Editor's Note: Phil Steele of Northcoast Sports continues to crush the books in college football, posting a 12-2 run the past two weeks and improving his overall record to 22-7 (76%) on the season. Dime players are up $14,300 after the first four weeks and he's not slowing down either. Click to win!
Week 5
Colorado was dominant vs Miami with 644-139 yd and 33-6 FD edges. They even ended the game getting a FD at the Miami 5 and taking a knee...
Illinois RB Rashard Mendenhall rushed for a career high 214 yards and Indy, which came in with the #7 rush offense in the NCAA, was held to 134 yards rushing by the tough Illini D. IL led 27-7 with Indy gaining 155 of their yards on their last 3 drives...
E Michigan was not as impressive as the 38-15 final indicates. In fact, at the half, IAA Howard had a 225-137 yd edge. EM rec'd a squib KO to open at the EM 19 setting up a TD, Howard fmbl'd at the EM 12, was int'd in the EZ from the 8 and int'd at the EM 3 and trailed 17-0 at the half. A muffed punt set up a 1 play EM TD and after Howard had pulled within 31-15 EM went on a 69/11pl drive and on 4th & goal got a 10 yd TD pass with :35 left. Howard had 28-14 FD and 434-329 yd edges...
TCU had another lackluster showing with just 13 FD's vs SMU and 250 total yards. A blk'd punt and IR gave them 2 of their 3 TD's in their non-covering 21-7 win. SMU also was 0-3 on 4th downs inside the TCU 25...
If you look at the final, Oregon appears to have easily won 55-31 over Stanford. Shockingly Stanford got a TD pass with :48 left in the half that put them ahead 31-21. The Ducks got a FG with :04 left giving them some momentum in the lockerroom and absolutely destroyed the Cardinals in the 2H outscoring them 31-0...
Tulane's Matt Forté set a CUSA school record with 303 yards rushing and a school record 5 rushing TD's vs IAA SE Louisiana. Houston's Joffrey Reynolds had held the CUSA record with 300 yards...
Alabama trailed Georgia by 10 points but rallied for a 22 yd FG and a 6 yd TD run. UGA missed a game winning 48 yd FG on the last play but won it in OT...
New Mexico lost LY's opener to a IAA Big Sky team but left no doubt as they rolled Sacramento St 58-0. New Mexico had a 29-6 FD edge...
Marshall is off to its worst start since 1969 when it lost its first six as they dropped to 0-4...
Duke, one week after breaking their losing streak, led Navy 36-25 at the half and 43-32 in the 4Q. Navy rallied with a TD with 3:49 left to tie it and a 44 yd FG on the game's final play to give them the win. We had a 4H Totals Play on the Over and the game was Over the Total with 1:07 left in the FIRST HALF as the two teams combined for 61 points in the 1H and 4:10 into the 3Q they'd combined for 75 points...
BYU dominated Air Force with a 452-231 yd edge...
Ohio St jumped out to a 28-0 lead vs Northwestern midway through the 1Q with TD drives of 64, 36 (after 18 yd punt), 31 (after 22 yd punt) and a fumble for a TD. It was 45-0 at the half which is the most points they have scored in the opening 2Q's since 1996...
Florida was in a large letdown spot coming off Tennessee and has both Auburn and LSU on deck. Ole Miss plays it best game of the year in their conf home opener under Orgeron, now moving to 3-0 ATS vs ranked teams. UF led 27-9 in the 3Q but UM had a shot at the win as they trailed just 27-24 and had the ball at midfield but were int'd at the UF 39. The Gators went on a 12 play drive for a 25 yd FG with 4:54 left and UM's last shot came on an 8 yd gain on a fake punt to their own 41 with 2:50 left...
Clemson had a dominating 42-20 win with 608 yards offense. At one point they had a 220-1 yd edge but only led 14-7 thanks to a 99 yard KR TD for NCSt. NCSt was held to 202 total yards...
Notre Dame lost its first 4 games for the first time in their 119 year school history but did score its first offensive TD of the season in the 1Q when they took a 7-0 lead...
