Foot Notes: College Football Recap (Week 6)

In one play, the Stanford Cardinal may have matched last week's madness in College Football. Combine all the drama at the Coliseum with the excitement of the Red River Shootout and a battle in Baton Rouge, and we have ourselves another wild weekend, all of which are included in this week's edition of "Foot Notes", where all good things can and do come to an end.

A New Ring on the Stanford Tree

It was a night of smackin' "Booty" in southern California, but enough about Paris Hilton's Saturday evening plans. There was also a pretty wild football game going on at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

Stanford 24, #2 USC 23
The numbers...11 for 30, 149 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. A stat line like that is hardly something to write home about, and that line belonged to QB Tavita Pritchard in Stanford's upset victory over USC. During the game (his first career start), Pritchard was quoted as saying he couldn't hear the play calls late in the game. Even still, Stanford got the job done, in what was a gutsy effort by head coach Jim Harbaugh and his players, who shocked the world Saturday night. Stanford came into the game as a 40-point underdog, but the Cardinal defense flustered John David Booty all night, as the USC QB tossed four interceptions, including the victory clinching pick in the game's final minute. Harbaugh was earlier quoted as saying this USC team was the best in the history of college football. Maybe he was buttering them up slightly? Either way, all good things come to an end, in this case USC's 35-game home winning streak.

Footnote: For those that say this was the biggest upset in college football this year, let me remind you that 1-AA Appalachian State defeated Michigan (ranked fifth in the country at the time) in the opening week of the college football season. Considering the fact that USC only dropped to tenth in the most recent AP poll, I think it's safe to assume that the majority of critics agree with me. For Stanford, this was easily the biggest win for the program under Harbaugh, and another ring on the Stanford tree (see below).

Miles to Go

Prior to LSU's Saturday night performance, I hadn't seen that much gambling since Pete Rose managed the Cincinnati Reds.

#1 LSU 28, #9 Florida 24
Florida had a 17-7 lead at the half, and it's safe to say that the Gators are by far the best two loss team in the country. Then again, most teams could have two losses in a few weeks the way this season is going. Florida had a solid grasp on this game most of the way through, but Les Miles and the Tigers kept pressing on, specifically by making very gutsy play calls. LSU gambled with a fake field goal, as well as multiple fourth down plays, which led to key touchdowns, and eventually a late comeback victory for the Bayou Bengals. The Gators held LSU QB Matt Flynn in check for most of the game, but tailback Jacob Hester stepped up and posted 106 yards rushing for the Tigers. As the theme goes, all good things come to an end. In this case, it's Urban Meyer, who had not lost consecutive games since 2002 (when he was coaching at Bowling Green).

Footnote: With the aforementioned USC loss, LSU is now a unanimous #1 in the country. However, coach Les and the Tigers have "miles" to go, as it's a very long season. LSU's road doesn't get any easier, with a trip to a much improved Kentucky team on deck.

The Sooner the Better

If the Longhorns aren't careful, we may need to put Bevo on "Owen Wilson Watch". Quick, someone go contact Colt and see if he still thinks his last name is "45".

#10 Oklahoma 28, #19 Texas 21
Going into Saturday, we knew this would likely be one of the better games, and thankfully, the Red River Shootout didn't disappoint. It was a hard fought game, and the Sooners, led by redshirt freshman Sam Bradford, outlasted the Longhorns in the second half. Bradford was the star of the day, going 21 of 32 for 244 yards and 3 touchdowns. Following a concussion from last week, Colt McCoy responded fairly well, going 19 of 26, with 324 passing yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Still, it wasn't enough, as the Longhorns fell to 0-2 in the Big 12 South division. In this case, not all good things have come to an end, but they're very close. The 0-2 conference start by Texas is rare in recent years. One more bad game, and Texas will likely see an end to its 114 week long stretch as a part of the AP rankings, which is the longest in the nation.

Footnote: With other top teams faltering in recent weeks, Oklahoma's title hopes are still very much alive. A few weeks down the road, the Sooners face Texas A&M at home, which will likely be a battle for the Big 12 South division title. As for Texas, if the 'Horns can't right the ship, expect them to miss playing on New Year's Day, and the Mack Brown job security whispers will likely rise again.

Champagne Uncorked in Champaign

Like the career of Britney Spears, Wisconsin's 14-game winning streak has officially been flushed down the toilet.

Illinois 31, #5 Wisconsin 26
Yes, Wisconsin was ranked among the top 5 in the country, but every week, it appeared that the Badgers were barely escaping with victories. Not playing nearly as crisp as the year before, a defeat was bound to fall into Wisconsin's lap, and it finally did, as Illinois and head coach Ron Zook successfully knocked off a ranked team for the second consecutive week. Rashard Mendenhall (193 total yards, 160 yards rushing, 3 TD's) was brilliant for Illinois, and the elusive Juice Williams (12/19, 121 yards, 1 TD, 14 carries, 92 yards rushing) was efficient in running the offense. While Illinois has played fairly well, I hate to burst everyone's bubble, but don't give this team a Big Ten title just yet. Sure, this young and talented team is a nice story, but they have a long way to go. Two weeks ago, Penn State had every opportunity to knock off the Illini, but four late turnovers by Anthony Morelli (all occurring in the Illini's red zone) kept the game out of Penn State's hands. Still, a win is a win, and Illinois finds themselves ranked for the first time in years. As for Wisconsin, another good thing comes to an end, this time... the nation's longest win streak, which ended at 14 games.

Footnote: The next month will tell a lot for the future of the Illini, with a match against Michigan coming soon and a trip to Ohio State in early November. As for the Badgers, their road doesn't get any easier, as they travel to Penn State to take on a raucous crowd and a ferocious Nittany Lion defense.

Californi-yuck!

As the well-known phrase goes, "Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then." Hey, give me a break... I had to get one last Notre Dame jab in there.

Notre Dame 20, UCLA 6
The Irish are in the win column! And just like that, all the ongoing banter and jokes about Notre Dame vanish, as well as the talk about how this team was on its way to an 0-8 start. All gone. Give the Irish some credit, as they forced seven turnovers in the game, though it did help that UCLA star QB Ben Olson was injured during the first quarter. The Bruins backup option, redshirt freshman McLeod Bethel-Thompson, was far from stellar in what was his first ever college game appearance. The Irish defense forced Bethel-Thompson into four interceptions. On top of that, the Bruins fumbled the ball on five different occasions, losing three of them. All in all, it isn't easy to win a game with so many mistakes... unless you're the Dallas Cowboys. But that's a story for another day. Charlie Weis can now breathe easy, if that's at all possible.

Footnote: Look on the bright side UCLA fans, your team is still undefeated in the competitive Pac 10 conference. Try to look passed the loss to the bumbling Irish, who should now have some added confidence going into two tough upcoming contests against Boston College and USC. If Notre Dame can catch one of those two opponents off guard, the Irish could go from the laughing stock of college football to a bowl game, with teams like Duke and Navy to follow.


Notre Dame won and USC lost. During a normal college football year, that line wouldn't sound too shocking. Yet, it does this year. But hey, this is a year where Boston College and South Florida have cracked the Top 5, a 1-AA team knocks off Michigan (but loses to Wofford), the returning Champs drop two in a row, and a former Gators coach has a recent Big Ten doormat ranked for the first time in years. Yes, that's college football for you, and here's a trio of games to look forward to this coming weekend...

LSU at Kentucky
Wisconsin at Penn State
Missouri at Oklahoma

This has been "Foot Notes", thanks for reading...