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Ed Bagley asked:


ght © 2009 Ed Bagley

Oregon, Texas and Iowa won huge, critical victories to remain in contention for the National Championship Game during college football’s 9th week of play.

None of the three victories was more impressive or substantial than 10th-ranked Oregon’s convincing, ultimately dominating 47-20 upset win at home over 4th-ranked Southern California. Oregon was a 3-point underdog in the game.

The USC Trojans had won at least 11 games a season and had 7 consecutive BSC bowl-game appearances for 7 straight years; now the streak has been broken as there is no way Southern Cal can win 11 games this season. With another loss, USC’s 8th straight BCS bowl-game streak would also be in jeopardy.

The win pushed the Ducks to 7-1 and dropped the Trojans to 6-2 and, perhaps more important, left Oregon on top of the Pac 10 Conference race with an unbeaten 5-0 mark and pushed USC into a 3-way tie for 4th place at 3-2. The Trojan loss was its worst since 1997 when they were beaten by the Washington Huskies 27-0.

The Trojans came into the game ranked 16th nationally in both scoring defense and total defense, and flew home in defensive disarray.

How convincing was Oregon’s upset? This convincing: Oregon double-threat Jeremiah Masoli threw for 222 yards and a touchdown, and ran for 164 more yards and another score. Redshirt freshman LaMichael James ran for 183 yards and a touchdown as the Ducks racked up 391 yards rushing on the 5th best rushing defense in the nation. USC’s defense gave up a total of 613 yards to Oregon. The Trojan loss was the worst ever for head coach Pete Carroll during his 9 years at USC.

None of the three key victories was more important to a front-runner than the 3rd-ranked Texas Longhorns’ 41-14 smash-mouth win on-the-road over 13th-ranked Oklahoma State. Texas led 41-7 after three quarters when Longhorn quarterback Colt McCoy left the game for good.

The Cowboys (now 6-2) allowed McCoy to go 16-for-21 for 171 yards and a touchdown, and Longhorn defenders Curtis Brown and Earl Thomas each returned an interception for a TD. The win definitely keeps the Longhorns (8-0) in the running for the national title game, especially if either Florida or Alabama now loses down the stretch.

None of the three victories was more exciting than Iowa’s 4th quarter, come-from-behind 42-24 win over a 4-5 Indiana team. The Hoosiers led 24-14 after three quarters and Iowa looked like burned toast, but the Hawkeyes exploded for 4 last quarter touchdowns to win the 4th quarter 28-0, and the game.

Iowa’s Ricky Stanzi threw 5 interceptions before the explosion, which started with an interception and 86-yard TD return by Tyler Sash. The defensive score ignited the Hawkeyes as Stanzi then made up for his errant ways by connecting with Marvin McNutt on a 92-yard TD pass, and Darrell Johnson-Koulianos on a 66-yard TD pass. Brandon Wegher added 6 and 27-yard scoring runs to end the rapid comeback.

Iowa has made a career out of winning close games this season—7 of the 9 Hawkeye wins have been by 11 or fewer points. Last year Iowa lost 4 games by combined total of 12 points. The Hawkeyes perfect 9-0 record is the best start in school history.

There were 4 upsets of ranked teams this week by unranked teams that included North Carolina, South Florida, Tennessee and Auburn.

Unranked North Carolina (5-3) went calling on 14th-ranked Virginia Tech (now also 5-3) and upset the Hokies 20-17. Unranked South Florida (now 6-2) traveled to 20th-ranked West Virginia (now also 6-2) and upset the Mountaineers 30-19. Unranked Tennessee (4-4) upset 21st-ranked South Carolina 31-13 at home, dropping the Gamecocks to 6-3 on the year and showing which team has the better defense.

Unranked Auburn (now 6-3) upset 24th-ranked Mississippi 33-20 at home, dropping Ole Miss to 5-3. Can we now just shut up about how great the Rebel team is going to be this year? Mississippi was ranked 10th in the pre-season Coaches Top 25 Poll.

Four other ranked teams came home with away victories—Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Penn State and Miami (FL).

Unbeaten and 5th-ranked Cincinnati (8-0) beat 100th-ranked Syracuse 28-7, scoring a touchdown in each quarter to inflict a slow, painful death on the Orange.

No. 11-ranked Georgia Tech scored 28 second-half points to gun down 129th-ranked Vanderbilt 56-31. The Yellow Jackets’ win was not impressive as they gave up 31 points to a lousy team, but at least their offense scored touchdowns in every quarter, and at least two TDs in 3 of the 4 quarters. Georgia Tech is now 8-1 on the season.

Penn State (8-1) beat the 98th-ranked Northwestern Wildcats 34-13. Northwestern (now 5-4) was 9-4 a year ago and lost a tough overtime game 30-23 to Missouri in the Alamo Bowl. Joe Pa and his 12th-ranked Nittany Lions still must beat Ohio State and Michigan State to have much to crow about since he selected and beat 4 cupcakes on his way to 8 wins so far. Penn State would play another team’s scout unit for a victory if they could get away with it.

The 18th-ranked Miami Hurricanes (6-2) needed two 4th-quarter touchdowns to nip 65th-ranked Wake Forest 28-27. The Demon Deacons led 27-14 after three quarters, but folded when it counted in the 4th quarter, which must make Wake Forest a pretty good three-quarter team.

Nine other ranked teams won at home—Florida, Boise State, Texas Christian, LSU, Houston, Ohio State, Utah, Oklahoma and Notre Dame.

No. 1 Florida went 8-0 by beating 35th-ranked Georgia, 41-17, as the Gators continue to roll on unbeaten toward another National Championship Game and a defense of their 2008 National Title last year.

No. 6 Boise State went 8-0 by ripping apart a terrible 1-6, 97th-ranked San Jose State team 45-7 in a cakewalk.

No. 8 Texas Christian shut out a 3-6, 113th-ranked UNLV team 41 to nothing, which pretty well describes the Rebel team this year. UNLV has not been to a bowl game since 2000; it’s a good thing the Rebels chalked up a bowl appearance early in the century because they may not make it back to another one until 3000 at the rate they are going.

No. 9 LSU (7-1) shut out the 2-6, 145th-ranked Tulane Green Wave 42-0.

No. 15 Houston (7-1) had its hands full with the 73rd-ranked Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles, barely winning in a genuine, old-fashioned gunfight, 50-43. Southern Miss was ranked 25th nationally in scoring defense coming into the game, so the Golden Eagles had a defense and could not stop Houston’s 3rd-ranked scoring offense.

