Week 9: Winners and Losers

Entering Week 9, there were seven undefeated teams. Entering Week 10, there will be five and at least one will lose on Saturday as TCU travels to Utah. The interesting thing is that three of the five remaining unbeatens come from non-BCS conferences. Suddenly one-loss teams like Alabama, Wisconsin and Nebraska are back in the mix. Week 9 also marks the first time that there are more losers than winners. Here are Week 9's winners and losers:

The Winners

NC State

Coming off of a loss at East Carolina and a bye week, NC State returned home Thursday night and knocked off 16th-ranked Florida State 28-24. North Carolina State overcame a 21-7 halftime deficit to hold off the visiting Seminoles in the final minute. NC State took the lead for good when quarterback, Russell Wilson, found tight-end, George Bryan, in the back of the endzone on 4th-and-goal from the Florida State one. The score gave the Wolfpack a 28-24 lead with 2:40 to play in the game. The Seminoles on mounted a drive of their own on the ensuing possession, but Florida State's Christian Ponder fumbled the ball at the NC State 9-yard-line. The victory puts NC State at 6-2 and 3-1 in the ACC. The Wolfpack are also in control their own destiny in the ACC Atlantic.

Oklahoma QB Landry Jones

After a rough outing in Oklahoma's first loss of the season, sophomore quarterback, Landry Jones, returned home to Norman and absolutely torched the Colorado defense. Jones completed 32 of his 46 pass attempts for 453 yards and four touchdown passes, three to Ryan Broyles, in a 43-10 win over Colorado. The Sooners are one of three teams with just one conference loss in the Big XII South. Road games with Baylor and Oklahoma State that conclude the year will likely decide the South's winner.

Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Panthers began the year 2-3 and 2010 looked to be an inevitable disappointment for Pitt. Since conference play began however, the Panthers once again seem to be the favorite to win the Big East. Pittsburgh held Louisville to a miniscule 185 yards of offense in its 20-3 home victory on Saturday as the Panthers notched their third-consecutive-win. The 3-0 start in the Big East leaves Pitt as the undefeated school in the conference. Just two of the seven other teams have only one defeat and both came at the hands of Pittsburgh. The Panthers do play three of their final four games on the road, but perhaps its toughest game against West Virginia will be at Heinz Field.

Maryland

The Maryland Terrapins won just twice in 2009 finishing at 2-10. In eight games in 2010, the Terrapins have tripled their win total from last year. At Byrd Stadium in College Park, Maryland on Saturday, the Terrapins took visiting Wake Forest behind the proverbial wood-shed in a 62-14 rout of the Demon Deacons. Quarterback, Danny O'Brien, passed for four touchdowns in the victory as Maryland outgained Wake by nearly 300 yards. The Terrapins also pulled to within a half-game of Florida State in the ACC Atlantic and have control of their own destiny in the conference. Maryland reached the 60-point-plateau for the second time this season and the 62 points were the most for Maryland against a FBS school since 1975.

Iowa

The Iowa Hawkeyes, coming off of a heartbreaking-home-loss, took out their frustration Saturday on an undefeated Michigan State team that was ranked fifth. Iowa was quick to end the Spartans' dream of a perfect season as the Hawkeyes took a 30-0 lead at the half. Iowa held Michigan State to 258 total yards and took a shutout into the 4th quarter. Iowa's Ricky Stanzi attempted just 15 passes, but connected on 11 of them for 190 yards and three touchdowns in the victory. Michigan State, quarterback, Kirk Cousins was intercepted three times by an Iowa defense that held the Spartans to just 31 yards rushing. Iowa is one of four Big Ten teams with only a single loss atop the Big Ten standings.

Oregon QB Darron Thomas and RB LaMichael James

Oregon's talented tandem in the backfield lit up a USC defense that had struggled most of the year as the Ducks invaded the Los Angeles Coliseum and beat the Trojans 53-32. 24th-ranked USC hung tough for most of the game, but when it was all said and done, the Ducks had racked up almost 600 yards and 53 points as Oregon improved to 8-0. Oregon's talented freshman quarterback, Darron Thomas, passed for 288 yards and four touchdown passes in the victory. Sophomore running back, LaMichael James, rushed for 239 yards and three scores of his own as James continues to be a popular name when the word, "Heisman" comes up. The Ducks will return to Eugene on Saturday as they host a 3-5 Washington team that could be without Jake Locker.