We have watched each of Houston's games so far this year and clearly their most productive QB is Case Keenum. Surprisingly, Keenum did not start vs Colorado St but came off the bench with the Cougars trailing 14-3 in the 2Q and rallied them to 35 points in the 2H and a 38-27 win...
Texas Tech suffered a tough loss when their star WR Michael Crabtree, who had 14 rec for 237 yds had a 4th down pass bounce off his chest in the EZ and Okla St held on for the 49-45 win.
SCORE THAT MAKES YOU GO HMMMMM
Perhaps more of an upset than App St over Michigan was a Syracuse team that got their first FD vs Iowa mid-3Q and their first FD vs Illinois mid-2Q. They scored on a 79 yd TD pass early vs Louisville and piled up 465 yards offense leading the game 38-21 before the Cards got 2 TD's in the final 5:00. SU rec'd the onside kick and pulled out this week's most shocking victory.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL IS 60 MINUTES
We imagine a lot of folks put a big "L" on Arizona St if they were following scores as the Sun Devils trailed Oregon St 19-0 after the 1Q and were outgained 153-6. Arizona St not only rallied to take a 44-26 lead but got the frontdoor cover with seventeen 4Q points. OSU came close to getting the backdoor cover after scoring a TD to pull within 12 but they went for 2 and failed. The Sun Devils hung on for the ATS win...
Louisiana-Lft appeared on its way to an upset scoring a pair of TD's in the first 5:00 vs Troy to roll to a 14-0 lead and they led 17-14 after 1Q. Troy controlled the rest of the game and rolled to a 48-31 spread covering win...
N Texas had a stunning 17-3 2Q lead but Florida Atl rallied for a 30-20 win with 2 of their TD's set up by blk'd punts. NT had gone 33 straight games without having a punt blk'd but that was under former Coach Dickey.
KEY PLAYS
Perhaps the biggest momentum changing play of the season happened in the Maryland/Wake Forest game. MD was in complete control up 24-3 late 3Q and after a 54 yd run by Heyward-Bey and had a 1st & goal at the 3 poised to make it 31-3. Their easy win stunningly changed when a 3rd & goal pass was not only int'd but ret'd 100 yds for a TD to make it 24-10 after 3Q's. WF got a TD with 7:55 left but was int'd with 3:05 left. MD punted with just 1:51 left and WF drove 80/8pl and on 4th & goal at the 6 got a TD with :03 left to force OT and won it there...
Two special teams plays keyed Toledo's win as our Underdog Play of the Week in Power Sweep. They got an 82 yd KR TD with 5:08 left and with Iowa St punting from its own EZ, they fumbled the punt and Toledo rec'd for a TD with 3:22 left and held on for the outright upset...
For the 3rd straight week, Wisconsin struggled to extend the nation's longest active win streak, this time to 13 games. They entered the 3Q trailing 10-7 vs Iowa but rallied for a 17-13 lead. A key play of the game came on Iowa's last chance as they had a 4th & 8 pass in which WR Paul Chaney got behind the D and it would have been 7 points but he stumbled and the ball just sailed past his outstretched arms and UW escaped in a home night game...
A key play in the S Carolina/LSU game came with LSU leading 14-7 and 1:10 left 1H. LSU lined up for a 32 yd FG but they faked it and the holder pitched the ball over his shoulder to the K, David, who caught it in stride and ran 22 yards for a TD. Another key play came late in the game when SC got a 1 yd TD run on 3rd & goal with 1:41 left to give them the backdoor cover...
Ohio was in complete control vs Wyoming leading 20-6 at the half with a 210-127 yd edge and increased it to 23-6 on their first drive of the 3Q. OU got a 30 yd IR TD at the start of the 4Q to lead 30-20 but WY battled back and got a TD with 2:02 left to take the lead for the first time since the 1Q and OU suffered a tough loss at home.
STREAKS
As we mentioned after Michigan's loss to Oregon, they still had a shot to win the Big Ten if they gave an impressive performance vs Penn St. PSU came in ranked #10 but UM had a 336-270 yd edge with Mike Hart carrying 44 times for 153 yards. PSU lost for their 9th straight time to Michigan...
