Oregon — In what has to be considered one of the most impressive performances by any team this season, Oregon dismantled USC, 47–20, in Eugene to take control of the Pac-10 race. Quarterback Jeremiah Masoli played like a guy who was worthy of preseason Heisman talk, throwing for 222 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 164 and another score. The Oregon defense only allowed three points in the second half and limited the powerful Trojan attack to 327 total yards, the fewest since gaining 313 against Ohio State in Week 2. The Ducks still have some heavy lifting — road games at Stanford and Arizona and a season-ending Civil War showdown with Oregon State — but this team is closing in on its first Pac-10 title since 2001.

Temple — The Owls recorded the biggest win of the Al Golden era, rallying for a 27–24 win at Navy to improve to 6–2 and reach bowl-eligibility for the first time since 1990. The two teams combined for only 64 passing yards, but Temple had the edge on the ground (274 to 227) thanks in large part to tailback Bernard Pierce, who rushed for 267 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries. Temple is all alone in first place in the MAC East with a 4–0 record, but the Owls still have to play Kent State and Ohio, who are both 4–1.

North Carolina — It’s too late for the Tar Heels to be a factor in the ACC Coastal race, but Butch Davis’ club picked up a very important 20–17 win at Virginia Tech Thursday night. After losing their previous three games against FBS competition — most notably the 30–27 heartbreaker to Florida State the previous Thursday — it was important for this team to get back on track. And it’s fair to say a team is back on track after beating the Hokies in Blacksburg at night. The Tar Heels are 5–3 overall, but they still need two more victories to become bowl-eligible since they have two wins vs. FCS foes. They have home games vs. Duke and Miami followed by road trips to Boston College and North Carolina State.

Disappointments of the Week

Michigan — The Wolverines dropped to 1–4 in the Big Ten with a disturbing 38–13 loss to an Illinois team that had yet to beat an FBS foe in 2009. Michigan took a 13–7 lead into the half but was outscored 31–0 in the final two quarters with most of the damage coming on the ground. For the game, Illinois rushed for 377 yards on 56 carries, with two players hitting the 100-yard mark (Mikel Leshoure and Jason Ford) and another (Juice Williams) rushing for 97. Michigan, at 5–4 overall, needs to beat Purdue, Wisconsin or Ohio State to get to a bowl game.

USC — Give tons of credit to Oregon, but what has happened to the USC defense? After pounding Cal 20–3 in Week 5, the Trojans ranked fifth in the nation in total defense and third in scoring defense. Now, three games later, USC ranks 36th in total defense and 27th in scoring defense. Over that span, Notre Dame, Oregon State and Oregon averaged 36.7 points and 487.3 yards vs. the (once)-mighty USC defense. The loss to Oregon was especially troubling; Oregon rolled up 613 total yards, by the far the most against any Pete Carroll-coached defense at USC.

Purdue — There’s nothing wrong with losing at Camp Randall Stadium, but there is something wrong with getting shut out 37–0 while gaining a total of 141 yards. Purdue, after taking several steps forward with wins over Ohio State and Illinois, took a large step in the wrong direction vs. Wisconsin. Starting quarterback Joey Elliott was miserable, completing 5-of-23 passes for 59 yards, and the running game netted only 60 yards on 29 carries. Purdue, which had scored at least 20 points in its previous eight games, was shut out for the first time since October 2006.

Player of the Week

Anthony Dixon, Mississippi State — The Bulldogs’ senior tailback rushed for a school record 252 yards and scored two touchdowns to lead Mississippi State to key SEC road win over Kentucky. Dixon ranks second in the SEC and sixth in the nation with 125.1 yards per game.

Freshman of the Week

Kyle Padron, SMU — Since we like to spread the wealth in this column, Temple’s Bernard Pierce and Oregon’s LaMichael James were bypassed for this award because their respective teams were recognized above. So we give the nod to Padron, who completed 20-of-30 passes for 354 yards and two scores to lead SMU to an important 27–13 C-USA win over league power Tulsa. Padron, a true freshman from national power Southlake Carroll (Texas) High School, is keeping the seat warm for injured starter Bo Levi Mitchell.

Under the Radar Wins

• Miami (Ohio) broke a 13-game losing streak and gave Mike Haywood his first win as a head coach by upsetting Toledo, 31–24.

• UAB remained in the C-USA East race with a surprising 38–33 win over UTEP.

• Duke inched a bit closer to bowl-eligibility by winning at Virginia, 28–17. But keep in mind that the Devils, now 5–3, need to win seven games to play in the postseason because the victory over North Carolina Central, still reclassifying from the Division II ranks, doesn’t count toward bowl-eligibility.

• Auburn rebounded nicely from a three-game slide by upsetting Ole Miss 33–20.

• Minnesota won without star wide receiver Eric Decker (out for the season), holding on for a 42–34 win over Michigan State.

Notes

• South Carolina has scored 16 points or less in four of its past five SEC games — after scoring 37 points in its first league game (a 41–37 loss at Georgia).

• Georgia Tech, which beat Vanderbilt 56–31 in Nashville, has won four straight regular-season games against SEC foes.

• None of the top 30 teams in the national rankings in scoring defense has a losing record.

• With Illinois’ win over Michigan, every BCS conference school now has at least one win over another FBS opponent.

• Colorado State opened the season with a 3–0 mark that included impressive wins at Colorado and vs. Nevada, but the Rams have dropped six straight and are 0–5 in the Mountain West.

• Three teams that played in bowl games last season, including two bowl winners, have already been eliminated from the 2009 postseason — Vanderbilt (2–7), Rice (0–8) and Ball State (1–8).

• South Florida quarterback B.J. Daniels has thrown for 200 yards and rushed for 100 yards in a game twice this season — in wins over Florida State and West Virginia.

• NC State, expected by some (including us at Athlon) to contend in the ACC Atlantic, remained winless in league play after losing a 45–42 shootout at Florida State.