Week two of college football had the upsets. Week three did not, but there still were some great matchups.
Game of the Week: No. 17 Boston College was rudely welcomed to the Atlantic Coast Conference by No. 8 Florida State, as the Seminoles beat the host Golden Eagles 28-17.
BC had the jitters, and they showed early on in the game.
On the first play, Eagles quarterback Quinton Porter was intercepted by A.J. Nicholson. He ran the ball back 19 yards for a touchdown. Florida scored again before the Eagles found their balance.
They came roaring back, taking a 17-14 lead at halftime. The score would prove to be the high-water mark for Coach Tom O'Brien's squad.
The Seminoles then shut out the Eagles as Porter left the game late in the third quarter with a right ankle injury.
BC kept the lead through three quarters due in large part to the play of defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka. With the Seminoles on the BC 33, quarterback Drew Weatherford hit Lorenzo Booker on a screen pass. Booker maneuvered his way toward the end zone, but was stripped by Kiwanuka at the one yard line. The ball landed on the pylon for a touchback.
FSU was able to score the winning touchdown with 10:13 to play in the fourth quarter. Weatherford found receiver Greg Carr for the five yard score.
The Eagles chances late, but could not execute. They drove to the FSU two yard line in the final three minutes of the game but could not put the ball in the end zone.
No. 6 Florida defeated No. 5 Tennessee 16-7 in a defensive showdown at the Swamp. No. 10 Notre Dame, which had vaulted into the top 10 following two noteworthy victories in its first two games, was beaten at home in overtime by Michigan State. The Spartans have now won five straight games in South Bend.
No. 13 Miami needed three overtimes to defeat No. 20 Clemson 36-30. Hurricane back Tyrone Moss provided the winning margin with a 25-yard touchdown run before Kenny Phillips intercepted Tiger quarterback Charlie Whitehurst to clinch the victory.
On the West Coast, the Oregon Ducks beat No. 23 Fresno State 37-34, storming back from a 17-0 second quarter deficit. Quarterback Kellen Clemens led the charge, passing for 332 yards and four touchdowns. The win vaulted the Ducks to the No. 24 spot.
No. 15 California beat Illinois 35-20, handing Illinois coach Ron Zook his first loss leading the Illini. The Golden Bears were able to overcome the absence of their injured starting quarterback and running back to improve to 3-0 on the season.
The top-ranked teams in the country flexed their muscles against inferior competition. No. 4 Virginia Tech trounced Ohio 45-0. Marcus Vick had 200 yards passing with two touchdowns despite throwing the ball only 16 times.
No. 2 Texas defeated Rice 51-10, as freshman running back Jamaal Charles rushed for 189 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Vince Young did help his Heisman campaign. The junior missed a golden opportunity to pad his stats and finished with just 101 yards passing, one interception and no touchdowns.
Top-ranked USC solidified its grasp on the nation's number one position with a 70-17 thrashing of Arkansas. The Trojans only had the ball for 1:32 in the first quarter. It was enough time, however, to rack up 246 yards of offense and four touchdowns. In front of 90,411 at the Los Angeles Coliseum, the men from Troy never looked back, scoring two touchdowns in each of the next three quarters. The win extended USC's winning streak to 24, the longest current streak in the country and just one win shy of the Pac-10 record.
Player of the Week: USC Tailback Reggie Bush. He is a very, very good football player. If Bush keeps up what he has been doing, there is going to need to be a "Player of the Week Not Named Reggie Bush" section. Against the Razorbacks, the junior touched the ball 11 times, good for 195 total yards and two touchdowns. On his first play, Matt Leinart handed him the ball and, by the time he stopped running, he was 76 yards and six points away from where he began.
Upcoming Game of the Week: No. 1 USC at No. 24 Oregon. Will the Trojans keep their steamroller running? Maybe. But they better not look past these Ducks. A couple years ago, then No. 3 Michigan went to Autzen Stadium and was thoroughly beaten by a similar Oregon squad. Wolverine coach Lloyd Carr said it was the noisiest place he has ever played in.
The high-powered Trojan offense may be too much for Oregon to handle. If the game is close late, watch out.
