Cincinnati had a 164-106 yd edge vs VT and led 10-5 at the half and 13-12 after 3Q’s. VT made the final somewhat misleading with a 72 yd IR for a TD to win by 16 in a game that was much closer...

Kent St pulled yet another outright upset last week as they were +7 and led BG 21-3 at half with a 240-127 yd edge and coasted to a 38-3 win...

UTEP had not been sacked all year but Jordan Palmer was sk’d on the 3rd play vs New Mexico and fmbl’d setting up a Lobo TD drive. UTEP did not get a FD until 5:00 into the 2Q and NM had a 164-83 yd edge at the half leading 19-3...

North Texas had some shots at the backdoor cover vs Akron. Trailing 33-13 in the 4Q NT blk’d a punt and rec’d on the 5 but their 4th & 4 pass was incomplete. After a 13 yd punt by Akron, NT started at the Akron 22. Their 4th & 2 run from the Zips 3 with 5:04 left lost 5 yds and their final drive at midfield ended on an incompletion on 4th down...

Pitt QB Tyler Palko connected on 17-of-19 passes in Saturday's win over The Citadel. (Getty)

Tyler Palko overtook Tony Dorsett on Pittsburgh’s career offense list and hit 17 of 19 passes vs an overmatched Citadel team with his 88.2% completions, the 6th highest since Big East play began...

Rice ran into the misfortune of taking on a 2nd straight ranked team off a loss needing to prove something. Florida St rolled up 280 yds offense in the 1H, which was more than their season avg in the first 3 games and also rushed for 287 yds after rushing for just 148 total yards in the first 3 games. The stadium was also just 2/3 full, one of the smallest home crowds in years as FSU pummeled Rice 55-7...

UCLA’s only TD vs Washington came after they rec’d a bad snap on a punt at the 6. While UCLA led 16-0 and UW did not get a FD until 6:00 remained in the 2Q, the Huskies dominated after that. They went on a 92 yd, 9 play drive for a TD to end the 1H and 46 yds in 6 plays for a TD to open the 3Q. They held UCLA to just 83 yds in the 2H in their 29-19 home win...

Dennis Erickson returned to Reser Stadium vs his old Oregon St team and was shutout, 38-0. Some in the crowd gave Erickson a standing ovation as he ran on to the field, while others booed...

Washington St DE Mkristo Bruce had a school record 5 sacks for the Cougars who won for the fourth straight time at Stanford. Even though it was just the 2nd game in the newly renovated stadium, the actual crowd was much smaller than the 37,498 who bought tickets. WSU had 28-11 FD and 468-195 yd edges. In the 1Q WSU had 34 plays for 181 yds and Stanford had 3 plays for 2 yards all inside its own 5 yd line yet WSU only led 2-0...

Florida Int’l had a big swing to stay in the game vs Maryland as they got an int in the EZ and 2 plays later a short pass was caught by TE Smith and he broke 2 tackles and raced 87 yds for a tying score. FIU trailed just 14-10 but was int’d at the Maryland 3 yd line on the final play of the game. That int came one play after a Hail Mary was answered with a catch at the 9 yd line with :01 left and FIU’s 4 losses this year have been by a combined 11 points...

Mississippi St delivered another outright upset winner by a double digit dog. They had a 19-14 FD edge and won it 16-10 in OT beating UAB...

SMU scored more than 40 points for the 2nd straight week for the first time since 1982. They showed great balance on offense with 226 yards rushing and 231 passing in the 55-9 route of defending SBC champ Arkansas St...USC extended its Pac 10 record win streak to 24 games and also set a Pac 10 record with its 12th straight conf road win. Dwayne Jarrett got his 32nd career TD catching tying a Pac 10 record and while USC had a 22-8 FD edge, the game was not completely in hand until a 9 yd TD run with 3:11 left put them up by 17. Arizona did have just 52 yards at the half....

