Survival Saturday

The Trojans had a bad day on the gridiron, but it could have been worse. They could have done what half of the top 10 teams in the country did on Saturday -- lose. Here's a quick look at what used to be the nation's finest, and what it means in the land of Troy.

1. USC couldn't breathe easy until the final minute of the game. The entire contest was ugly: 16 penalties for 161 yards, 3 turnovers, 1 blocked punt, 1 missed field goal -- and that was just the Trojans. They did not play like the nation's #1 team, but it's OK. Nobody did.
2. LSU won 34-9, but it took them a long time to pull away. Though they'll probably gain a smidge on USC in the polls, they didn't look like the best team in the nation, either. They trailed Tulane, 9-7, and held a feeble 10-9 lead at halftime.
3. Oklahoma was the highest ranked team to crash, by a 27-24 margin in Colorado. They may have cleared the way for another Pac-10 team (Cal) to crack the top 3. If nothing else, Bob Stoops' career record fell to 90-20. Though still third in winning percentage on the list of top active coaches, he's now a little further behind Pete Carroll (69-12). But he didn't lose any ground to the coach at ...
4. Florida, who, like the Sooners, fell on a last-second field goal. Auburn won, 20-17. Urban Meyer's career coaching record, though still second in active winning percentage, fell to 65-13. Pete Carroll has a little breathing room at the top.
5. West Virginia fell to #18 South Florida on Friday. Though this game had no immediate impact on the Trojans, some pollsters (Kirk Herbstreit, for example) are talking about putting Oregon in this spot. That would mean three of their top five teams are from the Pac-10. Les Miles probably isn't too concerned since not enough voters will place the Ducks this high, but so much for SEC supremacy.
6. Cal escaped with a victory in Oregon, making it clear who will be the Trojans' top challenger for their sixth straight Pac-10 crown.
7. Texas fell to Kansas State. USC fans still bitter from a couple of years ago might be happy about that. What's more interesting is that Kansas State is such a major spoiler. Who can forget 2003 when they tripped up Oklahoma in the Big 12 championship game? Or 2002 when they were one of just two blemishes on USC's record? Now the Longhorns will limp into the Red River Shootout to face an equally embarrassed Sooner squad.

Instead of droning on about each team, let's just cut to the chase. The following teams from the AP Top 25 lost TO UNRANKED TEAMS: 3, 4, 7, 10, 13, 21, and 22. Numbers 5 and 11 were also beaten, but at least by decent competition. Number 9 escaped an unranked squad, but barely.

There'll be plenty to talk about in the polls on Monday.