USC’s reign over the Pac-10 is officially over after Stanford obliterated the Trojans, 55-21 in Los Angeles on Saturday.

This was the first time USC has lost in November under Pete Carroll, who was 28-0 coming into this game. It was also the first homecoming loss for USC under Carroll and the worst loss in the Carroll Era, topping a 47-20 defeat at the hands of Oregon two weeks ago.

USC found out today what most of the Pac-10 already knew: That Toby Gerhart is pretty freaking good. The senior running back gained 178 yards on 29 carries for a 6.1 YPC average and also scored three touchdowns. Much like he was last week against Oregon, Gerhart served as a Mac truck and often ran threw USC defenders. His draft stock has risen dramatically the past two weeks.

Freshman quarterback Matt Barkley had a rough day for the Trojans. He turned the ball over four times, which lead to 28 points for the Cardinal. He never looked comfortable and it showed as he threw three interceptions, one of which was returned for a defensive touchdown.

Barkley clearly has a ton of talent, but he needs time to develop. This turned out to be a horrible year by USC standards, but at least he gained a lot of experience. He’s a gunslinger by nature, but he needs to cut down on the turnovers if he wants to take his game to the next level.

On the other side, Jim Harbaugh has something great building at Stanford. His team competes every week and while they’ll lose a lot when Gerhart graduates after the season, it’s clear that he has this program moving in the right direction.

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Ohio State edged Iowa 27-24 in overtime to win at least a share of their fifth consecutive Big Ten title and essentially book a trip to Pasadena to play in the Rose Bowl. It’ll be the Buckeyes first appearance in the Rose Bowl since 1997.

I’ll be honest, I expected more out of the Buckeyes today, who were 17-point favorites over a depleted Hawkeyes team. I figured OSU’s stingy defense would harass freshman quarterback James Vandenberg, who struggled mightily last week when Ricky Stanzi suffered an injury in Iowa’s loss to Northwestern.

But give credit to Vandenberg, who was awfully impressive while completing 20 of his 33 pass attempts for 233 yards and two touchdowns. He found Marvin McNutt for a 10-yard touchdown pass with less than three minutes remaining to tie the game at 24-24 and force overtime.

The problem is that Vandenberg also made a ton of freshman mistakes, which led to three Ohio State interceptions. The Buckeyes actually picked him off a fourth time and returned it for a defensive score midway through the fourth, but OSU was called for offsides and the touchdown came off the board. Vandenberg was also lucky another one of his passes wasn’t intercepted on Iowa’s game-tying touchdown drive, as the ball was deflected into the air around multiple OSU defenders but a Hawkeye receiver caught it for a first down.

Vandeberg’s counterpart, Terrelle Pryor, wasn’t asked to do much in the passing game. He completed 14 of his 17 pass attempts for only 93 yards and no scores. Jim Tressel played things ultra-conservative and allowed Brandon Saine and the running game to take over. Saine finished with 103 yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns.

Iowa was the No. 4 team in the country heading into last weekend’s action, had the inside track to win the Big Ten title and at the very least, had a trip to the Rose Bowl almost locked up. After today, they’ll be lucky to be ranked in the top 15 when the new polls are released on Sunday and will likely head to the WhoCares.com Bowl.

On the flip side, everyone was ready to write Ohio State off after they lost to Purdue last month and now it looks like they’ll be crowned Big Ten champs again. It’s amazing how quickly things can change in college football from week to week.

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Thanks to the Longhorns’ 47-14 rout of Baylor on Saturday, Texas signal caller Colt McCoy tied David Greene for most all-time wins by a starting quarterback in NCAA history.

McCoy (23 of 34, 181 yards, 2 TDs) didn’t tear up the stat sheet – not that he had to. The Longhorns gained 224 yards on the ground and held Baylor to only six total rushing yards. The Bears averaged just 0.2 yards per carry and remain one of five Big 12 opponents to have never beaten a Mack Brown-coached Texas team.

Regardless of whether or not you think McCoy is a pro prospect (most don’t), it’s hard to deny how good of a college player he has been in his career. He has been a perfect fit for UT’s offense and continues to be one of the more accurate passers in college football.

McCoy and Texas can now sit back and wait to see if either South Carolina can upset Florida or if Mississippi State can beat Alabama. A win by the Gators and Crimson Tide would more than likely result in the Longhorns staying at No. 3 in the BCS standings.

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The first upset of Week 11 in college football came courtesy of Central Florida, which knocked off No. 15 Houston 37-32 at BH Networks Stadium on Saturday.

Turnovers doomed the Cougars throughout the day. After jumping out to a 10-0 lead early in the first quarter, Houston was knocking on the door of another score after quarterback Case Keenum led his team inside the red zone. But Bryce Beall fumbled at the 1-yard line and the Golden Knights recovered to halt a potential touchdown. After its defense forced a three-and-out, Houston again fumbled in UCF territory, only this time the Knights turned the gift into points by kicking a 35-yard field goal.

