Oregon Knocked Out Of Contention Along With Dixon

So much for my favorite College Football team. Then again, this is the fifth time a #2 seed lost to an unranked team, so I should have expected this to happen. Thursday night's 34-24 loss to the unranked Wildcats knocked the Ducks (8-2, 5-2) out of the national title picture. Oregon was ranked behind LSU and ahead of Oklahoma and undefeated Kansas. It gets worse, however. Oregon's QB, Dennis Dixon, had his left knee crumble as he tried to plant on an option carry with about five minutes to go in the first quarter against Arizona.

The quarterback tore his anterior cruciate ligament during Oregon's 35-23 victory over Arizona State on Nov. 3, according to coach Mike Bellotti, but he had rested it and felt as if he was ready to play Thursday night against the Wildcats.

I guess Mike Bellotti was wrong.

Dennis Dixon will have surgery on the left knee that buckled early in second-ranked Oregon's upset loss to Arizona, spoiling his chance to win the Heisman Trophy as he will sit for the rest of the season. As a senior, he completed 67.7 percent of his passes for 2,136 yards, 20 touchdowns and four interceptions. He also ran for 583 yards and nine scores.

Illinois Stuns #1 Ohio State 28-21

#1 ranked Ohio State fell to unranked Illinois 28-21. Now I don't follow College football that much, but shouldn't an unranked team never beat a ranked team, let alone the #1 ranked team in the nation? This has been happening all year in College football and though I don't understand why because I haven't followed all the teams, it really does make College football more interesting and entertaining to watch. I was particularly interested in how the University of South Florida, a small school that used to use the headlights of cars for lights on the field, became ranked very high before slacking off. Anyway, here's the article from ESPN about the Illinois-Ohio State game:

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- In this season of upsets, top-ranked Ohio State was the latest to fall.

Juice Williams provided the big plays on the ground and through the air, spurring Illinois to a stunning 28-21 victory on Saturday night and throwing open the national title race.

It was the first time Illinois (8-3, 5-2 Big Ten) had beaten a No. 1 since 1956, and the first time they'd done it away from home. The defeat also ended a record streak of 20 Big Ten wins in a row by Ohio State (10-1, 6-1).

Williams, criticized at times because of his errant passing, tossed four touchdown passes. On the Illini's last drive, Williams used his leg to keep the ball away from the Buckeyes, running for several first downs and burning up the final 8:09.

Williams finished 12-of-22 passing for 140 yards and carried 16 times for 70 yards.

The Buckeyes, who were in first-place in the BCS standings and two victories away from a second consecutive trip to the national title game, became the second No. 1 to lose this season. Only Kansas and Hawaii remain unbeaten in major college football.

LSU has a good shot at being ranked #1 again, but I really want to see Oregon in the National Title game.