In the best game of the week, undefeated #7 Washington defeated formerly undefeated #8 Oregon when Oregon missed a game-tying field goal in the final seconds. It was a rare match-up of evenly matched squads. Oregon gained more yards, but kept going for it on fourth down and failing. Two of those attempts were deep in Washington territory and would probably have resulted in field goals.
USC had been in the top ten with an undefeated record when they ran into a Notre Dame buzzsaw. Final score: 48-20. Ouch.
Louisville’s hope for an undefeated season came to a halt when it got crushed by lowly Pitt, which had not previously won a conference game. Louisville had a halftime lead, but was outscored 24-0 in the second half.
Speaking of second half collapses, the Colorado Buffaloes were up 29-0 at halftime – and lost …
… and Michigan State blew a 24-6 lead in the fourth quarter – against Rutgers, which is obviously no longer the joke of the Big 10.
Air Force remained undefeated and somehow made the Top 25
That’s not the strangest poll result of the week. Undefeated James Madison finished just out of the top 25 at #26. I’d like to meet the voters who think the James Madison Dukes are one of the top 26 teams in the nation. That said, their weak schedule could result in an undefeated season, and they might get into a good bowl game. It might be fun to see what they could do against a team like Alabama.