When the college football season gets into the month of November the pressure mounts for unbeaten teams. There is a tendency to become conservative in game plans or overlook an inferior opponent and allow that team to salvage its season with an upset.

And that's exactly what we saw last weekend. I thought it would take the entire month of November to see this many upsets, and here's my take on a crazy weekend.

'Canes need to get in gear
Any time a team wins a championship the big question is whether it will have the hunger the following season.

That is why it is not surprising to me that Miami is doing just enough to win games. The players realize they are talented enough to win games late in the second half, like they did in the 42-17 win over Rutgers, but that is not good enough to win another national championship.

The Hurricanes need to find something to stoke the fire and get them going. The incentive last year was the perceived slight from the BCS in 2000, and they were ready to play every week. That carried Miami through the 2001 season year, but now Larry Coker and his team have to fight against both complacency and the fact that every team they play is out to beat the defending national champs.

But the 'Canes are undefeated and fans have to be careful about saying Miami is not that good a team. The Hurricanes might be more physically gifted this year than last, but they have some psychological problems and if they can ever find a spark and get motivated they will be fine.

Miami has come to play in all four quarters just once this year, against Florida, and for them to play hard they have to feel threatened. Maybe going on the road to Tennessee will do that, or games against Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech.

The bottom line is this team needs to motivate itself. The mentality of showing up and expecting to win has been good enough so far, but if it continues the 'Canes will lose before the end of the year.

Buckeyes better be wary
Ohio State's defense and kicking game will keep the Buckeyes in every game they play, and the defense was on full display in OSU's 34-3 win over Minnesota. The Gophers rushed for just 53 yards and were held to 112 total yards after coming into the game ranked in the top 10 nationally in rushing offense.

The way Chris Gamble has developed opposite Dustin Fox at cornerback has allowed the rest of the defense to do a lot more things. Ohio State is preventing teams from running the ball, and any team will struggle when its running game is shut down and it faces a lot of second and third and long.

That is when the Buckeyes get creative with their zone blitz package and pressure the quarterback and no one can move the ball on them.

Mark Dantonio and the defensive staff deserve a lot of credit for the halftime adjustments they have made this season and for and the play they are getting from their unit. The Buckeyes have not given up a single point in the second half of the last four games.

Andy Groom is one of the best punters in the country with his 46.0-yard advantage and Mike Nugent had made all 20 of his field goal attempts this year, but what is makes them dangerous is that the offense is getting better. Quarterback Craig Krenzel is giving OSU balance in the passing game and it has shown depth at tailback, evidenced by the 182 yards Maurice Hall and Lydell Ross piled up in Maurice Clarett's absence.

Ohio State is in a very good position, but if it has an Achilles' heel offensively it is in the passing game. The Buckeyes are still having a hard time protecting the QB and need more balance. They gave up five sacks against Minnesota, and if they ever play a team that can match up physically with the running game that is going to be an issue.

The biggest test of the year is coming, though. Going to Purdue to face a Boilermakers team coming off an open date is dangerous because Joe Tiller is one of the best coaches in the country at putting together an offensive package that features things he has not shown all year.

We will see some of those things this week, and the Boilermakers will also get a chance to play up the fact that they are underdogs at home. Their five losses have come by a combined 22 points and they have outgained four of the five teams that have beaten them, so a 3-5 record is not an indication of how good Purdue is.

Look for Clarett to play this week and give Ohio State a boost, but people need to hold off on celebrating an undefeated season because the Buckeyes are facing their toughest game so far.

Gators get it done
I picked Florida to beat Georgia for two reasons: the Bulldogs' loss of wide receiver Damien Gary on offense and the presence of Rex Grossman for the Gators

Gary's absence coupled with an injury to Fred Gibson meant UGA was looking for another playmaker to go with Terrence Edwards. The Florida defense had a plan to take Edwards out of the game, the 'Dawgs could not find that other player and it hurt them.

