Buckeyes Smashed Again

Three times now in the last two-plus seasons Ohio State has played a better team from a better conference. And all three times the Buckeyes have looked incredibly inferior. It wasn't just Mark Sanchez's four touchdown passes or Joe McKnight's 105 yards on 12 carries against the vaunted OSU defense. It was a nullified penalty that brought back a touchdown and a heinously bad pass by Todd Boeckman that led to an interception return for a touchdown that made it impossible for the Buckeyes to have a chance without star tailback Beanie Wells. Ohio State gained only 30 yards in the second half, but at least looked energetic with Terrelle Pryor commanding the offense.

I think one of the most overlooked big wins this past Saturday in college football was Oregon's come-from-behind victory at Purdue. Down 20-3 in the second quarter, the Ducks rallied behind the legs of LaGarrette Blount and Jeremiah Johnson, an impressive running back tandem to go with quarterback Justin Roper, who looked awful on Saturday but should be steady for the Ducks this season. Blount finished with 132 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries while Johnson added 96 yards on 17 rushes. Oregon looked like the team with the best chance to knock off USC in the Pac-10, especially with a defense that kept the team in the game after being down 17 points early. The loss was incredibly Purdue's 15th consecutive defeat at the hands of a ranked opponent.

Of course, Oregon's win was about the only thing that went right for the Pac-10 conference on Saturday, as the Mountain West went 4-0 against the Pac-10. Arizona State proved to be fraudulent, losing to UNLV at home, while TCU beat Stanford, New Mexico knocked off Arizona and Brigham Young shut out and smoked UCLA. So much for the ACC being the worst BCS conference.

I don't put all the blame on Greg Robinson, but he clearly isn't the answer as coach of the Syracuse Orange. The 55-13 loss to Penn State at home on a day the school celebrated its unbeaten 1959 championship team was simply abysmal.

Robert Griffin is giving Baylor football fans a reason to smile in Waco, Texas. The freshman quarterback ran for a school-record 217 yards and two touchdowns on only 11 carries as the Bears smashed Washington State 45-17 on Friday night. In two starts, Griffin has led the Bears to consecutive 40-point games for the first time since 1994.

It may be ugly football, but Iowa held Iowa State without a touchdown, making it the third game in a row to start the season in which the Hawkeyes have not allowed a touchdown.

Has Javon Ringer stopped carrying the football yet? A career-high 282 yards on 43 carried led the way for the Spartans against Florida Atlantic in monsoon-like conditions.

BYU has a real good shot to earn a BCS bowl game berth this season not only because of quarterback Max Hall, but also because of a defense that makes big plays at key moments in ballgames.