NCAA Week 3 Top 25

Upsets plagued the Big Ten again this week, but not all of them worked against the conference teams.  Both Penn State and Iowa avoided upsets, although it took a school record 4th quarter comeback on the part of the Hawkeyes to do it.  My own Alma Mater, the University of Illinois, engineered an upset against nationally ranked Arizona State.  The Illini offense wasn't working well, but the defense forced turnovers and shut down the Sun Devils running offense.

Three upsets did plague the teams of the Big Ten, though.  Both Ohio State and Michigan State, Top 25 teams, suffered losses that exposed serious deficiencies.  Michigan State's defense, especially against the run, proved porous, and their own rushing offense was lacking.  Ohio State's defense can still make things happen, but the offense wasn't capable of capitalizing on them.

The biggest surprise among the Big Ten was Northwestern's loss to Army.  With perhaps the biggest victory for the Black Knights in years, the Wildcats couldn't get their offense on track.  That has to concern them.

The Big Ten wasn't the only conference bitten by the upset bug.  The ACC saw upsets go their way, and knock them down.  Clemson beat the defending National Champion by 14 points, certainly an unexpected accomplishment.  Boston College, however, was beaten by Duke, the perennial ACC football doormat.  It DEFINITELY will be a long season for BC.

The FCS even got into the upset action, as Indiana State knocked off struggling Western Kentucky.  Could the Hilltoppers go winless for the second time in three years?  It kind of looks that way.

TOP 25 [Last week's position]
1.  Stanford Cardinal (3-0) [1]
2.  Wisconsin Badgers (3-0) [3] - Home to the most effective offense in FBS
3.  Alabama Crimson Tide (3-0) [5]
4.  Oklahoma Sooners (3-0) [2] - Had a hard time against Florida State
5.  Oklahoma State Cowboys (3-0) [4] - The defense couldn't seem to handle the late hour, once the game finally began
6.  Florida Gators (3-0) [6]
7.  Texas A&M Aggies (2-0) [7]
8.  Texas Longhorms (3-0) [10] - I think we can shred the "rebuilding year" label
9.  Arkansas Razorbacks (3-0) [9]
10.  Michigan Wolverines (3-0) [14] - Their victory over Notre Dame looks better now
11. LSU Tigers (3-0) [11] - Offense still not quite getting going
12. Boise State Broncos (2-0) [NR] - One strong FBS win gets them back into the Top 25
13. South Carolina Gamecocks (3-0) [13]
14. Clemson Tigers (3-0) [19] - Impressive victory against the current BCS Champ
15. West Virginia Mountaineers (3-0) [15]
16. South Florida Bulls (3-0) [16] - Leader of the suddenly fractured Big East
17. Miami Hurricanes (2-0) [NR] - Never let the Hurricanes play angry
18. Florida International Golden Panthers (3-0) [24] - Perhaps the most interesting team in Florida
19. Florida State Seminoles (2-1) [21] - They lost, but they fought Oklahoma to the final minute
20. Nebraska Cornhuskers (3-0) [20]
21. Houston Cougars (3-0) [18] - Not an impressive win for the Cougars
22. San Diego State Aztecs (3-0) [NR] - The Aztecs prove to be a force
23. Baylor Bears (2-0) [23]
24. Oregon Ducks (2-1) [25]
25. Ohio State Buckeyes (2-1) [8] - Suffering the longest drop, the Buckeyes need to shore up their offense or they may drop out of the Top 25 for the first time in years

Dropped:  Michigan State Spartans [#12], Auburn Tigers [#17], Washington State Cougars [#22]

Also in the mix:  USC Trojans (3-0), Virginia Tech Hokies (3-0), Ohio Bobcats (3-0), Temple Owls (2-1), Navy Midshipmen (2-1), Iowa State Cyclones (3-0), Tennessee Volunteers (2-1), Texas Tech Red Raiders (2-0), Vanderbilt Commodores (3-0), Central Florida Golden Knights (2-1), Washington Huskies (2-1)