The biggest story of the day comes from outside the Top 25.

Illinois, losers of ten straight Big Ten games, overcomes being a twenty-six point underdog and upsets Mchigan State, 23-20, on a 39 yard field goal by Jason Reda with 6 seconds to go. Illinois’ last conference win was in 2004. Michigan State loses a second straight heartbreaker following their collapse last week against Notre Dame.

Wisconsin, Penn State were other Big Ten Winners, Notre Dame beat Purdue.

In the Top 25:

#5 Florida holds off Alabama, 28-13. Alabama’s offense could not find the end zone. Trailing 10-7 at the half, Chris Leak drives the Gators down the field twice for touchdown drives, while Reggie Nelson’s 70 fumble recovery for a ouchdown ices the game in the 4th. Leak, 14-20 for 174 and 2 scores. ‘Bama’s John Parker Wilson picked three times, but had 234 yards in the air.

#9 LSU all over Miss State, 48-17. JaMarcus Russel, 18-20 for 330 yards and 3 touchdowns, the longest coming on a 37 yarder to Early Doucet.

#24 Georgia Tech goes into Blacksburg and pounds #11 Virginia Tech, 38-27. Calvin Johnson catches six passes for 115 yards and two scores. The Jackets were up 21-7 after 1. Virginia Tech cored twice in the 4th to closethe gap, but Georgia Tech looked the sharper team and played it all day today.

#12 Notre Dame did beat Purdue, 35-21. Brady Quinn with a big day, 29-38 for 316 and two scores. Darius Walker rushes for 146.

#14 Oregon kicks Arizona State around Tempe, 48-13.

#15 Tennessee takes out Memphis, 41-7 at the Liberty Bowl. Erik Ainge, 23 for 27 and 324 yards with four scores. LaMarcus Coker rushes for 124.

#20 Cal travels up to Oregon State and wins in a yawner, 41-13.

#22 Boise State gets one on the road, stopping Utah, 36-3.

#25 Missouri keeps Colorado out of the win column, 28-13. Chase Daniel 253 yards passing, four touchdowns and two picks.

Everyone else played Thursday or plays tonight.

With most of the bigger games today in this window or in primetime. We’ll go through the day so far in full when these games end.

Illinois 23-20 Michigan State.

All ranked teams winning and winning big.

Some how, I missed a game from our collection of games of the week, but first a little news:

Rutgers will still be in the top 25 this week after stopping a two-point conversion to beat Big East rival, South Florida, 22-20 in Tampa. Rutgers moves to 5-0 and 1-0 in the Big East, strengthening the conference’s stature.

Ray Rice topped 200 yards on the ground for the second time this year for the surprising Scarlet Knights, maxing out at 202 and scoring twice. He broke the 200 yard mark in the Rutgers opener at North Carolina.

(Someone give this kid some Heisman love.)

Rutgers was ranked for the first time since 1976. The year Tony Dorsett won the Heisman for Pitt.

New Business

Brian tells me I went 2-3 last week. I said Auburn wasn’t perfect either.

Alabama at Florida- First a shout out to the Gators for their new ring of honor. Four people will be inducted at the half today. DE Jack Youngblood, RB Emmitt Smith, QB Danny Wuerfull, and Steve Spurrier get the introductory honors. All four made impacts beyond their playing days at Florida. If your wondering about Wuerfull, Google his name and Katrina.

Back to the game, one must empathize with Alabama for last week’s loss. The kicking game fell onto the second string and three missed field goals and a missed extra point in overtime prevented ‘Bama from winning on the road in Arkansas.

The Swamp is less forgiving than Fayetteville, luckily for Alabama, the first string is healthy. Unfortunately for the Crimson Tide, so is Chris Leak.

The Gators are turning into a BCS Title darkhorse and can take a major step for a titanic showdown in Auburn with a win here today. No worries, we’ll see if the Gameday crew does an SEC game as Florida wins by 10, a blowout by SEC standards.

Updates throughout the day on the blog and if you missed something today, tune your favorite .mp3 player here tomorrow morning as our revamped postgame podcast goes tonight for your enjoyment tomorrow morning.

Well, a rare meaningful Thursday in football land this week.

That pleasant aroma from Provo, Utah isn’t a sorority cleaning their sheets, but the BCS schools sending flowers to Brigham Young for closing one of this year’s nightmare scenario’s. If TCU had run the table, and if either West Virginia or Louisville runs the table, you would have your two undefeated teams and one would be excluded over a one loss school. For the title, the party remains uncrashed.

For Auburn, however, their road continues to narrow down. I can’t imagine that many people outside South Carolina thought that Auburn would be in a dogfight. Yet, they came within six yards of a tie and an overtime game on the road. A great night for RB Kenny Irons, scoring twice.

You know that in between administering urine tests to see what Terrell Owens was ingesting last night, Bill Parcells was mighty proud that one team could hold possession for a whole quarter. Even more amazing is that South Carolina actually had the ball longer for the game, by 40 seconds.

On to Saturday!

The boys discussed five games for tomorrow. I think I went 3-2 last week.

Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech- The Jackets are good, but the Hokies are better. This game is in Blacksburg. The swagger, or Swaggs? factor on the Hokies is down a few notches from the Vick days. Add that Reggie Ball really cannot beat a team with his arm, or Notre Dame would have lost their opener, leads me to believe that Virginia Tech will win with some ease.

Would the power house team in the ACC please stand up? We have no idea who you are.

Oregon at Arizona State- Thanks for giving Cal a hard time last week, Sun Devils. Kickoff was at 12:30 PT, in case you missed it.

It’s obvious from the Cal game that Arizona State is not ready for the BCS prime time, but the question this week is has Cal passed Oregon to claim the #2 spot in the Pac-10. Oregon has come off a bye and a controversial win over Oklahoma at home, threatening to have the Big 12 dump the West Coast deep into the Pacific.

We know that Oregon is a good team and, on paper, should win. It’s in the Valley of the Sun, however, and one should not assume that the road team will dominate in conference. Oregon will win here, but by less than ten. Some will say that that should put Cal back ahead. That would be foolish. Any conference win on the road is a sign of strength, and until Oregon loses, they are better than Cal.

You have to think that the Sun Devils will be playing with a chip on their shoulder. This will be a war.

Purdue at Notre Dame- Notre Dame should win, following their theatrical win over Michigan State last week. The smiling eyes of Irish Nation are gazing on South Bend with a warm glow. Plus, you must think that Purdue is a bit under Penn State on talent, and we know what Notre Dame did to Penn State.

However, and you knew that there would be a however, Notre Dame at times this year has made the Jerry Faust era look good. Brady Quinn can still be rattled with ease, and the run can be stopped. Purdue must think they have a realistic shot of sending the Irish to the Gator Bowl with a win.

Charlie Weis’ decision to go no-huddle in the second quarter saved the Irish season. There’s a reason he is sought after, he can flat out coach.

They will struggle, but Notre Dame wins. That means they win by 45 because this team has been unpredictable all year.

Texas Tech at Texas A&M- Air Lubbock has been a bit off this year, and now they play a team with defense. A&M by 10.

Ohio State at Iowa- A classic gunslingers duel between Heisman favorite Troy Smith and Iowa legend Drew Tate. We saw Ohio State struggle at times last week on offense, but it would appear that the weather and the wet ball were some of that reason.

Ohio State is playing now with a giant bullseye on them. #1 in the country and the conference gives them a ton of confidence. Iowa, however, should not be intimidated by that despite getting beat bad in Columbus last year.

Tate needs not to lose this game. He needs to mix it up a bit so the faster Buckeye defense will be off a step or two. That’s the chance that the Hawkeyes have. The lower the score, the better off Ohio State be. They won’t be forced to go all pass and he more they mix the offense, the more comfortable Smith looks. When he looks good, they don’t lose.

Including tomorrow night, Ohio State by 10.

Friday:

Rutgers at South Florida, 8:00 PM - G5-14s (ESPN 2)

Saturday:

Virginia at Duke, 12:00 PM - Raycom/Lincoln Financial
Illinois at Michigan State, 12:00 PM - ESPN Plus, Altitude
Wisconsin at Indiana, 12:00 PM - G5-14s (ESPN 2)
Tennessee at Memphis, 12:00 PM - G5-9s (ESPN)
Navy at Connecticut, 12:00 PM - ESPN Regional, MSG
Toledo at Pittsburgh, 12:00 PM - ESPN U
Colorado at Missouri, 12:30 PM - FOX Sports Net
Mississippi State at LSU, 12:30 PM - Lincoln Financial
Maine at Boston College, 1:00 PM - ESPN 360
Yale at Lafayette, 1:00 PM - CSTV
Hofstra at William & Mary, 1:00 PM - Comcast (Mid-Atlantic), FOX-New York
Wyoming at Syracuse, 1:30 PM - ESPN 360
Akron at Kent State, 2:00 PM - FOX-Cincinnati, Ohio
Purdue at Notre Dame, 2:30 PM - NBC
Boise State at Utah, 3:00 PM - VERSUS
Florida A&M vs. Tennessee State, 3:00 PM - TurnerSouth
Alabama at Florida, 3:30 PM - CBS
Liberty at Wake Forest, 3:30 PM - ESPN 360
Texas Tech at Texas A&M, 3:30 PM - ABC
Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech, 3:30 PM - ABC
Northwestern at Penn State, 3:30 PM - ABC
Oregon at Arizona State, 3:30 PM - ABC
Rice at Army, 3:30 PM - ESPN U
Furman at Wofford, 3:30 PM - CSS
Houston at Miami-Florida, 6:00 PM - G5-14s (ESPN 2)
San Diego State at San Jose State, 6:00 PM - Channel 4 (San Diego)
Louisiana Tech at Clemson, 7:00 PM - ESPN U
Kansas at Nebraska, 7:00 PM - FOX Sports Net
FAU at UL Monroe, 7:00 PM - CSS
Middle Tennessee at North Texas, 7:00 PM - ESPN Regional
Sam Houston State at Texas, 7:00 PM - Pay-per-view
USC at Washington State, 7:00 PM - G5-6s (TBS)
New Hampshire at Delaware, 7:00 PM - CN8 (Philadelphia)
SMU at Tulane, 7:30 PM - CSTV
Ohio State at Iowa, 8:00 PM - ABC
Michigan at Minnesota, 8:00 PM - G5-9s (ESPN)
Georgia at Ole Miss, 9:00 PM - G5-14s (ESPN 2)
Colorado State at Fresno State, 10:00 PM - ESPN Plus
Stanford at UCLA, 10:15 PM - FOX Sports Net
Nevada at UNLV, 10:00 PM - The Mountain
Eastern Illinois at Hawaii, 12:05 AM - Oceanic Pay-per-view

In the first game the Auburn Tigers needed every ounce of luck and strength to hold off the South Carolina Gamecocks 24-17. The Tigers showed flashes of brilliance on both sides of the ball and their RB Kenny Irons made Gamecock fans wonder what could’ve been with him. Irons ran for 117 yards and two touchdowns in the victory.

The second half was a tale of two totally opposite quarters. After the first play of the 4th quarter the Tigers had not allowed the Gamecocks to register a yard on offense in the entire second half and had the lead at 24-10 which looked safe for Tigers’ fans. But the Cocks rallied back scoring a touchdown as Syvelle Newton’s hooked up with TE Jared Cook with 8:25 to go to bring it within 7. Cook had another chance to catch a TD as time was winding down but dropped a perfectly thrown Newton pass that would have easily been 6 and sent the game into overtime. Newton’s pass failed to Rice on 4th down with under a minute to go in the game to seal the loss for the Cocks.

Auburn QB Brandon Cox completed 9 of 13 passes for 125 yards. Even with the loss Syvelle Newton solidified his grasp on the #1 QB at South Carolina going 21 of 35 for 240 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception. He also ran 20 times for 44 yards.