Georgia Tech lost for its 8th straight time in Scott Stadium. The last time they won was in 1990 when they upset #1 Virginia and the Cavs evidently have not forgotten. UVA led 21-7 in the 2Q but needed a muffed punt to set up their game winning TD with 8:56 left. GT's last 2 drives were SOD at the UVA 30 and GT's 25.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A WEEK MAKES
Utah made our Section "Scores that make you go HMMM" last week as after two devastating losses, they rallied to not only win vs UCLA, but beat them 44-6. Just one week later, Utah was favored to beat UNLV but suffered their first shutout loss since 1993 as UNLV rolled to a 27-0 win. Utah's QB Brian Johnson did not play the 1H but returned from an injury in the 2H hitting 12 of 19 for 78 yards. Utah was 1-5 on 4th down attempts and lost 3 fumbles.
TEAMS THAT CONTROLLED THE GAME BUT LOST
Hard to believe it, but Ball St completely outplayed Nebraska for most of the game. They led 37-28 with 10:01 left and had the ball and the Huskers had not come close to stopping them when they were int'd & ret'd 34 yds for a TD with 9:21 left. Ball St drove 65 yds and had a 1st & goal at the 6 but settled for a 22 yd FG to leave NU in the game with 7:05 left. The Huskers got a TD with 3:13 left and BSU missed a 55 yd FG with :12 left and despite outplaying NU, lost by 1, 41-40 as a 23 point dog...
Kent St had a 186-57 yd edge in the 1H vs Akron but were SOD at the UA 37, faked a 27 yd FG and was SOD and punted from the 34 where the P did a horrible job booting it straight through the EZ. Akron punted with 1:53 left in the half but KSU fmbl'd and UA drove 34/3pl for a TD and was tied at 7. KSU had a 17-7 3Q lead but UA tied it then KSU was int'd & ret'd to the 2 setting up a Zip TD. Trailing by 7, KSU's final 2 poss ended on a fmbl at the UA 29 on FD and after getting to the UA 25 they were int'd in the EZ.
INJURIES OF NOTE
Middle Tennessee was w/o starting QB Craddock due to injury and in Dwight Dasher's first start he hit 14-24 for 169 yards...
UCLA QB Ben Olson did not start and backup Patrick Cowan who had been hobbled with injury, left the game with an inj in the 4Q. Third string QB McLeod Bethal-Thompson took over but did not throw any passes in the 4Q. Two key plays helped UCLA to the win as a 60 yd IR TD in the 3Q broke open a close game and after Washington pulled within 7 in the 4Q, an 85 yd KR TD gave the Bruins breathing room. One week after being embarrassed at Utah, UCLA had a 537-340 yd edge despite not having a 100% healthy starting QB...
Miss St was w/o starting QB Henig who has a broken hand. Josh Riddell and true frosh Wesley Carroll split time vs IAA Gardner-Webb...
Heisman candidate Colt Brennan did not play for Hawaii. Tyler Graunke hit 22-36 for 285 in his place and UH whipped and overmatched Charleston Southern 66-10. Surprisingly the game was just 21-10 at the half and Brennan spent most of the week on crutches...
With starter Bill Stull still inj'd for Pitt, Kevan Smith struggled hitting just 3-9 for 29 yards and Connecticut took a 27-7 lead after 1H. True frosh Pat Bostick came off the bench to hit 27-41 for 230 yards but threw 3 int's including one that was ret'd 51 yds for a TD. the crowd was announced at 40,145 but the turnout appeared to be about 1/2 that.
MISLEADING FINALS, FRONTDOOR AND BACKDOOR COVERS
While we had an easy Thursday Night ESPN winner with Miami, Fl, a game they led 31-0 people who played Under 45' got a tough loss. At the end of the 1H the score was just 14-0 but A&M fmbl'd on its own 12 with :33 left setting up a TD on the next play. A&M then fmbl'd the KO on its own 39 and UM got a 45 yd FG for ten gift points on TO's. At the end of the game, it was 31-3 when A&M rec'd a fmbl and drove 39 yds for a TD with 8:03 left. UM rec'd the onside kick and they had a 1st & goal at the 2 but Under players rejoiced when they settled for a 22 yd FG to make it 24-10 with 2:07 left. A&M went to backup QB Jerrod Johnson who guided the Aggies 54/5pl and with :05 left Johnson threw it up for grabs in the back of the EZ and got a 33 yd TD pass to give the 'Over' a frontdoor cover...
