There were some good match ups on paper and fortunately it turned out to be a pretty exciting weekend of college football – unless of course you’re a Wisconsin or Oklahoma fan.

#5 Boise State 37, Air Force 26

On The Triple-Dub I wrote about being excited to see the Boise State defense against Air Force’s triple-option offense. After watching the game and seeing the Falcons enjoy a 12 minute advantage in time of possession I’m just happy it’s over. The Broncos had two red zone turnovers while Tim Jefferson and the Falcons rushed for 264 yards keeping the ball away from the Boise State offense. It was pretty obvious the Broncos defense hadn’t seen an offense like that before and I’m glad they don’t have to face another team like that. After seeing several players leave the field injured the bye week came at a great time for Chris Petersen.

USC 31, Notre Dame 17

USC RB Curtis McNeal

Photo via zimbio.com

The final score of this had to be a surprise to many – for the most part I saw predictions for Notre Dame blowouts & close wins but nobody really expected the Trojans to win let alone beat the Irish like that.  Matt Barkley completed 24 of 35 passes for 224 yards and 3 touchdowns while the USC defense forced three turnovers (2 fumbles, 1 int) returning one for a touchdown. Lane Kiffin’s start at USC hasn’t been the greatest but this was a nice for him getting the Trojans to 6-1. An interesting note is that there were several top recruits on campus visits this weekend – I wonder how much the result of the game impacted their visits.

#8 Stanford 65, #25 Washington 21 

Even though the Cardinal were three touchdown favorites, several experts thought the Huskies would give them a test but that simply wasn’t the case. Washington running back Chris Polk had a good day rushing for 144 yards and 2 touchdowns but that was about the only bright spot for the Huskies. Stanford physically dominated Washington’s defense rushing for 446 yards and throwing for another 169. It’s amazing that Washington’s defensive coordinator Nick Holt makes over $2 million a season for having such a terrible defense. Anyhow, we’ll find out just how good Stanford is over the next few weeks with three of their last five games against USC, Oregon and Notre Dame.

#16 Michigan State 37, #6 Wisconsin 31

The end of this game was unbelievable – I don’t have any hesitation saying this was the best Big Ten game I’ve seen in years. Wisconsin jumped out to a 14-0 first quarter lead but Michigan State responded with 23 straight points to take a 23-14 halftime lead. The third quarter was relatively quite with just a Wisconsin field goal to make it 23-17 but the fourth quarter was awesome. Kirk Cousins extended the Spartans lead to 31-17 early in the fourth quarter with a touchdown pass and then the Badgers offense finally woke up. Russell Wilson lead two touchdown drives to tie the score 31-31 with 1:26 remaining. With the game seemingly headed to overtime, Cousins threw up a Hail Mary only to be batted back to Spartan wide receiver Keith Nichol who caught the ball and appeared to score but was called down at the half yard line as time expired. The play was reviewed and correctly overturned giving Michigan State an incredible last-second upset victory against the conference front runners. Hopefully you got to at least watch the last part of the fourth quarter!

Texas Tech 41, #3 Oklahoma 38

This one was the shocker of the night. The game was initially delayed 1 hour 35 minutes by lightning and before Oklahoma knew it, the Red Raiders had jumped out to a  Tech jumped out to a 24-7 halftime lead. Texas Tech quarterback Seth Doege threw a touchdown pass to open the third quarter extending the lead to 31-7. Landry Jones and the Sooners cut the lead to 31-24 early in the fourth quarter but Texas Tech stretched it to 41-24. Jones lead two more touchdown drives but it was too little too late and just like that the Sooners blew their national championship hopes. I guess there a reason they’re called Chokelahoma.

Other Thoughts:

- Clemson looked really good on offense (again) beating North Carolina 59-38 – Tajh Boyd was impressive throwing for 367 yards and touchdowns to 5 different receivers including Sammy Watkins and DeAndre Hopkins. I’m still not sure about their defense but you have to give them credit as they continue to win.
- Oklahoma State passed another test beating a decent Missouri on the road after some thought the Cowboys would be upset. With Oklahoma’s loss, the Pokes are now in the drivers seat to win the Big 12 and play in the BCS National Championship – if they can win out with games against Baylor, Kansas State, Texas Tech and Oklahoma.
- I haven’t really looked at the schedule of games for this weekend but I know we’re getting closer to the LSU-Bama showdown on November 5th after both easily dispatched their opponents again this week. There’s already so much hype around this game I hope it can live up to everyone’s expectations!

Heisman Top 5:

1. Boise State QB Kellen Moore – 76.3%, 2,010 yds, 24 TDs, 5 Ints
2. Stanford QB Andrew Luck – 71.8%, 1,888 yds, 20 TDs, 3 Ints, 83 yds rushing, 1 TD
3. Alabama RB Trent Richardson – 149 carries, 989 yds, 17 TDs, 18 rec, 212 yds, 1 TD
4. Clemson QB Tajh Boyd – 61.9%, 2,379 yds, 24 TDs, 3 Ints, 161 yds rushing, 4 TDs
5. USC QB Matt Barkley – 68.2%, 2,006, 19 TDs, 4 Ints, 26 yds rushing, 1 TD

Others considered: Robert Griffin III, LaMichael James, Case Keenum, Sammy Watkins, Brandon Weeden, Russell Wilson, & Robert Woods.

The Upset Blog Top 20:

1. Alabama (8-0)
2. LSU (8-0)
3. Boise State (7-0)
4. Oklahoma State (7-0)
5. Stanford (7-0)
6. Clemson (8-0)
7. Oregon (6-1)
8. Michigan State (6-1)
9. Oklahoma (6-1)
10. Arkansas (6-1)
11. Kansas State (7-0)
12. Wisconsin (6-1)
13. Nebraska (6-1)
14. USC (6-1)
15. Virginia Tech (7-1)
16. South Carolina (6-1)
17. Michigan (6-1)
18. Houston (7-0)
19. Georgia (5-2)
20 Arizona State (5-2)

Any thoughts on the weekend, my Heisman Top 5 or my Top 20 Ballot?