1) Iowa State over Texas

The fact that Texas isn’t very good is not a surprise. The fact that Texas won at Nebraska the week before might be the real shocker here. All in all, it was entirely reasonable to think that Texas wouldn’t blow the doors off Iowa State; the Longhorns, even though they played fairly well at Nebraska, didn’t do much on offense.

Texas maxed out on defense and special teams against the Huskers back on Oct. 16, but Longhorn quarterback Garrett Gilbert completed only four passes in that game.

Evidently, Texas did nothing to improve its passing attack in the following week of practice. Gilbert’s first seven completions on Saturday covered only 32 yards; that’s pretty hard to do, to be quite honest.

Gilbert’s first 20 completions covered only 101 yards, which is an amazingly low yards-per-completion rate. Because Texas was never, ever able to push the ball downfield in the passing game over the course of the first three quarters, Iowa State was able to play a bend-but-don’t-break style of defense.

When Iowa State was backed up near its goal line, the Cyclones – with less real estate to defend – were able to generate pressure on Gilbert and keep Texas out of the end zone. A combination of turnovers and third-down stops enabled ISU to limit Texas to just six points through three quarters.

Iowa State built a jaw dropping 28-6 lead early in the fourth quarter before Texas scrambled to pull within seven points and apply game pressure to the Cyclones. Iowa State responded by pounding out multiple first downs on a clock-chewing drive that also drained Texas’ supply of timeouts.

The Longhorns got the ball back with 1:01 left in regulation at their own 10, but after four incomplete passes, the powerhouse school lost at home to one of the Big 12’s weaker and less-accomplished programs. This is the first time Iowa State has ever won at Texas.

2) Syracuse over West Virginia

The Big East is absolutely insane this season. There’s no rhyme or reason to anything that happens in this conference. Every team but Pittsburgh already has at least one conference loss, and every team owns at least two losses overall. West Virginia figured to be the clear favorite in light of the struggles of its opponents, but that status is gone after a stunning offensive meltdown at home against Syracuse, a Big East doormat for the past several seasons.

What was particularly remarkable about this game is that after the first quarter produced 24 total points and a 14-10 West Virginia lead, the Mountaineers were shut out for the final three quarters. WVU quarterback Geno Smith threw three interceptions, and Syracuse’s defense – gashed in the first quarter – held West Virginia to just 120 yards over the final three periods, an astonishing display of resilience that was aided by the Mountaineers’ equally spectacular ineptitude.

3) Houston over SMU
After losing to lowly Rice, a Houston team without an experienced quarterback somehow managed to march into suburban Dallas and not only beat the new favorite in Conference USA West, but crush Southern Methodist by 25 points. Freshman David Piland outplayed his more experienced counterpart, SMU quarterback Kyle Padron, as Houston won the turnover battle by a plus-two margin (forcing three takeaways and giving up the ball only once). Now, Houston and SMU will battle on even terms for the West title over the remainder of the season. Houston has the tougher schedule, but the Cougars also now own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Mustangs.

4) Western Kentucky over Louisiana-Lafayette
The nation’s longest FBS losing streak ended at 26 games for the victorious Hilltoppers, who finally put a halt to their misery two full years after it began. What’s even more amazing is that this streak-buster was achieved in blowout fashion. Western Kentucky unloaded on Louisiana-Lafayette by 33 points, 54-21. Moreover, WKU did the deed on ULL’s home turf in Lafayette.

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