Week 3: Upset City

Willing to bet not many people saw it coming, but Saturday turned into upset weekend before it was all said and done. I'll take a look back at the excitement this weekend produced and also set the stage for what should be an even better weekend next Saturday.

This is Why I Love College Football 

I said it yesterday and I'll say it again, if you can't get into college football after a day like yesterday, you need to seek medical attention. This is what its all about. Last minute finishes, upsets, and blowouts. Saturday had it all and more and kept us college football fans on the edge of our seats all day long. I'll start with my PC Blue Hose. To sum it up, our guys just ran out of steam in the second half. We played hard all game long but too much depth and talent to match up against for four quarters. Zac Stacy of Vanderbilt is a stud and he could be the difference-maker in many of the Commodores' games down the stretch. With the 58-0 rout of PC, the 1-2 'Dores now prepare to battle #5 UGA next weekend.

 What Now? 

Many people believed that this was USC's year and that the trojans were primed to win another title this year. Lane Kiffins crew rolled in the first two games of the season but hit a brick wall in the form of Stanford Saturday night. The Trojans fell to Cardinals (3-0) 21-14. With the win, the Cardinals now find themselves ranked #9 and in position to make a great run at a BCS bowl bid. It will be interesting to see how USC reacts from this shocking upset. I noted in my blog that USC would trip up at some point this season though I had no idea it would come to Stanford or this early in the season.

Another Upset

Michigan St also got bitten by the upset bug Saturday as Notre Dame gave them all they could handle and then some en route to a 20-3 victory. Didn't see this one coming either but hats off to the Irish and future members of the ACC....well, kinda...for the big win. 

Auburn avoids 0-3 start, wins OT thriller over LA-Monroe 

It took overtime and a missed FG by La-Monroe, but Auburn found a way to avoid the diasterous 0-3 start to the season and knocked off the WarHawks 31-28. However, with LSU up next, there is no time to celebrate. Auburn has go to find some answers or its going to be a long season on the plains. And though they are just two years removed from a BCS title, Tiger fans are going to become very restless if Gene Chizik doesn't get Auburn back on track. 

#10 Clemson, #7 South Carolina both win big and move to 3-0....prepare for conference play this weekend 

Both Clemson and South Carolina had shaky starts but had no problem down the stretch putting their oppoonents away as Clemson defeated Furman 41-7 and South Carolina knocked off UAB 49-6. Sammy Watkins returned with a splash scoring his first rushing touchdown from 58 yards out. Boyd moved into second place on the all time touchdown passes list, second behind Charlie Whitehurst. He is only 6 behind Charlie and will demolish that record with ease. Clemson now prepares for another ESPN College GameDay expereince as they take on #4 FSU in Tallahassee. The Gameocks might be without Conner Shaw the next time they take the field as he re-injured his shoulder in the game Saturday night. South Carolina host Missouri next weekend in Columbia at 3:30 and will look to pick up their first SEC win of the year.

Other News/Scores

Alabama continues to flex its muscle as it shutout Arkansas 52-0. They are now followed in the polls by #2 LSU who rolled over Idaho 63-14. UGA struggled early, but pulled away from FAU 56-20. A showdown with Vandy next week is the last major roadblock keeping them from a perfect record when they head to Columbia October 6th. Pittsburgh, who joins the ACC next year had a nice welcoming present from Virginia  Tech beating the Hokies 35-17. Urban Meyer's Buckeyes survived against Cal and improved to 3-0 with a 35-28 victory. Florida rallied in Neyland and stuck to the Vols 37-20. I didn't think the Gators could win on the road two weeks in a row, but they did it. Are they back? We'll have to see, but its making that SEC-East race even more exciting now. #14 Texas had its way with Ole Miss routing the rebels 66-31. I came into Saturday with an overall record of 16-7 and started off undefeated on the day but thanks to USC's upset and Florida's big win, I finished the day 7-2. I also would like to toot my own horn and point out my prediction for the Gamecocks was nearly perfect. I called 49-3 and they won 49-6. Overall now, I'm looking at 23-9 heading into week 4. Satisfied with the record but until I go undefeated on the day, there is still work to be done.