UCF

The Knights of Central Florida took a big step toward their first Conference USA title since 2007 on Saturday as UCF defeated the two-time-defending-champion of Conference USA, East Carolina, 49-35. The Knights scored early and often in the victory; junior running back, Ronnie Weaver rushed for 180 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore Latavius Murray scored three touchdowns for UCF as the Knights attempted just 12 passes and tallied 265 yards on the ground. UCF was 9-for-11 on third down and were not forced to punt a single time on Saturday. East Carolina's Dominique Davis, a Central Florida native, accounted for all five of the Pirates touchdowns, but ECU's defense had no answer for the Knights. UCF now sits at 6-2 with two very close losses to BCS schools. The Knights will travel to Houston on Friday night in a game that could very well decide home-field-advantage in the Conference USA Championship on the first weekend in December.

Baylor

The Baylor Bears are 7-2 for the first time since 1991 after a 30-22 victory at Texas. The win was Baylor's first over the Longhorns in 13 years and the Bears are still atop the standings in the Big XII South. The Bears trailed 12-10 at halftime and 19-17 after three quarters, but Baylor made the plays when it had to. Baylor quarterback, Robert Griffin III, scored from one yard out 11 seconds into the final quarter to put the Bears ahead for good. Griffin, a dual-threat quarterback, passed for 219 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but running back, Jay Finley, carried the load in the Baylor running game. Finley rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. The Longhorns outgained Baylor by 100 yards, but the Bears still found a way to down Texas. Baylor will play in what could be the biggest game in many years for the Bears as they travel to Stillwater to take on Oklahoma State on Saturday. Saturday's game could be seen as an elimination game in the Big XII South race.

The Losers

Florida State

On Thursday night, Florida State had a chance to notch its first six-game-winning-streak since 2004 and all but cement a spot in the ACC Championship game, but NC State would not go quietly. FSU overcame a slow start to take a 21-7 halftime Thursday night in Raleigh, but turnovers and poor third-down-defense in the second half did in the Seminoles. NC State scored consecutive touchdowns early in the third quarter to even the score at 21 a piece, but Dustin Hopkins' 31-yard-field-goal with 9:07 remaining in the game gave the Seminoles a 24-21 lead. The Florida State defense stopped the Wolfpack offense on three consecutive plays from the one-yard-line on NC State's final drive, but the Wolfpack elected to go for it on fourth down. NC State quarterback, Russell Wilson, rolled to his right and found tight-end George Bryan in the back of the endzone on 4th-and-goal to give the Wolfpack a 28-24 lead with just under three minutes to play in the game. Florida State's Christian Ponder took the Seminoles to the NC State four-yard-line on the ensuing drive. On 2nd-and-goal following a timeout, Ponder took the snap from center and was bumped by his own player, running back Ty Jones, and the ball came out. North Carolina State recovered and proceeded to run out the clock. The loss gave the Seminoles their second loss and dropped FSU to 4-1 in ACC play. Florida State also lost control of its own destiny in the ACC. The Seminoles will need NC State to lose at least one of its four remaining games if they are to reach the conference championship game. The Seminoles will return home where they are 4-0 this season to take on North Carolina on Saturday.

Michigan

After a 4-0 start in 2009, the Michigan Wolverines finished the year 5-7 and missed out on a bowl game for the second straight year. This season, after a 5-0 start, Michigan has proceeded to lose three straight following a 41-31 loss at Penn State on Saturday night. Michigan's star-sophomore quarterback, Denard Robinson, was once again stellar on Saturday night, but it was not enough to get the Wolverines bowl-eligible. Robinson passed for 190 yards and rushed for another 191 and totaled four touchdowns on the night. Robinson's four-yard-touchdown-rush with 9:25 to go in the fourth quarter cut was once a 21-point-lead for Penn State to 38-31. The Wolverine defense however, could not get Penn State's offense off of the field. Penn State outgained the Wolverines 435-423, but committed just one penalty and possessed the ball for more than 37 minutes. The 41 points for the Nittany Lions marked the third time in as many games that Michigan gave up at least 30, all three games resulted in losses. Prior to Saturday night, Penn State's season-high in points against FBS competition, was 33 the previous week at Minnesota and just only 24 before that. Michigan will try again for win number six as it comes back to Ann Arbor to play Illinois.