The Temple/BG game was a strange one as BG led 21-7 but TU got a pair of TD's in the final 4:06 of the 1H to tie it at 21. BG, aided by 2 FR TD's, rolled to a 48-21 lead with 8:17 left but TU drove 73/7pl for a TD with 6:01 left for the backdoor cover. BG was threatening the frontdoor after rec'ing the onside kick was SOD at the TU 11 with 1:48 left and the Owls drove 89 yds for a TD with :19 left...
Tennessee only led Ark St 38-27 in the 4Q but went 65/5pl for a TD and 67/10pl. They got a spread covering 39 yd FG with 8:10 left. ASU fmbl'd at the UT 31 with 4:00 left and did not threaten on their final drive...
California was playing with legitimate revenge vs Arizona as the previous year's loss they had outgained Arizona for the game and led 17-3 at the half but their loss ultimately cost them a Rose Bowl berth. They jumped out to a 28-3 1Q lead but Willie Tuitama hit school records for pass att's and comp's hitting 42-61 for 309 yards. He rallied AZ within 38-27 in the 4Q but Cal got the frontdoor cover with a 3 yd TD run with 8:41 left. AZ was SOD at the Cal 21 with 3:43 left and Cal got a crucial 3rd & 12, 13 yd run and ran out the clock...
Turnovers fueled N Illinois' 42-35 road win. Idaho had 31-17 FD and 586-344 yd edges. NI got a 14 pt swing with a 95 yd IR TD, added a blk'd punt for a TD and then sacked UI's QB in the EZ and rec'd a fmbl for a TD and a 35-7 lead. UI did get a 100 yd IR TD in the game...
New Mexico St led Auburn 20-14 in the 2Q but had a 6-1 turnover deficit and despite only being outgained 422-379, they were blown out 55-20. NMSt had a 379-355 yd edge when Aub, running out the clock, got a 67 yd TD run by Fannin with :22 left to allow them to outgain the Aggies.
NO LOOK-AHEAD TO NEXT FRIDAY'S BIG MATCHUP
W Virginia and USF could have been excused for subpar efforts as their meeting next Friday should determine the Big East Title. Neither showed any look-ahead. WV had 302-29 yd and 18-3 FD edges at the half and led 27-0. WV led 48-0 with 5:51 left before they allowed a 68/11pl drive for a garbage TD with just :58 left. USF will have its largest attendance ever for a home game when they host WV on Friday but did not look past N Carolina as they led 20-3 at half with a 329-80 yd edge and led 37-3 after scoring a TD with 6:10 left. UNC gained 191 yds but 63 of them came on their final drive for a garbage TD with 1:04 left.
KEY PLAYS
Arkansas outgained Kentucky 373-131 in the 1H but the key play of the game happened with the Hogs driving for a late TD. They were at the UK 35 with under 1:00 left in the half when they fumbled and Lindley ret'd it 66 yds for a TD with just :26 left and Ark only led by 6. Ark had 7 players catch a virus during the morning including McFadden and Jones who both were suffering from heat exhaustion due to the virus in the 2H. Ark still led 29-21 with 11:40 left but UK rallied for the win.
THIS WEEK'S IAA (NEWLY NAMED FCS) UPSETS
Middle Tennessee missed a 39 yd FG on their opening drive and missed a 34 yd FG on the final play of the game and were upset by a transitional IA team, 20-17. W Kentucky replaced stating QB Wolke (ND trans) with a more mobile KJ Black at the start of the 3Q. WK kept their first poss on the ground for 9 plays for a TD and Black's first pass was on 3rd & 10 and went 31 yds to the 19. Later, on 3rd & 22 he hit a 22 yd TD pass...
N Dakota St dominated C Michigan leading 16-7 at the half and 30-7 in the 3Q with CM gaining 50 of their yards when they trailed 44-14 in the final minutes.
