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Posted 10/12/2009 at 12:29 AM
Here’s a lengthy rundown on the week that was in the colleges.
Nebraska was down 12-0 against Missouri heading into the final quarter, but the Cornhuskers went wild down the stretch with 27 unanswered points. Missouri QB Gabbert had a major meltdown that helped Nebraska, as he was just 2/10 for 11 years and two picks in that final quarter.
Dan LeFevour had another huge game for Central Michigan. The Chippewas QB threw for 318 yards and three scores and ran for three more as CMU wiped out Eastern Michigan in a big revenge game.
Vanderbilt has a brutal red zone offense and it cost them at Army. The Commodores had to settle for a pair of FG’s on deep drives in regulation, and then they fumbled the ball away in OT, allowing Army to snare a home victory against an SEC opponent.
Purdue continues to be extremely prone to turnovers. The Boilermakers played giveaway again Saturday at Minnesota with three picks. They also gave up a TD on a blocked FG attempt and the Gophers got another easy score following a shanked Purdue punt.
Ron Zook decided to switch QB’s, but it did no good as Illinois got smashed at home by Michigan State. Eddie McGee was just 2/11 before handing the reigns back to Juice Williams. The Illini got a late score to make the tally a little more respectable, but this was an easy win for the Spartans.
Boston College has been okay at home, but awful in their two road games. They had zero first downs at the half and only 28 yards in offense through the first three quarters as they were pummeled at Virginia Tech.
Tennessee obliterated Georgia, outgaining the Bulldogs 472-241. Georgia was terrible against the Vols, and their only two TD’s came on a pick-six and a kickoff return.
Case Keenum and Houston Cougars had an early hangover off their first loss, but they got untracked and defeated Mississippi State. Keenum threw for 441 yards and had four TD passes.
Kansas got a real battle from Iowa State, but the Jayhawks prevailed thanks to Todd Reesing’s 448 passing yards along with four TD’s.
Kentucky had a chance to tie South Carolina, but missed on a two-point conversion with less than five minutes to play. The Gamecocks were able to run out the clock to preserve the win.
Temple had the early 10-0 lead against Ball State, but the Cardinals came back to take a brief lead thanks to a Temple fumble that was recovered in the end zone. The Owls put together two TD drives, and Ball State scored on the final play of the game to get within five points.
Surprising Wyoming dominated New Mexico. The Lobos actually led 7-0, scoring right after a botched fake punt by the Cowboys, but Wyoming took over after that and registered the easy win.
Tyler Sheehan thew for 505 yards and four TD’s as Bowling Green overcame a double digit fourth quarter leads at Kent State. Sheehan ran for the game winner with five seconds remaining. Freddie Barnes had an amazing day for the Falcons, catching 22 passes for 278 yards and scoring 3 TD’s.
Tulane won the stats but lost the game as they helped Marshall out with four turnovers.
Pittsburgh was down 21-6 and the crowd was booing them. But the Panthers rallied for a pair of scores and then beat UConn at the gun with a FG.
Virginia has gotten hot the last two weeks, easing the pressure on head coach Al Groh. Jameel Sewell is finally healthy again, and he had a terrific game as the Cavaliers routed Indiana.
Oregon scored three very quick TD’s to break open their game with UCLA. The Ducks got one score each from their offense, special teams and defense to take control of the game.
Ohio State got destroyed on the stat sheet by Wisconsin. But the Buckeyes had two interception returns for TD’s, and got another seven on a kickoff return. They also stuffed the Badgers on a deep drive in the fourth quarter to preserve an incredibly fortunate spread win.
Mississippi played a whale of a defensive game against Alabama. But Rebels QB Jevan Snead had an awful day, going just 11/34 with four picks. Snead may well be the biggest individual flop in the country off the pre-season hype.
Duke pulled off a big upset with 21 unanswered late points as they won at NC State. The final score came on a punt that accidentally hit the leg of a Wolfpack player.
Utah got a big fight from Colorado State and trailed by two TD’s at Fort Collins. But the Utes showed plenty of poise and recovered to rally for the 24-17 win.
Akron killed themselves with mistakes in a home loss to Ohio. The Zips had five turnovers and also gave up a TD on a blocked punt.
Wake Forest blew out Maryland. The Demon Deacons were up 42-17 and Riley Skinner had a monster game with 360 passing yards and four TD’s. The final score was misleading as the Terps had a pair of meaningless late TD’s.
North Texas gave Louisiana-Lafayette TD’s on an interception and a blocked punt, but were still up double digits in the fourth quarter. The Ragin’ Cajuns rallied to get the narrow win, but not the cover.
Oregon State’s win over Stanford was not as close as the 38-28 score might indicate. This one was all Beavers and the Cardinal had two late TD’s to make it respectable.
Texas trailed Colorado 14-3 before they woke up and rolled. The Buffaloes finished with a meager 127 yards of offense.
TCU pretty much dominated Air Force. But the Horned Frogs had two red zone turnovers, and another fumble led to a late score by Air Force that created a 20-17 final score. It wasn’t really a close game.
Southern Miss and Louisville played a very exciting game that had loads of ebbs and flows. The Cardinals got the home win on a late FG in a real thriller.
East Carolina went down at SMU as the Mustangs cashed in TD’s on an interception and a blocked FG.
The bad beat of the week, and maybe the season, came in the Arizona-Washington contest. The Wildcats were clearly the superior team and should have had this one salted away, but the opportunistic Huskies hung in. Still, it looked like 'Zona had things wrapped up with the ball and a 33-28 late lead. For reasons only Mike Stoops knows. Arizona decided to throw a first-down pass while in what amounted to run out the clock mode. The pass was thrown behind the receiver, who fell down trying to make the catch. The ball hit him on the foot, and caromed directly into the waiting hands of a Washington defender, who easily sauntered into the end zone, and the Huskies had an incredible win just like that.
Fresno State absolutely smoked Hawaii. The Bulldogs lost outright to the Warrior last season as more than a 3-TD favorite and they left no doubt this time around. Fresno was up 42-3 before yielding a pair of meaningless Hawaii scores.
Finally, there’s Idaho. The Vandals overcame three Nathan Enderle picks and rallied to defeat San Jose State on the road. Idaho is now 5-1 and I would have to rate the Vandals as the nation’s most surprising team to date. They can achieve bowl eligibility with a win over Hawaii this Saturday.
I’m back on Tuesday with some NFL notes from the weekend.
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