Top teams go topsy-turvy on upset Saturday

Sporting News, The, Oct 16, 1995 by Ivan Maisel

There's one Saturday every Season, one Saturday when the wannabes smite the almighty and remind everyone why corege football is so much fun.

* Northwestern did the unthinkable for the second time this season, posing the question: Why is it unthinkable? Northwestern has won at Notre Dame and at Michigan in the same half of a season. Maybe the Wildcats actually are good. After their 19-13 victory at Michigan -- do not adjust your sets -- it comes as a disappointment to realize that Ohio State and Northwestern do not play each other this season.

* Kansas shocked Colorado, 40-24, surprising everyone outside the Jayhawks' locker room. "If s only an upset if you think you're a lesser team," Coach Glen Mason says. "I didn't think we were a lesser team. I very seldom tell my players I really think we're going to win, but I told them all week long that we were." The Jayhawks caught Colorado in an ideal set of circumstances: The Buffaloes had won two emotional, nationally televised games, and Kansas had two weeks to prepare.

* North Carolina turned around its season and recent history by hanging on to defeat Virginia, 22-17. The Tar Heels, who lost their first two games and came into Kenan Stadium minus-13 in turnovers, beat the Cavaliers for only the second time in Mack Brown's eight seasons. While the game will have minimal effect on the Atlantic Coast Conference race -- there's a little matter of Florida State -- it looks as if burying the Tar Heels after the second week of the season might have been a tad premature.

* Texas Tech shocked Texas A&M, 14-7. The Aggies began the season as No. 1 in some pons -- present company included -- but couldn't overcome history. Texas A&M always struggles in Lubbock. Saturday, the Aggies lost to Tech in the final minute when Red Raiders linebacker Zach Thomas returned an interception 23 yards for a touchdown. The Southwest Conference race is a mess. Can't the Alliance just pass a rule consigning the SWC and Big East champions to the Sugar Bowl and get it over with?

The upsets should put to rest the suddenly tiresome issue of running up the score. Amid all the hoopla last month of big scores, an important point was overlooked. Most mismatches are created by athletic directors looking to buy a sixth home game by scheduling a weaker team willing to be served up for a paycheck. Once conference play arrives, college football begins to work its magic.

Kansas went to 5-0 for the first time since its Orange Bowl season of 1968. The talk of payback resonated throughout Lawrence all week. Defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz, hired by Glen Mason after Colorado passed Hankwitz over for the head coaching position, did his new players to shut down his old team. Hankwitz wasn't the only defensive coordinator to get payback. At Stanford, linebackers coach Kent Baer, fired as defensive coordinator at Arizona State last winter, watched his new players put up a last-minute stand to win at Tempe, 30-28. Let's see -- Stanford and Ndrthwestern both ranked and leading their conferences in October. Those academic reforms must be taking effect. Maybe the University of Chicago will petition to rejoin the Big Ten. After all, it needs a 12th team.

Miami iced

Unfortunately for Miami, the upsets did not extend to Tallahassee. Over the last six seasons, the surest indicator of a loser in the Miami-Florida State rivalry hasn't been the Seminoles needing a field goal to win (Remember Wide Right I and II in 1991 and '92). The team with a quarterback starting for the first time in this rivalry loses. Danny Kanell could tell you, as could Frank Costa, Charlie Ward, Casey Weldon, Brad Johnson and Gino Torretta.

Saturday, a new quarterback started for Miami with a similar result: Florida State, 41-17. But the oddity has lost some of its oomph. Since 1987, the teams have been so close in talent that the experience of a quarterback would be the weight that tipped the scale. Not so this season. Miami -- like its quarterback, Ryan Clement -- is young and inexperienced. Florida State is neither. The Hurricanes must win six of their last seven or their streak of bowl appearances ends at 12.

The magic's gone

After a 20-game winning streak, Penn State has lost two consecutive games. Never mind that Ohio State (a 28-25 winner) and Wisconsin (17-9) are very good. The winner of the Buckeyes-badgers game Saturday will join Northwestern at the fore of the Big Ten race (Boy, that's fun to write).

Coach Joe Paterno knew this after 45 seasons in coaching. But he is having to remind his players and fans that it is possible to lose. Last week on his statewide radio show, Paterno answered a question about the complacency of the fans at Beaver Stadium.

"They got used to last year with so many big plays and so much talent on our offensive team -- it was easy," Paterno said. "They don't seem to be comfortable with a big game. The crowd is spoiled, but I think we all are."

Wild west

Auburn regained a tie with Arkansas this week, defeating Mississippi State, 48-20, in a game postponed for two days by Hurricane Opal. Before getting run over by Tennessee, 49-31, Arkansas held sole possession of first place in the SEC West for one week.