Any time you have a perennial power facing an underdog, the longer that underdog stays in the game the more it believes it can win. That's what we saw last Thursday in Louisville's 26-20 upset of Florida State. Watching the body language on the sidelines from the booth, you could see the Cardinals gaining more and more confidence as the game went on and the Seminoles looking around in disbelief.

I keep hearing that the weather evened the playing field and that may be so, but both teams had to deal with the conditions. Louisville showed the heart of a lion while Florida State was just trying to come up with a big play to win the game.

Dave Ragone willed his team to a victory with a lot of scrambling and plays in the passing game that gave his team a chance to win He showed last year what he is capable of, but with this game on national TV against FSU, a lot of people were able to see how good he is. Ragone is a legitimate future NFL quarterback and a lot of people feel he's a first-round pick because of his size (6'4", 250 lbs.) and his speed (4.7 seconds in the 40-yard dash). He also has a good mind for the game.

	Florida State's Chris Rix needs to find a rhythm.

The intangible for Louisville was that it was back in its comfort zone as an underdog. The Cardinals had been favored in and expected to win their first four games, and they were finally in the position where people expected them to lose to a top-flight opponent. Because of that they turned everything loose and played without fear.

And give the Louisville fans credit, too. The game was sold out and they hung tough in a downpour, and I was in awe of how well both the fans and the field at Papa John's Stadium held up.

Florida State must have concerns in the secondary. Youth and inexperience keep getting them in trouble -- especially in man coverage. Even with five sacks against the Cardinals, I still wonder if the Seminoles can get pressure on the quarterback without blitzing and playing that man coverage.

On offense, even though Chris Rix has a ton of talent, there is a sense that he's thinking too much rather than just playing the quarterback position. Because the coaches are making so many adjustments to his game and trying to get him to be a little more patient, he's still kind of in an in-between stage in his progression as a QB. Rix is trying to do what comes naturally and at the same time trying to remember what the coaches are trying to instill in him. Because of that he's a little indecisive in about what he wants to do. If this continues, I expect to see backup QB Adrian McPherson more involved in the offense.

Give the Hawkeyes credit
I said before the Iowa-Penn State game that for the Nittany Lions to move the ball effectively Zack Mills would have to throw, and it wasn't until the fourth quarter of that 42-35 OT loss to the Hawkeyes that he was able to put up the big numbers that got him a school-record 399 yards passing.

A lot of people said to me after the game "What was wrong with Penn State?" The Lions didn't seem to play with the same intensity as in games prior and there was a reason for that: the Iowa Hawkeyes. They are a good team.

Iowa is experienced and has some veterans in key areas, and with quarterback Brad Banks, tailback Fred Russell, receivers Maurice Brown and C.J. Jones and tight end Dallas Clark, the Hawkeyes have one of the more potent attacks in the Big Ten. Russell had 142 yards against Penn State and showed that he is one of the premier backs in the conference. He's a nice compliment to the versatility Banks shows with his ability to run, thrown and improvise, and now when teams get concerned with Banks Iowa has Russell to keep them honest.

The Hawkeyes have that nice offensive package, but their challenge through the rest of the Big Ten schedule will be to get better on defense. Pass defense is their Achilles' heel right now and needs the most work. But Iowa was a good team last year and they have been able to use that as a springboard to a good season this year.

Overall, I was more impressed with Iowa than disappointed in Penn Sate. Give the Nittany Lions a pat on the back for making a game of it late, but Iowa came to play from the start, taking the opening drive down the field for a touchdown. That's what you need to do to win on the road in a good conference. Score early and get your team to believe in itself.

'Horns and Sooners looking ahead?

	Beau Trahan and the Longhorns can't overlook OSU.

Texas hosts Oklahoma State and Oklahoma is at Missouri this week, and there is so much anticipation for the Red River Shootout on Oct. 12 that both teams need to be careful not to look ahead. Especially the Sooners, because Missouri has enough talent around freshman quarterback Brad Smith to surprise OU if the Sooners are looking too closely at Texas.

Every week is "Mindset Saturday" this year, where we wonder who is coming to play and who is not. And if teams want to compete for the national championship, they can't expect to show up for any game, go through the motions and win while looking forward to a big opponent. Missouri will already have a complete season if it beats OU this weekend, so Oklahoma needs to be very wary on the road in Columbia.

Alabama, USC showing some character
Two teams that have impressed so far this year with their character are Alabama and USC.

The Tide has had to deal with a lot since Dennis Franchione arrived prior to last season. Alabama was in the middle of an NCAA investigation when he arrived, went on probation during the recruiting period and the seniors could have left and found somewhere else to play without losing a year of eligibility.

They stuck it out, made it through all that turmoil, and then the school appealed the case and was denied. After finding out they were still ineligible for a bowl game and any kind of championship, the players and staff stuck together and went out and beat Southern Miss.

