While this past weekend had many good games, only two real upsets occurred.  We also had two very, very close calls.  Though both favorites prevailed in those, one of them came with a huge cost.

Upsets: Arkansas, Boise State

Holy Toledo!  This was not that great of a game, I mean, look at the score!  16-12?  Are you kidding me?

Perhaps the most ironic thing about this game was that, my grandparents were visiting this weekend.  They’re both from the Toledo area.  My Grandpa went to University Of Toledo, the team that defeated the No.18 Razorbacks.  When it happened, he couldn’t believe it.  It was a big deal.  He then went on to rant about how bad the football team was when he went there.

Anyways, Arkansas’ now gone from the AP Poll after the loss.  This was a weird game, with the scoring structure an odd one.  There was a missed two point conversions, and a safety at the very end, when it didn’t even matter to Arkansas.  Neither quarterback played great.  Brandon Allen’s QBR was 66.9… His interception and 53 pass attempts didn’t help.  The Razorbacks couldn’t really run the ball Saturday night; they’re leading rusher ran for 54 yards.

Toledo’s stats weren’t worth sharing either, but this was mostly about getting that win.  In this case, it wasn’t about how it was done for the Rockets.

BYU’s “upset” of Boise State can no longer be treated that way (notice the quotation marks).  It never fails with BYU.  They just get things done.  It doesn’t matter who their quarterback is.  After losing Taysom Hill in Week 1, Tanner Magnum put on a show Saturday night.  His QBR was low due to two picks, but Magnum passed for 309 yards and two touchdowns.  Mitchell Jurgens basically caught every ball (and attempted a pass!) as he finished the night with 172 receiving yards.

The Cougars beat the Broncos, they didn’t upset them.  BYU scored 21 points in the 4th quarter, compared to a grand total of zero by the Broncos.  Boise State’s turnover killed them, as Ryan Finley threw three interceptions.

This BYU team is now the non-Power 5 Playoff threat.  They’ve overtaken Boise State, and have sky rocketed above Notre Dame due to the Irish injuries (More on that later).  This is a dangerous team.  And they’re staring down UCLA next.

Close calls: Notre Dame, Auburn

I’m not gonna say a whole lot on Notre Dame, since I’m talking about them below, but boy, did they pull that one of out their butt.  The Irish were up 34-27 with 12 seconds left after a game-wining touchdown pass thrown by backup quarterback DeShone Kizer.  They barely got by Virginia Saturday, in a game where the Cavaliers almost pulled off the unthinkable.  They now drop to 0-2 this season.  Speaking of the (almost) unthinkable.

I first want to say I know nothing about Jacksonville State.  I had never heard of them till Saturday, when Auburn came in as 40 point favorites.  It was mostly poor play from Auburn that forced OT; the Tigers had three points after the 1st quarter.

In overtime, Jacksonville State made one bad play.  On 3rd and goal from the five yard line, desperately needing a score, Jacksonville State took a sack.  But not just any sack.  It costed them 16 yards, moving them all the way back to the Auburn 21 yard line for 4th and goal.  An incomplete pass ended the game.

Taking the sack cost Jacksonville State the greatest upset of all-time.  Yes, I believe this would have been greater than Appalachian State over Michigan in 2007.  While Jacksonville State would’ve needed to score again, a score on their first drive would’ve given them momentum.

The close call cost Auburn 12 spots in the AP Poll.

On Malik Zaire’s season-ending injury……

Even though Notre Dame snuck out of Virginia’s upset bid, it came with a cost.  Malik Zaire, their star quarterback, and their only hope (in my opinion) for a Playoff bid, fractured his ankle and was ruled out for the season.

It could have been much worse.  After the injury occurred, he was carted off, and according to the ESPN broadcast, his parents were escorted to the locker room.  The way the ankle turned wasn’t pretty, and there wasn’t much shock from me when the broken ankle news came about.

As for football, this kills Notre Dame’s season.  As I said above, BYU now has a better team than Notre Dame.  I was never high on Notre Dame with Malik Zaire this season, and his injury only makes the odds plummet.  It sucks football wise, I mean, Zaire is super fun to watch.  Not having him on the field makes Notre Dame somewhat unwatchable, or at least not interesting to me.

This just hasn’t been Notre Dame’s season from the start, with them losing their starting running back in Week 1.  Injuries can have different affects.  The Irish’s are just too unbearable.