In a weekend of college football that did not feature a single game between ranked opponents the NCAA produced a surprising amount of action as the top-25 saw three upsets and three teams come away with victory by the skin of their teeth.
Granted they were playing an SEC team, but Florida will have to work hard to justify a No. 9 ranking after securing their win on a missed field goal by Kentucky’s redshirt freshman kicker in the last minute of play. Yes, they scored a touchdown on their final play of the game, but they needed it and that is not the performance of a top-10 team. Especially when teams 1 – 8 put away their opponents by an average margin of 41 points.
No. 21 Maryland had outscored their opponents 142 – 20 in the first two weeks, but saw their high powered offense shut down by the Temple Owls who stopped the Terrapins not once, not twice, but three separate times inside the five yard line to almost assuredly knock Maryland out of the top-25.
For the second week in a row BYU pulled off a stunning fourth quarter comeback as the Cougars rallied to upset the USC Trojans in overtime to beat their second ranked opponent in four years. For USC the loss confirms that they are still a program in need of rebuilding and puts them in a precarious position as they prepare for three games against ranked teams, starting with the No. 11 Utah Utes.
Finally, in the best defensive game of the weekend, Arizona State edged out No. 18 Michigan State after marching 75-yards on their final drive to punch the ball into the end-zone with 50 seconds left on the clock to take a three-point lead. The Spartans moved quickly down field on their ensuing possession only to see the game tying field goal negated by too many men on the field and the follow-on attempt sail wide giving the Sun Devils the upset victory.
Top-25 Scoreboard:
No. 1
Clemson
41
No. 9
Florida
29
No. 19
Iowa
18
Syracuse
6
Kentucky
21
Iowa State
17
No. 2
Alabama
47
No. 11
Utah
31
No. 20
Washington St
31
S. Carolina
23
Idaho State
0
Houston
24
No. 3
Georgia
55
No. 12
Texas
48
No. 21
Maryland
17
Arkansas St.
0
Rice
13
Temple
20
No. 4
LSU
65
No. 13
Penn State
17
No. 22
Boise State
45
Northwestern St.
14
Pitt
10
Portland
10
No. 5
Oklahoma
48
No. 15
Oregon
35
No. 23
Washington
52
UCLA
14
Montana
3
Hawai’i
20
No. 6
Ohio State
51
No. 16
Texas A&M
62
No. 24
USC
27
Indiana
10
Lamar
3
BYU
30 OT
No. 7
Notre Dame
66
No. 17
UCF
45
No. 25
Virginia
31
New Mexico
14
Stanford
27
Florida State
24
No. 8
Auburn
55
No. 18
Michigan St.
7
Kent State
16
Arizona St.
10
