FanNation - The Republic of Sport

14. Most impressive win of the day: LSU 48, Virginia Tech 7
It was a little tough to gauge exactly where the Tigers were after beating downtrodden Mississippi State, but from the moment they stepped on the field with Virginia Tech in Death Valley, this one was over. 300 yards rushing and 300 yards passing, with Matt Flynn looking phenomenal and the defense never letting Tech breath. This is the best team in the country right now because they are so consistent on both sides of the ball. We just don't know how good USC's offense truly is and I want to see Oklahoma play a few Big 12 contests before I'm ready to anoint them as unstoppable. But right now, LSU is just that.
Runner-up: Oklahoma 51, Miami (Fla.) 13
 
13. Least impressive win of the day: Ohio State 20, Akron 2
The Buckeyes, eight months removed from playing for the national championship, were booed lustily on a rainy afternoon in Columbus in the first half, as they stumbled to a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth (read: halftime). Fortunately, they went to the bullpen, Robbie Schoenhoft brought in his trademark fastball, and Chris Wells closed things out late. In all seriousness, Ohio State's offense is back to its traditional Jim Tressel dink-and-dunk offense now that they speed of Ted Ginn, Anthony Gonzalez and Troy Smith are gone. Their defense looked just fine, but Akron's offense was laughably inept. The Buckeyes need to get their house in order before next week's visit to the Puget Sound to take on Washington.
Runner-up: Wisconsin 20, UNLV 13
 
12. Worst loss of the day: Oregon 39, Michigan 7
No one really thought this game would be close. Either Michigan would rally from its stunning last-second loss to Appalachian State and come out like they heavyweight they claim to be, or they'd lay down and die. Well, R.I.P. Big Blue. Dennis Dixon did his best Vince Young impersonation for four hours and Michigan's defensive backs got blown by like a little old lady on I-75. How do they respond? Well, at this point it can't get any worse. Take a look at their schedule the rest of the way. Notre Dame and Eastern Michigan visit out of conference, and the Big Ten slate won't exactly feature speedy QBs in the mold of Dixon or Appalachian's Armanti Edwards. There's hope, but where Michigan's mental state is at is anyone's guess.
Runner-up: South Carolina 16, Georgia 12
 
11. Best game of the day: Texas A&M 47, Fresno State 45 (3OT)
The Aggies raced out to a 19-0 halftime lead before Fresno came storming back to knot things up at 29 at the end of regulation. A highly controversial call in the second overtime was properly sorted out before A&M's Jorvorskie Lane took over in the third extra session, pounding his way in for the go-ahead score and two-point try. The Bulldogs' Bear Pascoe grabbed a third-and-goal pass out of midair to pull them within two, but the tying conversion was overthrown in the corner of the end zone to give A&M a thrilling victory. Aggies quarterback Stephen McGee ran roughshod over Fresno's defense, totaling 123 yards, while Lane pounded the ball in four times.
Runner-up: Hawaii 45, Louisiana Tech 44 (OT)
 
10. Craziest game of the day: South Florida 26, Auburn 23 (OT)
Also known as the most exciting game of the day and the worst-played game of the day, along with the "Game that may set the forward pass back 40 years." Auburn's Brandon Cox followed up a shaky performance against Kansas State with a dreadful outing against South Florida, running back Mario Fannin fumbled despite not being touched on consecutive possessions and yet neither was the worst player on the field in this one. That honor would go to South Florida kicker Delbert Alvarado, who missed four second-half field goals. But he also made two, including a 19-yarder that tied things up with under a minute to play. Fortunately for coach Jim Leavitt's mental well-being, Alvarado didn't see the field in overtime, as Matt Grothe's beautiful pass to Jessie Hester Jr. sealed the Bulls' first non-conference win over a ranked team ever.
Runner-up: Northwestern 36, Nevada 31
 
9. Who beat Temple this week?
Buffalo. That's right. Buffalo! Not the Bills, either. In the Division I doormat blue-plate special, the Bulls of the University at Buffalo (of? That's so 1990s), ran right through the Owls, led by tailback Mario Henry's 125-yard effort. And Bulls quarterback Drew Willy completed all but two of his 22 attempts through the air. Al Golden is now 1-13 in his first year plus as the leader of the Owls, a job that U.S. News and World Report rates slightly beneath president of the Michael Vick fan club in terms of career suicide. Buffalo's prize for their win? You've won an all-expense paid trip to State College to face No. 14 Penn State.
 
8. Who beat Duke this week?
What is the University of Blind Paraplegic Squirrels? Close. Virginia did the trick this week, though it took a fourth-quarter Cavaliers touchdown to salt this one away. Sadly for the Dukies, this was easily their best chance for a win in '07, as their schedule gets a bit dicey from here on out. After all, if you can't beat a team that lost 23-3 to Wyoming in its opener, you might as well camp out early for that front-of-the-line spot in Kryziewskiville come November. An "our-library-is-better-than-yours" battle with Northwestern awaits the Blue Devils next week.
 
7. On the rise: South Carolina, Iowa, Kentucky
 
6. On the decline: TCU, BYU, N.C. State
 
5. The worst BCS conference this week is the: Big Ten
Michigan's travails have been dissected enough. But the next three in the mighty Big Eleven's quartet of excellence looked very average this weekend. Penn State scored the most impressive win, a 31-10 destruction of Notre Dame, but the Nittany Lions' offense never really got going until the Irish defense was totally gassed late in the game. And the running game looks average something that's strange to say about your typical solid Penn State team. The defense is championship-caliber for sure, but Anthony Morelli isn't yet. Ohio State spent its day sleepwalking against Akron, Wisconsin needed an awful UNLV interception to survive on the road, and the rest of the league played no one with a pulse. Ohio State's trip to Washington is a must-win for the conference to regain some semblance of respectability before the conference slate kicks off.
 
4. The best BCS conference this week is the: Pac-10
Wow, that seems strange to write. The SEC and the Big East are runners-up, at least for this week, but the Pac-10 is quietly off to a nice start this year. USC is on top of the polls, Cal is riding high off a big SEC win a week ago, Washington is rejuvenated, and no one wants to mess with Oregon or UCLA. Arizona State has shown flashes of brilliance in Dennis Erickson's first two games and Oregon State (despite Thursday's performance) and Washington State will at least be respectable. The jury's still out on Arizona and Stanford is awful, but overall a nice rebound to start '07 for the BCS' most-maligned conference.
 
3. Entirely too-bold assumption of dominance based on a final score: Texas dominated TCU
TCU led this game 10-0 at halftime and might have really had a chance to knock off the Longhorns had a Colt McCoy fumble in Longhorn territory not been reversed in the third quarter. But after that Texas stepped on the gas and rolled over a tired TCU defense by handing the ball to Jamaal Charles. McCoy looked shaky for his second straight week and continues to take too many big hits to make anyone think he'll last an entire season. Texas won this game because they had a running game and TCU didn't, but the Longhorns have to get their house in order if they're going to have a shot at staying with Oklahoma in the first weekend in October.
 
2. Top five games to watch next weekend: Tennessee at Florida, Ohio State at Washington, Arkansas at Alabama, USC at Nebraska, Boston College at Georgia Tech
 
1. Top 10 teams after 9-8-07:
 
1. LSU
2. USC
3. Oklahoma
4. Florida
5. West Virginia
6. California
7. Georgia Tech
8. Wisconsin
9. Texas
10. Penn State