Florida had a good defensive plan. Georgia tailback Musa Smith ran the ball hard, but the Gators did a good job of bending but not breaking. They didn't give up the big play and played with energy on that side of the ball, but the Bulldogs hurt themselves with some conservative play calls deep in Florida territory.

As for Grossman, if I needed a QB to win one game he would be my choice. He does so much for that offense with his poise and talent, and the fact that he willed his team to a victory was not surprising at all.

On the other side, Mark Richt has made the two-quarterback system work all year at Georgia and it is easy to second-guess that strategy now that his team has lost and D.J. Shockley threw a key interception. But where were all the critics when David Greene and Shockley were leading the team to wins?

The two-QB system has not always worked for teams that have tried it, but it has been going well for the Bulldogs and to second-guess the timing of Shockley's insertion into the game is unfair because that system has been good for them all year.

Unlucky Irish finally stumble
After getting virtually all the breaks and having all the calls go it way for the first eight weeks, Notre Dame finally committed some key turnovers and was hurt by an injury in its 14-7 loss to Boston College.

It was almost like those eight weeks of good fortune turned into eight weeks of bad breaks in all in one day against a BC team that benefited from an Irish implosion.

Quarterback Carlyle Holiday left the game with an injury and his replacement, Pat Dillingham, threw an interception that was returned for the eventual game-winning touchdown. The Irish fumbled the ball seven times and lost three of them and Dillingham also threw a second interception.

You have to give Eagles coach Tom O'Brien and his team a lot of credit. People will say Notre Dame gave Boston College the game, but BC came in with a blue-collar attitude and expected to win. Don't forget that this team also played both Miami and Virginia Tech tough.

Both teams played good defense, but the luck of the Irish finally ran out.

Panthers do the unthinkable
Pittsburgh is a good team, but not a lot of people looked at the Panthers as a team capable of pulling off the kind of upset they got in their 28-21 win at Virginia Tech.

Walt Harris has done a lot with the Pitt program. He has recruited well, the team plays good defense and Pittsburgh matched up well with Tech, but playing in Lane Stadium at night on ESPN is a daunting task. The Hokies came into the game having never lost a game under those circumstances.

Pitt did what it had to offensively, though, getting 275 rushing yards to the Hokies' 130 and continuing improvement at QB from Rod Rutherford. The Panthers' go-to guy Larry Fitzgerald had a game that he will remember for the rest of his life with 105 yards and three touchdowns on just five catches.

But the biggest difference was the physical Pitt defense making it tough on Kevin Jones and Lee Suggs. Jones left the game with an injury after just two carries and Suggs fought for most of his yards, and Bryan Randall was held to just 12 completions.

This was not a fluke. We knew from the beginning that the Panthers had a great defense and Rutherford was the question, but Harris had brought him along nicely and this kid had responded. The only surprise was that Pittsburgh won in Blacksburg at night.

Defense dominating, but the Sooners need a passing game
After watching Oklahoma's 23-11 victory over Colorado, I felt Colorado played well considering it relies so much on the running game.

The Buffaloes outgained the Sooners 378-305 and Chris Brown rushed for 103 yards, becoming the first back to break 100 yards against the Sooners since Mississippi's Deuce McAllister in the 1999 Independence Bowl. The Buffs showed they are one of the better physical rushing teams in the nation by lining up and running for 204 yards against OU without a real passing threat. Oklahoma knew what was coming and still could not stop it.

Usually an offense has to have balance to be effective against Oklahoma and yet Colorado did a good job of moving the ball. But four turnovers proved costly, as well as the fact that the Buffaloes could not take advantage of scoring opportunities.

Quentin Griffin and Kejuan Jones combined for over 200 rushing yards for the Sooners, but they are vulnerable without a legitimate passing attack. If they did not have such a dominating defense the inconsistent play in the throwing game would be costly.

Seminoles still have something to play for
With all the controversy surrounding the quarterback change and arguments in the locker room Florida State looked ripe for an upset against an improved Wake Forest team. But to the Seminoles' credit they fought back from a 21-7 deficit and got a key 34-21 victory against the Demon Deacons.

