Let’s turn our attention away from the National Football League this week, because quite honestly not much happened this weekend that was really all that interesting, except for maybe the Detroit Lions dropping their second straight game (should have knocked on wood, but oh well). It’s October! This month is coming to a close and that means that the world of college football is more than halfway through its regular season, and that can mean only one thing: upsets. Every season has its fair share of underdogs upsetting ranked teams and shaking up the BCS, changing the race for the national championship. This past weekend was loaded with upsets, and three in particular are very worth noting (even among so many great games).

There was a lot of hype behind Brian Kelly’s Notre Dame team coming into this season. Coming off of an 8-5 2010 campaign culminating in a win in the Sun Bowl over the Miami Hurricanes, Kelly’s team was expected to have a strong season in 2011 and compete for a spot in a BCS bowl game. After losses in their first two games, the Fighting Irish bounced back and won four games in a row including a convincing 31-13 win over the Michigan State Spartans. All this led up to this past Saturday’s meeting with the USC Trojans, led by junior QB Matt Barkley and head coach Lane Kiffin. The Trojans jumped out to an early 17-0 lead via passing touchdowns by Barkley in the first quarter and a field goal in the second; although the Fighting Irish would come back an bring the score to 17-10 by the half, the Irish never held a lead the whole game, an 80 yd fumble recovery and run by Jawanza Starling for a USC touchdown sealed the victory for the Trojans, with the final score being 31-17. Barkley finished 24/35 for 224 yds and 3 TDs, with no interceptions. With the Jeweled Shillelagh on its way back to Southern Cal, the Trojans have won 9 of the last 10 meeting between the two teams and have shut the door on Brian Kelly’s chances of cracking the BCS with three losses.

A picture perfect heave to the heavens, a mistimed jump, and a receiver being in the right place at the right time, along with the suspense of the review, all led to a Michigan State victory over the top ten ranked Wisconsin Badgers. With time expired, tied 31-31, rolling to his right, Kirk Cousins, the Spartan QB, threw a Hail Mary towards the end zone (it’s safe to say this Hail Mary was not full of grace), and after a tip, WR Keith Nichol must have been surprised that the ball was landing in his arms (“look what I found”), with a stretch, and a the right call after a review by the officials, Nichol had stretched just far enough for the game winning 44 yd touchdown. The favorite in the Big Ten, the Wisconsin Badgers, now have one loss, and with that loss the Badgers may no longer be in the national picture title. Including going a perfect 4/4 on the game-winning drive, Michigan State senior QB, Kirk Cousins, finished the game 22/31 for 290 yds and 3 TDs, and most importantly no interceptions. Except for a stumble against Notre Dame, the Spartans of Michigan State now control their own destiny in the Big Ten and if they can win out, including winning the Big Ten Championship, they will be playing in their first ever BCS bowl game.

Beyond the theatrics, this past weekend’s most notable upset was the 41-38 win by the Texas Tech Red Raiders over the #3 ranked Oklahoma Sooners, a game played in Norman, OK, ending the Sooner’s 39-game home winning streak. It appears as though any national title dreams of head coach Bob Stoops, or seniors Ryan Broyles and Travis Lewis have been struck down. All night the Oklahoma defense had to answer for the Texas Tech offense, which scored in every quarter. Most notably, the Sooner defense could not stop the middle screens and all-around game of Red Raider junior WR Alex Torres, who finished the game with 4 receptions for 94 yds and 3 TDs for an average of 23.5 yds per reception. The Sooner defense looked confused, and reacted far too slowly as Texas Tech QB Seth Doege picked them apart, going 33/52 for 441 yds and 4 TDs, with no interceptions. Led by QB Landry Jones, the Sooners rallied in the fourth quarter, cutting the lead from 41-24 to 41-38, but were unable to recover an onside kick, which sealed the victory for the Red Raiders. Overall, Tommy Tuberville’s Texas Tech squad was way too much for Bob Stoops and the Sooners to handle. A team considered the national title favorites in the preseason, the Oklahoma Sooners now must win out and hope that another top 5 team can lose, giving them hope of achieving a high enough BCS rating to make the national title game.

Thank God it’s October, and frankly, I can’t wait to see what November has in store for college football. I expect there to be further upsets and monumental performances, and I can’t wait to see how the BCS unfolds. As a yearly bandwagon hopper (I have no shame), I can only hope that my Stanford Cardinal and QB Andrew Luck keep winning, and win the Pac 12 to compete for a national title, but who knows, maybe they will also be upset (crosses fingers, knocks on wood, puts a horseshoe in back pocket, quickly prays).