| Ron Zook, who was drummed out as Florida's head | | | | competition. Here are some examples: |
| coach after failing to duplicate Steve Spurrier's record | | | | 1) No. 2-ranked LSU (9-1) blistered No. 107-rated |
| with the Gators, regained a measure of respect by | | | | Louisiana Tech (4-6), 58-10. |
| motivating his Fighting Illini to a 28-21 upset of No. | | | | 2) No. 4-ranked Oklahoma (9-1) ripped No. 119-rated |
| 1-ranked and unbeaten Ohio State Saturday (11-10-07). | | | | Baylor (3-8), 52-21. |
| The victory marked the first time Illinois (8-3) had | | | | 3) No. 19-ranked Boise State (9-1) rolled past hapless |
| beaten a No. 1-ranked team since 1956, and the first | | | | No. 166-rated Utah State (0-10), 52-0. Despite its rating, |
| time it had done it away from home. The loss ended | | | | Utah State is a Division 1A school. |
| Ohio State's conference and school streak of 20 | | | | Only two 1A teams remain unbeaten-No. 5-ranked |
| consecutive Big 10 wins by the Buckeyes, who are | | | | Kansas (10-0) and No. 14-ranked Hawaii (9-0). The |
| now 10-1. | | | | Jayhawks spotted No. 49-rated Oklahoma State (5-5) |
| The defeat not only dampened Ohio State's dream of | | | | 4 touchdowns but still won 43-28. |
| a national championship, it left the Buckeyes tied with | | | | The Hawaii Warriors, ranked No. 14 but rated No. 29 |
| Michigan for the top spot in the Big 10 as Wisconsin | | | | by Sagarin, were outscored 14-3 in the 4th quarter by |
| upset Michigan 37-21 the same day. | | | | No. 74-rated Fresno State (6-4) but outlasted the |
| Not since Nov. 14, 1959 had Michigan and Ohio State | | | | Bulldogs, 37-30, to stay undefeated. Hawaii moved up |
| both lost the week before their annual year-end | | | | to 13th in Sunday's new AP Poll. |
| grudge match to decide the Big 10 title. This is how it is | | | | In two weeks, Hawaii will host Boise State, now |
| in the Big 10, tiresome and boring as in recent years it | | | | ranked 17th in the Poll, and a serious threat, even in an |
| is always Ohio State or Michigan capturing the title. | | | | away game, to beat the Warriors. Boise State is not |
| Other Big 10 teams compete but never seem to | | | | to be confused with the cupcakes Hawaii has been |
| challenge for the title. | | | | playing all season. After the Boise State game, we will |
| Illinois picked up 260 yards rushing against Ohio State | | | | find out who is bad and who is sad. |
| that came into the game giving up only 65 yards on | | | | The fact that Kansas and Hawaii are the only two |
| the ground per game. This was not a huge surprise as | | | | unbeaten teams left should come as no surprise for |
| the Illini now rank 6th in rushing offense nationally, | | | | two reasons. One, Hawaii is 1st (50 points per game) |
| gaining 261 yards per game. In other words, Illinois was | | | | and Kansas 2nd (45 ppg) nationally in scoring offense, |
| on its game and Ohio State was not. | | | | and two, Kansas' strength of schedule is 97th and |
| Zook had a slow start as the Illinois head coach, going | | | | Hawaii's is 157th among 119 Division 1A schools, not |
| 2-9 and 2-10 his first two years before picking up his | | | | exactly impressive in either case. |
| 8th win Saturday against 3 losses. Zook was 1-15 in his | | | | Two other games deserve notice: the Navy-North |
| first two years of Big 10 Conference play, going 0-8 his | | | | Texas fiasco and the looming Harvard -Yale |
| first year. You can bet the other Big 10 coaches know | | | | showdown in the Ivy League. |
| who Ron Zook is now. | | | | No. 77-rated Navy (6-4) hung on for dear life to beat |
| Was Ohio State looking past Illinois to Michigan? I think | | | | No. 180-rated North Texas (1-8), 74-62, in a game |
| so. The Buckeyes dropped to No. 7 in the AP Top 25 | | | | without a shred of defense that set a new major |
| Poll. | | | | college record for a combined game score. The 94 |
| No. 13-ranked Michigan (now 8-3) was knocked off by | | | | first-half points (North Texas led 49-45) and the 63 |
| Wisconsin (also 8-3), 37-21. The Badgers meant | | | | combined points in the 2nd quarter both set major |
| business at home by taking a 23-7 lead into the 4th | | | | college scoring records. |
| quarter and matching the Wolverines 2 touchdowns to | | | | Just two weeks earlier, Weber State outlasted |
| keep their point margin and preserve their victory. | | | | Portland State, 73-68, to set the all-divisions record. |
| Michigan slid to No. 23 in the AP Poll. | | | | These basketball-score football games tend to |
| No. 8-ranked Boston College (8-2) got stung for the | | | | confuse everyone. Clearly, there is more interest in a |
| second straight week, this time by Maryland (5-5), | | | | 73-68 game than a 6-3 pushing match that highlights |
| 42-35. All of the talk about the Eagles vaunted | | | | defensive play. That said, these high-scoring games |
| defense is fading away faster than fog on a hot | | | | are getting ridiculous. They remind me of Little League |
| summer day. | | | | baseball scores before they put on limits so everyone |
| Other teams that were embarrassed this week | | | | could go home and get to bed on time. |
| included No. 16-ranked Connecticut (8-2), which lost to | | | | Harvard (7-2) beat Penn (3-6) 23-7 and Yale (9-0) |
| Cincinnati (obviously a better 8-2 team), 27-3, and No. | | | | remained undefeated, winning at Princeton (another |
| 21-ranked Alabama (now 6-4) which was upended by | | | | 3-6 team), 27-6, to set up a huge showdown at Yale |
| Mississippi State, (also 6-4), 17-12. | | | | in the 1-AA Ivy League. Both Harvard (rated 152nd) |
| Imagine, Mississippi State, which has been the doormat | | | | and Yale (rated 100th) are a perfect 6-0 in league play |
| of the SEC for years, rises up and whips Nick Saban's | | | | and will meet undefeated for the first time since 1968 |
| Alabama Crimson Tide. Even if the Bulldogs lose to | | | | with the title on the line. |
| Arkansas and in-state rival Mississippi, Mississippi State | | | | Last year Yale beat Harvard at Harvard 34-13 to |
| is already bowl eligible. | | | | claim a share of the Ivy League title with Princeton. |
| Alabama should handle Louisiana-Monroe next week | | | | The win over Harvard last year was its first since |
| and become bowl eligible with its 7th victory. | | | | 2000. Stay tuned to this match-up as it is serious |
| The loss by Ohio State allowed some other | | | | business in the New England area. |
| contenders to show off a little against much weaker | | | | |