Looking back at the chaos of the 2007 college football season

Week 9: October 25-27, 2007

On the last Thursday night of October, it looked like the curse against No. 2 teams might have been lifted. Boston College took down No. 8 Virginia Tech in Blacksburg to move to 8-0 on the season and remain No. 2 for a second straight week. Matt Ryan completed less than half of his passes and threw two picks. But he also tossed for 285 yards and two scores, leading a fourth-quarter comeback to keep the Eagles undefeated.

The ACC showdown was one of six contests pitting Top 25 teams against one another. At Autzen Stadium, No. 5 Oregon took down No. 12 USC 24-17 as Jonathan Stewart rushed for over 100 yards and two touchdowns. Top-ranked Ohio State had no trouble on the road against No. 25 Penn State, taking down the Nittany Lions 37-17 in Happy Valley. Meanwhile, No. 4 Arizona State stayed unbeaten as they knocked off No. 21 California 31-20 at Sun Devil Stadium as Dimitri Nance rushed for three scores.

Several of the Top 25 contests did end with the lower-ranked team stealing the win. Playing on the road, No. 10 South Florida lost a second straight game when they fell 22-15 at No. 23 Connecticut despite racking up nearly 100 more yards of offense. Around the same time, No. 18 Georgia outscored No. 11 Florida for a 42-30 win in the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party in Jacksonville.

There were a couple of other ranked SEC teams that lost to unranked conference opponents on the last Saturday of October. 2-5 Mississippi State went to Lexington and trounced No. 14 Kentucky, forcing three Andre’ Woodson interceptions in the 31-14 upset. Earlier in the day, Daniel Lincoln kicked a tying field goal and then the winning points in overtime as Tennessee toppled No. 16 South Carolina at Neyland Stadium.

The Big Upset of the Week

It is hard to believe now, given the past decade of futility that has ensued for the Cavaliers. But in 2007, Virginia was threatening to conquer the ACC for the first time since sharing the title with Florida State in 1995. Al Groh’s team had lost their season opener at Wyoming, but climbed up to No. 15 in the polls after winning seven straight.

Over the first half of the season, NC State had looked like a team in disarray. Tom O’Brien was in his first season as head coach of the Wolfpack after leaving Boston College for a lateral move in the ACC. NC State started the year 2-5, their only wins coming against FCS Wofford and East Carolina out of C-USA.

Daniel Evans stole the show for the Wolfpack, throwing for 347 yards and three touchdowns against a Cavaliers defense featuring All-American defensive end Chris Long. Meanwhile, Jameel Sewell was picked off twice and the Cavaliers struggled to push the ball downfield on the ground. Even then they still held a 24-23 lead early in the fourth quarter. Evans threw his last touchdown pass midway through the final frame, and NC State clamped down defensively to preserve the 29-24 win.