The Upset: October 2011

October 31, 2011

Week 9 Recap: Triple OT classic in LA tops weekend

WHAT EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT

USC looked every bit as good Stanford on Saturday night in the Coliseum, but the Cardinal prevailed 56-48 when USC running back Curtis McNeal fumbled a ball into the endzone in the third overtime. I haven't yet found a good video to embed, so for now check out ESPN's highlight package.

More after the jump....

October 29, 2011

Mike Locksley technology fail creates some fun

Friend of The Upset Andrew Bolte notified former New Mexico football coach Mike Locksley that his Twitter page still prominently displayed New Mexico logos. Hilarity ensues. Click on the picture for full view.

Alright, I don't want to hammer a guy too hard, but it is funny his inability to grasp the difference between a profile pic/avatar and a page background. Although I do find it somewhat detached from reality to tell a New Mexico fan, "I led your favorite team to a 2-26 record in my tenure (and drug the good name of the university through some dirt in various ways), but you can get over it now bro, cuz I already have!"

***UPDATE***

Through Andrew's level-headedness and calm demeanor, Coach Locksley has succeeded in changing his background pic. I'm sure this saves him some future harassment from the university, so well done!

October 28, 2011

Daily Links: Big 12 finally makes move, Keenum goes b-a-n-a-n-a-s, SEC webmaster gets premature

A few daily links for you -- we'll add more through the day if/when more stories come across the wire:

Brett McMurphy of CBS Sports broke the news first this morning that the Big 12 has officially invited West Virginia to join the conference.
If you were busy with the World Series or something else, you missed Houston's Case Keenum go 24-37 for 534 yards and NINE touchdowns in a 73-34 romp over Rice. Keenum became the all-time leader in FBS touchdown passes with the extravaganza, which also sits his current TD-INT ratio to 32-3. Here are more fun Keenum stats as well.
Thanks to some awesome work by several around the web, we not only have screengrabs, but full on PDF documents copied from the SEC website announcing Missouri into the conference. Not just one page, oh no. A six-article package full of analysis and history was posted. The problem is, of course, that no official announcement has been made. Here's a link that downloads a zipped folder of all six web articles. (I promise, it's not a virus, I downloaded it myself.)

October 26, 2011

Pac-12 Power Rankings: Week 8

by David Kreutz

A shake up at the top of the BCS rankings could benefit the Pac-12, but there was plenty of shake up to go around here at home too. Meanwhile Larry Scott and the Pac-12 watch with amusement as the rest of the country is in the grips of the latest rounds of Confrencegeddon.

1. Stanford (7-0, 5-0 Pac-12)
Last Week: 1
The Cardinal made a strong statement on Saturday with its pummeling of the Huskies, the only team on Stanford's schedule so far that has a winning record. Stanford dominated on both sides of the ball, and especially up front. As Stanford continues moving through the meatier part of its schedule the Cardinal can help themselves with wins, and hope more teams at the top stumble. With games left against USC and Oregon, plus the Pac-12 championship game, Stanford stands a reasonable shot at playing for the national title.
This week: at USC, 5:00 pm PT - ABC

MWC Power Rankings: Week 8

by Bradford Christensen

With just seven weeks left in the season and over half the conference games still to be played, we'll get find out more each week how the Mountain West teams stack up against each other. That said, there's no guarantee any more than a handful of the games will be exciting. Here's how I rank the teams through week 8.

1. #4 Boise State 7-0 (2-0)
After getting their first taste of Air Force’s triple-option and giving up 264 yards rushing, I’m sure the Broncos are happy that’s over. The bye week came at a great time for the banged up Broncos with TCU and San Diego State on the schedule in November.
This week: Bye

October 25, 2011

The Upset Top 20 -- Week 8

Here's how our voters ranked college football's top 20 after Saturday's shake up. Voter information follows the poll.

	Wk 8 - 10/22
	TEAM	RECORD	POINTS
1	LSU (12)	8-0	297
2	Alabama (3)	8-0	281
3	Oklahoma State	7-0	259
4	Stanford	7-0	252
5	Boise State	7-0	244
6	Clemson	8-0	230
7	Oregon	6-1	201
8	Kansas State	7-0	180
9	Oklahoma	6-1	167
10	Arkansas	6-1	159
11	Michigan State	6-1	154
12	Wisconsin	6-1	130
13	Houston	7-0	106
14	Virginia Tech	7-1	105
15	Nebraska	6-1	77
16	South Carolina	6-1	61
17	Texas A&M	5-2	56
18	Michigan	6-1	50
19	USC	6-1	41
20	Texas Tech	5-2	30
Others Receiving Votes: Georgia (21), Arizona State (14), Cincinnati (14), Penn State (13), Miami (5), Auburn (1), Southern Miss (1), West Virginia (1). Brendan Loy’s Honorable Mention: Skip Bayless

October 24, 2011

Week 8 Recap: Hail Mary, QB records set, unbeatens fall, penchants for losing quenched

It was a great week in college football, but if some of you couldn't camp out on your couch for Saturday's entirety, here's a look back at the highlights after the jump:

October 22, 2011

Week 8 Predictions

After a week away, we're back and ready to put our names on the line with more predictions. DJ looks to increase his lead, having put together a stellar season so far. Here are our picks from around the Pac-12, Mountain West, WAC, and Big Sky.

