Things We Learned In College, Week 6: UPSET SPECIAL

I honestly can’t remember a weekend with this many unexpected results. Eight upsets in just over 48 hours doesn’t happen very often. Its an UPSET SPECIAL, and here’s how it all went down:

Upset #1, Thursday night: Arizona 31, #2 Oregon 24 Too many mental lapses and small errors by the Ducks added up, allowing the Wildcats to leave Autzen Stadium with the win. Oddly, this was the third time since 2007 that an unranked Arizona team has beaten a top-5 Oregon team, according to ESPN.com.

Upset #2, Friday night: Utah State 35, #18 BYU 20 More upsetting in Provo than the loss to the Aggies has to be the loss of quarterback Taysom Hill to a broken leg that will end his season. It’s tough not to feel for the Cougars, who looked to have an excellent shot at going undefeated and giving the playoff committee some tough decisions to make. No matter how well Hill’s replacement plays, the loss likely ends any playoff talk for independent BYU.

Upset #3, Saturday afternoon: Northwestern 20, #17 Wisconsin 14 Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon rushed for 259 yards and a score, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the four picks thrown by Joel Stave (three) and Tanner McEvoy (one). Northwestern is just 3-2, but they’re now 2-0 in conference play- and I’m still not convinced anyone wants to win the Big Ten West.

Upset #4, Saturday afternoon: #12 Mississippi State 48, #6 Texas A&M 31 This was a case of the Aggies’ young quarterback finally playing like a young quarterback. Coming into the game, Kenny Hill had thrown two interceptions; he threw three in Starkville. To Hill’s credit, he also produced four touchdowns and did play quite well in spurts. He could have had more help from his receivers as well, as they dropped several catchable balls. On the other side, Dak Prescott threw two touchdown passes and ran in three more. Another Bulldog I was very impressed with was linebacker Bernardrick McKinney.

Upset #5, Saturday Afternoon: #11 Ole Miss 23, #3 Alabama 17 This was an entertaining, albeit sloppy at times, game. Alabama controlled most of it, but never truly dominated. In crunch time, Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace stepped up and threw a tying touchdown with 5:29 left. On the ensuing kickoff, Alabama returned Christion Jones fumbles, Ole Miss recovered, and Wallace promptly threw another touchdown. One area where both teams definitely need some work is on special teams. Alabama’s kicker went 1/3 on field goals, and Ole Miss’ short-range kicker missed a field goal and an extra point; fortunately for him, there was a penalty on said extra point and he got to try again. Unfortunately for him, the second attempt was blocked.

Upset #6, Saturday afternoon: #25 TCU 37, #4 Oklahoma 33 Oklahoma quarterback Trevor Knight threw two interceptions and one touchdown; Horned Frogs’ signalcaller Trevone Boykin threw for the opposite. Even three rushing scores from the Sooners’ Samaje Perine weren’t enough to keep Oklahoma on top, as a late pick-six and a big defensive stand gave TCU the upset victory.

Upset #7, Saturday night: Utah 30, #8 UCLA 28 Two chances at a long, last-second field goal weren’t enough for the Bruins. A failed 55-yard attempt resulted in a penalty for running into the kicker, but the 50-yard attempt was no good as well. One stat that stood out to me from this game: UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley was sacked ten times. Something tells me the offensive line will be hearing about that from the coaches today. I don’t think the Utes have the firepower to beat USC, Arizona, etc.- but then, I certainly didn’t expect them to beat UCLA either. (Or Michigan, but that’s another story). Keep an eye on them in the Pac-12 South.

Upset #8, Saturday night: Arizona State 38, #16 USC 34 A week ago, UCLA hung 62 on the Sun Devils. Last night, second-string quarterback Mike Bercovici threw for 510 yards, 5 touchdowns, and no picks. Talk about from the outhouse to the penthouse. It was a good thing the passing game was so successful, because ASU managed just 31 yards on the ground. How often do you see a team rush for double-digit yards and still win the game? I wish I had been able to stay up for this one. One other interesting thing in the box score: each team’s quarterback punted at least once.

The Best of the Rest

-Not technically an upset, since South Carolina was no longer ranked, but maybe Kentucky is showing signs of ending its “SEC Doormat” reign?

-I think it’s safe to call 2014 a rebuilding year at LSU. In fact, I think neaux bowl game for the Tigers is a possibility, albeit a remote one. They have four wins, with Florida, Kentucky, and Arkansas ahead of them on the schedule. I think they can win at least two of those three, but this year, who the hell knows?

-Remember when Florida-Tennessee was a big game?

-Gators’ QB Jeff Driskel threw three picks and was replaced by freshman Treon Harris. Quarterback controversy in Gainesville?

-Congratulations to second-year Purdue head coach Darrell Hazell on his first Big Ten win.

-That was a messy game in crappy weather in South Bend. Notre Dame earned that W. (If my dad reads this, he’ll disown me).

-Offensive genius (/sarcasm) Charlie Weis is now getting paid $19 million from two schools NOT to coach. If you know anyone who’s hiring for a similar position, please let me know.

-If he wasn’t already, Bo Schembechler has to be rolling over in his grave this morning. To be fair, I did think Michigan looked better last night than they have the last few weeks- and yes, I realize that isn’t setting the bar very high.

-Washington State threw for 734 yards against Cal. To quote my boyfriend this morning, “Does Cal even HAVE a defense?” The kicker (no pun intended) is that the Golden Bears actually won the game, 60-59.

 Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to spend the next few hours figuring out who the hell my top 25 are now. Until next week!