West Virginia

Midway through the season, West Virginia seemed to be the overwhelming favorite to win the Big East. After a 5-1 start, the Mountaineers seemed to be on cruise-control towards its first BCS birth since 2007. After a tough home-loss to Syracuse, West Virginia dropped to 1-2 in Big East play following a 16-13 overtime-loss at Connecticut on Friday night. The Mountaineers outgained UCONN 414-278, but committed four turnovers and forced none in the loss. WVU jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, but couldn't muster more than a field goal for the remainder of the game. Regulation ended with the two teams tied 13-13. West Virginia got the ball first in overtime and seemed to be well on its way for a go-ahead-score, but running back, Ryan Clarke, fumbled at the goal-line and the Huskies recovered. Connecticut picked up one first down on its possession and kicker, Dave Teggart kicked in a 27-yard-field-goal as the Huskies pulled off the 16-13 upset of West Virginia. Not only did the Mountaineers drop their second straight game, but they lost to a UCONN team that was shutout the previous week at Louisville and had suffered a loss earlier in the year to Temple.

The State of Washington

It was a bad weekend to be a college football fan in the upper northwest as the state of Washington's two FBS schools, Washington and Washington State were outscored by a total of 83-0. Washington lost 41-0 at home to 13th-ranked Stanford and may have lost its starting quarterback, Jake Locker, for at least one game. With the loss, the Huskies fell to 3-5 and their bowl hopes seem very much in jeopardy. Washington State was hammered at Arizona State 42-0 as the Cougars fell to 1-8 and still do not own a win over a FBS school. It doesn't appear that things will get much better in Week 10 as Washington hosts undefeated Oregon and Washington State plays host to California. The Cougars have not beaten California since 2002.

Clemson

Following North Carolina State's upset of Florida State on Thursday, the Clemson Tigers were in control of their own destiny in the ACC as they traveled to Chestnut Hill to take on 2-5 Boston College. Clemson held a 10-3 lead over the Eagles after one quarter, but the Tigers failed to score for the remainder of the game in a 16-10 loss. Clemson was only 4-for-11 on third down conversions and committed three turnovers in the loss. In fact, the Tigers did not score an offensive touchdown; Clemson reached the endzone early in the game when safety, Rashard Hall returned a Chase Rettig interception 52 yards for the score. Clemson fell to 4-4 with the loss and just 2-3 in the ACC. The Tigers will need to beat either NC State, Florida State or South Carolina along with Wake Forest if Clemson is going to extend its bowl streak to six. The win for Boston College was its first in conference.

Navy

Entering Saturday, Navy's Midshipmen were 5-2 and coming off a convincing 18-point-victory over Notre Dame. At home against a 1-6 Duke team whose only win came against Elon, win number six seemed like a sure thing for the Naval Academy. Duke however, had other plans as the Blue Devils stormed to a 24-0 halftime lead. Navy got as close as three as Aaron Santiago caught a 12-yard-touchdown from quarterback, Ricky Dobbs, and Dobbs ran in the two-point-conversion as the score was cut to 34-31 with just 2:34 to play, but Navy could not complete the comeback. The Midshipmen turned the ball over on downs on their final possession as Duke took over with just 11 seconds to play. Duke quarterback, Sean Renfree, completed a remarkable 28-of-30 passes for 314 yards and a touchdown. Renfree also ran for two scores in the upset. With Central Michigan, Arkansas State and arch-rival, Army, still on the schedule, a bowl-bid still seems in the works for Navy.

Miami

Coming off of perhaps its most impressive performance in a 33-10 victory over North Carolina, Miami visited Charlottesville to play Virginia. Miami's quarterback, Jacory Harris, was knocked out of the game in the first half on Saturday and the Hurricanes were forced to go to backup, Spencer Whipple. Whipple threw two interceptions on just six pass attempts as Miami went to the locker room down 14-0. Miami started the second half with Stephen Morris behind center and Morris threw two picks of his own. The Canes' fell behind 24-0 early in the fourth quarter, but mounted a rally behind Morris. Morris scored on a nine-yard-run to get Miami to within 12 at 24-12 with just under 5:00 to play in the ball-game. Following a interception by linebacker, Colin McCarthy, Miami's Travis Benjamin turned a pass from Morris that would have resulted in a decent gain into a 60-yard-touchdown and the Hurricanes were down just five with 4:39 to play. Miami however, would never see the ball again as Virginia converted a key third down and ran out the clock for a 24-19 victory. Miami suffered its third loss of the year and dropped to 3-2 in ACC play. The win for Virginia gave head coach, Mike London, his first ACC win as head man in Charlottesville. The Hurricanes will need to win out and get some help if they are to play for the ACC Championship for the first time.

