Michigan State can thanks the replay rules for a miraculous victory over Wisconsin in a physical and exciting game tonight. Kirk Cousins threw a 44-yard Hail Mary pass with time running out, and Keith Nichol came up with it after it was tipped by several players. The problem was that it was hard to see whether he actually got into the end zone, and the officials ruled on the field that Nichol didn’t get it. But the replay showed that the ball did barely cross the end zone, and Michigan State won in stunning fashion.

The game had some wild swings, and Wisconsin jumped out to a 14-0 lead after an opening touchdown drive and then another quick touchdown after a Spartan turnover.

But then Russell Wilson got called for intentional grounding in the end zone for a safety, and then he threw an interception and all of a sudden the Spartans were on their way to 23 unanswered points.

In the fourth quarter, Wisconsin was down by 14 points, but Russell Wilson did a great job of bringing the Badgers back to tie the game with 1:26 left. But then Michigan State got its miracle, and Wisconsin’s dream of an undefeated season ended with the replay call.

What a game!

Russell Wilson is not unknown to Heisman voters. Three (I, II, III) of the major “Heisman Watch” lists have him in, or around, the top five.

That’s probably a good spot for the Wisconsin quarterback, who has been great early on, but against suspect competition.

Through four games, Wilson — who spent his first three seasons at NC State before taking advantage of the NCAA’s graduate-level transfer rule — has completed 75.8% of his passes for 1,136 yards and 11 touchdowns, while throwing just one interception. He’s leading a Wisconsin offense that’s sixth in the nation scoring 48.5 points per game, and he’s done this while the Badgers have taken their foot off the gas pedal late in games thanks to huge leads.

Tonight, Wilson and Wisconsin play Nebraska in their Big Ten opener, and with a great performance, Wilson could find himself near, if not at the top of those lists. Nebraska is a big-time, storied program that has long been known for its defensive prowess. Even if the Huskers finish the season around where they are in scoring defense (46th at 22 points per game), putting up big numbers against them is going to cause voters’ eyes to light up.

It’s also the weekend’s showcase game, as it will be on ABC at 8 p.m. (EST). If Alabama does to Florida what I’m expecting it to, most of the country’s eyes will be on this game and this game alone. That’s the perfect storm for Wilson’s Heisman campaign. Of course it could also work against him. If Wilson has a bad game in a loss, it will be remembered by voters into December. If his running back Montee Ball goes nuts — which he is certainly capable of — voters might question the importance Wilson to the Badgers.

That’s not going to happen, though. Expect Wilson to be let loose, both through the air and with his feet, and expect to wake up Sunday hearing his name mentioned with “Heisman frontrunner” attached to it.

Ugh.

After going 3-1 two weeks ago, I successfully predicted a downfall last Saturday by putting forth a brutal effort. Alabama (no front door cover, Tide?), South Carolina (couldn’t hang onto that lead, Cocks?) and LSU (only 20 points at home, Tigers?) were all losers, while my only winner was Temple over Penn State (even though the Owls tried to blow that one for me late).

Here goes a better effort this week…

No. 17 Ohio State –16.5 at Illinois, 12:00PMET
Lay the points. The Buckeyes are 4-0 against the spread this year and have done it in rather easy fashion. I realize this is their first road test of the year, not to mention their first Big Ten game, but Ohio State is the far superior team and should roll. The Buckeyes haven’t lost to the Illini since 1991 and while Illinois has hung with them in recent years, it’ll be too much Terrelle Pryor this Saturday.
THE PICK: OHIO STATE –16.5

No. 11 Wisconsin vs. No. 24 Michigan State +2, 3:30PM ET
The Spartans will certainly get a lift from Mark Dantonio, who returns to the sidelines (the press box, actually) this weekend after suffering a heart attack following MSU’s overtime win over Notre Dame two weeks ago. The Spartans have rushed for over 200 yards in each of their first four games and while the Badgers have a potent rushing attack themselves, I like MSU to win outright in East Lansing. Every year the Spartans beat an opponent they’re not supposed to and while a win on Saturday would hardly be shocking, it would still be considered an upset with Wisconsin ranked 11th in the nation.
THE PICK: MICHIGAN STATE +2