South Carolina’s Sidney Rice caught a school record 5 TD passes. Steve Spurrier, with his team coming off 4 poor offensive performances, piled up 492 yds including 423 in the first 3Q’s vs an overmatched Florida Atlantic team. Blake Mitchell returned from suspension but Syvelle Newton got the bulk of the action at QB hitting 13 of 20 for 216 while Mitchell was just 5 of 11 for 75 yds...

Oklahoma St has a large amount of alumni in the Houston area so it was no surprise that UH’s home crowd of 28,260 was the 3rd largest in Robertson Stadium history. UH had a 27-17 FD edge and QB Kevin Kolb threw for 313 yds despite the 4Q being played in a heavy rain. OSU QB Bobby Reid threw for 281 in a 34-25 UH win...

Texas Tech QB Graham Harrell threw for 245 yards and 4 TD’s in the 1H vs SEL as TT scored on 6 of its first 7 poss and led 42-0. Mike Leach was infuriated after what he called “the sorriest offensive effort” he’d ever seen as TT had fallen out of the Top 25 after they lost to TCU...

North Dakota St was ranked #14 in Div IAA ball but Ball St still appeared on its way to a win leading 24-16 after 3Q’s. NDSt got 29 & 24 yd FG’s and then a 39 yd TD pass with 1:25 left to pull out the upset. NDSt did have 22-13 FD and 535-399 yd edges...

Rutgers almost got their 2nd straight shutout but Howard ret’d a fumble 70 yds for a TD mid-4Q trailing 56-0. Our Power Ratings did have RU a 46 pt fav heading into the game and Howard has now lost 7 straight games...

Indiana St has a 21 game losing streak but did give Purdue a game and came into the N Illinois game avg’ing 448.7 ypg and 32 ppg. NI held them to 264 yards and 14 points. RB Garrett Wolfe rushed for 198 yards, playing just 1 series into the 4Q...

Rudy Carpenter won Arizona St’s starting QB job in August and hit just 16 of 36 for 177 yds with 4 int vs a tough Cal defense and also had a key fumble. Last year he had just 2 int in 228 att’s but already has 8 this season. ASU was without its top WR Rudy Burgess who did not make the trip (neck inj)...

Navy was one of 2 Div IA teams that had not played in an OT game but Tulsa got a 29 yd FG in the 4Q to force OT and then won it when Navy’s xp was blk’d...

Colorado completely outplayed Georgia with a 243-51 yd edge at the half but only led 10-0 and 13-0 after 3Q’s. UGA frosh sensation QB Matthew Stafford (PS#2) was benched after hitting 8 of 16 for 76 yds and Joe Cox hit 10 of 13 for 154 and his 20 yd TD pass with :46 left all’d UGA to escape an underrated CU team. CU had a 26 yd FG blk’d in the 1H and a TD pass called back on a false start or they would have led by more...

N Carolina started frosh QB Cam Sexton against Clemson and Sexton is the same QB who slid a yd short of the FD rather than take a hit vs Virg Tech. UNC totalled just 3 FD’s in the 1H and Sexton finished 7 of 22 for 96 yds in the 52-7 CU rout.

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Momentum Lost

Texas appeared on its way to another rout as a 4? Key Selection on these pages. They led 37-14 mid-3Q and it was seemingly only a matter of time until they got ahead ATS. Unfortunately, the game was suspended for severe weather and lightning for over an hour. Only a few thousand of the 88,972 fans returned for the end of the game. They went with a continuous running clock in the 2H and UT, just trying to keep players healthy after the long delay, did not attempt a pass.

Misleading Finals, Frontdoor and Backdoor Covers

It was a double frontdoor cover in the Nevada/Northwestern game for backers of the Over and Nevada. Nevada took advantage of five NW turnovers in this game and in the 1H had a pair of 5 yard scoring drives result in a TD and FG. When NW drove 94 yds in 11 plays for a TD with 13:49 left, it appeared the Wildcats would cover and the game go Under. Nevada had a 4th & 20 pass fall incomplete at the NW 30 and the Cats punted with 7:58 left. Nevada, trying to run clock, went on an 11 play drive punting with just 2:33 left. NW got the ball at their 17 and a deep pass was nearly int’d by a Nevada player who was falling down and had he snagged that int, they would have run out the clock at midfield with a 24-21 final. On the next play, Kafka threw an out pattern that was int’d and ret’d 23 yds for a TD giving Nevada the cover with 2:14 left and pushing the game Over...

