Even after yesterday's Michigan State game, the day in college football still had plenty to offer in the way of surprises. For the third straight week, the top team in the land fell, as Oklahoma got off to a sluggish start and never recovered. It's not often that you'll see a special teams breakdown off of the opening kickoff, and much less from the No.1 team in the country.
Although the Sooners would go on to put together several long drives, they still came out on the wrong end of the box score.
In the SEC, Cam Newton ran wild in leading Auburn over LSU, and at this point in the season, he's my pick for the Heisman. Closer to home, Michigan State was aided in the Big Ten conference race by Wisconsin, who delivered the first conference defeat of the season to Iowa. Suddenly, next weekend's trip to Iowa City, while tough for sure, looks less imposing.
Saturday's results were brought into clearer context by the newest BCS rankings, and it appears that in the eyes of the computer system, Oregon will have to do more than just win football games decisively. For the second straight week, I was surprised to see the Ducks in the second slot despite another victory.
While top-ranked Auburn's win over previously 6th-ranked LSU was impressive, I disagree with their jump up to No. 1. Granted, they've emerged from the nation's toughest conference unblemished so far, but it's a shame the BCS still doesn't account for margin of victory in its process.
Thanks to the aforementioned LSU loss and a stumble by the Sooners, MSU finds themselves fifth-ranked. If the Spartans want to move up, they'll need a loss by TCU before anything else. They have a prime opportunity to move past them in 2 weeks, when the Horned Frogs visit 8th-ranked Utah.
The unbeaten Utes have the best shot to knock off Andy Dalton and Co. before the season draws to a close, but until that time, MSU can help its cause by taking down the Hawkeyes on Saturday.
Look here later this week for a breakdown of the Spartans' road trip to Iowa City.
--Beau
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