Featured Game
#25 WASHINGTON (5-1) @ #8 STANFORD (6-0)
6:00 pm MT | ABC/ESPN

ZACH: Andrew Luck's first test of the season. Keith Price has been absolutely fantastic this season for UW. Huskies will play with the Cardinal deep into the fourth quarter. Washington isn't ready for a breakthrough just yet. STAN 38 WASH 28
BRETT: I wish this game was in Seattle. Huskies fight well, but won't have enough. STANFORD 34 WASH 24
DJ: Washington still isn't legit in my mind. STANFORD 45 WASH 20
BRADFORD: STANFORD 48 WASH 24

October 20, 2011

VIDEO: Fake ref streaker, UCLA and Arizona fight

If you didn't watch UCLA at Arizona late Thursday night, you missed Arizona absolutely destroy the Bruins and likely put the nail in the coffin of Rich Neuheisel's tenure in Los Angeles. BUT, you also missed a streaker take the field with seconds left in the first half dressed as a referee, blow a play dead, then take his clothes off. Then, during the delay, UCLA and Arizona players started jawing and got into a brawl.

Video after the jump....

A swap of expectations: UCLA at Arizona preview

If one had called upon a soothsayer to peer into a crystal ball to find out the status of both Arizona and UCLA when the two were to meet tonight, here’s what the soothsayer would have seen: One team is 3-3 with a close loss to a now-ranked non-conference opponent, and is 2-1 in conference, which has that team still in position to compete for the Pac-12 South Division title. The other team is 1-5, including an 0-4 conference record that has laid the foundation for a "lost" season, and just spent its bye week recovering from the firing of its head coach.

But to have known that it would be Arizona, not UCLA, to have fired its coach and be mired in a 1-5 season would have been quite the surprise.

October 19, 2011

MWC Power Rankings: Week 7

by Bradford Christensen

Two teams switch spots this week, and I almost ranked UNLV 8a and New Mexico 8b, but kept the Rebels at 7 because they do have at least one win. Here are your Week 7 Power Rankings:

1. #5 Boise State 6-0 (1-0)
The Bronco offense accumulated 742 total yards (a school record) and crushed Colorado State 63-13. It's almost frightening to think about what they might do some of the other teams in the conference.
This week: vs Air Force - 3:30 PM ET - Versus

October 18, 2011

Lunchtime Links (and notes): October 18th

Stories from around college sports today:

Austin Murphy of Sports Illustrated has this fantastic piece on Kellen Moore. Moore is my type of player--drawing plays on the chalkboard in second grade, taking practice snaps with high schoolers in sixth grade. I've said it before: Moore has (somehow) quietly put together one of the best quarterback careers in college football history.
Spencer Hall at Every Day Should Be Saturday continues his brilliance with his detailed plans for the Sun Beast Conference.
Blair Kerkhoff of the Kansas City Star details potential Big 12 plans with and without Missouri.
Big East commissioner John Marinatto held a media conference call today to address conference expansion. Marinatto said that all schools were on board with creating a 12-team football conference, and confirmed that exit fees will be raised from $5 million to $10 million which goes immediately into effect upon entry of any new schools. He also said he has not been contacted by any other school or conference about current schools leaving the Big East since TCU's announced departure to the Big 12.
WAC commissioner Karl Benson announced on the conference's pre-season basketball teleconferences that the league will change its postseason basketball tournament to a regular quarterfinal format, getting rid of the double-bye format used last year. The format will be used for this year only, then be re-evaluated next season after new teams come and outgoing teams go.
Washington State and BYU are finalizing a home-and-home football series that has Wazzu in Provo next year, and the two Cougars playing in Pullman in 2013.

October 11, 2011

SPECIAL: From Relegation to Rose and Back Home: TCU's Journey to the Big 12

by Jarod Daily

Nine months and change ago, I stood in a football stadium in California with this vague feeling of disbelief: My beloved TCU Horned Frogs had just won the Rose Bowl. On Monday, despite having seen the news coming for several days, I was filled with the same feeling: The Frogs are going to join the Big 12, a conference that it seemed never wanted us until very recently. It seemed almost like a dream.

October 10, 2011

The Upset Top 20 -- Week 6

Here is our Top 20 poll for Week 6 for games finished through October 8th.
Once again, our pollster information is listed below the poll with names linked to Twitter accounts--so make sure you follow our crew!

Wk 6	After 10/8
	TEAM	RECORD	POINTS
1	LSU (11)	6-0	295
2	Alabama (3)	6-0	278
3	Oklahoma	5-0	277
4	Wisconsin (1)	5-0	249
5	Boise State	5-0	230
T-6	Oklahoma State	5-0	218
T-6	Stanford	5-0	218
8	Clemson	6-0	198
9	Oregon	4-1	163
10	Michigan	6-0	157
11	Arkansas	5-1	139
12	Georgia Tech	6-0	128
13	Illinois	6-0	89
14	Kansas State	5-0	88
15	West Virginia	5-1	85
16	South Carolina	5-1	64
17	Nebraska	5-1	62
18	Arizona State	5-1	48
19	Houston	6-0	36
20	Virginia Tech	5-1	31
Others receiving votes: Auburn (15), Baylor (15), Texas A&M (15), Michigan State (12), Notre Dame (12), Georgia (8), Florida (6), Texas (5), Washington (4), Wake Forest (3), Texas Tech (1)

October 7, 2011

Boise State pushes Fresno State to the brink

Geraldo Boldewijn caught his first TD pass of the year for Boise St
AP Photo/Gary Kazanjian

As good a program as Fresno State has been, the last two games against Boise State have been brutal. Boise State posted a 57-7 win--with 50 scored in three quarters--on Friday night to push Fresno State to 2-4 on the season. The Bulldogs have been dominated 108-7 in the last two games against the Broncos.

Now at 2-4 and with 13 games on the schedule, Fresno State must go 5-2 to finish the season to qualify for a bowl game.

Idaho releases new logo

The University of Idaho has released a new athletic logo, encouraging fans to "Throw the V." Below is a larger view of the new V logo.

Week 6 Predictions

Another week, more predictions. Last week we fared a bit better, but Air Force and SMU surprised us a little bit. Here's this week's action, starting with tonight's ~~WACtion~~ ... ~~MWCtion~~ ... non-conference matchup between Boise State and Fresno State.

#5 BOISE STATE (4-0) @ FRESNO STATE (2-3)
Friday Oct. 7 | 7:00 pm MT | ESPN

ZACH: Kellen Moore looked human last week. Fresno played Ole Miss tough at home. Boise is a little more difficult of a challenge. BOISE 37 FRESNO 17
BRETT: I know this series is always closer when played in Fresno, but Ole Miss was a team Fresno should have beat last week. BOISE 36 FRESNO 19
DJ: IMO, BSU is still not a top 5 program, but they're the better team. BSU 38 FRESNO 14
BRADFORD: BOISE 45 FRESNO 28

October 5, 2011

MWC Power Rankings: Week 5

by Bradford Christensen

Despite three teams having a bye last weekend, the conference did little to help its national perception for the second week in a row.

1. #5 Boise State 4-0 (0-0)
Kellen Moore was unusually inaccurate but the running game finally got going. Doug Martin carried 21 times for 126 yards and 2 TDs. The defense played its best game of the season, holding the Wolf Pack to 182 yards of offense.
This week: Friday night @ Fresno State - 9:00 PM ET – ESPN

October 4, 2011

The Upset Top 20 -- Week 5

This week we debut The Upset Top 20 Poll. Gathering votes from a diverse group of fans from around the country, our poll debuts after five weeks of games. A full list of pollsters follows the poll with rooting interests disclosed. Names are linked to Twitter accounts, so feel free to give each of our pollsters a follow. A few pollsters have also provided some commentary and voting philosophies at the end as well.

WK 5	After 10/1
RANK	TEAM	RECORD	POINTS
1	LSU (9)	5-0	274
2	Alabama (4)	5-0	268
3	Oklahoma	4-0	246
4	Wisconsin (1)	5-0	233
5	Boise State	4-0	222
6	Stanford	4-0	203
7	Oklahoma State	4-0	196
8	Clemson	5-0	195
9	Oregon	3-1	154
10	Michigan	5-0	135
11	Texas	4-0	120
12	Georgia Tech	5-0	115
13	Arkansas	4-1	114
14	West Virginia	4-1	82
15	Nebraska	4-1	67
16	Illinois	5-0	65
17	Florida	4-1	60
18	Kansas State	4-0	50
19	Auburn	4-1	43
20	Arizona State	4-1	15
Also Receiving Votes: Florida State (13), South Carolina (12), Texas A&M (11), Notre Dame (9), Virginia Tech (7), Michigan State (6), Washington (5), Georgia (4), Houston (4), Baylor (3), Texas Tech (1)