By
Bryan Rosenbaum
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Nine of the top-25 college football teams lost this week. Can it get any better?
After a weekend of Olympics, college and pro football and Major League baseball, it became clear that none of these events can rival the passion, atmosphere and fun of college football. Need evidence? Here's five pieces of proof:
5. Northwestern not only upsets, but thrashes No. 15 Michigan State 37-17. A week earlier, the Wildcats defeated then-No. 7 Wisconsin in overtime. Both games were on the road. Moving up in the Heisman watch is Damien Anderson, whose blazing speed on the East Lansing AstroTurf helped him to 219 yards rushing. Northwestern is 2-0 in the Big Ten and 4-1 overall, and not since Darnell Autry's days in 1995 and 1996 have they been so impressive.
4. A week after falling to Alabama-Birmingham at home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana State rebounds to upset Tennessee 38-31 in overtime. Tiger quarterback Rohan Davey makes Josh Booty's earlier performance look like, well, booty, as he throws for four touchdowns, none more impressive than his overtime toss that went between three Volunteer defenders. As Tennessee fails to convert a fourth-down, LSU students, who were standing along the sidelines in anticipation of the victory, immediately rush the field and tear down the goalposts.
3. Oregon's Autzen Stadium became the new "Death Valley" as the second-straight top-10 opponent fell victim in Eugene this weekend. Washington couldn't handle the noise, while Oregon fed off it. Many media members will say the upsets in the Pac-10 are making the conference weaker, but it just shows how even the Pac-10 is. Sure, a national title contender probably won't escape from the West Coast because any team can beat any team, but parity goes a long way in bringing the Pac back to the nation's elite.
2. They say defense is optional in the Pac-10 - but that statement is quickly being transferred to the Southeastern Conference. Witness Mississippi State's 47-35 win against Florida. The Bulldogs gained 517 yards of total offense, while Florida passed for 494 yards. Starkville went crazy when MSU became the first unranked team to beat Florida under Steve Spurrier. The goalposts? They were removed by the students.
1. Penn State's 1-4 record was put on the back-burner as the focus turned to freshman defensive back Adam Taliaferro, who suffered a spinal cord injury against Ohio State last week. Penn State head coach Joe Paterno, now five wins away from breaking Bear Bryant's all-time record of 323 wins, teared up while speaking at a rally for the injured player Friday and could barely control himself after the Nittany Lions upset No. 19 Purdue, 22-20, the following day. Although football can hardly do away with the pain Happy Valley has suffered through this emotional week, it at least helped ease things a little and gave Penn Staters something to smile about.
Forget the Dream Team, NBC's repulsive coverage of the Olympics, the baseball pennant races (yawn) and Week 5 of the NFL- if you want drama and excitement, college football's where it's at.
