College Football Week 10: Upstart Northwestern hands Iowa its first loss, 5 other teams are upset
Undefeated Iowa suffered the biggest loss as one of six AP Top 25 teams upset during week nine of college football competition. The others were Oregon, Penn State, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, and California.
The eighth-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes (now 9-1) had their 13-game winning streak, the second-longest in the nation, halted at home after losing quarterback Ricky Stanzi to an ankle injury. In the second quarter as an upstart Northwestern team pulled off a methodical upset victory of 17-10.
Iowa had been making a run for it throwing comebacks and winning close games all season; it seemed only a matter of time before they were discovered. Who knew it would be Northwestern that would do the job? For the 6-4 Wildcats, the win over a Top-10 opponent was their first since they defeated No. 6 Ohio State 33-27 in overtime five years ago, and their win over Iowa made them eligible to bowl. this season.
Northwestern led 14-10 at the half and added a field goal in the fourth quarter when Iowa’s offense never got going after losing Stanzi. The Hawkeyes, who had climbed as high as seventh in the AP Top 25 poll, dropped to 13th.
Seventh-ranked Oregon’s upset 47-20 victory over fourth-ranked Southern California last week, which lifted the Ducks (now 7-2) into the national title bracket, was short-lived as they were stunned at home 51-42 by Stanford. Cardinal (6-3), who became bowl-eligible in the Pac 10 contest. Despite the upset win, Stanford failed to climb into the AP Top 25 and Oregon fell to 16th.
Oregon lost because it ran into a runaway diesel named Tony Gerhart, Stanford’s senior running back who rushed for a school record 223 yards and scored 3 touchdowns. Gerhart is a battering ram waiting to happen; he can run through tacklers.
11th-ranked Penn State (8-2) and a 5-point home favorite was defeated 24-7 by 15th-ranked Ohio State, putting the Buckeyes in a tie for first with Iowa at 5-1 in the Big Ten conference race.
No. 19 Notre Dame (6-3) was beaten at home 23-21 by the 41st-ranked Navy (7-3). Navy led 21-7 after 3 quarters, and two 4th quarter touchdowns by the Fighting Irish weren’t enough to overcome the loss against the Midshipmen.
No. 20 Oklahoma (5-4) suffered an upset 10-3 loss at the hands of the 35th-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers (6-3), who became bowl eligible. The Sooners have had a tremendous fall from the top this year, also losing to Brigham Young, Miami (FL) and Texas. There’s trouble in Soonerland.
No. 23 California (6-3) was the home favorite, but was defeated 31-14 by the Oregon State Beavers (6-3), who became bowl eligible in the process. California never fails to disappoint; the Bears, who are always predicted to be better than they are, continually lose at the wrong time, often to the wrong team.
Eight other ranked teams went on to win road games.
No. 5 Boise State (9-0) remained undefeated with a 45-35 win over 96th-ranked Louisiana Tech (3-6). No. 6 Texas Christian (9-0) also remained undefeated scoring at least two touchdowns in 3 of 4 quarters in a 55-12 rout of 95th-ranked San Diego State (4-5). . 12th-ranked Southern California (7-2) won 14-9 in a close contest with 53rd-ranked Arizona State (4-5).
Houston (8-1), which is ranked 13th, posted a narrow 46-45 victory over Tulsa (4-5), which is ranked 92nd. The Houston Cougars have the second-best major college scoring offense in the country (41 ppg), but they have absolutely no defense, allowing opponents like Tulsa to score big and close out games. 18th-ranked Oklahoma State (7-2) beat 73rd-ranked Iowa State 34-8 (5-5).
22nd-ranked Virginia Tech (6-3) won 16-3 over 67th-ranked East Carolina (5-4) to become bowl eligible. Wisconsin (7-2), ranked No. 24, won with a field goal 31-28 over Indiana (4-6), ranked 91st. Brigham Young (7-2), ranked No. 25, scored a 52-0 shutout of 108th-ranked Wyoming (4-5).
Nine other qualified teams continued to advance by winning home games. They included:
No. 1 Florida (9-0) remained undefeated as the Gators took care of business with a 27-3 victory over the 119th-ranked Vanderbilt (2-8). No. 2 Texas (9-0) also remained undefeated with a dominating 35-3 win over world-ranked 83rd-ranked Central Florida (5-4).
No. 3 Alabama remained 1 of only 6 unbeaten teams with a signature 24-15 win over No. 9 LSU (7-2). A 73-yard reception and touchdown run by second-year receiver Julio Jones in the fourth quarter didn’t hurt at all. Alabama is now 9-0 for the second straight season, which hasn’t happened since the glory teams of 1973 and 1974.
Alabama’s victory, which was favored by 7.5 points, was huge in that the Crimson Tide continues on a crash course with Florida (9-0) in the No. 1 seed for the SEC Championship and a berth in the Game. National Championship game, probably against Texas (9-0) if the Longhorns remain undefeated.
No. 4 Cincinnati (9-0) remained undefeated with a narrow 47-45 win over 52nd-ranked Connecticut (4-5). The Huskies scored 3 touchdowns in a comeback attempt in the 4th quarter, but it wasn’t enough. No. 10 Georgia Tech (9-1) needed a 30-27 overtime win to defeat 55th-ranked Wake Forest (4-6). Pittsburgh (8-1), No. 14, scored in every quarter to beat 93rd-ranked Syracuse (3-6) 37-10.
No. 16 Miami of Florida (7-2) scored at least two touchdowns in 3 of 4 quarters to win 52-17 over 65th-ranked Virginia (3-6). No. 17 Utah (8-1) won 45-14 over New Mexico (0-9), which is ranked 164th and has yet to win. No. 21 Arizona (6-2) became bowl eligible with its 48-7 rout of 115th-ranked Washington State (1-8). The Wildcats led 34-zip at the half and went through the motions in the second half instead of playing harder and winning even more.
Eight more unranked teams became bowl-eligible this week. They included Mississippi, Clemson, Air Force, Fresno State, Northern Illinois, Kansas State, Middle Tennessee, and North Carolina.
Mississippi (6-3) won 38-14 over 109th-ranked, 1-AA Northern Arizona (5-4). Clemson (6-3) beat 39th-ranked Florida State (4-5) 40-24, hastening the end of Bobby Bowden’s historic career with the Seminoles. If Bowden doesn’t retire this year, he might get fired. The Air Force (6-4) crushed the Army in 144th place (3-6) 35-7. Fresno State (6-3) beat Idaho (7-3) 31-21. A 14-point surge in the fourth quarter wasn’t enough for the Vandals to pull off another win.
Northern Illinois (6-3) beat winless 179th-ranked Eastern Michigan (0-9) 50-6. Kansas State won 17-10 over in-state rival Kansas (5-4). Middle Tennessee (6-3) posted a 48-21 victory over 138th-ranked Florida International (2-7). North Carolina (6-3) won 19-6 over Duke (5-4), which is ranked 69th.
Four other teams should be noted. Temple (7-2) won its seventh straight game 34-32 over Miami of Ohio (1-9). Troy (7-2) won 40-20 over winless 182nd-ranked Western Kentucky (0-9). Western Kentucky is the worst major college team this year; the Hilltoppers (now Bottom Droppers) are so bad you can smell them in Idaho.
Auburn (7-3) notched a blowout 63-31 victory over poor 168-ranked 1-AA Furman (4-5) to move up the AP Poll to 25th. Southern Methodist ( 5-4 and ranked 80th) topped the .500 mark with a narrow 31-28 home win over 165th-ranked Rice (0-9) who was winless.
Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley
