on 3 consecutive turnovers in the 1st quarter, scoring 3 touchdowns in 8 plays. From then on, South Carolina and Steve Spurrier were toast.

The loss was Spurrier's worst in a storied playing and coaching career covering 5 decades. He had not been hosed that bad since falling 63-7 to Florida in 1995. Spurrier coached at Florida for 12 years, from 1990 to 2001. For Florida it was business as usual, racking up its 16th victory over South Carolina in 17 years, and pushing its record to 9-1 this year.

For all of South Carolina's defensive statistics against other opponents, they had to watch the 3 touchdowns on turnovers, watch Percy Harvin run for a career-high 167 yards against them, and watch Gator quarterback Tim Tebow account for 3 scores.

The first 16 ranked teams in the Top 25 Poll this week were not about to lose their ranking and status. They included:

No. 1 Alabama at home over Mississippi State 32-7, No. 4 Texas on the road over Kansas 35-7, No. 6 Southern California on the road over Stanford 45-23, No. 7 Penn State at home over Indiana 34-7, No. 8 Utah on the road over San Diego State 63-14, No. 9 Boise State on the road over Idaho 45-10, and No. 10 Ohio State on the road over Illinois 30-20.

No. 11 Oklahoma State on the road over Colorado 30-17, No. 12 Missouri on the road over Iowa State 52-20, No. 13 Georgia on the road over Auburn 17-13, No. 14 Ball State on the road over Miami of Ohio 31-16, and No. 16 Brigham Young on the road over Air Force 38-24.

Also winning this week were No. 19 Louisiana State at home over Troy 40-31 (the Tigers were losing to Troy 31-3 before scoring 37 unanswered points in a impressive comeback during an unimpressive win), No. 22 Cincinnati on the road over Louisville 28-20, and No. 23 Oregon State at home over California 34-21.

Five teams in the Top 25 were idle this week-No. 2 Texas Tech, No. 5 Oklahoma, No. 15 Texas Christian, No. 18 Michigan State and No. 21 Pittsburgh.

Among the 4 Top 25 teams that were upset this week, only South Carolina played a ranked team, No. 2 Florida.

No. 17 North Carolina lost to Maryland 17-15 on the road, No. 20 Florida State lost to Boston College 27-17 at home and No. 25 Tulsa lost to Houston 70-30 on the road.

South Carolina, Florida State and Tulsa all dropped out of the Top 25 Poll again, Maryland and Oregon returned again, and Miami (FL) arrived for the first time this year.

Could we please now stop all of the spin about how Tulsa, Georgia Tech, Boston College, Connecticut, Virginia Tech, Vanderbilt, Florida State, Clemson, California, East Carolina, South Carolina, Illinois, UCLA, Fresno State, Wake Forest, Oregon, South Florida, Arizona State, Wisconsin, Auburn, West Virginia, Minnesota and Maryland should be in the Top 25.

All of these teams have been in and out of the Top 25 in the first 12 weeks of the season. Sure, some of them are good but all of them are terribly inconsistent.

The truth is only 13 teams have been in the Top 25 all 12 weeks. They are currently ranked No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Texas Tech, No. 3 Florida, No. 4 Texas, No. 5 Oklahoma, No. 6 Southern Cal, No. 7 Penn State, No. 8 Utah, No. 10 Ohio State, No. 12 Missouri, No. 13 Georgia, No. 16 Brigham Young and No. 17 LSU. Now that's consistency.

The only 5 undefeated teams remain 11-0 Alabama, 10-0 Texas Tech, 11-0 Utah, 10-0 Boise State and 10-0 Ball State.

There are at least 3 good matches this week as No. 2 Texas Tech (10-0) visits No. 5 Oklahoma (9-1), No. 7 Penn State (10-1) hosts No. 17 Michigan State (9-2), and No. 8 Utah (11-0) hosts No. 16 Brigham Young (10-1).

The unranked losers game of the year pits winless Washington (0-10) at Washington State (1-10). To add insult to injury, Washington State's one win came against 1-AA Portland State. Minus the 1-AA fiasco, these two birds will play each other at 0-20. There is a rumor floating around that fans will be paid to drive to Pullman to watch the game.

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley