An Ugly Weekend in LA

Man, I don't think it's possible to have two worse losses on the same day in the same city. First USC blows its season to the lowly Cardinal, then the Bruins go and give the Irish their first win, thanks in no small part to seven(!) turnovers. To make matters worse, both starting quarterbacks got hurt. Ben Olson tore a knee ligament and John David Booty broke the middle finger on his throwing hand. The backup situation is much brighter at USC however, where wunderkind Mark Sanchez lies in wait. The Bruins have McLeod (no, not Connor) Bethel-Thompson, who just like you, no one else has ever heard of either. At least they hadn't heard of him until he gifted a two-touchdown win to a pathetic 0-5 team that only racked up 140 yards of total offense. UCLA gets a week off to prepare Bethel-Thompson for the Cal game on the 20th, but the Trojans already have Sanchez practicing with the first team for Saturday's game.

At least Arizona State still has some life in them. They're now 6-0 after escaping the Palouse with a last minute 23-20 victory, despite Alex Brink's best efforts. Rudy Carpenter is playing a lot closer to his 2005 form than 2006 and Ryan Torain continues to be a weapon out of the backfield. Oh yeah, that Dennis Erickson fellow probably has something to do with it too.

Things are a little less rosy down south, where Willie Tuitama is putting up big numbers, but not getting results. Willie is second in the conference in passing yards and TDs, but the Wildcats are dead last in rushing yards and 109th in the country. In their 31-16 loss to Oregon State, Arizona averaged .3 yards per carry. .3! Everyone is still waiting for Mike Stoops to turn this team around. Things don't get any easier, as they have to travel to LA and face an angry USC team.

Did that just happen?

Really?? It did? USC just lost to this guy?

Guess I picked a bad day to debut the new look. Just in case you haven't heard, the last two weeks of the college football season have pretty much been the craziest ever. From the week four AP poll, #1 USC, #3 Oklahoma, #4 Florida, #5 West Virginia, #7 Texas, #9 Wisconsin and #10 Rutgers have all seen their bids for undefeated seasons come to an end. Week six was supposed to be "Gut Check Saturday," and USC, Wisconsin, Kentucky and Florida evidently all need to visit their gastroenterologist. Kudos to you, College Football, for another great Saturday. We'll be back later with a recap of the Pac-10's weekend. Also, leave your comments on the new design.