Freshman kicker Nick Sciba rushes onto the field after forgetting to set up for the Demon Deacons' field goal attempt and shanks the kick off the left upright. (0:55)

Blake LaRussa actually grew up watching Virginia Tech football games. Until he enrolled at Old Dominion two years ago, he considered himself a Hokies fan. His older brother, Mike, is a Virginia Tech graduate, and Mike informed Blake before Saturday's game that he probably would be cheering for his alma mater.

"He told me, 'If you go in, I'll root for you,'" Blake LaRussa said after pulling off the season's biggest upset. "'Otherwise, I'll be rooting for the Hokies.'"

LaRussa didn't start the game for Old Dominion, but he did get in on the Monarchs' second drive, and he gave his brother plenty to cheer for -- and lament -- in a stunning 49-35 win over the No. 13 team in the nation.

ODU entered the game as a 29-point underdog, making this the biggest upset by point spread of 2018, but that only begins to tell the story.

Blake LaRussa, center, celebrates Old Dominion's stunning win over Virginia Tech. Michael Shroyer/Getty Images

The Monarchs were 0-3 entering Saturday, including a blowout loss to Liberty, a first-year FBS team, and coming off a humiliating defeat to Charlotte. ESPN's Football Power Index gave ODU a 1.8 percent chance of winning, making this the largest upset by an FBS opponent in the metric's 14 years of existence.

Heck, this program didn't even exist a decade ago, and in its seven years playing at the FBS level, it had been 0-9 against Power 5 opponents with an average margin of defeat of 28 points per game.

But if every ounce of history suggested this would be a one-sided affair, head coach Bobby Wilder had his team sold on a different outcome.

"Our kids believed in it, and we just made history," Wilder said after the game.

LaRussa was among the many stars for ODU. He threw for 495 yards and accounted for five touchdowns, including a 4-yard pass to tie the game just before halftime and a gorgeous 29-yard pass to Jonathan Duhart with 5 minutes, 11 seconds to play that gave the Monarchs a 42-35 lead and all but put the dagger through Virginia Tech's heart.

That dagger actually came one drive later, when ODU was in position to simply kneel and run out the clock. Instead, tailback Jeremy Cox scampered 40 yards for another score.

"Just go out and throw the ball around and have fun," LaRussa said. "That was literally our plan."

Fans poured from the stands and onto the field, hugging players and coaches. A half-hour later, the crowd was still cheering behind LaRussa as he relished the win.

"It's just a moment we'll never forget," he said.

If Old Dominion's win over Virginia Tech was the story of the day, it was also something of a trendsetter. We saw Army nearly pull the upset against Oklahoma, while unranked Texas Tech beat No. 15 Oklahoma State, unranked Kentucky upended No. 14 Mississippi State, unranked Texas knocked off No. 17 TCU and unranked Purdue beat No. 23 Boston College.

Of course, college football trends come and go by the week, so we figured it made sense to look at what was hot and what was not in a wild week.

OUT: Kneeling to run out the clock (East Coast)

ODU could've taken a knee and run out the clock for a seven-point win over Virginia Tech. Instead, Jeremy Cox took a first-down carry with 1:34 left, burst through the line and rumbled 40 yards for a touchdown and a shaker full of salt into the Hokies' wounds.

IN: Kneeling to run out the clock (West Coast)

Oregon could've taken a knee and run out the clock for a three-point win over Stanford. Instead, C.J. Verdell took a first-down carry with 1:35 left and fumbled. Stanford recovered, drove 45 yards in 45 seconds and kicked a game-tying field goal, then later won it in overtime.

OUT: Running backs for Heisman

Bryce Love was fine, but he needed a special game to work his way back into the Heisman discussion. AJ Dillon was bottled up by Purdue as BC lost, too. And Jonathan Taylor looked decent enough, but Wisconsin's offense remains enigmatic. If there was hype for another Year of the Running Back a month ago, it's all but over now.

IN: Quarterbacks for Heisman

Here's where the real debate begins. Kyler Murray nearly was upended by Army, but he still padded his stats with four touchdowns. Meanwhile, Will Grier was exceptional once again, tossing five TDs, Tua Tagovailoa continues to dominate for Alabama, and Ohio State's Dwayne Haskins added five TD passes of his own.

OUT: Power 5 dominance

OK, the big boys still have a pretty hefty advantage, but one week after nine Group of 5 teams toppled Power 5 foes, Old Dominion and Buffalo added a couple of more notable wins for the less powerful five. So far, the Group of 5 has 18 wins over Power 5 teams -- just one fewer than it managed all of last season.

IN: Shoddy 'Karate Kid' references

It's Blake LaRussa, not Daniel LaRusso, but let's not let that get in the way of quoting one of the great '80s movies to celebrate one of the great college football upsets of this decade. QB who catches Hokies with 0-3 team can accomplish anything.

OUT: Rat poison

Too quotable. Need something equally masochistic but less likely for Lane Kiffin to tweet.

IN: Begging for criticism

After Alabama's latest dominance, Nick Saban eschewed the colorful dialogue he made famous a year ago, instead begging the assembled media to please -- pretty please with a houndstooth fedora on top -- avoid being nice to his team. This is asking a lot. Alabama is 4-0, having topped 500 yards of offense in all four games. Know how many times the Tide did that last year? Four. All season. We know there are some fine reporters in Tuscaloosa, but good luck coming up with negative storylines about the Tide this week.

IN: Using a second QB

Notre Dame's offense found its groove after Brian Kelly benched Brandon Wimbush in favor of Ian Book, who torched Wake Forest for 368 yards and five touchdowns. Miami's offense took off with N'Kosi Perry replacing Malik Rosier, too. Perry completed 14 of his first 15 throws while leading the Canes to a 31-17 win over FIU. And while Clemson certainly hasn't officially turned the page on Kelly Bryant, it was Trevor Lawrence who looked sharp, tossing four TDs in a win over Georgia Tech.

OUT: Using no kickers

It was a rough day for Wake Forest, so it's hard to blame kicker Nick Sciba for wanting to skip the whole thing. Still, when you line up for a field goal try, it helps to have a guy there to kick the ball.