Virginia Tech vs. North Carolina State +4, 3:30PM ET
I feel as though people are falling asleep on this NC State team, which is coming off impressive wins over Cincinnati and Georgia Tech the past two weekends. They don’t have a great rushing offense, but their passing game led by Russell Wilson ranks 19th in the nation and they’re averaging 37.75 points per game. After losing to Boise State and James Madison earlier in the year, VA Tech has gotten back on track with wins over East Carolina and Boston College the past two weekends. That said, there’s still something missing from this team and while Tyrod Taylor has made a ton of highlight reel plays, he leads an offense that is 87th in passing. I think NC State keeps this game within a field goal and covers.
THE PICK: NC STATE +4

No. 3 Boise State –43.5 vs. New Mexico State, 8:00PM ET
Usually I don’t even consider games that have point spreads of over 30 points because of the threat of a backdoor cover, but I always make an exception when New Mexico State is involved. As long as the Broncos don’t take their foot off the gas I could see them scoring in the 60s this weekend. The Aggies rank second-to-last in total defense among FBS teams and the Broncos can ill-afford to suffer a letdown now that they’re ranked third in the nation. Boise rolls.
THE PICK: BOISE STATE –43.5

Season Record: 4-4

Entering the Virginia Tech-Cincinnati Orange Bowl matchup Thursday night, the ACC hadn’t earned a BCS victory since 1999 and some media outlets were even suggesting that the conference champion should lose its automatic BCS bid. Making matters worse, the conference was just 3-6 in non-BCS bowl games this year, further adding to the embarrassment.

But Frank Beamer’s Hokies put an end to the ACC’s drought with their convincing 20-7 win over the Big East Champion Bearcats. Tech held Brian Kelly’s dynamic offense to just 239 passing yards and picked off Cincy quarterback Tony Pike four times.

Offensively, Hokie frosh running back Darren Evans did most of the damage, rushing for 153 yards and a touchdown, while sophomore quarterback Tyrod Taylor added 47 rushing yards and a score. As a team, Tech rushed for 259 yards, which was their third 250-yard rushing game of the year.

Maybe this win will breathe some life into the ACC, which certainly has some talented programs, but inconsistency seems to be the conference’s major drawback.

VA Tech always has one of the more talented defenses, but poor quarterback play doomed them for most of the year. Georgia Tech’s triple option was impossible to stop at times, but LSU’s 38-3 rout in the Chick-fil-A Bowl proved that the Jackets still have a long way to go to compete for a national title. Boston College, NC State and Maryland have some great young talent, but once again, inconsistency doomed those three programs throughout the year.

With players like Evans, Taylor, Da’Rel Scott and Russell Wilson, the ACC will feature some of the best young talent in college football heading into 2009. So hopefully the ACC can turn their BCS misfortunes around and produce a legit title contender next year, instead of being the conference that’s best known for its underachieving.

No. 15 East Carolina escaped disaster last week, edging out unranked Tulane 28-24 when QB Patrick Pinkney threw a 24-yard touchdown pass with under two minutes remaining in the game. But the Cinderella Pirates couldn’t pull off a similar feat this week as the NC State Wolfpack stunned ECU 30-24 in overtime on Saturday.

Pinkney wasn’t as sharp Saturday as he was in leading the Pirates to a 3-0 record to start the season. He threw for 210 yards and a touchdown, but was intercepted once and also fumbled on ECU’s only possession in overtime when Wolfpack defensive end Shea McKeen came from the backside and sacked an unsuspecting Pinkney. The fumble eventually led to Andre Brown’s game-winning 10-yard touchdown.

It was a gritty win by NC State, who was led by freshman quarterback Russell Wilson, who was 21 of 31 passing for 210 yards and three touchdowns. Wilson’s five-yard touchdown pass to George Bryan with less than two minutes remaining in the fourth forced overtime.

The Pirates’ dramatic early-season wins over Virginia Tech and West Virginia must seem like a decade ago after suffering this loss. ECU’s schedule doesn’t give them a chance for redemption either, so their thin BCS title aspirations are now dashed. Still, the Pirates provided college football fans with plenty of excitement and if he continues to play as well as he has, Pinkney might have a future in the NFL (possibly as a receiver if teams won’t look at him as a quarterback).