What was supposed to be a mundane weekend in college football concluded as the most chaotic two days of the season so far.
When the dust settled, four teams ranked in the BCS’ top 10 went down, ending several teams’ national title hopes and paving the way for another exhibition of SEC dominance in New Orleans.
The excitement began Friday night, when Iowa State knocked of the No. 2 Oklahoma State Cowboys in a double-overtime thriller in Ames. The Cyclones trailed 24-7 and charged back to force overtime, where Iowa State intercepted Oklahoma State Heisman hopeful Brandon Weeden to close out the game.
Poke choke. Upset No. 1.
Things started Saturday in Raleigh, N.C., where 5-5 North Carolina State pounded No. 7 Clemson, 37-13.
The Tigers, while a long shot to make the national championship, still had a chance if they won the ACC championship.
But Clemson dropped to No. 18 in this week’s rankings. So much for the Tigers’ title hopes. Upset No. 2.
The rest of the day passed by largely as expected, although few expected Michigan to tar and feather Nebraska and ride them out of town on a splintery rail.
Then came the night cap, and everything fell apart.
First, No. 4 Oregon, fresh off last week’s upset of Stanford, fell behind USC at home, 38-14, rallied and promptly missed a game-tying field goal as time expired.
Oregon dropped to No. 10 in the rankings. Duck hunt over. Upset No. 3.
Meanwhile in Waco, the Baylor Bears rode superstar quarterback Robert Griffin III to a dramatic 45-38 victory against the Oklahoma Sooners, their first in the history of the series.
With the game tied, 38-38, Griffin led his team down the field and found wide receiver Terrance Williams for the game-winning score with just eight seconds left.
OU tumbled to No. 9 in the BCS. Sooner Schooner derailed. Upset No. 4.
So now the SEC really does reign supreme as the top three spots in the BCS belong to the SEC West.
LSU checks in as the undisputed No. 1, followed by Alabama and Arkansas.
The weekend’s events all but assure a rematch of some sort between two of those teams in New Orleans.
But No. 3 is about as high as the Razorbacks can go due to their 38-14 loss to Alabama earlier this year unless the Tide falls to Auburn in this week’s Iron Bowl. It’s a tough scenario for the Hogs, but one of their own making.
However, OSU only dropped to No. 4 with a .8408 rating, due to a stellar No. 2 in the computer rankings.
The Cowboys are just a Bedlam win and a Georgia upset of LSU in the SEC championship game from being back in it. While highly unlikely, the Bulldogs have rattled off nine straight wins since dropping their first two games to Boise State and South Carolina.
It’s quite possible that Georgia could pull off a huge upset. The Bulldogs have a balanced offense and a stout defense that could potentially contain the LSU offense.
OSU also could make the jump with an Auburn win against Alabama in the Iron Bowl, but that’s about as likely as me skipping Thanksgiving dinner.
Realistically, those are the only four teams that have a shot at a trip to New Orleans. Virginia Tech, at No. 5, has a .7842 rating thanks to a lowly No. 7 rank in the computers. The Hokies close with Virginia and No. 18 Clemson in the ACC Championship. That shouldn’t push the Hokies over the top.
The best part about this past weekend is that it’s not the end. Rivalry games are next up on the schedule, and there’s never any way to tell how those will go.
The upsets can just keep on coming.
Luke McConnell is a journalism senior. You can follow him on Twitter at @lukemcconnell1.
