Looking back at the chaos of the 2007 college football season
By Zach Bigalke
Week 11: November 6-10, 2007
After falling from No. 2, to No. 8, Boston College kept falling in Week 11 of the 2007 season. The Eagles went to College Park to take on Maryland in ACC action, hoping to rebound after their loss the previous week to Florida State. Instead, Matt Ryan threw two more interceptions and the Terrapins held off an Eagles comeback bid to pull off the 42-35 upset.
A week after taking down South Florida, Cincinnati was the author of another upset when they knocked off No. 13 Connecticut at Nippert Stadium. Matt Mauk threw three touchdown passes and rushed for another as the Bearcats blew out their visitors 27-3. Cincinnati held the Huskies to 204 total yards of offense as UConn struggled to gain any momentum all day long.
Out at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin had fallen out of the rankings the previous week after losing to No. 1 Ohio State. The Badgers rebounded to upset No. 12 Michigan 37-21 at home. Zach Brown led Wisconsin on the ground, rushing for 108 yards and two scores. On defense, the Badgers intercepted Ryan Mallett twice and Chad Henne once. Without Mike Hart, the Wolverines were held to just 47 rushing yards for their third loss of the year.
Meanwhile, unranked Mississippi State gave fans in Starkville something to celebrate. The Bulldogs dealt Nick Saban’s No. 22 Alabama team its fourth loss of the season. Despite committing eight penalties and finishing with less than 250 total yards of offense, Mississippi State held the Crimson Tide to four field goals in the 17-12 upset. Alabama fell out of the rankings with the loss, never to return for the rest of 2007.
The only game between Top 25 teams went to form, as No. 10 Georgia routed No. 18 Auburn 45-20 in Athens. Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno led a Bulldogs offense that finished with 426 yards of offense against the Tigers. On the other side of the ball, Georgia held Auburn to 248 yards and forced four Brandon Cox interceptions. Auburn dropped from the poll, while Mark Richt’s team climbed to No. 9 after the win.
The Big Upset of the Week
In a year full of upsets, it seemed inevitable that No. 1 would tumble again before the end of November. Sitting at the top of the rankings in Week 11 was Ohio State, one of just three undefeated teams remaining in the country. The Buckeyes looked like a team of destiny through much of the season, as they held opponents to 17 points or less in each of their first 10 victories.
Against the Buckeyes, though, Illinois played a near-perfect game. Daniel Dufresne and Rashard Mendenhall led a rushing attack that racked up 260 yards on the ground versus Ohio State. That 260 yards was four times what the Buckeyes allowed on average entering the contest in Columbus.
On the other side of the ball, the Illini defense picked off three of Todd Boeckman’s passes. Prevented from getting into any sort of rhythm, the Buckeyes gained 336 yards of offense but were unable to put more points on the board. A Chris Wells touchdown at the end of the third quarter proved to be all the scoring that would take place at the Horseshoe.
The defeat ended Ohio State’s 20-game Big Ten winning streak and 28-game regular season winning streak. Illinois knocked off a No. 1 team on the road for the first time ever, and won against a top-ranked opponent for the first time in 51 years. The Buckeyes dropped to seventh in the next day’s BCS standings, their title dreams on life support.