The Houston Cougars, who have no total defense (they were ranked 112th among 120 major college teams), did what they always do, they gave up a horrendous number of points. If Houston had no offense, the Cougars would probably lose every game 26-0.

No. 17 Ohio State (7-2) shut out a 3-6, 148th-ranked New Mexico State team 45-0. The Buckeyes led 45-zip after three quarters and decided to shower early in the 4th quarter.

No. 19 Utah came up with another unimpressive 22-10 victory, this time over the 107th-ranked Wyoming Cowboys. Despite their impressive 7-1 record, the Utes must beat Texas Christian and Brigham Young to be in any discussion about who is good at the national level.

No. 22 Oklahoma (5-3) won 42-30 in a lackluster performance over a 5-3 Kansas State team. Now you know why the Sooners are 5-3 and really going nowhere.

The No. 25 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (6-2) might have surprised themselves in finally becoming bowl eligible by crushing a woefully weak 1-7, 119th-ranked Washington State team, 40-14. Last year the Washington Huskies were a winless 0-12; this year the Washington State Cougars are just as bad.

Eight unranked teams became bowl eligible this week with their 6th win—Wisconsin, Rutgers, Boston College, Texas Tech, California, Temple, Troy and Ohio.

Wisconsin (6-2) shut out Purdue 37-0 in a Big Ten face-off. Two weeks ago Purdue had a huge 26-18 upset of visiting Ohio State, and this week the Boilermakers became a doormat for the Badgers; nothing could better describe the ups and downs of a college football team.

Rutgers (6-2) turned back Connecticut 28-24 after letting the Huskies score two 4th-quarter touchdowns to narrow the margin. You remember Rutgers, it’s that New Jersey school on the East Coast, where sportswriters and sportscasters think all great football is played; they suffer from other delusions too.

Boston College (6-2) beat visiting Central Michigan 31-10. The Central Michigan Chippewas (now 7-2) are lucky that this loss was not to a Mid American Conference opponent.

Texas Tech (6-3) ripped Kansas 42-21, California (6-2) held off Arizona State 23-21, Troy (6-2) clobbered Louisiana Monroe 42-21, Ohio (6-3) just nudged by a pathetic, 163rd-ranked Ball State team 20-17, and Temple (6-2) used a 4th-quarter field goal to edge a 6-3 Navy team, 27-24. The Temple Owls have now won their 6th game in-a-row, their longest win streak since 1974.

Three teams were idle this week—No. 2 Alabama, No. 17 Pittsburgh and No. 24 Arizona.

Ed Bagley asked:


ght © 2009 Ed Bagley

A month of Saturdays hit the calendar when the Southern California Trojans traveled north to Seattle recently to face last year’s 0-12 Washington Huskies.

Yes, Southern Cal was currently ranked No. 3 in the nation in the AP Top 25 Poll. Even the Coaches’ Top 25 Poll had them ranked No. 3. And yes, the Trojans had beaten No. 8-ranked Ohio State 18-15 a week earlier on a last minute drive by their new, wunderkind freshman quarterback Matt Barkley.

Southern Cal was headed for another typical USC season—at least 11 wins and BCS bowl game appearances for 7 consecutive years, the most successful football program in the country during the current streak. A huge part of the USC success story was Steve Sarkisian, their offensive coordinator, and Nick Holt, their defensive coordinator.

But that was the last 7 years. This year both Sarkisian and Holt are not only missing at USC, but were the opponents as the Trojans flew north. When last year’s success was said and done, Sarkisian accepted the head coaching job at Washington and brought along Holt. And the coaching changes alone have made all of the difference in the world for the Huskies.

Washington was a team that had forgotten what it was like to win—only the week prior had the Huskies beaten Idaho, 42-23, to break a 15-game losing steak that was tied for the longest in Pac 10 Conference history. And now they were being asked to believe the impossible—that they could not only decipher, but beat the mighty USC juggernaut.

Never underestimate the difference coaching can make. Some sports pundits would have you believe that the players are more important than the coaches. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is the coaches who recruit the train the players; not the other way around. Never, ever, forget that.

Sarkisian and Holt could decipher the USC juggernaut; they, as much as anyone, had built it along with head coach Pete Carroll. Part of Carroll’s genius is in hiring good people like Sarkisian and Holt. Now University of Washington President Mark Emmert and Director of Athletics Scott Woodward had done the same.

The results have been nothing short of staggering. In three games under the new coaching staff that inherited an 0-12 team, Washington has snapped a 15-game losing streak, upset No. 3-ranked USC 16-13, and vaulted into the AP Top 25 Poll at No. 24. The ranking was the Huskies first return to the Top 25 since September 2003.

The game itself did not look good for Washington at the outset. USC promptly ran up a 10-0 advantage in its first two drives and made it look as easy as playing a high school team. The Trojans opened holes that a Mack Truck could drive through, and USC backs sped to runs of 38, 25 and 27 yards to set up a touchdown and field goal.

It looked like Washington might get beat 50-0.

Then junior quarterback Jake Locker, Washington’s most versatile player, completed passes of 12, 16, 14 and 18 yards to 4 different receivers before taking it in from 4 yards out to make it a game at 10-7. Two drives later, sophomore Erik Folk would add a 28-yard field goal to tie it up at 10.

Once it was clear the Husky offense could score, their defense—led by linebackers Donald Butler and Mason Foster—used their new-found belief to dig in, stop the Trojan advance, and let their fellow Huskies on offense go to work. Butler had a game-high 12 tackles (2 for losses), forced a fumble and intercepted a pass. Foster forced another fumble on a 4th-and-1 run play, and deflected 3 passes, 2 of which were on 3rd down plays.

USC, nearly a 3-touchdown favorite, had 3 drives inside the Husky 30-yard line end in turnovers, committed 8 penalties, and had an 0-for-10 conversion rate on 3rd-down plays.

Neither team scored in the 3rd quarter, Erik Folk then added a 46-yard field goal to put Washington up 13-10. USC responded with a 25-yard FG of its own to tie the game a second time at 13 with 4:07 left to play.

Jake Locker, who is quickly becoming an NFL pocket passer for the first time in his playing career, then engineered a 10-play, 63-yard drive that consumed 4 minutes and 4 seconds, leaving just 3 seconds left in the end game when Erik Folk converted a 22-yard FG to win the game, 16-13.

It is called clock management by Steve Sarkisian, and the Huskies have not had such a good game-day coach on the field since the lengendary “Dawgfather” Don James.

