Looking back at the chaos of the 2007 college football season

Week 2: September 6-8, 2007

After the loss to Appalachian State, things didn’t get any easier for Michigan in Week 2. Oregon came to Ann Arbor and downed the Wolverines in a 39-7 rout. The Ducks racked up 331 rushing yards on their hosts, with Jonathan Stewart leading the way with 111 yards and a score. Dennis Dixon compiled 368 total yards and four touchdowns as Oregon moved to 2-0 and Michigan 0-2.

The showcase of the weekend, though, was a different non-conference contest featuring two of the top 10 teams in the country. The curse against top-two teams had not yet struck. Instead, No. 2 LSU took down No. 9 Virginia Tech in a 48-7 blowout in Death Valley. The Hokies were held to 171 total yards of offense by the Tigers’ dominant defense, while LSU’s offense put up a clean 600 yards and six touchdowns.

More from College Football News

• Michigan State vs. Maryland: Location, time, prediction, and more
• Ranking college football’s top 10 quarterbacks after Week 3
• Things are going to get much darker for the Houston Cougars
• Biggest winners and losers from College Football Week 3
• #10 Alabama football: 3 takeaways from close road win against USF

Another matchup between Top 25 teams saw No. 19 TCU head to Austin to face the No. 7 Longhorns. Still growing into a mid-major powerhouse under Gary Patterson, the Horned Frogs held a 10-0 lead at halftime after Torrey Stewart’s 45-yard interception return for a touchdown. But Colt McCoy led Texas to a second-half comeback at home, and 24 points in the fourth quarter allowed the Longhorns to run away with a 34-10 win.

Coming off its Fiesta Bowl victory the year before, No. 22 Boise State was hoping to return to a major bowl as a BCS Buster in 2007. Instead, the dream ended early as the Broncos fell 24-10 at unranked Washington. Though he threw for nearly 300 yards against the Huskies, quarterback Taylor Tharp threw three interceptions that proved costly to the team’s big dreams.

In the end, though, the highest-ranked team to fall in Week 2 was No. 11 Georgia. Hosting South Carolina at Sanford Stadium in their SEC opener, the Bulldogs were able to drive on offense but could only manage field goals. The Gamecocks prevailed 16-12, and Georgia plummeted 14 spots to the bottom of the Top 25 after the loss.

The Big Upset of the Week

The most exciting game of the week, however, came down on the Plains as No. 17 Auburn hosted upstarts South Florida. At that point the Bulls were still in their first decade of existence. USF became a I-A team in 2001, quickly growing until joining the Big East in 2005. They promptly upset Louisville and West Virginia in their first two seasons in the league.

But beating conference foes and winning against a non-conference battle on the road are two very different things. South Florida’s defense was up to the test, holding the Tigers under 300 total yards of offense. The Bulls took a 14-3 lead after one quarter, but Auburn was ahead 17-14 by halftime and it seemed like the SEC contenders were out of danger.

The Tigers had the lead after the intermission, but kept stepping on their own toes as they coughed up five turnovers. South Florida, though, had trouble turning Auburn’s mistakes into points from that point. The kickers for both teams got plenty of opportunities as the two teams traded field goals.

Auburn’s Wes Byrum kicked his second field goal of the night from 46 yards to put the Tigers up 20-17 with less than three minutes remaining. USF responded by driving downfield to put Delbert Alvarado in position to tie things back up in the final minute. The game went to overtime, Auburn only mustered a field goal, and the Bulls completed the upset when Matt Grothe hit Jessie Hester for the game-winning score.

The win gave the Bulls their first-ever win over an SEC opponent. It also launched South Florida into the Top 25 rankings for the first time in school history. Auburn, meanwhile, joined TCU and Boise State on their way out of the rankings.