2018's (First?) Week of Chaos
The one certainty in college football is its uncertainty. On any given Saturday, a team viewed as strong or nearly unbeatable lets overconfidence get the best of them, performing below their usual standards. Or sometimes they simply suffer a defeat because their opponents play well enough to pull off an upset.
One of the most exciting occurrences in college football is when a bunch of these unexpected results burst onto the news on the same weekend! Week 4 of 2018 was one such week. Six top 25 teams lost last weekend, 5 of them in major upsets to unranked teams. Most shockingly, the winless Old Dominion Monarchs took down Virginia Tech by a 2 full. touchdowns 49-35. Also saddled by a 0-3 record, the Purdue Boilermakers nonetheless defeated a highly regarded Boston College team 30-13 with a impressive defensive effort.
In the southeast, Kentucky moved to 4-0 with a startling 28-7 smackdown of 14th ranked Mississippi State. And rounding out the upsets were Texas Tech's 41-17 defeat of Oklahoma State and Texas' 31-17 hard-fought victory over TCU. The question is: will 2018 contain a 2nd week that will flip our expectations upside down.
Oregon loses to Stanford at Autzen Stadium
Fans of the Oregon Ducks always pack the confines of Autzen Stadium to the max, making the atmosphere very loud for opposing teams. But just like in 2012, Oregon gave up a late lead at home in a big game against Stanford and lost. All Oregon had to do was kneel down 3 times to win, but instead they opt for a running play and the runner fumbles the ball while unnecessarily pushing for a few extra yards. Stanford uses the opportunity effectively, moving the ball far enough to set up for a field goal which kicker Jet Toner converts to send the game to overtime. Stanford gets the ball first in overtime, scores a touchdown, and prevents Oregon from doing so and notches a monumental win. So, now the Ducks are unranked once again. Perhaps they should choose a more fearsome team name.
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