During the final, critical drive, Locker was at his best, completing a 21-yard pass to Jermaine Kearse on a 3rd-and-15, rushing for 4 yards on a critical 3rd-and-2 play, completing a 9-yard pass to James Johnson, and completing a 19-yard pass to Kearse. Locker went 21-for-35 (60%) for 237 yards on the day.

After their stunning upset victory, the Washington Husky football program was once again on the national radar, as evidenced by their moving into the AP Top 25 Poll.

So just what is going on with these Huskies? Many of them played on the same team last year that went 0-12. The difference is clearly the leadership and enthusiasm of the coaching staff led by Steve Sarkisian and Nick Holt.

The players now believe in the coaches, believe in the new system, believe in themselves, and understand their improvement is really about work, work and more work, and constant, unrelenting, hard effort.

An excellent example that the players get it came after Washington’s first victory of the year against Idaho, when sophomore wide receiver Jermaine Kearse had this to say:

“The whole philosophy is, if you make plays, and play hard, you get more playing time. I tried to do everything right this week, and I was rewarded.” Amen, Jermaine, Amen. Work hard and play hard. Pay attention. Then work harder and play harder. And did I mention to have fun? Fun? Yes, all of this hard work is just that.

It appears that Sarkisian has two rules for success. The first is: Work Hard, Play Hard, Have Fun and Win. And the second rule? That would be never forget the first rule.

Steve Sarkisian, who has an Armenian-Irish heritage, is already one of the most popular people in Seattle. He has opened up the Husky practice field to one and all, reached out to boosters and fans, and welcomed back Husky heroes from yesteryear.

People are already comfortable referring to him as “Sark”. I hereby give Sark another moniker—the “Armenian Hammer”. He is the coach with the velvet touch in one hand, and the hammer in the other.

Soophott Lert asked:


ll team shirts are the shirts worn today in all football matches of the Football association; typically they are short sleeved although during winter most of the players choose to wear a winter version, because this can help them maintain the right body temperature during a match.

Materials Football shirts and kits used to be really heavy, as they were, originally, made of cotton and had collars that were usually buttoned. Nowadays sports kit’s technology has advanced as well; shirts are made of nylon and polyester and they are very light and comfortable to wear. They tend to behave well in high temperatures allowing the skin and body to breathe. Most shirts today are collarless and without buttons. History and Facts The first recorded use of football team shirts lays back in 1928. The occasion was a classic match between Chelsea and Arsenal in England. Official football team shirts were used by both teams during the league games. IT was in 1939 that the Football Management Committee introduced the player numbering, as we know it today; despite the fact that the numbering changed throughout the years, due to the change in formation and in game systems, number 1 has always been the goalkeeper’s number. It is in general hard to associate numbers with positions, although typically number 10 usually refers to the playmaker and middle field players.

During the World Cup Championship in 1954, teams were obliged to use the squad numbering system; new shirts were used and players should keep the same shirt number for the entire tournament. The squad numbering system somewhat reduced the importance of numbers, but the sales of the replica football team shirts of the World Cup Teams increased dramatically that year. In 1965 substitutions were introduced. The substitutes were obliged to have the numbers 12 and 14, while the substitute goalkeeper should use number 13.

It was in 1977 that football team shirts started to become really famous. They replaced the little trinkets and scarves that were once the only sport memorabilia and team representation items that were used. Brits were the first who started selling football team shirts massively and they soon realised that this was a real goldmine.

At the beginning football shirts had only the player’s number; in 1993, during the Premier League Cup Final, teams presented, for the first time, players’ names on the back of the shirt. In season 1993-’94 shirts had both names and numbers of players in Europe, while the Americans adopted the same system in 1994, during the World Cup Final tournament that took place in the States.

Since then the sales of football team shirts skyrocketed. Today all teams have sponsors and heavy contracts, so their shirts have the brand name or logo of their sponsor. There are some rules though, since some companies cannot be advertised on shirts, even if they are big sponsors; that applies mostly to tobacco companies, since football fans consider them to be irrelevant and unsuitable for the sport.

Ed Bagley asked:


ght © 2009 Ed Bagley

Six AP Top 25 teams can testify what a pain in the **** road games are—all were upset during college football’s 13th week of play, and 2 of the 6 will be facing off in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game this week.

The six teams with targets on their back included 7th-ranked Georgia Tech, 15th-ranked Clemson, 8th-ranked Pittsburgh, 11th-ranked Oklahoma State, 20th-ranked Mississippi and 23rd-ranked North Carolina. All but Pittsburgh were not just on-the-road, but also tackling an in-state rival.

Georgia (7-5) beat the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (10-2), 30-24, as the Bulldogs’ Washaun Ealey rushed 20 times for 183 yards (9.15 yards per carry) and Caleb King rushed 18 times for 166 yards (9.22 ypc)—349 yards between them. Ealey and King sound like a comedy team but the Georgia Tech players were too busy ******* Louisiana pond water to laugh.

Georgia and its coach Mark Richt have taken their lumps this year with losses to Oklahoma State, LSU, Tennessee, Florida and Kentucky, but few can match Richt’s 9-year record against in-state rival Georgia Tech. Richt is 8-1 against his prime rival, a fact that may save him his job since his 5 losses this year are the most he has had in any year at Georgia.

South Carolina (7-5) upset the Clemson Tigers (8-4), 34-17, as the Gamecocks’ Stephen Garcia threw 3 touchdown passes. Clemson started well when C. J. Spiller opened the game with an 88-yard kickoff return for a TD, an NCAA record-setting 7th of his career, but that was about all the Tigers could bring to the table.

South Carolina’s 24th ranked scoring defense held Clemson’s 24th ranked scoring offense in check—defense again trumping offense in an equal face off.

The surprise losses by Georgia Tech and Clemson put a real damper on the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game the two will play this Saturday; the winner will covet a spot in a BCS game and earn a big payday.

West Virginia (8-3) handed Pittsburgh (9-2) its second loss of the season, 19-16, when Mountaineer redshirt freshman Tyler Bitancurt ended the annual Backyard Brawl by successfully kicking a 43-yard field goal as time expired. It was Bitancurt’s 4th field goal of the night so he personally accounted for 63% of West Virginia’s 19 points. West Virginia’s defense stood tall, keeping the Panthers out of the end zone on 5 Pittsburgh drives inside the Mountaineers’ 30-yard line.

Oklahoma (7-5) took time out from its pedestrian season to remind Oklahoma State (9-3) who really rules the Big 12 in Oklahoma by shutting out the Cowboys, 27-0. The Sooners’ DeMarco Murray scored two TDs and Ryan Broyles returned a punt 88 yards for another score. The defeat was tough to swallow for Oklahoma State since the Cowboys were seeking their first ever BCS bowl appearance.

