By Paul Gotham
To be or not to be. Or something like that. A Saturday of college pigskin saw the unranked teams acting like they were at a five-year-old’s birthday party treating the top 25 like the pinata.
Oregon 42 #6 California 3
Scratch out October 3rd on the calendar of games to watch. Instead, insert October 31st. The Bears might have looked ahead to next week’s game with USC. (Okay, anyone who was having trouble saying national title and California in the same sentence doesn’t have to worry anymore.) Now the game to decide the PAC 10 could come on Hallow’s Eve when the Trojans make a trip north to Eugene. Oh, the tricks and treats to be had.
Oregon held Bear Heisman hopeful, Ahvid Best, to 55 yards on 16 carries. The tail back came in averaging over 137 yards per game for the Golden Bears who managed just 205 yards of offense. Meanwhile, the Ducks pounded out 524 yards of offense. LaMichael James led the ground attack with 118 on 21 carries. Jeremiah Masoli went 21-25 for 253 yards in the air.
The loss was Cal’s worst since 2001 when they lost to the Trojans, 55-14.
Iowa 21 #5 Penn St. 10
The legions who contributed to a ‘white-out’ at State College left unhappy. For the second straight year the Hawkeyes dealt the Nittany Lions their first loss of the season, 21-10.
Iowa scored 16 points in the fourth quarter including a blocked punt and return by Adrian Clayborn. Adam Robinson’s 13-yard touchdown run gave the Hawkeyes an 18-10 lead with 8:32 remaining.
Iowa defeated Penn State 24-23 last season. The upset came one week after the Nittany Lions defeated Ohio State, 13-6. Penn St. entered last year’s matchup with a record of 9-0.
#11 Virginia Tech 31 #9 Miami 7
The outcome of this game wasn’t so stunning: the manner was. The U went to Blacksburg with national title hopes. The Hurricanes left with dreams washed away in a Hokie downpour.
In a driving rain, VT’s offense rushed for 272 yards while Miami gained 59 yards in 34 attempts. Miami quarterback, Jacory Harris, entered the game as a Heisman hopeful. The Hokie defense limited the sophomore to nine completions on 25 attempts and one fumble. Dorian Porch forced the turnover in the first quarter on Miami’s fifth snap of the game. The Hokies took possession on the Miami 11. Ryan Williams scored one of his two touchdowns en route to 150 yards on the ground. The Hokies held a 21-0 lead at half.
Miami had previously beaten two ranked opponents, Georgia Tech and Florida State.
South Florida 17 #18 Florida St. 7
B.J. Daniels played with a chip on his shoulder. And why not. The Seminole staff ignored the Tallhassee native in high school. There’s no ignoring the red shirt now. Daniels accounted for 341 of USF’s 368 yards as the Bulls beat the Seminoles in the first-ever meeting between the sunshine state schools.
Daniels rushed for 126 yards and threw for 215 including two touchdowns.
USF’s D held the Seminoles to 19 yards on the ground.
You referred to Iowa as “Iowa State” in your article. They are 2 different teams.
Juan – many thanks for catching that mistake. Sometimes, the fingers get going a little too quick. 🙂