Ole’ Miss shocks No. 4 Florida 31-30
Posted by Anthony Stalter (09/27/2008 @ 3:26 pm)
It’s officially upset week in college football. After No. 1 USC fell 27-21 to Oregon State Thursday night, another top 5 team was defeated on Saturday when Mississippi knocked off No. 4 Florida 31-30.
After Florida RB Percy Harvin scored on a 15-yard touchdown run with just over three minutes remaining in the game to cut the Rebels’ lead to 31-30, Gators’ K Jonathan Phillips had an extra point blocked. Florida’s defense forced a punt, but Tim Tebow was stopped on 4th and 1 sneak attempt from the Ole Miss 32-yard line less than two minutes left to play, which allowed the Rebels to run the clock out after the change of possession.
QB Jevan Snead threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score to lead Ole Miss. Junior WR Shay Hodge also hauled in three passes for 133 yards and a touchdown.
After USC lost on Thursday night, several pundits felt that Florida was the best team in the nation and would compete for a title. But this game proves how tough it is to come out of the SEC. Mississippi isn’t even one of the conference’s best, but as they proved Saturday, no team in the SEC is a pushover. To upset the No. 4 team in the nation is impressive. But to go into Gainesville and knock off the No. 4 team in the nation is unbelievable, especially considering Florida arguably has the best player in the nation in Tebow.
Oregon State will just have to share the upset spotlight this week.
Posted in: College Football
Tags: College Football recaps, College Football scores, College football upsets, College Football Week 5, Florida Gators, Jevon Snead, Mississippi Rebels, Mississippi upsets Florida, Ole Miss 31 Florida 30, Ole Miss beats Florida, Ole Miss Rebels, Tim Tebow
Week 2 College Football Primer
Posted by Anthony Stalter (09/03/2008 @ 12:08 pm)
Time to check out the big games, top matchups and potential upsets as college football heads into Week 2.
Top 25 Action:
None. Nobody in the top 25 plays each other this weekend, which must have the television networks really, really excited.
Keep your eye on:
Ohio (0-1) at No. 3 Ohio State (1-0)
The Buckeyes should have no problem with instate rival Ohio this weekend, but it’ll be interesting to see if head coach Jim Tressel plays injured running back and Heisman hopeful Chris Wells. With a trip to Southern Cal on the docket, there’s no reason to play Wells this week against a cupcake like Ohio. (Although I’ll be the first to note that the MAC deserves more attention than what it gets. See the “Upset Watch” section for proof.) A running back-by-committee of David Herron, Maurice Wells and Brandon Saine should be more than enough for OSU to roll the Bobcats, so there should be no reason for “Beanie” to even dress.
Upset Watch:
No. 8 West Virginia (1-0) at East Carolina (0-1)
While it’s true that I wouldn’t even have mentioned this game had it not been for the Pirates knocking off VA Tech last week, East Carolina has proven that it can hang with top programs. ECU will be looking for its third straight win over a ranked opponent, although West Virginia has won seven straight over the Pirates coming into this contest. Oddsmakers clearly feel that ECU can hang with the Mountaineers given that WVU is only an 8-point favorite.
Central Michigan (1-0) at No. 2 Georgia (1-0)
Yes, outside of the MAC last year the Chippewas got smacked by Kansas (52-7) and Purdue (45-22). But as Bowling Green proved by beating PITT last week, the MAC has some talented teams and CMU is currently the class of the conference. They have a Hesiman candidate at quarterback in Dan LeFevour and a playmaker at running back in Ontario Sneed. There’s no doubt Georgia has better and deeper talent and it’s tough for any team to win between the hedges (let alone a MAC team), but could UGA overlook little ol’ CMU with a trip to South Carolina on the schedule next week? Obviously oddsmakers don’t think so as they’ve made the Dawgs a 24-point favorite.
Other notable games:
Miami (FL) at No. 5 Florida – Saturday, Sept 6, 8:00pm ET
No. 15 BYU at Washington – Saturday, Sept 6, 3:00pm ET
Mississippi at No. 20 Wake Forest – Saturday, Sept 6, 3:300pm ET
Posted in: College Football
Tags: BYU Cougars, Chris Beanie Wells, College Football Preview, Dan LeFevour, Florida Gators, Jim Tressel, Miami Hurricanes, Ohio Bobcats, Ohio State Buckeyes, Ole Miss Rebels, Wake Forest Demon Deacons, Washington Huskies, Week 2 College Football Preview