Saturday College Top 25 results

More upsets - and some near upsets - kept things interesting as many top teams still grab some wins against tomato cans while the season is young.

#1 USC had off today and will play OSU next weekend. What will Ohio state be ranked after today? A good question, followed by - will USC hold onto the #1 ranking? #2 Georgia stated it's case to leapfrog up as they pasted Central Michigan 56 to 17. Knowshon Moreno ran for 168 yards and 3 TDs including a 29 run where he leaped gracefully over a would-be tackler and continued on his way like he was hopping a curb. QB Matthew Stafford put in a good performance, throwing for 213 yards and 2 TDs, but this was Moreno's day to shine and he did. Will it be enough to leap back in front of USC? we'll know soon enough.

By all appearances, #3 Ohio State will not be leaping over anyone and may be lucky to hold onto the #3 ranking. The Buckeyes rallied in the 4th quarter to get the win despite mediocre and poor totals by the offense overall. Luckily for OSU, Ohio turned the ball over 5 times or else the Buckeyes might have had a worse day than they did. Perhaps the biggest factor was the absence of Beanie Wells, who watched on the sidelines with his injured foot. Could he have played? Were the Buckeyes caught looking ahead to USC? And will BCS voters make them pay for that when polls are released? One thing is for sure - Wells is even more critical to the success of OSU than I had first believed.

Sam Bradford had the type of game that makes the word Heisman get typed a lot - 395 yards and 5 TDs (despite 2 INTs) will do that. It will also carry #4 Oklahoma past a team like Cincinnati, to the tune of 52 to 26. Things were close until Cinci QB Dustin Grutza was carried off the field with a broken leg. There has been some discussion that some of the OK players on top of Grutza were doign a little extra rolling on him, but regardless - once Grutza was down, the Cinci offense went with him. Regardless, as long as Bradford keeps this pace up, he'll be in the Heisman talk - and Oklahoma in the National Title discussion - all season long.

#5 Florida topped rival Miami 26 - 3 and Tim Tebow isn't sorry to see that rivalry finish up for him. Tebow threw for 256 yards and a pair of TDs as Florida beat Miami for the first time in six games. The Florida defense smothered Miami and held them to 140 yards which bought Tebow time to tire out a Miami defense which kept the pressure on the Gator QB. In the end, all that did was slow the inevitable and help Tebow add 55 yards on the ground.

The rest of the top 25 -
#6 Missouri pounded Southeast Missouri State 52 to 3, lead by QB Chase Daniel's 245 yards and 3 TDs. #7 LSU's game against Troy was postponed due to hurricane - as always the Blurb joins everyone in keeping the Gulf Coast and all affected regions in our thoughts and prayers. #8 West Virginia was the next top 25 team to fall to East Carolina who beat then #17 Virginia Tech. This time they took off and hid leaving Virginia watching their dust to the tune of 24-3. Two questions: 1) will ECU start getting some top 25 looks and 2) should the state of Virginia just ban the ECU team for the good of Virginia football? #9 Auburn jumped out to a 24 to 0 lead and never looked back as QB Chris Todd lead them with 248 yards passing, a complete turn from last week when they struggled to complete passes. #10 Texas put their foot down and never let off as Colt McCoy threw for 286 yards and 4 TDs while wide reciever Quan Cosby caught 8 passes for 154 yards and a TD and Texas beat UTEP to the tune of 42 - 13. Marshall walked into Wisconsin and found the #11 Badgers more than ready to deliver a kill shot, scoring 51 unanswered points after spotting Marshall 14 points. Wisconsin got contributions from multiple players, getting 2 TDs each from RBs Hill and Clay and 308 yards from QB Allan Evridge. #12 Texas Tech struggled offensively for much of the game but got some big plays from the defense who limited Nevada to mostly field goals and a single TD in their 35-19 win. #13 Alabama seemed to have a bit of a hangover after beating Clemson last week and struggled offensively much of their 20-6 win over Tulane. A punt return for a TD and a blocked punt returned for a Td gave them the breathing room they needed to hold on and stay unbeaten. Louisiana Tech looked overmatched and confused against #14 Kansas, watching as Todd Reesing threw for 412 yards and three TDs and Dezmon Briscoe broke multiple tackles on his way to a 48 yards touchdown and the Jayhawks to a 29-0 win. Meanwhile it took a blocked point after a questionable penalty for #15 BYU to hold on and beat Washington 28-27. QB Max Hall had a good game, throwing for 338 yards and 3 TDs but the Huskies kept it close enough - maybe too close - for BYU not to sweat. Depending on the poll, Arizona State is either tied for 15 or ranked 14. Thanks for keeping it clear BCS. Regardless, Rudy Carpenter is making a case for himself in Heisman Circles with another solid performance (345 yds, 3 TDs and 1 INT) in ASU's 41 - 17 victory over the Stanford Cardinal. Problem is, he's still taking way too many hits and it caused a fumble and two sacks. If they could only get the oline up to speed.... It took OT for #17 South Florida to beat Central Florida 31 to 24. Ereck Plancher, a UCF freshman receiver who died during offseason conditioning drills, was remembered with a moment of silence before the game. #18 Oregon stomped Utah State to the tune of 66 to 24 as junior RB LeGarrette Blount led the ground game with 132 yards and 2 TDs. Despite the suspension of two members of the defense, #19 Penn State destroyed Oregon State 45-14 as Evan Royster rushed for 141 yards and 3 TDs and wide receiver Jordan Norwood had 116 yards and 1 TD. Not so easy was #20 Wake Forest snuck past Mississippi 30 to 28. QB RIley skinner showed great poise after MISS scored a go-ahead touchdown with just a minute left, leading the Demon Deacons (one of my all-time favorite nicknames) 56 yards to set up a 41 yards field goal with just 3 seconds left. #22 Utah doubled up on UNLV, overcoming a bad first half and following QB Brian Johnson as he threw for 183 yds and 2 TDs and running for another 80 yards and TD to cap it off. Finally, #24 Illinois bounced back from a dissappointing loss by pushing over Eastern Illinois 47 to 21. Juice Williams struggled a bit through the air (16/25, 124 yds, 1 TD, 2 INTs) but shining on the ground to the tune of 174 yards and 2 TDs. Williams is an intriguing player and certainly has work to do to become a solid QB, but is tremendously dynamic when he gets the ball in his hands and starts to move.

That's all for now. See you tomorrow for pro football!