Mississippi State (now 5-7) not only upset Mississippi (8-4), but hammered Ole Miss, 41-27, in shocker. A backup quarterback—Chris Relf—accounted for 3 touchdowns and Anthony Dixon rushed for 133 yards and another TD as the Mississippi Rebels looked on in disbelief. Known as the annual Egg Bowl, Mississippi surely laid one.

The 41 points scored by Mississippi State was the most by the Bulldogs in the 106-year series since a 41-14 victory in 1917, and the most Ole Miss has given up this season.

North Carolina State (5-7) upset North Carolina (8-4), 28-27, as the Wolfpack’s Russell Wilson connected with Owen Spencer on a 38-yard, go-ahead TD pass two plays into the 4th quarter. Wilson threw 4 TD passes in the game and Alan-Michael Cash blocked a field goal attempt with about 5 minutes left to seal the Tar Heels attempted comback. The win was the Wolfpack’s 3rd straight against the in-state rival North Carolina Tar Heels.

Four other Top 25 teams didn’t miss a beat while beating in-state rivals in away games.

No. 2-ranked Alabama (12-0) remained unbeaten by sliding by Auburn (7-5), 26-21. No. 3-ranked Texas (12-0) remained unbeaten by outlasting Texas A&M (6-6), 49-39. No. 14-ranked Virginia Tech (9-3) slammed Virginia (3-9), 42-13; and No. 19th-ranked Miami Florida (9-3) put down South Florida (7-4), 31-10.

Eight other Top 25 teams won home games, and 4 of the 8 won against in-state rivals as well—Florida, Brigham Young, Southern California and Houston.

No. 1-ranked Florida (12-0) remained unbeaten by pounding Florida State (6-6), 37-10, as the Gators’ Tim Tebow threw for 3 touchdowns and ran for 2 more. The victories by unbeaten Florida and Alabama sets up a clash for the SEC title game this Saturday, and the winner earns the right to play in the final season-ending game for the National Championship.

No. 18-ranked Brigham Young (10-2) turned back No. 22-ranked Utah (now 9-3), 26-23, as senior quarterback Max Hall found Andrew George with a 25-yard TD pass in overtime. The win by the Cougars was their 3rd in 4 years over the uppity Utah Utes, who intercepted Hall 5 times last year in a 48-24 blowout on their home field.

Max Hall sought revenge and redemption, and created enough smack talk after BYU’s win to fill a bulletin board in Utah’s Salt Lake City locker room. Here is Mad Max on the Utah Utes:

“I don’t like Utah. In fact, I **** them. I **** everything about them. I **** their program, their fans. I **** everything. It felt real good to send those guys home. I think the whole university and their fans and the organization is classless. They threw beer on my family and stuff last year and did a whole bunch of nasty things. I don’t respect them and they deserved to lose.”

Well, thanks, Max, for letting us know how you feel.

No. 24-ranked Southern Cal (8-3) beat UCLA (6-6), 28-7; and No. 25-ranked Houston (10-2) just decimated Rice (2-10), 73-14, as Case Kellum passed for 323 yards and 2 touchdowns and ran for another score. The Houston Cougars have the top-scoring offense in the nation, racking up an average of 45 points a game.

No. 4-ranked Texas Christian (12-0) remained unbeaten at home by whipping New Mexico (1-11), 51-10, as Andy Dalton matched a career-high 4 TD passes with two of them to Antoine Hicks in a 12-second span. The win wrapped up TCU’s first undefeated regular season in 71 years—that is a long time between rains in the dusty Texas desert.

No. 5-ranked Cincinnati (11-0) remained unbeaten by outlasting a really crummy 3-8 Illinois team, 49-36. The win was a sad statement for the Bearcats. Cincinnati has the 19th best scoring defense in the nation, but the Bearcats apparently had too many tacos prior to this game.

No. 6-ranked Boise State (12-0) remained unbeaten in an offensive display by outlasting Nevada (8-4), 44-33, as Kellen Moore tied his career-high 5 touchdown passes. Nevada was a worthy opponent as the Wolf Pack had averaged 52 points per game while winning 8 straight. Boise State is 2nd nationally in scoring offense and Navada is 5th.

No. 17-ranked LSU (9-3) had its hands full while beating Arkansas (7-5), 33-30, as Tiger Josh Jasper hit a 41-yard field goal with 4 seconds left to force an overtime, and then made a 36-yarder to score the win.

One more game was worth noting. Washington (4-7) shut out in-state rival Washington State (1-11), 30-0, in the Apple Cup. The Huskies began the season by losing by 8 points to 11th-ranked LSU, then beat Idaho, upset 3rd-ranked Southern California, lost away games to Stanford and Notre Dame, upset Arizona, then suffered 4 more defeats before blanking the Washington State Cougars.

The game was significant for several reasons:

1) It was Washington’s first shutout over Washington State in 45 years; the last one came during a 14-0 victory in 1964.

2) The Husky’s defensive shutout was its first since a 27-0 win over Southern California in 1997, a span of 143 games.

3) Freshman Chris Polk rushed for 130 yards, pushing his season rushing total 1,019, breaking quarterback Jake Locker’s freshman record of 986 rushing yards, making Polk the first freshman in school history to top 1,000 yards, and marking the 4th consecutive game that Polk has topped 100 yards rushing. And, yes, the Huskies are very excited about their freshman running back.

4) Washington State’s 11 losses this season are the most in Cougar history.

5) Washington State’s 22 losses in two seasons are the most ever in Pac-10 history. The Cougars were 2-11 last season.

Six Top 25 teams were idle this week—9th-ranked Ohio State (10-2), 10th-ranked Oregon (9-2), 12th-ranked Penn State (10-2), 13th-ranked Iowa (10-2), 16th-ranked Oregon State (8-3), and 21st-ranked California (8-3). Ohio State, Penn State and Iowa have completed their season play.

Ed Bagley asked:


ght © 2009 Ed Bagley

Only 13 teams remain undefeated after 5 weeks of play, and it is time to seriously think about elevating some of them into my Top 25 picks, even if they have played mostly weak competitors. Some such teams are already there—like Boise State. So here are Week 5′s Top 25 picks:

1) Florida – Was idle this week and stays on top of the heap. Let’s see what happens when the No. 1 Gators travel to No. 4 LSU this week and tangle with the Tigers. LSU is 4th in the AP Poll this week and 13th in my poll this week.

