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Posted 09/21/2009 at 01:46 AM
Here’s the rundown on several of the just concluded weekend’s college games, along with a handful of injury notes.
Ball State nearly won at Army on Saturday, but did themselves by getting four passes intercepted, including a pick-6 that decided the game… Northern Illinois went on the road and smashed a Big 10 opponent. Purdue returned a punt for a 7-0 lead, but the Huskies scored the next 28 points and coasted to the upset… Michigan was my free play Saturday and they got the job done, but it wasn’t as easy as the final score might indicate. Eastern Michigan was down just seven at the break, before the Wolverines ran them out of Ann Arbor after halftime… Syracuse got its first win under their new coach, rallying from a late deficit to win by three at the buzzer against Northwestern… Boston College was beyond inept in a loss at Clemson. The Eagles managed only four FD’s and an incredible 54 yards of offense in going down at Death Valley… Western Michigan needed a win after an 0-2 start and blew out hapless Miami, Ohio in game more lopsided than the final score indicates. The Broncos led 48-6 before giving up some meaningless points… Mississippi State had a terrific win at Vanderbilt. The Bulldogs held the Commodores to just 157 total yards in the 15-3 win… Arizona dominated their first two games, but the tables were turned on the Wildcats at Iowa. The Hawkeyes completely shut down Arizona, with the Wildcats getting their points on an interception TD plus a garbage time TD by the offense… Akron was favored at home against Indiana, but the Zips had problems on offense with QB Chris Jacquemain suspended. The Hoosiers picked off four errant Akron passes in grabbing an easy road win… Southern Miss avoided the upset with a great rally against Virginia. The big play was a 100-yard kickoff return that jump started the Golden Eagles, and they ended up scoring the game’s final 21 points… USC was stunned by Washington, despite a 250-56 edge on the ground. Teams almost never lose games with that kind of rushing disparity. But the Trojans gave up the ball three times with no takeaways and Washington earned a huge upset win before an insane home crowd… Auburn scored 21 of the game’s final 24 points as they came from behind to defeat West Virginia. Five Auburn picks were the difference, and they scored the TD on the last one to wrap up the victory… Florida was up 23-6 over Tennessee and driving for another score. But Tim Tebow’s second turnover of the game allowed the Volunteers to stay in the game. Moral victories in the SEC are rare, but I believe Tennessee comes out of the game feeling good about themselves… SMU flat out blew their game against Washington State. The Mustangs won the stats by a mile and had a big lead. But QB Bo Levi Mitchell was picked for TD’s twice and the pathetic Cougars ended up kicking a FG to win in overtime. More on this game and the refusal of June Jones to run the football in tomorrow’s blog… Colorado State annihilated a very disappointing Nevada entry. The Rams led 35-6 before surrendering a couple of garbage time TD’s. The Wolf Pack are off to a miserable start and I’m not really sure why… Buffalo might well have been the most fortunate team I’ve ever seen last year, but the worm is starting to turn for the Bulls. They led Central Florida 17-7 at the break, but UCF scored one TD and three FG’s while scoring a second half shutout to secure a needed home win… Rice actually won the stats against Oklahoma State and gave the Cowboys a much tougher game than expected. Looks like OSU had a major hangover off the upset loss the prior week, and they were lucky to escape with the win against the lowly Owls… Baylor laid a big egg in a stunningly poor performance against Connecticut. The Bears had several advantages coming into the game, but were badly outplayed by the Huskies… Iowa State was a big winner against Kent State, but the truth is neither team was sharp in a game that featured nine turnovers… BYU was a complete flop against Florida State. The Cougars were a disastrous -5 in the turnover department and in the process took themselves out of the BCS picture in a phenomenally ugly effort… Rutgers was up 23-0 in the fourth quarter before giving up a couple of scores to a gritty Florida International squad. The Scarlet Knights made a QB change for this game which will benefit them this season, but right now, the offense is a work in progress… North Texas had no shot to begin with at Alabama. But minus their QB and best OL, this one was really ugly as the Mean Green garnered only seven FD’s in the lopsided Crimson Tide romp… Ralph Friedgen’s seat at Maryland just got warmer. The Terrapins lost at the gun to Middle Tennessee State, and that’s back to back wins over the Terps for the Sun Belt entry… South Carolina got a real battle from Florida Atlantic. This was a one-point game at the half, before the Gamecocks got untracked and too care of the Owls… Troy rebounded from two very bad games to handle UAB, but the Trojans still managed to break a school record by committing 15 penalties in the win.
Here’s a look at tonight’s MLB hookup between the Cubs and Brewers. The Brewers are hot, winning five straight heading into tonight’s hookup with the Cubs. The scheduling dynamics favor Milwaukee, with the Cubs playing on Sunday night in St. Louis. Tom Gorzelanny doesn’t match up especially well with this lineup, and the Cubs lefty has been working only sporadically out of the bullpen lately. Braden Looper is no great shakes, but he wins more than he loses at home and the team analysis puts me on the Brewers tonight.
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