Auburn, Wisconsin Upset in Every Sense of the Word

This is the sorta weekend that usually happens in November.

No, not because the Big Ten's conference fodder collectively wet the bed. That can happen at any time and usually does.

Who predicts home losses in the early season from College Football Playoff candidates?

The hunters have become the hunted in September.

 

Auburn scored points in their Week 1, made-for-TV, neutral field victory over Washington.

They may need them after coming out on the short end of a 22-21 classic with LSU that was decided by a Cole Tracy field goal as the clock hit 0:00.

 

The Bayou Bengals have a nifty non-con win of their own, smacking down Miami, 33-17, in Dallas. It's a score that flattered the Hurricanes to deceive, as Ed Orgeron's crew took this game by the throat and never let up.

Now, he's led them into Round 1 of the SEC West's annual cage match and corn-dogged the War Eagle:

 

Slinger Joe Burrows could be LSU's long-sought-after missing ingredient.

Anointed Mr Ohio Footall outta high school -- one of those overhyped bikini-&-sash titles that isn't his fault -- maybe he didn't get the starting call at Ohio State, but he's off to a good start in college football's toughest division.

 

Now, LSU's just gotta hold serve until Sat 13 Oct, when the Georgia Bulldogs visit Death Valley.

Meanwhile, up on the other end of the mighty Mississippi, Wisconsin's Badgers took a bath they weren't expecting.

 

By the time the Badgers sobered up, it was too late.

The Cougars surely had that 40-6 home rout at the hands of Wisconsin on their minds, but they also came with a few creative offensive schemes:

 

This game was supposed to be an opportunity for Badger RB Jonathan Taylor to enhance his Heisman hopes. Instead, BYU's Squally Canada stole the spotlight behind a stout line that kept Wisconsin off-balance.

The unheralded senior had an 11-118 day on the ground with a pair of touches to spark the Cougars' 24-21 victory:

 

How imposing is Camp Randall?

This is Wisconsin's first non-con home loss since ... well ...

 

That's what it looked like in 2003, when UNLV got 'em, 23-5.

And so it goes:

• A highly ranked big brand -- mostly because it's a big brand with a decent immediate past -- bites it because it was outhought and outplayed, and
• Another highly ranked big brand that's now 1-1 this year against other highly ranked big brands now has to hold serve -- hardly a given -- before hitting the road for uphill battles against two even more highly ranked big brands.

 

Thank you, four-team playoff.