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
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Mary Ann Chastain/Associated Press Alabama Greg McElory is sacked by South Carolina Melvin Ingram during the fourth quarter of Saturday's game.