LSU Upsets Alabama, TCU Levels Utah, and Stanford Slams Arizona
ouisiana State, a 12th-ranked, 6.5-point underdog at home against 5th-ranked Alabama, turned the tables on the Crimson Tide, winning 24-21, and vaulting to 5th place in the AP Top 25 Poll this week.
The key SEC match-up left LSU in sole possession of 2nd place in the West Division with a 5-1 mark. Auburn still leads the SEC West with a perfect 6-0 record.
Coach Les Miles once again tried a risky play that worked wonders for the underdog Tigers. On a 4th-and-1 play in the last quarter, DeAngelo Peterson scampered 23 yards on a reverse to set up Steven Ridley's go-ahead, 1-yard plunge.
Miles had beat Florida earlier in the season on a fake field goal that set up a winning TD to beat the Gators, 33-29. This win over Alabama was especially notable for LSU as the Tigers had to come from behind twice in the 2nd half to prevail.
In a battle of two other highly-ranked teams, 4th-ranked TCU traveled to Utah and leveled the Utes, 47-7, in a laugher. Both teams were unbeaten so the Utes loss ruined their perfect season and sent them plummeting in the AP Poll from 6th to 15th place.
The TCU-Utah face-off marked the first time this season either of these teams have had to play a ranked team. So is TCU (now 10-0) that good or is Utah (8-1) that bad? Clearly, Utah is overrated; the jury is still out on how good TCU is because of their easy schedule.
TCU quarterback Andy Dalton threw for a career-high 355 yards and 3 touchdowns as the Horned Frogs outgained the Utes 328 yards to 72 yards enroute to a 23-zip halftime lead. Utah QB Jordan Wynn had 3 turnovers and the Ute offense could do nothing against TCU's defense, which came in ranked 1st nationally in scoring defense and total defense.
With Utah's loss, there are only 4 unbeaten teams left - Auburn and TCU are 10-0, Oregon is 9-0 and Boise State is 8-0.
In another game of ranked opponents, Stanford hosted Arizona and took down the Wildcats with authority, 42-17. The 19th-ranked Cardinal were beat by the 13th-ranked Wildcats 43-38 a year ago when they started celebrating too early. The problem for Arizona this year was no one at Palo Alto forgot.
Stanford's Andrew Luck, who many regard as the best QB in the Pac-10, threw for 293 yards and 2 touchdown passes. Stepfan Taylor rushed for 4 TDs. Luck outplayed Arizona QB Nick Foles. Luck was 23-for-32 (71%); Foles was 28-for-48 (58%). Luck has completed 75% of his passes in his last 4 games.
And the defense? Arizona came in leading the Pac-10 in sacks with 27. Stanford did not give up a sack to the Wildcats. Stanford is now 8-1 and Arizona 7-2.
Arizona coach Mike Stoops said it best: "They outexecuted us, outplayed us, outphysicaled us, (and) outcoached us. We just got beat by a better team today." Amen, Mike, amen.
A final game of ranked opponents found 17th-ranked Arkansas on the road at 18th-ranked South Carolina. The Razorbacks (7-2) led 24-10 at the half and never looked back, winning 41-20, and giving the Gamecocks (6-3) their worst loss at home in 5 years. South Carolina was a 4.5-point favorite in the game, so credit Arkansas with an upset.
Arkansas QB Ryan Mallett passed for 303 yards and Knile Davis scored 3 times on the ground. South Carolina now remains tied with Florida for the SEC East Division title with a 4-3 record.
The key SEC match-up left LSU in sole possession of 2nd place in the West Division with a 5-1 mark. Auburn still leads the SEC West with a perfect 6-0 record.
Coach Les Miles once again tried a risky play that worked wonders for the underdog Tigers. On a 4th-and-1 play in the last quarter, DeAngelo Peterson scampered 23 yards on a reverse to set up Steven Ridley's go-ahead, 1-yard plunge.
Miles had beat Florida earlier in the season on a fake field goal that set up a winning TD to beat the Gators, 33-29. This win over Alabama was especially notable for LSU as the Tigers had to come from behind twice in the 2nd half to prevail.
In a battle of two other highly-ranked teams, 4th-ranked TCU traveled to Utah and leveled the Utes, 47-7, in a laugher. Both teams were unbeaten so the Utes loss ruined their perfect season and sent them plummeting in the AP Poll from 6th to 15th place.
The TCU-Utah face-off marked the first time this season either of these teams have had to play a ranked team. So is TCU (now 10-0) that good or is Utah (8-1) that bad? Clearly, Utah is overrated; the jury is still out on how good TCU is because of their easy schedule.
TCU quarterback Andy Dalton threw for a career-high 355 yards and 3 touchdowns as the Horned Frogs outgained the Utes 328 yards to 72 yards enroute to a 23-zip halftime lead. Utah QB Jordan Wynn had 3 turnovers and the Ute offense could do nothing against TCU's defense, which came in ranked 1st nationally in scoring defense and total defense.
With Utah's loss, there are only 4 unbeaten teams left - Auburn and TCU are 10-0, Oregon is 9-0 and Boise State is 8-0.
In another game of ranked opponents, Stanford hosted Arizona and took down the Wildcats with authority, 42-17. The 19th-ranked Cardinal were beat by the 13th-ranked Wildcats 43-38 a year ago when they started celebrating too early. The problem for Arizona this year was no one at Palo Alto forgot.
Stanford's Andrew Luck, who many regard as the best QB in the Pac-10, threw for 293 yards and 2 touchdown passes. Stepfan Taylor rushed for 4 TDs. Luck outplayed Arizona QB Nick Foles. Luck was 23-for-32 (71%); Foles was 28-for-48 (58%). Luck has completed 75% of his passes in his last 4 games.
And the defense? Arizona came in leading the Pac-10 in sacks with 27. Stanford did not give up a sack to the Wildcats. Stanford is now 8-1 and Arizona 7-2.
Arizona coach Mike Stoops said it best: "They outexecuted us, outplayed us, outphysicaled us, (and) outcoached us. We just got beat by a better team today." Amen, Mike, amen.
A final game of ranked opponents found 17th-ranked Arkansas on the road at 18th-ranked South Carolina. The Razorbacks (7-2) led 24-10 at the half and never looked back, winning 41-20, and giving the Gamecocks (6-3) their worst loss at home in 5 years. South Carolina was a 4.5-point favorite in the game, so credit Arkansas with an upset.
Arkansas QB Ryan Mallett passed for 303 yards and Knile Davis scored 3 times on the ground. South Carolina now remains tied with Florida for the SEC East Division title with a 4-3 record.
