College Football 2011: Top-Ranked Sooners Survive Tallahassee, Buckeyes Fall Apart in Miami

Oklahoma keeps their seat at the head of the class, while Ohio State fails miserably in their first road test of the season.
By Cabrone D. Brewer
It’s only the third week of the season, but even in hostile territory the University of Oklahoma appeared to be ready for final exams.
Boasting college football’s #1 ranking for a record-setting 100th time after a bye week, the No. 1 Sooners traveled to Tallahassee and proved to be deserving of the Associated Press’s top spot, downing No. 5 Florida State 23-13 in a tough early season road test at Doak-Campbell Stadium on Saturday night.
Returning from an opening game suspension after an offseason DUI arrest, wide receiver Kenny Stills had seven receptions for 125 yards, while quarterback Landry Jones became Oklahoma’s all-time leading passer, finishing 18 for 27 for 199 yards to surpass Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford in the OU record books.
Florida State played the final 20 minutes of the game without their starting quarterback E.J. Manuel, who left the field with a shoulder injury in the third quarter as the Sooner defense forced three turnovers and kept intense pressure coming from all angles throughout the evening.
For the first time since 2004, No. 17 Ohio State will find themselves on the outside of the AP Top 25 looking in after getting pummeled by Miami 24-6. Both Ohio State quarterbacks — Joe Bauserman and Braxton Miller — threw for a dismal 35-yards combined, completing just 4 of 18 passes.
Saturday’s defeat in Miami was the first time Ohio State lost a road game to an unranked nonconference opponent in 23 years, and Miami’s first win over a ranked opponent since beating Oklahoma in 2009.
Notre Dame and second year coach Brian Kelly avoided a 0-3 start to the young season with an expressive 31-13 victory over No. 15 Michigan State. The Irish defense dominated the second half, holding the Spartans to just 29 rushing yards and a field goal.
Rounding out the top ten this week: No. 2 Alabama’s defense looked stellar in a 41-0 shutout of North Texas; No.3 LSU kept No. 25 Mississippi State’s offense at bay, ousting the Bulldogs 19-6 on Thursday night; No. 4 Boise State keeps on rolling with a 40-15 victory over Toledo; No. 6 Stanford easily handled Arizona 37-10; No. 7 Wisconsin continues to impress with a 49-7 win over Northern Illinois; No. 8 Oklahoma State pulled an all-nighter at Tulsa, outgunning the Golden Hurricane 59-33 in a game that ended at 3:35 a.m. due to weather delays; No. 9 Texas A&M beat Idaho 37-7; And No. 10 South Carolina barely escaped defeat, beating Navy 24-21.
Check our blog later this week for a preview of all the weekend action.
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