Game of the week: USC 31, Stanford 30. For the second week in a row, the Trojans rally from a big deficit to stay on track for the Rose Bowl. This time they pull out a thriller at the L.A. Coliseum on Keyshawn Johnson’s touchdown grab in the waning moments.
Upset of the week: Virginia 33, Florida State 28. The Seminoles’ first-ever loss in the ACC probably cost them a shot at the national title. The Cavaliers had lost to Michigan and Texas on the final play of the game, but they rose up and stuffed Warrick Dunn at the goal line to pull off one of the great victories in school history.
Flop of the week: Michigan. So much for those back-door Maize-and-Blue-to-the-Rose-Bowl theories. Michigan State stuns the Wolverines 28-25, a victory that new Spartans coach Nick Saban will trumpet across the state in the coming recruiting wars.
Player of the week: Eddie George. The Ohio State tailback improved his Heisman Trophy chances by romping for 178 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries, including an 87-yarder that is the third-longest run in school history, in a 49-21 rout of Minnesota.
Quote of the week: “We get to read, `Who are these guys, these lowly hooligans who are beating all these good teams they aren’t supposed to?’ We have no control over what Northwestern did in the past.”–Linebacker Pat Fitzgerald, whose 20 tackles spurred the Wildcats’ 21-10 victory over Penn State.
More Top Picks Best Amazon Prime Big Deal Days Beauty Deals 2026 Sale