Weekend Rewind: What We Learned

Five lessons from a weekend in which the entire Mormon following wept, as did a certain salt-and-pepper lady killer at Troy.

1. USC can't get over itself. The Trojans have their fair share of traditions: the Song Girls, Victory, unleashing Rose Bowl beatdowns on the Big Ten -- and thinking it can roll out the cardinal and gold and walk away a winner in Pac-10 play. USC was bitten yet again, this time it may have been the most embarrassing loss yet as Washington, 0-12 a year ago, all but ended the Trojans' shot at a BCS title.

There's no doubt the Huskies are improved under first-year coach and former USC offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian, but nobody in their right mind would have expected a win like the 16-13 victory Sark's troops pulled over the nation's third-ranked team. This was the fifth time since 2006 that the Trojans have lost to an unranked conference team, but with Pete Carroll's latest loss coming against a team with five former USC coaches on the roster, this one has to hurt just a little bit more.

Let's face it: USC didn't look that impressive against Ohio State until the final drive. This wasn't a team that was going to win the title. These Trojans were either going to lose to Cal or Oregon or they were going to get exposed in the BCS title game if they did make it that far. At USC's core is the fact it doesn't understand its less talented conference brethren won't just kneel down and let the Men of Troy rack up another win. Carroll can surely recruit and he seems George Clooney-like cool, but he can't get his players to put the program's ego aside and play week-in and week-out. That's a problem even worse than the one plaguing the Big Ten -- at least it has made it to the BCS title game in the last four years.

2. Boise State's road to the BCS just got a little bit easier. The schedule wasn't the Broncos' biggest obstacle in making a return to the game's biggest stage: it was the Mountain West's trio of elite teams. BYU is out after being shellacked by Florida State and Utah's hopes and its nation's-best winning streak are over thanks to a surprising loss to Oregon. TCU remains in the mix, but still has to play at Clemson and BYU and has the Utes at home. An unbeaten Horned Frogs team would likely beat out the Broncos for a BCS at-large spot but with their biggest tests still ahead, Boise State has to feel a little bit better about the MWC's top threats' prospects.

3. Miami is most definitely back. South Beach has a new love and it's Mark Whipple. In the Hurricanes' first season under their new offensive coordinator, they're averaging 150 more yards and 11 more points per game. Now, the sample size is small with just two games under their belts, but Jacory Harris and Co.'s two games have been two wins over two Top 25 teams. If Randy Shannon's crew can make it through Virginia Tech and Oklahoma, we're looking at a top-five team and maybe even a national title threat. I know, I know, a national title threat out of the ACC?

4. Lane Kiffin saved some face, and earned some respect along the way. The rookie Tennessee coach's verbal assault on Urban Meyer and Florida seemed as it if were ripped out of the How Not To Be An SEC Coach Guide (coincidentally written by Kiffin staffer and former Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron), but give this to Kiffin: he brought attention to the Volunteers and when it came down to it, his team didn't wilt against the defending national champions. Big Orange held the Gators to 23 points and ended Tim Tebow's 30-game streak of throwing a TD. There were a number of blue chip recruits in the Swamp to see this one and Kiffin didn't get smacked around by Meyer's boys, which could pay off in the recruiting game. This wasn't a Vols' win, but if Kiffin is scoring moral victories, this was certainly one.

5. The biggest recipient of Sam Bradford's injury in the Heisman race is ... Jahvid Best. The only way someone was going to break up the trio of returning finalists from making it back to New York for the ceremony was by doing something truly special. Cal's star is doing that, but he's also doing it with Bradford out, which means barring some cataclysmic sway from either another player or a string of bad performances, Best is going to NYC this December. Through three games the speedster has 412 yards and eight scores (delivering a stunning 7.8 yards per carry) and is coming off a school-record five touchdowns in the win over Minnesota. Right now, no player on any team (sorry Tebow) has been more exciting than Best. If he does something big in two weeks at USC, he could be the frontrunner. Believe it.