BYU all but ended TCU’s chances to crash the BCS party by beating the Horned Frogs 31-17. The Cougars QB John Beck was the star of the game by completing 23 of 37 passes for 321 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. BYU used a balanced attack to keep the Frogs on their toes and converted on numerous third downs to keep drives alive and their defense off the field.

BYU beat a top 25 team for the first time since 1999 and TCU lost for the first time since the second game last season.


Rank
1 Mount Union (36) 3-0 996
2 Wisconsin-Whitewater (4) 3-0 960
3 Saint John's (Minn.) 4-0 896
4 Capital 3-0 814
5 Wesley 3-0 808
6 Hardin-Simmons 2-0 762
7 Wisconsin-La Crosse 3-0 740
8 Bridgewater (Va.) 4-0 674
9 Ohio Northern 3-0 625
10 SUNY Cortland 3-0 509
11 Wheaton (Ill.) 3-0 508
12 Rowan 1-1 499
13 St. John Fisher 4-0 481
14 Coe 4-0 475
15 Central (Iowa) 3-0 443
16 Occidental 2-0 383
17 Mary Hardin-Baylor 2-1 358
18 Wilkes 4-0 334
19 Whitworth 3-0 203
20 Mount St. Joseph 3-0 197
21 Wartburg 3-0 190
22 Ithaca 3-1 185
23 Hobart 3-0 170
24 Trinity (Texas) 3-1 117
25 Springfield 3-0 87

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Christopher Newport 80; Concordia 64; Washington & Jefferson 50; Wooster 49; St. Olaf 48; Union 36; Linfield 21; Albion 29; Trinity (Conn.) 28; St. Norbert 27; Wisconsin-Oshkosh 20; Carthage 12; Carnegie-Mellon 18; Ursinus 13; Cal Lutheran 13; John Carroll 12; Delaware Valley 11; Wisconsin-Stout 9; Wabash 8; Elmhurst 6; Rensselaer 6; Augustana 3; North Central 2; Franklin 2; Howard Payne 2.
DROPPED OUT: Christopher Newport (25)



Rank
1 Grand Valley State (26) 4-0 696
2 Northwest Missouri State (1) 4-0 660
3 North Alabama 3-0 639
4 North Dakota (1) 4-0 630
5 Valdosta State 3-0 579
6 Carson-Newman 4-0 558
7 West Texas A&M 4-0 514
8 South Dakota 4-0 498
9 Shepherd 4-0 448
10 Bloomsburg 3-1 437
11 North Carolina Central 4-0 399
12 Saginaw Valley State 3-1 395
13 Pittsburg State 3-1 351
14 Northwood 4-0 331
15 Catawba 3-0 310
16 Nebraska-Omaha 3-1 283
17 Chadron State 4-0 256
18 Delta State 3-1 208
19 Missouri Western 3-1 169
20 Washburn 3-1 164
21 Winona State 3-1 143
22 C.W. Post 3-1 84
23 Tiffin 5-0 73
24 Newberry 4-0 55
25 Abilene Christian 3-0 54

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Arkansas Tech 49; Tuskegee 23; Edinboro 21; Minnesota-Duluth 17; Central Missouri 13; Midwestern St. 12; Lane 7; Southeastern Oklahoma St. 5; Presbyterian 4; Fort Lewis 3; Bemidji St. 2; California (Pa.) 2; Concordia-St. Paul 2; Ferris St. 2; Henderson St. 2; Western Oregon 2.
DROPPED OUT: Arkansas Tech (18), Southeastern Oklahoma St. (19), California (Pa.) (25)


The In The Bleachers Podcast previewing the Week 5 action is up and ready to go. The college football season is almost one-fourth of the way over, tune in to see who everyone picks to win the BCS bids. The games of the week for this week are Ohio State @ Iowa, Georgia Tech @ Virginia Tech, Oregon @ Arizona State, Purdue @ Notre Dame, Texas Tech @ Texas A&M, and Alabama @ Florida.

Remember you do not need an iPod to enjoy the In The Bleachers Podcast. Just download the mp3 file linked above and use your favorite media player to listen to it. Enjoy this week’s episode of In The Bleachers and if you have any questions or comments to the show please email them to inthebleachers AT gmail DOT com.