Auburn had an amazing 3Q vs SCar going on an 85 yd, 17 play drive for a 25 yd FG, rec’ing the onside kick & going on a 52 yd, 13 play drive for a TD & SC did not run a single play in the 3Q. Auburn was fortunate to escape with the win as SC finished with a 24-16 FD edge & was int’d in the EZ in the 1Q, fmbl’d at the AUB 13 in the 2Q & at the end of the game, from the 5 had a 4th & 1 pass fall incomplete (which could have tied it)...

Rutgers came in ranked for the first time in 30 years but narrowly escaped with a win at USF. USF led 14-10 at the half with a 195-150 yd edge but turned it over 3 times, had a 17 yd punt & missed a 40 yd FG & RU led 22-14 with 7:08 left. USF got a TD with :15 left but the 2 pt conversion failed...

TCU had the nations longest win streak snapped by BYU on Thurs night. BYU even led 31-10 before TCU went 83 yds in 13 plays for a garbage TD with just 1:55 left...

Showing how misleading early season stats can be, Connecticut came in with the NCAA’s 10th ranked defense due to a soft early schedule. Navy, thanks to big plays, piled up 605 yds offense in a dominating 41-17 win...

Tennessee had 25-4 FD & 559-82 yd edges before Memphis rec’d a fmbl at the UT 21 trailing 41-0 & got a TD on the next play....

Kent St continues to look like the class of the MAC. They dominated Akron even more than the score would indicate as in the 1H they had a 313-123 yd edge. The Flashes fmbl’d at the Akron 5 later on & after a 4th & goal at the footline, they had a false start pen force them to try a 22 yd FG which was blk’d (2 blown TD opportunities) but they still led 23-7 at the half & coasted in a 37-15 rout...

Indiana was playing with a lot of emotion as Coach Hoeppner returned to the sidelines after missing 2 weeks following his 2nd brain surgery. The emotion quickly faded & Wisconsin simply pounded them, even dominating more than the 52-17 final indicated. They had a 390-127 yd edge at the half & led 52-0 after 3Q’s with Indy returning a fmbl’d KO 15 yds for a TD & getting 94 of their yds on a drive for a garbage TD with 3:25 left...

We projected Boise St to go to the Orange Bowl at the start of the year & they now have a clear cut path as they should be at least a double digit favorite in the remainder of their games. Boise throttled Utah with a 285-112 yd edge at the half & Utah’s QB’s combined to hit just 8 of 27 passes with 4 int in Boise’s rout on the road...

Purdue WR Selwyn Lymon had 8 catches for 238 yards, the most ever vs an Irish defense but Brady Quinn finished his ND career with 1,497 total yards offense vs Purdue, the 2nd most ever (Timmy Chang 1,719 vs Rice). PU did miss a 44 yd FG, gave up a fake FG for a TD, was SOD at the ND 10 & 47 but got an 87 yd, 10 play drive for a TD with 7:16 left for the backdoor cover...

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Dirk Koetter in the summer gave the starting QB job to Sam Keller but then changed his mind, giving it to Rudy Carpenter. Keller transferred to Nebraska & Carpenter, who actually led the nation in pass eff last year, has really struggled. He came in leading the NCAA in int heading into the game & hit just 6 of 19 for 33 yds with an int in the EZ vs Oregon in a game the Ducks dominated with a 574-175 yd edge in a feeble performance for the Sun Devils & their worst home loss since 1994...

For the 2nd straight year Middle Tennessee dominated N Texas but this time came out on top of the scoreboard. NT had 31 yds offense in the 1H & crossed midfield once in MTSt’s 35-0 win...

Georgia’s frosh QB’s continue to struggle & the Bulldogs had just 66 yds offense in the 1H vs Ole Miss. This time it was Stafford that came off the bench, replacing Cox leading the team to a pair of TD’s in the 2H. The 2 had combined to hit 5 of 15 for 30 yds in the 1H. Joe Tereshinski should return to the lineup this week after missing 3 games with a sprained ankle & will likely start vs the Vols...

Frosh Javarris James (PS#23) set a Miami frosh record by rushing for 148 yds vs Houston eclipsing Clinton Portis’ mark of 147. UM also moved LB James Bryant (PS#7) to H-back & he caught a TD pass. UM outgained Houston 420-276 but narrowly escaped with a 14-13 win...

Georgia Tech delivered as a 2? Selection in Power Sweep LW with their upset of VTech & it was even more dominating than the final score indicated. GT led 38?13 after 3Q’s with VT getting two 4Q TD’s to make the final respectable. Believe it or not, GT, despite playing in the same Coastal Div as Virginia Tech & Miami, is the division’s only unbeaten team!...

The matchup of Joe Paterno & Pat Fitzgerald was actually a meeting of the oldest & youngest coaches in IA ball & the outcome tilted towards experience. Penn St had 25-12 FD & 528-238 yd edges & rolled to a 33-7 win which was the score after 3Q’s as well. Northwestern did give rFr Andrew Brewer the start as Mike Kafka was injured. Interestingly, the spread had moved up to 19’ & PSU did not get ahead of the spread until a TD with :15 left in the 3Q. Northwestern’s last two threats were a 12 play drive that was SOD at the PSU 38 & a 7 play drive that was SOD at the PSU 41...