Considering Adrian McPherson was making his first start since replacing Chris Rix at quarterback, coming back like that is even more impressive. McPherson threw for 278 yards and a pair of touchdowns and also rushed for 53 yards on 11 carries.

Nick Maddox continues to impress with what he can bring to the FSU offense, catching six passes out of the backfield in addition to his 19 carries, 122 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

And credit the FSU defense for making adjustments and shutting out Wake Forest and its ACC-leading rushing attack in the second half.

FSU is unbeaten in the ACC and thanks to NC State's loss to Georgia Tech the 'Noles control their own destiny with respect to the conference crown and the BCS.

Cougars in the driver's seat
Washington State had one of the more impressive wins of the weekend with its 44-22 triumph over Arizona State and is now in the drivers seat in the Pac-10 race.

Jason Gesser continued to show that he is as tough as they come -- a hard-nosed QB in complete command of his team -- by breaking the WSU record for career passing yards with 250 against the Sun Devils.

Washington State jumped out to a 17-0 lead and took the life out of ASU early, and Arizona State had to abandon the running game to try and get back into it. But the Cougars did a good job against wideout Shaun McDonald, who had seven catches for just 78 yards, and did not let QB Andrew Walter beat them with a lot of big plays.

This was a big win for Wazzu because Arizona State came in with a lot of confidence while the Cougars, on the other hand, endured the distraction of a locker room fight earlier in the week which resulted in the suspension of starting linebacker Ira Davis and a broken cheekbone for starting cornerback Jason David.

But WSU came out with a lot of intensity and now has a good shot to wind up in the Rose Bowl. And if you look at the schedule, the season-ending game at UCLA is the biggest obstacle to winning the conference.

Texas gets it done but give Solich credit
I have to tip my cap to the Texas wide receivers. I said on College GameDay that they had to fight through the injuries that have hampered them all year and they responed. Nebraska used a lot of one-on-one coverage and Chris Simms put the ball on the money all day in a 27-24 win.

Longhorns offensive coordinator Greg Davis was aggressive and had a nice game calling plays and this was a huge win under difficult circumstances. The loss was just the second in the last 75 home games for Nebraska, both coming at the hands of a Mack Brown-coached Texas team.

As for as Nebraska, the way Frank Solich has kept his team focused though adversity and in a position to win games has been impressive. The comeback win at Texas A&M showed character, and to give Texas everything it could handle said a lot about the pride in that program. The Huskers were able to block out the critics and compete.

We can learn a lot about a person's character by how they handle adversity, and I have gained more respect for Frank Solich this year than at any other time in his career because of the way he has been able to keep his team competitive during these trying times.

Players of the Week
Chris Simms, Texas - Threw for a career-high 419 yards and a pair of TDs in the win at Nebraska

Chris Downs, Maryland - Rushed for 157 yards and four TDs on 19 carries against North Carolina and has combined with QB Scott McBrien to help the Terps improve steadily all year.

Brandon Everage, Oklahoma - The key to the OU defense, Everage recorded 17 tackles and two pass breakups in the win over Colorado and also returned an interception 64 yards to set up a Sooners field goal.

Seneca Wallace, Iowa State - The Heisman talk has ended in Ames but Wallace had school-record 493 total yards and one touchdown each on the ground and in the air as the Cyclones came back to beat Missouri.

Rex Grossman, Florida - Completed 26-of-46 passes for 339 yards and two scores against Georgia, but more important were his leadership and toughness in finding a way to lead his team through adversity.

Coaches of the Week
Walt Harris, Pittsburgh - The win at Virginia Tech is one more sign that he is getting his team to believe it belongs in the upper echelon.

Ron Zook, Florida - Got the Gators a much-needed win even with turmoil surrounding the program.

Tom O'Brien, Boston College - Kept his team together after near-misses against Miami and Virginia Tech and ended Notre Dame's string of lucky breaks.

Chan Gailey, Georgia Tech - Even with injuries decimating his team he kept his players together and had them believing they could beat a good NC State team.

Kirk Herbstreit is an analyst for ESPN College GameDay.