By Dustin Sullivan
This past weekend could arguably be called one of the craziest in regards to college football. Three out of the top five teams in the nation were upset this weekend, causing constant changes to the AP Polls. These changes brought in new colleges who were previously unranked and also knocked ranked teams out of the top 25.
The first upset of the weekend came on Thursday night when the #1 team in the nation, The USC Trojans, was upset by their conference opponent Oregon State Beavers. Although USC mounted a 2nd half comeback, an early 21-0 lead capped by a Jacquizz Rodgers 2-yard touchdown run in the final quarter proved to be too much for Coach Pete Carroll and his team to overcome. With the loss USC drops to 2-1 on the year and fell 8 spots in the AP Polls to #9.
The final two upsets came from arguably the strongest conference in college football, the SEC. In an absolute battle between two ranked teams, the Crimson Tide of Alabama jolted out to a 31-0 lead in the first half over the nation’s #3 team, the Georgia Bulldogs. Although the Bulldogs fought their way back into the game, outscoring Alabama 30-10 in the second half, the early lead and stifling 1st half defense was too large of a lead to overcome. With the loss Georgia fell from #3 to #11 and dropped to 4-1 on the year.
When Ole Miss took the a late lead over #4 ranked Florida on an 86-yard touchdown from Jevan Snead to speedy receiver Shay Hodge, I’m sure they knew they were in good position for an upset. However, they forgot Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow was taking the snaps on the other side for Florida. As Tebow lead his team on a late 4th quarter touchdown drive, the game was just a one point difference at 31-30. The ensuing extra point, though, was blocked by some great hustle and special teams play by the Rebels.
Three national powerhouses could’ve easily lost a BCS bid for this year. For the new teams in the poll, however, their hopes remain. After all the changes to the polls the newest AP Top 10 poll looks like this:
1. Oklahoma 4-0
2. Alabama 5-0
3. LSU 4-0
4. Missouri 4-0
5. Texas 4-0
6. Penn State 5-0
7. Texas Tech 4-0
8. BYU 4-0
9. USC 2-1
10. South Florida 5-0