Of the 13 preseason magazines & websites monitored by preseason.stassen.com, ten had Washington pegged for the basement of the Pac 10 with 1 calling them to finish 9th & another 8th. The only one predicting them higher was Phil Steele’s College Football Preview which had them tied for 7th. The Huskies have opened up 2-0 in conf play & will clearly not finish in the cellar this year & knocked off Arizona on the road...

Nevada only had a 311-227 yd edge but had a 4-0 TO margin & frosh RB Brandon Fragger rushed for 146 yds in their 31-3 win...

UCLA had a 389-166 yd edge in the 1H but led just 7-0. They did get a TD with 5:11 left & ret’d a fmbl 5 yds for a TD, both in the final 6:00 in their 31-0 win...

Colorado St delivered a Big Dog POW outright upset winner over Fresno St. Fresno even blk’d a punt & ret’d it 15 yds for a TD with 6:00 left in a 35-23 CSU win...

Nebraska led KU 17-0 after the 1Q but KU piled up 574 yds offense & nearly knocked off NU for the 2nd straight time after having lost 35 straight years to NU. The Huskers prevailed in OT, 39-32...

It appeared Texas A&M had beaten Texas Tech when they got an int at midfield with 2:00 left but it was overturned by the replay officials & Tech got a 37 yd TD pass with :26 left to knock off the Aggies on the road. Graham Harrell hit 32 of 45 for 392 yds. A&M lost despite a 250-41 rushing edge...

We used a 4? College Totals Club Play on New Mexico St & UTEP to go Over the total. NMSt had a 573-537 yd edge for 1,110 combined yds. It was 31-20 at the half in the Battle of I10. UTEP had not scored in the 1Q in their first 3 games but put up 17 here. NMSt QB Chase Holbrook established Sun Bowl records with 73 pass att’s & 506 yds...

USC extended its school record for consecutive road wins to 18 but for the 2nd week struggled. This time the Trojans did lead 28-15 in the 4Q but WSU got a TD with 4:18 left & got to the USC 28 where they spiked the ball with :03 left before throwing an int. WSU finished with a 418-404 yd edge...

N Iowa played in the Div IAA Title Game in 2005 & came in ranked #13. They gave Iowa St a scare as the Cyclones needed a 16 yd TD pass with 1:05 left to take a 28-27 lead & then needed NI to miss a 51 yd FG wide right with :06 left. NI had led 21-7 at the half...

Baylor had lost all 5 previous meetings vs Kansas St by at least 28 points & had just 2 offensive TD’s in those meetings. KSt put up 55 passes vs them but completed just 22 for 296 yds & 12 FD’s in Baylor’s 17-3 home win...

Louisiana-Lft jumped out to a 30-0 lead after 3Q’s & 33-0 before E Mich got a pair of garbage TD’s in the 4Q’s...

Rice is switching from an option to a pass offense. The previous two weeks they faced highly ranked teams on the road coming off a loss & were without their passing QB Chase Clement, instead using an option QB from LY. Clement returned to the lineup vs Army & Rice was very emotional playing a day before the funeral of Dale Lloyd, a 19 year old DB who tragically died on Monday. Clement threw for 299 yds & a school record 5 TD passes & beat an Army team that had been a double digit underdog the previous 2 weeks & now was a DD favorite...

Oregon St K Alexis Serna tied a school record with a 58 yd FG vs California. That was about the only bright spot for the Beavers in a 41-13 home loss...

Wake Forest is the ACC’s only unbeaten in the Atlantic Div & a surprising 5-0 despite losing their QB, RB & LT to injury this year. Riley Skinner threw for 218 yds for overmatched Liberty...

JaMarcus Russell tied a school record with 14 consecutive completions vs Miss St & threw for a career high 330 yds. LSU led 35-0 in the 2Q but in a game similar to Texas’ LW, the teams went through a 52:00 delay & Miss St rallied to pull within 42-17 in the 4Q. LSU actually got a 1 yd TD run with 1:29 left to win by 31 but still could not get the frontdoor cover.

Injuries of Note
San Diego St lost their starting QB in the first game of the season. Darren Mougey played well in his place but Mougey separated his right shoulder in the middle of the 3Q after hitting 7 of 9 passes. The Aztecs trailed 14-10 at the time & were noncompetitive after the play in which SJSt’s Justin Cole was called for roughing the passer. Kevin Craft hit 3 of 7 for 7 yds with 1 int in his place...

Rafael Little returned to the lineup for Kentucky & had 70 yds rushing & 23 rec in their win over C Michigan. UK led 28-0 but being in the unusual role of leading big, did allow CM to throw for 411 yds in UK’s 9 point win...

