Houston and Wisconsin Score Big Upsets in College Football

Houston and Wisconsin both pulled off big upsets on September 3rd in college football’s opening weekend.

In Houston, the #15 ranked Houston Cougars won decisively over the #3 Oklahoma Sooners by a score of 33-23. Houston quarterback Greg Ward, Jr. passed for 321 yards and two touchdowns, but the big play on the highlight reel is the 109 yard return of a missed field goal for a touchdown by Brandon Wilson. Trailing 19-17, Oklahoma missed a 54 yard field goal attempt in the third quarter that Wilson fielded with his foot just an inch or two off the end line. Wilson raced down the field and scored:

Last season, Houston was 13-1 finishing the season with a victory over Florida State in the Peach Bowl. This victory over Oklahoma should dispel the doubters who thought last season’s record was some sort of anomaly. The Cougars are for real.

In Green Bay, the #5 LSU Tigers took on the Wisconsin Badgers in the first ever Division I college football game at Lambeau Field, home of the Packers. LSU hired former Wisconsin defensive coordinator Dave Aranda to coach the Tigers’ defense, and his first game was against his old team. The LSU defense played well, including scoring a touchdown on an interception by Tre’Davious White and forcing a fumble that led to a score. But the Wisconsin defense showed it can still get the job done, holding the Tigers scoreless in the first half. Wisconsin’s offense had some scoring chances in the first half but had to settle for two Rafael Gaglianone field goals for a 6-0 lead.

Wisconsin took a 13-0 lead on a Corey Clement touchdown run in the third quarter, but LSU stormed back, taking the lead on the White interception return and a 10 yard TD pass from Brandon Harris to Travin Dural. It looked like the familiar scenario where the better team gets off to a slow start but ultimately comes back due to some combination of athleticism and talent. But the Badgers got it together, and took the lead for good in the fourth quarter on a 47 yard field goal by Gaglianone with 3:47 left. The Tigers threatened once more, but an interception by Badger safety D’Cota Dixon with 57 seconds left sealed the deal.

The pundits had dismissed Wisconsin’s chances of winning the Big Ten West Division, in part because of an extremely difficult schedule. Besides #5 LSU, the Wisconsin plays at Michigan State, at Michigan, home vs. Ohio State, and at Iowa (all ranked in the Top 25) in consecutive weeks (with a bye week sandwiched in ) from September 24th through October 22nd. It’s still a tough road, but this should be a big boost for the team’s confidence. As for LSU, this does not promote the job security of coach Les Miles, who nearly was fired last season.