Is Stanford over USC the biggest upset of the year? I felt like Syracuse's win over Louisville was the upset of the year, but now that Louisville has continued to struggle, that upset looks less monumental. And, since Stanford was struggling just as much as Syracuse, this probably should be classified as a true shocker. But, for some reason it just didn't feel that shocking. Maybe this had something to do with how USC struggled last week, or how USC was due for a home loss after 35 straight home wins, but I really felt the announcers were exaggerating to call this the "upset of the year". Appalachian State over Michigan holds that spot, if for no other reason than shear embarrasment factor.
By the way, John David Booty is no Carson Palmer or Matt Leinart. Playing against a Stanford team that had surrendered a minimum of 41 points in its first three Pac 10 games, Bootry threw 4 interceptions and looked rattled by Stanford's pressure defense. Stanford actually had more sacks in this game than USC had allowed all year.
Also, Tavita Prichard, why weren't you starting from Week 1? Pritchard certainly wasn't perfect (11 of 30 anyone?!), but he executed flawlessly down the stretch in his first ever start. He tucked the ball and ran for a first down. He strong-armed a 20 yard 4th down completion into a tight space, and he floated a perfect fade pass for the go-ahead TD. But, I was most impressed with his cannon arm. His 60 yard bomb to start the final drive looked effortless, and even though it was nearly picked off, his arm strength gives Stanford's offense a serious weapon. Now if they can only find a speedy receiver to get open deep down the field.
Well, I'm happy to see Jim Harbaugh again, if for no other reason than to remind me of my all-time favorite Mike Ditka moment. In a game at the Metrodome, the Bears led the Vikings 20-0, when Harbaugh audibled and threw a bad interception that was returned for a TD. The Vikings came back to win 21-20 and Ditka's head nearly exploded on the sideline. Since Harbaugh still makes plenty of bad decisions, I think we should still expect some bad losses for Stanford in the Pac 10 this year. But for a team that's 1-3 in Pac 10 play, that's one great win.
Other Games
Speaking of surprises, Temple and Buffalo both won today. We're not the worst teams in Division 1 anymore baby!
Speaking of Jekyl and Hyde teams, UCLA lost. How did UCLA get blown out by Utah and lose to a winless Notre Dame and yet start 3-0 in the Pac 10?
Don't get your hopes up Notre Dame fans. You still play Boston College and USC and bowl ineligibility is still close.
Play nobody saw, Indiana defender Leslie Majors intercepted a pass while laying on his back.
How does LSU convert five 4th down plays in one game? I still can't believe they didn't kick the tying field goal from the 5 yard line. Florida is easily the best 2 loss team in the country.
Why don't crowd shots pick up innapropriate things more often? During the Nebraska - Missouri game, they panned to the following sign:
Extreme
Stool
Poop
Nebraska
You just can't make that stuff up.
Early Headline I Didn't Post: North Carolina 27, Miami (FL) 0. This can't hold up can it? It almost didn't.
Is there some law that when Northwestern and Michigan St. lock up they must score 1 million points? Last year, Michigan St. came back from 35 down to beat Northwestern 41-38. This year Northwestern won 48-41 in overtime.
No Michigan fans, your team still doesn't deserve to be ranked after an ugly win against Eastern Michigan.
I'm officially off the Central Florida bandwagon after they lost to East Carolina.
Meanwhile, South Florida escaped with an ugly win against Florida Atlantic. When was the last time South Florida was good enough that you could say they "escaped"?
Well, Kansas finally has a legitimate win (over Kansas St.), but I still don't think they should be ranked. Who would I rank? I'll be back with a post in a short while.