2) Alabama – Beat Kentucky on-the-road. I kicked Mississippi out of my poll after they lost to South Carolina, and put the Gamecocks into the Top 25. I’m still good with that. Alabama travels to Mississippi this week. If the Rebels upset the Crimson Tide, they get back in my poll. If Mississippi loses, they stay out. Should Alabama get upset—no excuses–they lose position in my poll.

3) Texas – Was idle this week but I am moving them up from 4 to 3 because Iowa was so lame in its 24-21 win over 125th-ranked Arkansas State.

4) Virginia Tech – Beat Duke (no big deal) but is still 5-0 and no one else is really doing diddly-squat.

5) Boise State – Still undefeated and still has a signature win over Oregon in season opener. Travels to 4-1 Tulsa this week. If they do not win, they drop like a brick off of a 10-story building.

6) Oregon – Led a hapless Washington State team 42-0 at the half and won 52-6. Now travels to UCLA and faces Slick Rick and his troops.

7) Ohio State – **** to upgrade the Buckeyes because I **** Ohio State; it’s an inbred thing because I am a Michigan State University graduate. Buckeyes host Wisconsin this week, the toughest opponent they have seen since losing to Southern Cal.

Iowa – Hawkeyes host Michigan this week. They need to win against the Wolverines—Michigan State did.

9) Cincinnati – Now 5-0 after beating a winless Miami of Ohio team. If teams like Cincinnati played in the SEC, the Bearcats would lose 4 or 5 games a year.

10) South Carolina – People may crab about the Gamecocks, after all, their last win was over 1-AA South Carolina State. I don’t care, South Carolina is 4-1, they beat Mississippi, and even the AP Poll finally brought them into the fold at No. 25. Hosts Kentucky next.

11) Auburn – Not sure they deserve it but still undefeated at 5-0 and beat Tennessee. Go to Arkansas next.

12) Wisconsin – Still 5-0 and got by Minnesota on-the-road. Teams that win away games in league play impress.

13) LSU – Managed to beat Georgia 20-13, and is 5-0. Hosts No. 1 Florida next. AP has them at No. 4; I remain unconvinced.

14) Kansas – Still 4-0, hosts Iowa State this week. Have no idea how good the Jayhawks are, but they are 1 of 13 teams that are still undefeated.

15) TCU – Beat up SMU to go 4-0. Travels to Air Force next, not exactly a big challenge.

16) USC – Southern Cal is now 4-1. The Trojans went to California and killed the Bears 30-3.

17) South Florida ‘Now 5-0 after beating Syracuse.

18) Missouri – Now 4-0, one of 13 undefeated teams left. Hosts Nebraska this week, that should tell us a lot about Missouri and Nebraska.

19) Georgia Tech – Now 4-1 after beating Mississippi State. Travels to Florida State this week; not sure which Seminole team will be defending their home turf.

20) Miami (FL) – Now 4-1 after upsetting No. 8 Oklahoma 21-20. I kicked Oklahoma out of my poll last week. Now you know why.

21) Nebraska – Now 3-1, did lose to Virginia Tech 16-15 on-the-road. Travels to Missouri next; bring it on.

22) Stanford – Now 4-1 after beating UCLA. Also beat Washington. Probably is the second best team in the Pac 10 behind USC.

23) Pittsburgh – Now 4-1 after dusting Louisville.

24) Notre Dame – Now 4-1. Had to go to overtime to beat Washington. Has won last 3 games in the last 60 seconds of each game. Has given up an average of 30 points a game in its last 4 games.

25) Central Michigan – Now 4-1 after beating Buffalo on-the-road.

I know, you are saying where is Penn State, Oklahoma State, Tulsa, Utah, Mississippi, Brigham Young, Michigan, Houston, Georgia and Florida State. Well, they need to stop talking and start performing against really good teams. It’s bad enough that I have Boise State in my Top 25; one of these at a time is enough.

Ed Bagley asked:


ght © 2009 Ed Bagley

There was only one real upset in college football’s 8th week of play as 12 of the 20 top-ranked teams put on their muscle shirts and showed what they have, a sure sign that teams have begun to stabilize for their last 4 games.

Only 21st-ranked Texas Tech was caught flat-footed at home by unranked Texas A&M, 52-30. The Red Raiders (now 5-3) were favored by 22 and lost by 22, a 44-point negative swing that sent Texas Tech reeling. The Texas A&M Aggies meant business, piling up a 38-22 lead after 3 quarters, and then outscoring the Red Raiders 14-8 in the 4th quarter.

Texas A&M was trounced 62-14 last week by Kansas State and decided to take it out on Texas Tech. The high score was no real surprise; both teams came in as scoring machines—Tech was ranked 2nd nationally at 41 ppg, and A&M was 19th at 33 ppg. A&M piled up 559 yards of offense and Tech 520; the contest was strictly offensive with a combined 1,079 yards of offense. Exciting, but not good football.

One other upset occurred when unranked Clemson hung in and hung on for a 40-37 overtime upset of 8th-ranked Miami (FL) on the Hurricanes’ home field. Miami (now 5-2) was favored 5. Kyle Parker threw a 26-yard scoring strike to Jacoby Ford to win the game. It was big deal for Clemson because the Tigers have been toothless for some time. The win was Clemson’s first in 9 tries over ranked teams, and its first win over a Top 10 foe in more than 8 years.

Here are the 7 of 12 teams that put on their muscle shirts looking for more BCS poll support by dominating their opponents in away games:

No. 3-ranked Texas (7-0) over Missouri 41-7, 6th-ranked Boise State (7-0) over Hawaii 54-9, 10th-ranked Texas Christian (7-0) over Brigham Young 38-7 (TCU was favored by 2.5 and won by 31), 11th-ranked Georgia Tech (7-1) over Virginia 34-9, 13th-ranked Penn State (7-1) over Michigan 35-10, 14th-ranked Oklahoma State (6-1) over Baylor 34-7, and 25th-ranked Oklahoma (4-3) over 24th-ranked Kansas 35-13 (this was not an upset as the Sooners were favored by 8 an won by 22).

Three other away game victories by ranked teams were less dominating.

No. 2-ranked Florida (7-0) led Mississippi State 16-13 after 3 quarters and then outscored the Bulldogs 13-6 in the final quarter to win 29-19. The victory was Florida’s 17th straight, the nation’s longest winning streak. Gator Tim Tebow threw two interceptions for touchdowns; Mississippi State’s Johnthan Banks ran one back for 100 yards and another for 20 yards.