Nick Cattoi gave Houston a 17-3 lead by returning the following kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, but UCF answered with 21 answered points to take a 23-20 lead late in the third quarter. A Keenum interception midway through the fourth led to yet another UCF score to essentially put Houston away for good, although the Cougars did tack on two touchdowns with under four minutes remaining in a frantic comeback that fell just short.

This was a rather impressive win by the Knights, who have struggled with consistency this season. Senior quarterback Brett Hodges outplayed Keenum today, completing 21 of 25 passes for 241 yards and a touchdown, while sophomore running back Brynn Harvey racked up 139 yards and three touchdowns on 35 carries. Granted, they got some help from Houston, which shot itself in the foot repeatedly with turnovers. But UCF capitalized on the Cougars’ mistakes and pulled off one of the better upsets of the year.

If SMU beats UTEP today, Houston will fall one game behind the Mustangs in the Conference USA West standings. The Cougars hold the potential tiebreaker between the two teams because they beat the Mustangs 38-15 earlier this season, but their fate is now in SMU’s hands.

The good news is that Houston plays two cupcakes in Memphis and Rice the next two weeks. The bad news is that SMU plays Marshall and Tulane, which aren’t exactly powerhouses.

Cougar fans better start rooting hard for UTEP.

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For the first time in school history, Cincinnati has started a season 10-0 and is also the first FBS team to 10 wins in 2009.

The Bearcats beat Big East rivals West Virginia 24-21 on Friday night. The game wasn’t as close as the final score indicated, although that’s not to suggest that Cincinnati blew the Mountaineers out either.

Senior quarterback Tony Pike attempted four passes on the night and completed two of them…for touchdowns. Pike had been dealing with a forearm injury the past couple weeks and head coach Brian Kelly (when he wasn’t yelling at one of his assistants) wanted him to see some game action against West Virginia. Pike obviously made the most of his limited opportunities as he helped Cincinnati score two of its three touchdowns on the night.

Sophomore Zach Collaros ran the show for most of the night and used his arm and his legs to keep drives going for the Bearcats. Fellow sophomore Isaiah Pead had a fantastic night, rushing for 175 yards with a touchdown on 18 carries.

Not everything was positive for the Bearcats, however. Their run defense was gashed for 202 yards by the Mountaineers, some of which came right up the gut. The Bearcat defense also struggled getting a hold of West Virginia QB Jarrett Brown, who was able to keep the came close with his scrambling ability.

A team with a power running game will beat Cincinnati by wearing down its front seven and keeping its potent offense off the field. That said, with this win they set up a huge game with No. 12 Pittsburgh on December 5 for the Big East title. (Assuming the Panthers isn’t upset before then.)

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In his past two games against Utah, TCU quarterback Andy Dalton has zero touchdown passes and six interceptions. Both of those games resulted in losses for the Horned Frogs, including last year’s 13-10 defeat in Salt Lake City.

But Dalton has played with more confidence during the past month than he has at any point in his career and the TCU offense is starting to match the play of its outstanding defense. The Frogs rank eighth in total offense, sixth in scoring offense and also have the sixth best running game in the nation.

That said, the Utes’ defense has served as kryptonite for Dalton in previous years, so can he put those struggles behind him and keep TCU’s BCS bowl bid hopes alive?

Utah ranks 18th in total defense and 13th in pass defense, but they haven’t played an offense even remotely as potent as TCU. And for as good as the Utes’ defense has been this season, they’re susceptible against the run and that’s the Frogs’ bread and butter.

With so much on the line in this matchup, both teams need to take the pressure off their quarterbacks and run the football. But what will be interesting to watch unfold is which defense will stop their opponents’ running game first and force either Dalton or true freshman Jordan Wynn to beat them through the air.

This has the makings of a great game.

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For those of you that partook in Wednesday night’s MAC football matchup between Toledo and Central Michigan, you had to be impressed from what you saw out of senior quarterback Dan LeFevour.

LeFevour completed 29-of-36 pass attempts for 341 yards and two touchdowns in the Chippewas’ 56-28 rout of the Rockets. He also rushed 14 times for 19 yards with a whopping four touchdowns, which was rather Tim Tebow-esqe.

LeFevour doesn’t get as much press as fellow quarterback prospects Tebow, Colt McCoy, and Sam Bradford because of the conference he plays in. Hell, he even takes a back seat to Cincinnati’s Tony Pike on Mel Kiper’s list of top senior prospects at the quarterback position.

But the kid is good – real good.

Now, I admit that I’m biased because I went to CMU. But it’s hard not to appreciate what LeFevour can do when you watch him. He has great size at 6-3, 238-pounds, can run, can throw with accuracy, and has demonstrated excellent leadership. He was the 2006 MAC Freshman of the Year, the MVP for the 2006 Motor City Bowl and the 2007 MAC Championship Game and was the 2007 MAC Offensive Player of the Year.