	Dennis Franchione has led Alabama to a 4-1 start.

Add to that the loss of starting quarterback Tyler Watts and tailback Ahmaad Galloway, both of whom have been through all the off-the-field problems, and getting a win on the road against an Arkansas team expecting big things in front of a sellout crowd in Fayetteville is all the more impressive. The Tide not only beat but dominated a good Arkansas team behind redshirt freshman QB Brodie Croyle and the tailback tandem of Santonio Beard and Shaud Williams. I am completely convinced that Dennis Franchione has this team headed in the right direction.

Its' a breath of fresh air in Tuscaloosa to see 'Bama stay so focused after all the other problems surrounding the program. There are definitely good things to come for Alabama football.

Croyle had his coming-out party against the Razorbacks. He came of age while making his first career start on the road. Croyle threw some nice balls, had some others dropped, but overall, he showed a lot of poise. Croyle's presence gives 'Bama a different attack than the option game Watts ran. It will be interesting to see what happens when Watts gets healthy because he is the leader of this team.

USC is another team that has always had the talent, but you never knew what team was going to show up. Last week against Oregon State the Trojans dominated the game from start to finish, especially in the trenches, and strength and conditioning coach Chris Carlisle deserves a lot of credit for having this team in a different mindset and a lot tougher mentally. USC is showing an intensity and character that has been lacking in the past.

Cyclones surprisingly dominant
I wasn't shocked to see Seneca Wallace, the most versatile quarterback in the country, making big plays against the Nebraska defense in a 36-14 whipping of the Cornhuskers, but I was surprised to see Iowa State winning the battles up front on both sides of the ball. The Cyclones had a 15:02 advantage in time of possession. Everyone knew ISU had more speed, but where I thought Nebraska would have the edge because it would be able to sustain long drives and win the battles up front.

Wallace proved that he is the best quarterback in the nation in terms of running and throwing. He is calm and very cool in his leadership of that team This is the biggest win in the history of Iowa State football and the city of Ames is going crazy.

Iowa State earns even more respect despite the tough schedule coming up (road games at Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas State and Colorado). The Cyclones still have a long way to go because of that, but give Dan McCarney a lot of credit because he's been able to put this team on the map. He's been winning for a few years, but this victory is huge in terms of where the program is headed.

We saw in last year's Rose Bowl loss to Miami, and quite often this season, that Nebraska just doesn't have the speed it used to in the secondary and at linebacker. It's just a matter of the Cornhuskers getting better talent to come to Lincoln.. Look at the guys they had while they were winning national championships in the mid-'90s: Jason Peter, Grant Wistrom, Terrell Farley, Mike Brown, et al. They had guys who could flat-out run, and it looks like they have replaced guys who were running 4.4 and 4.5 in the 40 with guys who are running 4.9. That just won't get it done.

And offensively, you know Nebraska is in trouble when they are struggling with the option and the power game. The days of that kind of offense are over because of the complexity of the defenses out there now, and getting into second-and-long and third-and-long is not what this offense needs. On 14 first down rushing attempts against Iowa State, NU netted 15 yards and was in those situations all day. Their offense is just not built for that. They need to broaden their horizons because of the parity scholarship reductions and the like have brought to college football. There has to be some threat of a passing game.

And if you look at the schedule there are a few more games coming up that are potential losses. The Cornhuskers host Missouri on Oct. 12 then make a trip to Texas A&M two weeks later, followed by November home dates against Texas, Kansas State and Colorado. With that slate, Nebraska is looking at five losses this year.

Navarre, Michigan are back
I thought Michigan had a great game offensively in its 45-28 win over Illinois. Quarterback John Navarre was completing under 30 percent of his passes in the last three road games coming in, but played his butt off against the Illini, completing 22 of 37 passes for 264 yards and four touchdowns. He made some big plays and spread the ball around in what might might have been his best game as the the Michigan QB. The Wolverines' running game doesn't have as far to go as some people think, because teams are loading up to stop the run and Navarre is now showing that he can make teams pay for that. That's something that had been missing for them and is a huge asset now.

Gators win wild over the 'Cats
It was a big surprise for Kentucky to go into the Swamp and hang in there like it did in a 41-34 loss to Florida. My colleague Lee Corso called it early in the day, saying it would be a game decided late, and I disagreed.

I was shocked because the Gators have the better team. I thought they would dominate at home. The Kentucky offense did not go in and do a lot of things against Florida with Jared Lorenzen throwing a couple key interceptions and the running game struggling, but special teams kept them in the game. Derek Abney returned both a punt and kickoff for touchdowns, and some big errors by Florida kept the Wildcats in the game. That is something that Ron Zook will have to get fixed before the Gators get deep into the SEC schedule.

Kirk Herbstreit is an analyst for ESPN College GameDay.