Missouri has won all of its non-conf games for just the 5th time since 1925. Missouri led just 14-6 at the half over Ohio and it would have been closer except they blk’d a FG and an xp. The Tigers only led 24-6 but got a 2 yd TD run with 3:13 left to give them the frontdoor cover, although they did finish with a 425-188 yd edge...

W Michigan only had a 15-12 FD edge vs Temple and 294-149 yd edge but still covered the 30 pt spread as they blk’d a Temple 38 yd FG and returned it for a TD on the final play of the 1H helping them cover the spread...

Illinois started frosh Isiah “Juice” Williams and he hit just 9 of 32 for 161 yds and 3 int. The game was scoreless when Iowa started at the Illini 31 after a 13 yd punt with 7:37 left in the half. They drove 6 plays for a TD then got a 54 yd, 7 play drive for a TD and after an int added a 35 yd TD pass on the next play to stunningly lead 21-0 at the half. They appeared on their way to the cover but Illinois, trailing 24-0, put together a 70 yd, 4 play drive. Then Williams, who started out 2 of 20 passing, hit a 39 yarder to Willis foll’d by a 31 yd TD pass to Willis giving Illinois the backdoor cover.

Injuries of Note

WR Calvin Johnson for GT (perhaps the top WR in the NCAA) was very questionable coming into the Virginia game and was not much of a factor early but when they finally decided he was healthy enough, he corralled 66 and 58 yd TD passes and finished with a career high 165 yds receiving vs UVA in the 24-7 Thursday night win. UVA had just 166 yds offense...

John Beck DNP and Jason Beck (no relation) threw for 305 yards as BYU blasted instate rival Utah St.

It was Utah St’s 3rd straight shutout loss and the Aggies have not scored a point on offense in any of their 4 games. The Aggies did have 442 yds offense with RB Cross rushing for 127 but they had a 33 yd FG blk’d and after getting to the BYU 12 and having a personal foul force a FG, could not get the snap off..

Much has been made of the fact that Wake Forest has lost its starting QB, Ben Mauk, top RB Micah Andrews and starting LT. They ran the ball on 53 of 58 plays vs Ole Miss in a 27-3 road win putting the Deacons to 4-0 on the year and practically clinching a bowl game (same kiss of death we gave Vanderbilt last year). Twelve different players had a rush attempts for Wake and QB Riley Skinner only had 1 rush attempt and 5 passes...

Tulane lost starting QB Lester Ricard in the 1H to injury vs LSU and he is questionable for this week’s return to the Superdome. Backup QB Scott Elliott hit just 4 of 13 passes for 48 yards. Tulane has not beaten LSU since 1982 and lost 49-7...

Indiana was without star WR Hardy (susp) and QB Powers was still not 100% and threw for just 128 yds. Also HC Hoeppner had to watch from the coaches box. In the 1H IU managed just 42 yds but did finish with a 10-9 FD edge in a game that was even more than a defensive struggle than the 14-7 score would indicate. Connecticut got a 39 yd IR TD and IU an 87 yd KR TD for 2 of the game’s 3 TD’s...

Kansas was without starting QB Kerry Meier but Adam Barmann, who has had 11 career starts under his belt, hit 25 of 35 for 273 yds. The game could have been a bigger route as KU had got an apparent TD pass early 2Q but as Henry was going into the EZ, he fmbl’d and USF rec’d for a TD. KU also fmbl’d at the USF 31 and later had a TD brought back on a holding call and they settled for a 37 yd FG. KU also fmbl’d into the EZ but USF fell on it for a TB in KU’s 13-7 win...

Tennessee DNP starting TB Arian Foster but LaMarcus Coker (PS#18) rushed for 146 yds on 8 carries. It was also the first time in 41 years that the UT band did not form a giant “T” on the field for the team to run through before the game due to a 1 hour weather delay prior to start...

