When unexpected is expected

For better or worse -- and that notion rides entirely on your rooting and betting interests -- this weekend’s football scores underscored one major difference between the college and pro games.

In college football, seven of the top 13 ranked teams lose within a span of a few hours and the sport stops in its tracks and the media insta-analysis tags it as the Most Shocking Saturday of All-Time (or It Is Until We Get a Little Time to Research That Statement a Bit).

In pro football, underdogs win eight of 12 afternoon games -- including Kansas City over San Diego, Arizona over Pittsburgh and Cleveland over Baltimore -- and the media shrugs and sports fans across the land exclaim, “Can you believe it about the Mets?”

Its just another Sunday in the NFL.

These so-called upsets don’t happen by accident. The draft, free agency and weighted schedules almost dictate it. And whatever eludes those factors, Norv Turner, Trent Green, David Carr and any Chicago Bears quarterback you want to name pretty much take care of the rest.

The Chargers’ 30-16 home defeat to the Chiefs shouldn’t surprise anyone remotely familiar with Turner’s NFL resume. At previous stops with the Washington Redskins and Oakland Raiders, Turner put together a head-coaching portfolio (59-82-1 before this season’s 1-3) that only a general manager named A.J. Smith could love.

The Miami Dolphins’ 35-17 home defeat to the Raiders shouldn’t surprise anyone who knows that Green is 37 and battered well beyond his advanced years and not the kind of quarterback conducive to continued employment for a rookie coach (Cam Cameron) who once replaced Turner as the Chargers offensive coordinator when Turner left San Diego the first time, though apparently not the last, in 2002.

(Dolphins-Raiders game notes: Cameron and St. Louis’ Scott Linehan are the only coaches in the league to a) open the season with 0-4 records and b) make Turner look OK by comparison. . . . Former Dolphins and current Raiders starting quarterback Daunte Culpepper produced the kind of individual stat line usually seen only in the college game. He had a hand in all five Raiders touchdowns, running for three and throwing for two -- even though he completed five of 12 passes for 75 yards. Anyone seeing only those numbers would have to ask: What, Al Davis has now ordered Lane Kiffin to start running the wishbone?)

The Carolina Panthers’ 20-7 home defeat to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers shouldn’t surprise anyone who knew Jake Delhomme has a sore right elbow and all the Panthers had in reserve was Carr idling in the driveway. Turn the key in that ignition and the engine starts humming, Here we go, Buc-can-neers, here we go!

(Buccaneers-Panthers game notes: Carr completed only 46% of his 41 pass attempts. . . . Tampa Bay’s Jeff Garcia completed his fourth 2007 start without throwing an interception. . . . Collective reaction from millions of blasé and jaded NFL observers hearing that news: Garcia did WHAT?!?)

The Bears’ 37-27 defeat to the Lions -- Detroit scored a record 34 fourth-quarter points -- shouldn’t surprise anyone who can recite Chicago’s quarterback depth chart. Sunday, it was: 1) Brian Griese, who responded to his big career rebirth with three interceptions; 2) Rex Grossman, who can’t be blamed for this one; 3) Kyle Orton, who hasn’t played a down this season and has never looked better to Bears fans.

Turner’s only victory so far, a 14-3 season-opening decision over the Bears, is looking less impressive by the week. So is Lovie Smith’s reputation as a proactive problem-solving coach.

Those who forecast a return trip to the Super Bowl for the Bears did so mostly by default -- and a very logical mistrust of the Wade Phillips-Terrell Owens-Tony Romo chemistry in Dallas. Despite a 4-0 start assembled via victories over four significantly flawed teams (Giants, Dolphins, Bears and Rams), Dallas still has potential for spontaneous combustion anywhere down the road -- though it could start at home, Oct. 14 against New England.

Chicago opened this season the same way it ended the last one: with big problems at quarterback. Why didn’t the Bears spend a mid-round draft pick on some possible help there? The Buffalo Bills appear to have found some value in third-rounder Trent Edwards, who completed 22 of 28 passes and beat the New York Jets, 17-14, in his first NFL start. Why didn’t the Bears take a flier on Byron Leftwich when Jacksonville let him go? Atlanta signed Leftwich and so far hasn’t needed him; Sunday, Joey Harrington completed 23 of 29 passes in a 26-16 triumph over Houston.

If it weren’t for the Minnesota Vikings, the Bears right now would be dragging around the NFC’s worst quarterback rotation. The Vikings lost at home to Green Bay, 23-13, because they started Kelly Holcomb at quarterback as counterpoint to the Packers’ Brett Favre, who surpassed Dan Marino with his 421st and 422nd career touchdown passes.

One thing pro football had in common with college football this weekend was USC getting passed by Louisiana State in the Associated Press rankings and former USC players getting passed almost everywhere in the NFL. A quick ex-Trojans update:

Matt Leinart: Benched again mid-game in favor of 36-year-old Kurt Warner. This time Warner guided Arizona to a 21-14 victory over previously unbeaten Pittsburgh.

Reggie Bush: Rushed for zero yards Sunday, as the New Orleans Saints have a break in the schedule, as opposed to the 26.7 rushing yards he has averaged in the Saints’ three defeats.

LenDale White: Also idle Sunday, along with his Tennessee Titans teammates. After three games, White is only No. 2 among Titans rushers -- his 180 yards and 3.6 per-carry average trailing Chris Brown’s 247 yards and 5.9 average.

Dwayne Jarrett: In breaking news, not idle Sunday. Promoted from the Panthers’ inactive list for the first time this season, Jarrett caught his first NFL pass in the loss to Tampa Bay. For six yards.

Mike Williams: The Raiders have won their last two games; Williams has two receptions so far in ’07.

Williams did not catch a pass in Oakland’s victory over Miami, but he did catch a good view of teammate Justin Fargas rushing for a career-high 179 yards. Ordinarily, Fargas is the Raiders’ third-string tailback, but he got his chance against the Dolphins because Dominic Rhodes is suspended and LaMont Jordan got hurt in the first half.

In the second half, Fargas gained more than twice as many yards, 172, as Bush has in three games. Bush has appeared to be off his bearings this season with the Saints, but then it cannot be easy for him right now, waking up every day as an old Trojan stranded in the state of Louisiana.

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christine.daniels@latimes.com