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Posted 09/28/2009 at 02:53 AM
Here’s a rundown of some of the noteworthy occurrences of the just completed college football weekend.
Wake Forest really let one get away at Boston College. The Demon Deacons scored two late TD’s to force overtime, and then proceeded to hold BC to a FG in the extra session. It appeared that Wake was about to get the big comeback win, as they had a first and goal, but QB Riley Skinner fumbled and the Eagles escaped with the win.
Michigan barely defeated surprising Indiana, and the Wolverines appeared to benefit greatly from a bad call that was remarkably not overturned by the replay official. The Wolverines are now 4-0, but they’ve been extremely fortunate in two of those wins, and all four games were at home.
Temple obliterated Buffalo in a big revenge game for the Owls (my Revenge Game of the Week on the service), and they took full advantage of several Bulls mistakes in the blowout. Temple had a pick-six plus a punt return for a TD and they were also +3 in turnovers. Buffalo was perhaps the most opportunistic team I’ve ever seen last year, but the worm has definitely turned for the Bulls.
Wisconsin dominated Michigan State much more than the 38-30 final tally indicates. The Badgers led 38-17 before the Spartans made it respectable with a pair of very late scores.
Rutgers had an easy time with Maryland, and the inept Terrapin offense helped the Scarlet Knights out by letting them score a pair of touchdowns on turnovers. Maryland fans are growing increasingly unhappy with head coach Ralph Friedgen and he could be in trouble.
Fresno State gave Cincinnati a tremendous battle, much to my surprise, as I had a strong call on the Bearcats. In fact, the Bulldogs dominated the Bearcats. Fresno had a massive 290-57 edge on the ground and owned the ball for 44 minutes. But Cincy managed to find a way to win and that’s now three straight tough losses for Fresno State.
Dan LeFevour had another monster game for Central Michigan as the Chippewas annihilated Akron. LeFevour threw four TD passes and outrushed the Zips all by himself in the very lopsided CMU win. Central Michigan was my strongest personal play this week, so I was very pleased with this result.
Mississippi State is raising some eyebrows with their inspired play. The Bulldogs came within a whisker of upsetting LSU. The Tigers needed a clutch goal line stand at the end of the game to preserve the win. LSU was very lucky to win this game. Miss State dominated the stats, but the Bulldogs were -4 in net turnovers and also gave up a TD on a punt return. Incredibly, LSU had only 30 yards rushing on 31 carries in the win.
Texas A&M was my Blowout of the Week and the Aggies got a phenomenal game from Jerrod Johnson in the easy win over UAB. Johnson was in on six touchdowns against the hapless Blazers defense. A&M is an improved team as they’re much more comfortable this season running Mike Sherman’s offense.
My condolences to anyone who gave the points with Air Force. This was the absolute bad beat of the week. The Falcons led 26-2 before San Diego State scored a late TD. The Aztecs missed the extra point, though, so Falcons backers looked safe. Until the final play of the game, that is. The Aztecs scored a TD on a batted Hail Mary to end the game, making the final score a totally misleading 26-14.
UNLV has now lost 20 consecutive MWC road games, and the latest defeat was all their fault. The Rebels were -4 in turnovers and blew two opportunities to at least force overtime with a late FG. First, they turned an already lengthy FG attempt into an even longer one with a ridiculous delay of game penalty. Then the holder fumbled the snap, Wyoming recovered and the Rebels went home with another road loss.
Florida was fired up off the less than sensational effort against Tennessee and shredded Kentucky. But QB Tim Tebow, already battling a flu bug, absorbed a huge hit that resulted in a concussion when his head hit the knee of a teammate, and there’s no word yet on whether he may miss any action.
Oregon has evidently shed the last remnants of the season-opening fiasco at Boise State. The Ducks put it all together in a total demolition of California. Oregon owned a whopping 524-207 yardage edge as they slaughtered the Golden Bears. Jahvid Best’s Heisman hopes took a huge hit as the superstar Cal back was held to 55 yards.
South Florida had a first-time starter at QB and was battling a revved up “White Out” sellout at Florida State. But the Bulls were the more excited team and dominated the Seminoles. USF won the ground game 153-19 and Florida State lost four fumbles. Redshirt freshman BJ Daniels, a Tallahassee kid who was not heavily recruited by his hometown school, threw for both South Florida scores in the upset.
Georgia Tech put it together as they crushed North Carolina. The Tar Heels had shown a tough defense coming in, but they were overwhelmed by the Yellow Jackets. Tech dominated with a 24-8 first down edge and outgained UNC 406-154. The Tar Heels were also -3 in turnovers.
Idaho continues to be a surprise. The Vandals have already equaled their win total for the last two seasons combined and Saturday’s win at Northern Illinois was not as close as the score. Idaho was up 34-16 before the Huskies rallied to make it close.
Colorado State dug themselves a big hole at BYU. The Rams had two very costly early turnovers that led to easy scores for the Cougars. BYU also cashed in after what might have been the worst onside kick in the history of football, plus they stopped the Rams with a late goal line stand. In actuality, this game was much closer than the 42-23 final.
North Carolina State had a great comeback to defeat Pittsburgh. The Wolfpack scored the game’s final 21 points and then put together a big defensive stand to preserve the win. Pitt was in position to at least force OT when they recovered a fumble at the NC State 8-yard line, but the Wolfpack defended superbly and earned a big win.
Miami Ohio killed Kent State on the stat sheet. They had a 26-13 FD edge and won the yardage battle, 552-250. But the Redhawks were their own worst enemy, committing five turnovers that allowed the Golden Flashes to come away with the win.
Notre Dame coughed up a double digit lead against Purdue, but the Fighting Irish came back to win in the waning moments. QB Jimmy Clausen was clutch for Notre Dame, directing the game-winning drive despite being clearly hobbled by a turf toe injury.
Middle Tennessee State took advantage of a slew of North Texas blunders to garner a road win. The Blue Raiders were +5 in turnovers and were also helped when a Mean Green TD on a punt return was wiped out by penalty.
New Mexico State got the lead over rival New Mexico with a last minute TD pass. The Lobos then put together a quick drive that allowed a 47-yard FG attempt that would have forced overtime, but James Oho missed the kick and the Aggies got the win. It’s now looking more and more like an 0-12 season for New Mexico.
Baylor smashed Northwestern State, but the Bears aren’t celebrating. QB Robert Griffin was lost for the season with a knee injury, and that’s an absolutely devastating loss for Baylor. Griffin is one of the most valuable individual components on any team in the country and it’s tough to envision the Bears surviving this loss.
TCU took a huge step toward crashing the BCS party with a key win at Clemson. Head coach Gary Patterson insisted that he’s “not drinking that Kool-Aid” but there is no doubt that the Horned Frogs are now in the big bowl mix.
Houston took an even bigger step toward making life miserable for the major bowl committees with a spectacular 95-yard late drive that got them past Texas Tech. The Cougars now have two really big wins over high caliber Big 2 entries and while they have at least three tough games remaining on their slate, they are squarely in the BCS picture.
Boise State may have to root for both Houston and TCU to lose somewhere along the line. The Broncos remained perfect with an easy win at Bowling Green. But with a trip to Tulsa the only legitimate test the rest of the way for Boise State, they’re going to have to hope for a loss by either the Horned Frogs or Cougars. Boise is a tremendous program, but I cannot see three non-BCS schools crashing the January party and the Broncos are third in line thanks to their residence in the ultra-soft WAC.
I’m back on Wednesday with an early injury update plus other college notes.
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