CM’s top-notch QB Dan LeFevour left with a back injury and 3 CM QB’s played in his place. C Michigan and E Michigan played their 3rd straight OT game. EM did get a 70 yd drive for a 3 yd TD pass with :13 left to force OT after CM had gone up 17-10 on a TD with 1:44 left. CM got the cover in OT.

Turnovers Impact Totals

Much like turnovers have an impact on who wins the football game, TO’s can also determine whether a Totals play wins. Turnovers that result in Overs are those where the D scores points or gets TO’s deep in the opponents terr. Turnovers that cause Unders are when teams are stopped in the redzone and do not score. Here are a couple of examples: West Virginia/East Carolina had 6 turnovers and almost all of them took points off the board. With the game 14-7 early 2Q, WV went on a 13 play drive but on 3rd & goal from the 2 was int’d in the EZ. On their next drive, WV, from midfield, was int’d in the EZ again. On 4th & inches WV opted for a 26 yd FG. EC went on a 9 play drive but fmbl’d at the WV 12 yd line. WV, on its next drive was int’d at the EC 33. WV settled for a 29 yd FG from the 11. EC dropped a TD pass after a 14 play drive and settled for a 27 yd FG. At the end of the game, EC’s 4th down pass fell incomplete from the WV 14 and after a 1st & goal at the 4 they were int’d in the EZ. That made up 9 drives that got inside the opponents 35 yd line and resulted in a grand total of 9 points...

The Utah/San Diego St game was a defensive struggle as expected and the Aztecs were held to 287 yds offense, 15 FD’s and just 7 points. SDSt turned the ball over 5 times with many setting up Utah scores and two directly resulted in 14 points. Eric Weddle, the 2005 MWC Def POY, had not one but two 30 yd IR TD’s with the 2nd coming midway thru the 4Q putting the game Over the Total, 38-7.

Miracle Comebacks

Perhaps it was the heavy rain and wind in the 2H, but Mich St was dominating in the 1H and it appeared ND would be on its way to a 2nd straight embarrassing loss. MSU led 37-21 heading into the 4Q but Spartans mistakes allowed ND back in it. They had 3 penalties negating FD’s on an early 4Q drive and ND, on 4th & 5 got a 43 yd TD pass to get back in the game, 37-27. MSU fmbl’d on its own 19 and the Irish got another TD to pull within 4 and then ND added a 27 yd IR for a TD with 2:53 left to take its first lead of the game. MSU got to the ND 44 but a deflected pass bounced off 3 players and turned out to be an int and ND got the miracle comeback win...

NC State trailed Boston College 15-10 and BC went for it on 4th & 2 at the NCSt 22 with just :26 left but was SOD. NCSt got 2 FD’s to the 44 and then a Hail Mary prayer was answered with a 34 yd TD pass with :08 left. The NCSt TD was thrown by Daniel Evans and his 179 yds in his first start was more yds passing than Marcus Stone who started 6 games and topped 179 yds passing once last year and in 3 starts this year, topped 179 only one more time...

While Ohio St’s really wasn’t a “comeback” as they led 14-6 in the 4Q, it was a frontdoor cover, the mere nature of the Bucks 11th straight cover was much like the week prior. Versus Cincinnati they scored 17 pts in the 4Q including a 52 yd FG with 1:30 left to pull out the cover by a 1/2 point. Against Penn St, OSU appeared to have no chance at covering as they led 14-3. PSU settled for a 23 yd FG after a false start penalty on 4th down and & from the footline forced a 4th & 6 with 7:30 left to make it 14-7. The Bucks punted with 6:12 left and PSU drove to midfield with a chance to tie when Jenkins int’d a pass and ret’d it 61 yds for a TD with 2:31 left. Still, OSU had no chance at covering as PSU got 2 FD’s to midfield again. With 1:07 left, OSU got a 55 yd IR TD by A. Smith to kept its spread streak alive.