Miami OH was without QB Mike Kokal & Daniel Raudabaugh (1st start) hit 18 of 38 for 169 yds. UM did get another PR return TD by Ryne Robinson, the 7th of his career & he is one short of an NCAA record. An int & 24 yd return set up the Bearcats for a 20 yd TD pass early 4Q to get ahead of the spread & they covered 24-10 despite QB Grutza hitting just 5 of 11 for 43 yds.

OHIO ST & MICHIGAN - #1 & #2 IN SEASON FINALE?
The Ohio St Buckeyes, with just 2 returning starters on defense, had to play both Texas & Iowa on the road to start the year but simply defeated those two opponents by 17 & 21 points & will easily be 11-0 when they host Michigan in the season finale. In arguably the greatest rivalry in college football, it could be one of the biggest game ever as the Wolverines also look like one of the most talented teams in the country & with Michigan St turning into a headcase team & falling by the wayside, these two could very well be 11-0 when they meet in Columbus, OH for the finale setting up a titanic battle where the winner moves on to the National Title game. OSU did only have a 198-191 yd edge at the half vs Iowa but facing its first top-notch veteran QB all year, forced Drew Tate into 3 TO’s & finished with a 4-0 TO edge in their 21 point win. Michigan survived having a 1st & goal at the 4 & settling for a 22 yd FG & then missing the chipshot & later allowed Minnesota to recover an onside kick but still won & covered in impressive fashion, 28-14.

HEISMAN WATCH
Garrett Wolfe had a career high 353 yds rushing vs Ball St & already has 1,181 yards in just 5 games. Keep in mind Wolfe rushed for 171 vs Ohio St which at the time appeared to be vs a young D but the Buckeyes D has proven much stronger & that has been the high vs the #1 team in the country for an opposing RB. NI had 610 yds offense thanks to Wolfe’s rushing.

MISLEADING FINALS, FRONTDOOR & BACKDOOR COVERS
Virginia clubbed Duke 37-0 but it was a bit misleading as at the half they led 24-0 but had just a 5-3 FD edge. For the game the Cavs had just 253 yds & Duke gained 42 of their 100 total yards in the 4Q. The Cavs benefitted from 5 TO’s, a blk’d punt & Duke was SOD at their own 29 during the game...

Idaho appears to have waxed Utah St by 20 pts but a closer look shows the Vandels with just a 306-305 yd edge. Most teams cannot survive one 14 point turnaround but USt suffered 2 of them. Leading 14-10, they had a 1st & goal at the 10 threatening to move ahead by double digits but was not only int’d but ret’d 94 yds for a TD with just 1:26 left in the half & trailed 17-14. Later, USt was down at the Idaho 18 with a FD but their QB Nelson was hit & fmbl’d & it was scooped up & ret’d 82 yds for a TD. Thanks to the two 14 points swings, Idaho cruised to a 20 point win...

The line on the Florida/Alabama game went from 13 or 13’ during the week up to 16 at one point on Thursday then back down to 15. That line move would be huge as it finished at 15. The Gators were lucky to win the game. Bama, trailing by 1, fmbl’d at their own 34 & UF got a TD with 6:47 left to go up by 1 score. The Tide was driving again & at midfield threatening to tie when in Ohio St-like form, UF got a 70 yd IR for a TD with 4:19 left for the frontdoor push. Bama fmbl’d again on their final drive & the Gators almost got the frontdoor cover as they rec’d at the Tide 5 but 2 runs by Tebow netted 1 yd & he fmbl’d at the Tide 1 on the last play of the game...

While Colorado covered the game vs Missouri, it was much closer than the final would indicate. CU outgained Missouri 373-353 in fact but the key was the redzone opportunities. In the 1H CU got to the MO 14 & settled for a FG & the MO 4 yd line but was SOD. They also got to the MO 19 & 14 yd lines but settled for FG’s & was also SOD at the Missouri 4. In the first 18:00 of the game, CU had 3 drives inside the MO 19 but they resulted in 2 FG’s & an SOD. MO only had 2 drives into CU’s redzone but had 2 TD’s to show for it & led 14-6. A bad snap on a punt with just 2:07 left in the half gave MO the ball at the CU 14 & the Tigers got a TD with :11 left in the half for a 21-6 lead. In the 2H CU was SOD at the MO 36 & 19 yd lines.

BUBBLE BURST THEORY -
Many times when a team loses a game it thought it had won or loses their first game of the season, their bubble bursts & let it effect their entire season. Mich St, last year lost 2 close games & ended up with a losing season. This year, after a crushing loss to ND, MSU went on a 62 yd 10 play drive to open vs IL but fmbl’d at the 2 & then settled for a 31 yd FG & led just 3-0 after 1Q. The Illini got a 69 yd pass for a TD & would lead 10-3 at the half & 20-10 after 3Qs. MSU, down by 3, had a 3rd & 1 at the UI 7, but lost 2 yds & settled for a FG with 2:41 left to tie but UI went 10 plays & 58 yds for a 39 yd FG & the win & the stunning upset.