Ron Zook, who was removed as Florida’s head coach after failing to duplicate Steve Spurrier’s record with the Gators, regained some respect by motivating his Fighting Illini to a 28-21 defeat of No. 1 ranked and undefeated Ohio State on Saturday (11-10-07).
The victory marked the first time Illinois (8-3) had beaten a No. 1-ranked team since 1956, and the first time it had done so on the road. The loss ended Ohio State’s school and conference streak of 20 consecutive Big 10 victories by the Buckeyes, who are now 10-1.
The loss not only dashed Ohio State’s dream of a national championship, but left the Buckeyes tied with Michigan for first place in the Big 10 as Wisconsin defeated Michigan 37-21 on the same day.
Since November 14, 1959, Michigan and Ohio State had not lost the week before their annual year-end fight to decide the Big 10 title. That’s how it is in the Big 10, tedious and boring since in recent years it’s always Ohio State or Michigan capturing the title. Other Big 10 teams compete but never seem to compete for the title.
Illinois racked up 260 rushing yards against Ohio State who entered the game giving up just 65 rushing yards per game. This wasn’t much of a surprise as the Illini now rank sixth in rushing offense nationally, gaining 261 yards per game. In other words, Illinois was on its game and Ohio State was not.
Zook got off to a slow start as Illinois head coach, going 2-9 and 2-10 in his first two years before earning his eighth win against 3 losses Saturday. Zook went 1-15 in his first two years of playing in the Big 10 Conference, going 0-8 in his first year. You can bet the other Big 10 coaches know who Ron Zook is by now.
Was Ohio State looking beyond Illinois to Michigan? I think so. The Buckeyes fell to No. 7 in the AP Top 25 poll.
13th-ranked Michigan (now 8-3) was eliminated by Wisconsin (also 8-3), 37-21. The Badgers were serious at home as they took a 23-7 4th quarter lead and matched the Wolverines’ 2 TDs to maintain their point margin and preserve their victory. Michigan slides to No. 23 in the AP Poll.
Boston College (8-2), ranked number 8, was defeated for the second week in a row, this time by Maryland (5-5), 42-35. All the talk about the Eagles’ defense is fading faster than fog on a hot summer day.
Other teams embarrassed this week included 16th-ranked Connecticut (8-2), which lost to Cincinnati (obviously a better 8-2 team), 27-3, and ranked Alabama. 21 in the ranking (now 6-4). ) which was overturned by Mississippi State, (also 6-4), 17-12.
Imagine, the state of Mississippi, which has been the SEC’s doormat for years, stands up and lashes out at Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide. Even if the Bulldogs lose to Arkansas and their in-state rival Mississippi, Mississippi State is already eligible to bowl.
Alabama should handle Louisiana-Monroe next week and become bowl eligible with its seventh win.
Ohio State’s loss allowed a few other contenders to show off a bit against much weaker competition. Here are some examples:
1) No. 2 ranked LSU (9-1) ranked No. 107 Louisiana Tech (4-6), 58-10.
2) Oklahoma (9-1), ranked No. 4, defeated Baylor (3-8), ranked No. 119, 52-21.
3) No. 19-ranked Boise State (9-1) topped ill-fated No. 166 Utah State (0-10) 52-0. Despite its rating, Utah State is a Division 1A school.
Only two 1A teams remain undefeated-No. Kansas (10-0) ranked 5th and Hawaii (9-0) ranked 14th. The Jayhawks caught 4 touchdowns from No. 49 ranked Oklahoma State (5-5) but still won 43-28.
The Hawaii Warriors, ranked 14th but ranked 29th by Sagarin, were outscored 14-3 in the fourth quarter by 74th-ranked Fresno State (6-4) but outscored the Bulldogs, 37- 30, to remain undefeated. . Hawaii moved up to 13th place in Sunday’s new AP poll.
In two weeks, Hawaii will host Boise State, now ranked 17th in the poll and a serious threat, even in a road game, to beat the Warriors. Boise State is not to be confused with the cupcakes that Hawaii has been playing all season. After the Boise State game, we’ll find out who’s wrong and who’s sad.
The fact that Kansas and Hawaii are the only two undefeated teams left should come as no surprise for two reasons. One, Hawaii ranks first (50 points per game) and Kansas second (45 points per game) nationally in scoring offense, and two, Kansas’s schedule strength is 97 and Hawaii’s is 157 among 119 schools. from Division 1A, which isn’t exactly impressive either way.
Two other games deserve attention: the Navy-North Texas fiasco and the impending Harvard-Yale showdown in the Ivy League.
Navy (6-4) ranked No. 77 held on for dear life to beat North Texas (1-8) ranked No. 180, 74-62, in a game without an ounce of defense that set a new college record important for a combined game score. The 94 points in the first half (North Texas led 49-45) and the combined 63 points in the second quarter set important college records.
Just two weeks earlier, Weber State topped Portland State, 73-68, to set the all-division record.
These basketball score soccer games tend to confuse everyone. Clearly, there is more interest in a 73-68 game than a 6-3 pressure game that emphasizes defensive play. With that being said, these high-scoring games are getting ridiculous. They remind me of minor league baseball scores before they put caps on so everyone could go home and go to bed on time.
Harvard (7-2) beat Penn (3-6) 23-7 and Yale (9-0) remained undefeated, beating Princeton (another 3-6 team) 27-6 to set up a big showdown. at Yale in the 1-AA Ivy League. Both Harvard (ranked 152) and Yale (ranked 100) are a perfect 6-0 in the league and will meet undefeated for the first time since 1968 with the title on the line.
Last year, Yale beat Harvard at Harvard 34-13 to claim a share of the Ivy League title with Princeton. The win over Harvard last year was their first since 2000. Keep an eye on this matchup as it is serious business in the New England area.
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