No. 7-ranked Iowa (8-0) used a last play 7-yard TD pass by Ricky Stanzi to Marvin McNutt to come-from-behind against Michigan State 15-13. The Spartans had successfully defended 3 downs and led 13-9 before the last play. Iowa has now won 12 straight dating back to last season, the second-longest streak in the nation.

The Hawkeyes are becoming a bigger deal nationally because they have won more close games than a pack of termites at a timber feast. Seven of their 8 victories have been by 11 or fewer points, including 1, 2 and 3-point victories over Northern Iowa, Michigan and Arkansas. Last year Iowa lost 4 games by a combined total of 12 points. The Hawkeye defense has 15 interceptions this year and 9 fumble recoveries.

No. 14-ranked Oregon (6-1) got a lot of help from Washington in its 43-19 victory, which might have appeared more dominate than it actually was. The Huskies managed to let a rusher go untouched on a punt attempt that was blocked and resulted in a loose ball in the end zone that Oregon recovered for a TD. While Washington was rushing to get into position for the extra point, the holder ran it in for a 2-point conversion.

Another Husky drive that should have been a touchdown became a field goal, and another Husky drive ended at 2nd-and-goal and Washington could not get it in as Jake Locker threw an interception on 4th down and the Huskies came away with nothing. Oregon would rush for 259 yards and Washington could not stop them.

Here are the 5 of 12 teams that put on their muscle shirts looking for more BCS poll support by dominating their opponents in home games:

No. 5-ranked Cincinnati (7-0) over Louisville 41-10, 9th-ranked Louisiana State (6-1) over Auburn 31-10, 17th-ranked Houston (6-1) over Southern Methodist 38-15 (Houston led 31-3 after 3 quarters), 18th-ranked Ohio State (6-2) over Minnesota 38-7, and 20th-ranked Pittsburgh (7-1) over South Florida 41-14.

Five other home game victories by ranked teams were less dominating.

Least impressive was 1st-ranked Alabama’s block of a 44-yard field goal on the last play of the game by the Tide’s 350-pound nose guard Terrence Cody to preserve a 12-10 lead and victory over the unranked 3-4 Tennessee Volunteers. The blocked field goal by Cody, now dubbed “Mount Cody”, was his second of the game. The Crimson Tide (now 8-0) came into the game ranked No. 1 in total defense; Alabama’s offense, which averaged 34 points a game coming in, got all of its points on 4 field goals by Leigh Tiffin, including a 49-yarder and a 50-yarder.

No. 4-ranked Southern California was lucky to get by the unranked 4-3 Oregon State Beavers. A 63-yard punt return by Damian Williams in the 4th quarter and a late drive that bailed out the USC defense saved the day as the Trojans outlasted the Beavers, 42-36. Southern Cal was ranked 9th in the nation in total defense, but its scoring defense was ranked 41st (the Trojans were giving up 30 points a game). Now you know why USC is beyond lucky to be ranked No. 4 in the country. Think about it, the Trojans gave up 36 points to a 4-3 Oregon State team. The Beavers were the only team to beat USC last year, and they did it at home 27-21.

No. 19-ranked Utah (6-1) went lame in a 23-16 victory over a 4-4 Air Force team. This is not the same Utah team that went 13-0 last year as the only undefeated team in the nation, and then took down Alabama 31-17 in the BCS Sugar Bowl. Utah still must face major opponents in Texas Christian (7-0) and Brigham Young (6-2).

No. 22-ranked West Virginia (6-1) needed a 56-yard touchdown run by Noel Devine in the closing minutes to get by Connecticut, 28-24, and 23rd-ranked South Carolina (6-2) keep a weak 2-6 Vanderbilt team at bay long enough to win 14-10. The 15th-ranked Virginia Tech Hokies were idle this week.

Here are two unranked teams still on the move and hoping to get ranked. Central Michigan (now 7-1 and getting more impressive every week) beat Bowling Green 24-10, and Navy (6-2) beat Wake Forest 13-10.

Nebraska, which I publicly identified as a fraud in last week’s wrap-up, lost again, this time to Iowa State 9-7 in what sounded like a scrum match. The Idaho Vandals, who had been flying high at 6-1, got crushed by a 4-3 Nevada team, 70-45. Ouch, that was some crash landing; nonetheless, the Vandals are still 6-2 and bowl eligible.

Tell Rudy to crank up that typesetting machine, this wrap-up is finished (just for the record, you have to be at least 65 years old to use the noun typesetting in an article like this; we do it primarily to confuse younger people between downing shots of Jameson).

(Editor’s Note: The rankings in this article are from the AP Top 25 Poll of sportswriters and sportscasters, and any ratings are from Jeff Sagarin.)

Srimae Bagnam asked:


r is about to end and this marks the dawn of the new season for football. With a huge fan following from all over the world, specially Europe, everyone seems to be all-set to witness the kick-off of domestic leagues. Whilst waiting for the 2008 football season, everyone, including the busy transfer markets, have been curious to see the performances of their clubs for the all new, grand football season. The special feature of this season is the most elite of all the football competitions in the world – European championship 2008, which will be hosted in Switzerland and Austria.

Also referred as the Euro 2008, this European championship 2008 is the 13th edition of the UEFA, the European Football Championship, which is an anniversary celebration of the European nations football tournament. Initiated on 7 June 2008, the close of the tournament has been scheduled with the final being played at the Ernst Happel Stadion on 29th of the same month in Vienna. This is the second of the joint successful bids in the history of the competition. Being triumphed in the preceding tournament, Greece will be the defending champions in the tournament.

In all, there are sixteen teams that will be trying to notch a win in this grand football tournament. These obviously include the two host countries, along with 14 other teams that are determined on the basis of the qualifying matches, which started in August 2006. Of the sixteen participating teams, the winner of Euro 2008 will have the benefit of qualifying for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, which is to be held in South Africa. Not forgetting that the winning team will have the choice of participating or not.

A positive draw has been given to England in the qualifying stages of the 2008 European championship. However tougher tests have been faced by many home countries, including the Republic of Ireland, so as to qualify for the finals in Switzerland and Austria after the Friday draw in Montreux.

Also, a new trophy has been designed for the winning team of the Euro 2008. It has been designed and created by Asprey of London, and is another version of the Henri Delaunay Trophy. It is an accurate replica of the original, which was designed by Arthus-Bertrand. In the original trophy, the minute figure which was seen juggling the ball at the back has been detached along with marble plinth. The trophy’s silver base has been enlarged which gives the trophy better stability. The names of the winning countries, which used to appear on the plinth, will now be engraved on the back of the trophy, and engraved in sterling silver. The height of the trophy is 60 centimeters and it weighs 17.6 lb, or 8 kilograms.