You might be thinking, “MAC football? Wow, who cares…” But don’t forget that Ben Roethlisberger is a product of the MAC, as is Chad Pennington. While not quarterbacks, Randy Moss, Joshua Cribbs, Lance Moore and a host of others also played in the MAC, so it’s clear that the conference is harvesting talent.

Granted, LeFevour does benefit from playing in a college-style offense that allows him to put up gaudy numbers and therefore it might take him awhile to learn a pro system. He also doesn’t throw the prettiest deep ball and his threat as a runner will be neutralized in the NFL because he doesn’t have great top-end speed. But he has the size, strength and durability to play at the next level, is a student of the game and is a winner. He could be a steal in the middle rounds in next April’s draft.

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After two strong weeks in which I went 8-0 straight up and 7-1 against the spread, I crapped the bed last week. I went just 2-2 straight up and 1-3 against the spread. My only saving grace was that I predicted Ohio State to beat Penn State outright, but the refs took care of any opportunity LSU had of covering.

No. 25 West Virginia at No. 5 Cincinnati, 8:00PM ET, Friday
The Bearcats received a scare last week from Connecticut, which scored 35 second half points in order to erase a 30-10 halftime deficit. While Cincinnati held on to beat the Huskies 47-45, the narrow win raised some doubts about whether or not the Bearcats should be ranked in the top 5. Tony Pike continues to battle a forearm injury, which means sophomore Zach Collaros will once again be counted on to keep Cincinnati’s BCS hopes alive. The Bearcats might have trouble running against a decent West Virginia front seven, but Collaros should have opportunities to methodically drive the ball down the field on an inconsistent Mountaineer secondary. I see this game being close early, but Cincinnati will pull away and hold on to victory in the second half.
Odds: Cincinnati –9.
Prediction: Cincinnati 34, West Virginia 24.

No. 16 Utah at. No. 4 TCU, 7:30PM ET, Saturday
I’m a little surprised to see that TCU is a whopping 19.5-point favorite in such a marquee matchup. I fully expect the Horned Frogs to take care of business at home, but the Utes have a good enough defense to somewhat contain quarterback Andy Dalton and TCU’s trio of running backs in Joe Turner, Ed Wesley and Matthew Tucker. Plus, Utah can grind it out on the ground with running backs Eddie Wide and Sausan Shakerin, so they have the ability to keep TCU’s potent offense on the sidelines and have a chance to win in the fourth quarter. In the end, I think freshman quarterback Jordan Wynn will succumb to the pressure of TCU’s aggressive defense, but this one will be close throughout.
Odds: TCU –19.5.
Prediction: TCU 30, Utah 24.

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Along with a complete list of point spreads for the top 25 action in college football, here is a quick-hit look at some of the marquee matchups in Week 11.

No. 25 West Virginia at No. 5 Cincinnati, Friday, November 13
This is the first of three important games left on the Bearcats’ schedule. After playing the Mountaineers on Friday night, Brian Kelly’s squad will take on Big Ten foe Illinois on November 27 and then have a marquee Big East showdown with No. 12 PITT on December 5. Kelly won’t have starting quarterback Tony Pike again this week as the senior continues to nurse a forearm injury. That means impressive sophomore Zach Collaros will once again be counted on to keep Cincinnati’s BCS hopes alive. After ratting off four straight wins to get to 6-1 on the season, West Virginia has struggled the past two weeks. They were defeated by South Florida two weeks ago and then struggled generating offense against a below-average Louisville team last Saturday. Will Collaros and the rest of Cincy’s backfield be too much for the Mountaineers to handle?
Odds: Cincinnati –9.

No. 16 Utah at No. 4 TCU, 7:30PM ET, Saturday
Now that the Horned Frogs have leapt into the No. 4 spot in the rankings, they have one more hurdle to overcome on their schedule before they let fate take the wheel for the rest of the season. Utah will do everything in its power to knock off its Mountain West foe and gain the inside edge for a second straight conference title. But the Utes’ task is a daunting one. TCU has the sixth best rushing attack in the nation and are ranked eighth in total offense. They also rank third in total defense and fifth in scoring defense. The Frogs look like a small-school juggernaut right now but if they will be challenged this weekend in Fort Worth.
Odds: TCU –19.5.

No. 10 Iowa at No. 11 Ohio State, 3:30PM ET, Saturday
In the blink of an eye, the Hawkeyes saw their national title hopes and quarterback go down in one fall swoop last Saturday as Northwestern shocked them at home. Now Iowa can only hope for a Big Ten title, but even that looks dim considering it has to go into Columbus this week in attempts to beat a confident Ohio State team. The Buckeyes knocked off Penn State last Saturday in Happy Valley and now has the inside track to winning the Big Ten again this season. The Hawkeyes will start redshirt freshman James Vanderberg, who struggled last week after Ricky Stanzi suffered an injury in the first half. Asking a redshirt freshman to beat the Buckeyes in Columbus is no small order and it appears that Iowa’s magical 2009 season won’t have a fairytale ending.
Odds: Ohio State –17.

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