Missouri

One week after shocking the college football world and knocking off top-ranked Oklahoma, the Missouri Tigers saw their run at a perfect season end abruptly in Lincoln, Nebraska against the 14th-ranked Cornhuskers. Nebraska raced out to a 24-0 first quarter lead as running back, Roy Helu Jr., rushed 73 yards for his second touchdown of the day. Helu finished with 307 yards on the day and three touchdowns. Missouri quarterback, Blaine Gabbert, was not horrendous in the loss, but his numbers were sub par by his standards. Missouri got as close as 14 as kicker, Grant Ressel knocked home a 23-yard-field-goal late in the third quarter. The Tigers had no fourth-quarter-magic this week however, as Nebraska bled the clock and held on for the 31-17 victory. The defeat for Mizzou not only ended its run at a National Championship, but the Tigers lost control of their own destiny in the Big XII North. The remaining schedule is favorable for Missouri as the Tigers will likely be favorites in their four remaining games, but unfortunately for them, so will Nebraska.

Notre Dame

Notre Dame returned home following an embarrassing 35-17 loss to Navy in Baltimore to battle Tulsa. Early in the first quarter, Notre Dame's starting quarterback, Dayne Crist, went down with a knee injury and his season is likely over. Replacing Crist was freshman, Tommy Rees, who passed for 334 yards and four touchdowns, but also threw three interceptions. After a rough start, Notre Dame seemed to be taking control on Saturday; leading 20-12, the Fighting Irish were driving late in the first half with hopes of extending their lead. Rees dropped back to pass and was intercepted by Tulsa linebacker, Shawn Jackson, and was returned 66 yards for a Golden Hurricane touchdown cutting the Notre Dame lead to 20-18. Notre Dame extended its lead back to nine, but Tulsa answered with a 59-yard-punt-return for a score by Damaris Johnson. Midway through the 4th quarter, Notre Dame clung to its 27-25 lead and had the Golden Hurricane facing a 3rd-and-26 from their own 27. What looked like a certain stop for the Irish was not to be as Tulsa quarterback, G.J. Kinne, found a wide-open Ricky Johnson in Notre Dame territory. Tulsa took the lead on the drive as place-kicker, Kevin Fitzpatrick, knocked home a 27-yard-field-goal to give the Golden Hurricane a 28-27 lead with 3:23 remaining. Notre Dame took its ensuing drive into Tulsa territory and well within kicker, David Ruffer's range. But at Tulsa's 19-yard-line with under a minute to play, Tommy Rees forced a pass towards wide receiver, Michael Floyd, and the pass was intercepted by Tulsa's John Flanders. The Golden Hurricane ran out the clock and improved to 5-3; Notre Dame fell to 4-5 and will need to upset either Utah or USC if it wants to avoid missing a bowl game for the second straight year.

Week 9's Biggest Winner

Nebraska RB Roy Helu Jr.

In front of nearly 86,000 at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska played host to undefeated and sixth-ranked Missouri. Just more than a minute in, Nebraska's senior running back, Roy Helu Jr. let the Missouri Tigers know that they were in for a long day. Helu's 66-yard-touchdown run gave Nebraska the early 7-0 lead. Helu's second touchdown, a 77-yard-run, gave Nebraska a 24-0 lead with just under three minutes remaining in the first quarter. Missouri closed to within ten midway through the third quarter, but Helu made sure there would be no comeback. Roy Helu Jr. took the hand-off and rushed up the middle for a 53-yard-score extending the Cornhuskers' lead to 31-14. Helu finished the day with a school-record 307 yards on 28 carriers and the three touchdowns. Nebraska's 31-17 win over Missouri gives the Cornhuskers control of their own destiny in the Big XII North. Nebraska will be heavy favorites in each of its last four games and are likely to return to the conference championship game for a second straight year and a third time in the last five years. Nebraska has not won the conference since 1999.

Week 9's Biggest Loser

Michigan State

At 8-0 for the first time since 1966, 18th-ranked Iowa seemed to be the biggest challenge to thwart Michigan State's run at a perfect season and a possible appearence in the BCS title game. On Saturday in Iowa City, Michigan State's perfect season came to a sudden and abrupt ending. Iowa jumped out to a 17-0 first quarter lead after Michigan State quarterback, Kirk Cousins, had his pass intercepted by Iowa's Tyler Sash and returned for a 66-yard-touchdown by Micah Hyde following a lateral. Iowa extended their 17 point lead to 30-0 by halftime. Michigan State broke up the 37-0 shutout early in the fourth quarter on a Cousins' touchdown pass to B.J. Cunningham as the Spartans fell 37-6 to the Hawkeyes. Michigan State is now one of four teams in the Big Ten with only one loss in conference play. Without Ohio State on the schedule, the Spartans missed out on a huge opportunity to walk away with the Big Ten championship.