Though booking tickets online for Euro 2008 is convenient and a good idea, fans still have to be careful when purchasing tickets. IT experts have appealed to fans to be careful of a malicious code, which is mentioned on a big European company website which deals in the re-sale of tickets. The talked about site also ranks high amongst search engine listings and the presence of several sponsored links which indicates that hackers may be able to track down potential victims.

Ed Bagley asked:


ght © 2009 Ed Bagley

In a great example of too little too late, there were 4 upsets of AP Top 25 teams in college football’s 12th week and none of them had any real impact. On the other hand, two favorites won big time road games with big implications as Ohio State buried Michigan 21-10, and Oregon held off a very pesky Arizona team, 44-41.

Last week the 9th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes (10-2) beat Iowa to earn their first trip to the Rose Bowl in 13 years. By beating Michigan (5-7 and not bowl eligible), Ohio State won the Big Ten title outright with a 7-1 mark, losing only at Purdue. The Buckeyes led Michigan 21-10 after three quarters and both teams played a scoreless 4th quarter.

The 11th-ranked Oregon Ducks (9-2) were in trouble mid-way through the last quarter when Arizona took a 31-24 lead on a 71-yard screen pass from Nick Foles to Juron Criner, and then the Wildcats had possession and could have won the game by running out the clock.

But a long pass into the end zone was intercepted by Oregon’s Talmadge Jackson III (dude, it’s a name), and that opened the door for Duck quarterback Jeremiah Masoli to tie it up at 31-apiece with an 8-yard pass to Ed Dickson with only 6 seconds remaining.

In the first overtime, Masoli hit Jeff Maehl for a 4-yard score, and Foles hit Juron Criner with a 3-yard strike to send the game into a second overtime. The Duck defense held and Arizona had to settle for a 41-yard field goal by Alex Zendejas. Oregon then proved why it is the better team—Masoli found Dickson for a 22-yard completion and then three plays later, Masoli bulled it in from a yard out and Oregon won, 44-41.

The Ducks’ Masoli accounted for 6 touchdowns in the game—3 passing and 3 running. He went 26-for-47 for 284 yards and picked up another 61 yards on 16 carries.

By winning, the Ducks set themselves up to earn a Pac-10 title and Rose Bowl berth against Ohio State if—and it is a big if—they beat the visiting 20th-ranked Oregon State Beavers (8-3) in a winner-take-all Civil War showdown next Saturday in Eugene.

The Beavers, one of the dirtiest teams in college football (they like to legally hurt opposing players with little things like helmet-to-helmet hits), will invade Oregon’s Autzen Stadium, home of some of the nation’s most raucous, unkempt, nose-picking fans who like to throw unopened cans of pop at opposing players. The Ducks have also been known for throwing sucker punches at opposing players.

They call the annual Oregon-Oregon State rivalry the Civil War for a reason. Both of these teams like to punish each other, so expect it to be a very physical game, especially with a Pac-10 title and a trip to the Rose Bowl on the line.

The four upsets this week that added little to the season included Mississippi (8-3) at home 25-23 over 10th-ranked LSU (8-3), Northwestern (8-4) at home 33-31 over 17th- ranked Wisconsin (8-3), Syracuse (4-7) at home 31-13 over 25th-ranked Rutgers (7-3), and California (8-3) on-the-road 34-28 over 14th-ranked Stanford (7-4).

Stanford did not lose because its battering ram Toby Gerhart did not perform. Gerhart did his part and more, picking up 136 yards on 20 carries (6.8 yards per carry), scoring 4 touchdowns, and carrying defenders on a 29-yard reception that set up Stanford at California’s 13-yard-line with less than 2 minutes left. Unfortunately for the Cardinal, Andrew Luck threw an interception to kill the drive that could have put Stanford ahead and won the game.

In truth, Stanford’s defense simply could not contain the Bears’ Shane Vereen, who rushed for a career-high 193 yards on 42 carries (4.6 yards per carry) and scored 3 touchdowns. It’s tough to win a game when you give up 34 points.

Eleven top-25 teams won home games this week, and the three top-rated unbeaten teams—Florida, Alabama and Texas—all won with authority to keep their image and rep in order.

The No. 1-ranked Florida Gators (11-0) gave the in-state rival Florida International Golden Panthers a lesson they will not soon forget, 62-3. No. 2-ranked Alabama (11-0) shut out 1-AA Chattanooga 45-0. No. 3-ranked Texas (11-0) put a whipping on Kansas 51-20.

Other home victories included 12th-ranked Oklahoma State (9-2) over Colorado 31-28, 15th-ranked Iowa (10-2) shut out Minnesota 12-0, 16-ranked Virginia Tech (8-3) over North Carolina State 38-10, 18th-ranked Clemson (8-3) over Virginia 34-21, 19th-ranked Brigham Young (9-2) over Air Force 38-21, 21st-ranked Miami of Florida (8-3) over Duke 34-16, 23rd-ranked Utah (9-2) over San Diego State 38-7, and 24th-ranked Houston (9-2) over Memphis 55-14.

Four other top-25 teams scored away victories this week. No. 14-ranked Texas Christian (11-0) remained unbeaten by smacking Wyoming 45-10, 6th-ranked Boise State (11-0) kept its slate perfect with a 52-21 clubbing of Utah State, 13th-ranked Penn State (10-2) made it look easy against Michigan State 42-14, and 20th-ranked Oregon State (8-3) slammed Washington State 42-10.

Three top-25 teams were idle—5th-ranked Cincinnati, 7th-ranked Georgia Tech and 8th-ranked Pittsburgh.

Six teams won and became bowl eligible. They included Bowling Green (6-5) over Akron 36-20, Florida State (6-5) over Maryland 29-26, Texas A&M (6-5) over Baylor 38-3, UCLA (6-5) over Arizona State 23-13, Tennessee (6-5) over Vanderbilt 31-16, and Louisiana Lafayette (6-5) over in-state rival Louisiana Monroe 21-17.

Four other games were noteworthy. Temple (9-2) won its 9th straight game 47-13 over Kent State, Central Michigan (9-2) won its 9th game 35-3 over Ball State, hapless Notre Dame (6-5) was upset by Connecticut 33-30 in a second overtime period, and New Mexico (1-10) finally won a game this year by beating red-faced Colorado State 29-27.

