Monday, October 18, 2010

Week 7 College Football Observations

   For seven weeks, we have been waiting for the so called "Upset Saturday."  Well this past Saturday, we all got what we have been waiting for: seven Top 25 teams were knocked off by opponents either ranked lower than them or not ranked at all.  The latter was the case in six of the seven upsets.

  • For the second week in a row, the top-ranked team in the nation lost, this time Ohio State losing to Wisconsin on the Badgers' Homecoming date, 31-18.  Wisconsin hadn't defeated a No. 1 since 1981, when the Badgers knocked off Michigan 21-14. For Ohio State, its national title hopes are in critical condition after a third straight loss as the No. 1 team in the country. The last two came in the 2007 season, to Illinois in the regular season and in the BCS title game to LSU. That season was also the last time No. 1 in the AP poll lost in consecutive weeks.
  •  Florida lost consecutive home games for the first time since 2003 and dropped three in a row for the first time since the Steve Spurrier era. Urban Meyer has accomplished something that former coach Ron Zook never did. Mississippi State won in Gainesville for the first time since 1965. They snapped a 16-game losing streak at Florida Field.  It is the first time since 2004 that the Gators have not been ranked.
  • Kansas State quarterback Carson Coffman completed 15 passes in 16 attempts Thursday in the Wildcats' 59-7 romp at Kansas. That 93.8 completion percentage is the best among FBS players this season (min. 15 attempts). Kansas lost 55-7 to Baylor last week and 59-7 to Kansas State tonight. Kansas has been playing football since 1890. Only once before in school history have they have allowed at least 55 points in consecutive games. In 1988 they lost 63-24 to Oklahoma State on November 12 and 55-17 to Missouri on November 19.
  • Missouri has allowed 65 points this season, including a shutout last week and nine points Saturday. That's the Tigers fewest through six games since 1973, when they allowed 49.  It was the first time since 1967 that Missouri had held conference opponents scoreless for six straight quarters.  Missouri is 6-0 for just the third time in the last 50 years and fifth ever.
  • The Texas defense held Nebraska to 202 yards as the Longhorns beat the Huskers for the ninth time in 10 games since joining the Big 12. Nebraska ran for 125 yards. It was averaging over 337 yards a game on the ground entering Saturday, which ranked second in the nation. Texas ran for 209 yards. It averaged less than 130 on the ground entering the game.  Nebraska had not trailed all season.  Counting sacks, QB Garrett Gilbert entered with 19 career rushing yards. He had 51 in the 1st quarter
  • Eastern Michigan head coach Ron English gets his 1st win. He started his career losing 18 straight games before finally winning on Saturday in overtime at Ball State.  The Eagles trailed 28-7 in the second quarter, before scoring 28 unanswered points
  • Colorado State ended a 10-game conference losing streak with a 43-10 victory over UNLV on Saturday.
  • Auburn QB Cam Newton over 100 yards rushing for the 4th time in 7 games this season.  In that same game, Arkansas QB Ryan Mallett left the game with a  concussion
  • Matt Barkley passed for 352 yards and a school record-tying five touchdowns, and Southern California roared to a 42-point halftime lead while snapping its first losing streak in nine years with a 48-14 victory against California on Saturday. Cal hasn't won at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in a decade. USC hadn't lost back-to-back games since early in 2001, former coach Pete Carroll's first season. The Trojans' dominant performance brightened a gloomy, gray day at the Coliseum, where USC had lost three of its past five games after a 47-1 stretch.

  • Iowa won in Ann Arbor for the first time since 2002 despite allowing three fourth-quarter touchdowns.  The Hawkeyes allowed more than seven points for the second time this season. Rich Rodriguez fell to 2-8 against AP top 25 teams as Michigan coach. 
  • SMU ended up losing its 20th consecutive nonconference road game, a streak that began after a win against Navy in 1998.
  • Justin Blackmon had a career-high 207 yards receiving with a touchdown for Oklahoma State, who beat Texas Tech 34-17 on Saturday for its first win in Lubbock since 1944.  Oklahoma State is 6-0 for the second time in three seasons. The Cowboys won their first seven games in 2008 before losing four of their last six. It was the first time the road team has won in this series since 2001 when the Red Raiders won in Stillwater.
  • Ross Jenkins threw for three touchdowns and ran for another, and Louisiana Tech had 678 yards of offense in a 48-35 win over Idaho on Saturday. The Bulldogs needed their fifth-highest offensive total in school history as the Vandals totaled 526 offensive yards. 
  • Kentucky had its first win over a ranked team since beating then-No. 1 LSU in 2007.  South Carolina's win over Alabama last week was the seventh win at home by a team ranked outside of the top 10 over a conference opponent ranked No. 1. The Gamecocks became the fourth straight such team to lose the following Saturday.
  • T.J. Yates threw for three touchdowns and North Carolina won for the first time since 1981 at Scott Stadium, beating Virginia 44-10 Saturday night.
  •  North Texas is on their fourth starting quarterback of the season, after Chase Baine had to replace Riley Dodge two weeks ago.  Dodge recently had surgery to insert a screw in his broken wrist.
  • The San Diego State Aztecs beat a ranked team for the first time since defeating No. 16 Wyoming 28-24 on Nov. 7, 1996. Since then, they'd lost 25 straight games to ranked opponents. Overall, SDSU is 6-55 against ranked teams dating to 1973.
  • San Jose State was outgained 537-80 by Boise State on the night, the fewest yards in a game for the Spartans since also getting 80 in a 13-12 win Stanford in 1971. The Broncos have the nation's longest active win streak at 20 straight games. They've also won 16 straight road games, 18 straight conference games, and 31 straight regular season games. All of their marks are the longest active streaks in the nation. 
  • Alabama has won 10 straight home games vs. Ole Miss. It's 24-1 overall in Tuscaloosa against the Rebels.  
  • After an upset loss at Hawaii, Nevada remains winless at Hawaii since joining the WAC in 2000, falling to 0-6 and hasn't won at Hawaii since 1948

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