Ed Bagley asked:


ght © 2009 Ed Bagley

Only 13 among the 120 major teams remain undefeated after the 5th week of a 16-week college football season. They are Florida, Texas, Alabama, LSU, Boise State, Cincinnati, TCU, Iowa, Kansas, Auburn, South Florida, Missouri and Wisconsin.

On the flip side, only 7 teams have yet to win a game–Rice, New Mexico, Eastern Michigan, Florida International University, Florida Atlantic, Western Kentucky and Miami (OH). So, with tongue in cheek, 20 teams still have perfect records–13 are excellent and 7 are terrible.

Considering that most teams are now playing a 12-game season, we have passed the one-third mark to the finish. Many fans may have thought that Virginia Tech, USC, Ohio State, BYU, Oklahoma and even Mississippi might still be unbeaten. Not so.

The biggest upset of the week belonged to the 123rd-ranked University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) Miners who outlasted and outplayed the 12th-ranked Houston Cougars, 58-41, in a barn-burner of competitive excitement. With the score tied at 17 in the first half, Houston quit too early as UTEP won the 2nd half 41-24.

Coach Mike Price’s Miners could only muster 53 yards of total offense in losing 64-7 to 2nd-ranked Texas last week on-the-road, but arose from the humiliation to amass 581 yards of offense at home. Donald Buckram picked up 262 yards rushing and scored 4 TDs. UTEP really found its mojo in the second half, putting 20 points on the board in the 3rd quarter and 21 in the 4th.

Houston’s high-powered offense—led by quarterback Case Keenum with 536 passing yards and 5 touchdowns—could not keep up with UTEP on the scoreboard. The loss was the Cougars’ first after scoring 55, 45 and 29 points in their first 3 victories; unfortunately, this was bound to happen because Houston has 11 players on defense, they just don’t play good defense, giving up an average of 32 points per game.

If Houston coach Kevin Sumlin ever decides to hire a good defensive coordinator and recruit some defensive players, Houston will become a much more important player against quality competition.

The second biggest upset saw 17th-ranked Miami (FL) get over last week’s 31-7 away loss to 6th-ranked Virginia Tech by returning home to beat 8th-ranked Oklahoma 21-20. The Hurricanes led 21-17 after 3 quarters and managed to hold the Sooners to a field goal in the last quarter to win.

Unranked Michigan State, which has looked terrible with 3 losses in the last 3 weeks, defended its turf successfully by upending 22nd-ranked Michigan 26-20 in overtime. The loss was the first for the Wolverines, who were behind 10-6 at the half but managed to send the game into OT at 20-20. The Spartans’ true freshman tailback Larry Caper scampered 23 yards, eluding at least 2 tacklers on the way, to score the winning touchdown for Michigan State.

Whoever said it’s so hard to win victories on the road forgot to tell the majority of quality teams. Of the 12 ranked teams playing away games this week, only 3–Oklahoma, Houston and Michigan–lost while 9 won. The winners included:

Third-ranked Alabama beat Kentucky 38-20; 4th-ranked LSU needed two touchdowns in the last 2:53 of the game to nip 18th-ranked Georgia 20-13; and 6th-ranked Virginia Tech managed to get by a 97th-ranked Duke team 34-26, a very unimpressive victory despite being on-the-road. Giving up 26 points to Duke is like taking your sister to the senior prom. Seventh-ranked Southern California ripped apart the 24th-ranked California Bears, 30-3; the Bears seem to fold every season, and sometimes even this early.

Ninth-ranked Ohio State traveled to Indiana and won 33-14. Apparently they still play football at Indiana, but with the Hoosiers, it is sometimes hard to tell. Tenth-ranked Cincinnati got by 150th-ranked and winless (you read it right) Miami of OH, 37-13. Another less than impressive performance by a highly-ranked team. Fifteenth-ranked Penn State beat 85th-ranked Illinois 35-17; at least the Nittany Lions were not playing a 1-AA school this week.

Twenty-first-ranked Mississippi, the most-hyped new “good” team of the season, put down 77th-ranked Vanderbilt, 23-7; the score was 23-7 after the 3rd quarter, both teams decided to walk through the 4th quarter, saving some energy for party-time later. Twenty-fifth-ranked Georgia Tech beat Mississippi State 42-31, showing that Top 25 teams can give up way too many points to an opponent and still win with very little effectiveness on the defensive side of the ball.

Five other ranked teams scored home victories. They included 11th-ranked TCU over 117th-ranked SMU 39-14; 16th-ranked Oregon over inept, hapless 101st-ranked Washington State, 52-6—Oregon led 42-0 at the half, showered early and still won by 46; and 20th-ranked BYU had an unimpressive win over 119th-ranked Utah State 35-17.

Fifth-ranked Boise State notched a ridiculous 34-16 victory over 139th-ranked, 1-AA University of California at Davis (UC Davis), another part of the Broncos’ cream puff (some say powder puff) schedule. The 13th-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes, who upset 5th-ranked Penn State 21-10 in an away game last week, had the feared letdown and just got by 125th-ranked Arkansas State, 24-21. The Hawkeye defense, apparently plumb tuckered out from their effort at Happy Valley, let Arkansas State score 14 points in the last quarter to make it too close. Without a 4th quarter field goal, Iowa would have gone into overtime.

Three unranked teams went 5-0 in their bid to get into the AP Top 25 Poll. They included Wisconsin on-the-road over Minnesota 31-28, South Florida on-the-road over 95th-ranked Syracuse 34-20, and Auburn over Tennessee 26-22.

Eight other 4-1 unranked teams continued to win. Notre Dame had to go to overtime at home to turn back Washington, 37-30, marking the 3rd consecutive game that the Fighting Irish have won in the last 60 seconds. They don’t call the Irish lucky for nothing. Idaho, ranked 89th, beat visiting Colorado State, ranked 62nd, 31-29. Boston College beat Florida State 28-21 at home.

Pittsburgh traveled to Louisville and won 35-10; the Central Michigan Chippewas traveled to Buffalo and beat the 127th-ranked Bulls 20-13; South Carolina won at home over 158th-ranked, in-state rival 1-AA South Carolina State 38-14; and Tulsa traveled to Rice and beat the inept, hapless, winless Owls 27-10. Owls don’t eat rice, they are just apparently called the Rice Owls; maybe they are smart birds who don’t win a lot.

Stanford also beat visiting UCLA 24-16 to go 4-1.

Six Top 25 teams were idle this week—No. 1 Florida, No. 2 Texas, No. 12 Oklahoma State, No. 16 Kansas, No. 23 Missouri and No. 24 Nebraska.