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Posted 10/19/2009 at 02:06 AM
Here’s a rundown on some of the college games of the just completed weekend, with some details you may have missed.
Bowling Green can’t run the ball, but they sure can throw it. Tyler Sheehan to Freddie Barnes has become a lethal combo in the MAC. Sheehan had another big game against Ball State, throwing for 376 yards and 3 TD’s, and Barnes caught 10 passes for 160 yards.
UConn just keeps finding stud running backs. The latest star is Andre Dixon, who rumbled for 153 yards and 3 scores as the Huskies beat Louisville. But it turned out to be a terrible weekend for the team. Cornerback Jasper Howard was stabbed to death just hours after the game, while attending a university sanctioned dance on campus. This figures to be a very tough week for the team in light of the tragic occurrence.
Texas has an amazing rush defense. The Longhorns completely stuffed Oklahoma, with the Sooners finishing with minus yardage on ground. On the season, Texas is allowing opponents a miniscule 36 yards per game on the ground.
Ohio State was awful in their win against Wisconsin, and even worse as they lost to Purdue. The Buckeyes had five turnovers and also hurt themselves with some crucial penalties in the upset.
USC appeared to be on its way to another easy win over Notre Dame. But the Irish roared back from a 34-14 deficit, and just missed scoring a late TD that could have forced overtime or possibly created a chance to win in regulation. This year’s Notre Dame games have been among the most exciting on the board on a weekly basis.
The stat sheet indicates that Texas Tech and Nebraska waged a close game. The reality is that the Red Raiders blew out the Cornhuskers. Steve Sheffield had another strong game subbing for injured QB Tyler Potts and there’s now some question as to who will get most of the snaps once Potts is fully recovered from his concussion.
Penn State dominated Minnesota in a 20-0 win. The Lions had a 21-7 edge in first downs and outgained the Gophers by a whopping 464-138 margin.
North Carolina State was allowing only 63 rushing yards per game heading into their game at Boston College. But the Eagles turned the Wolfpack interior into a sieve and raced for a 293 yards in a blowout win.
Florida was very fortunate to escape with the win over Arkansas. The Razorbacks missed two FG’s, with the 38-yard misfire by Alex Tejeda with about three minutes remaining turning out to be the biggest play of the game.
Louisiana Tech has been awful on the road, but the Bulldogs are tough at home. They ripped apart lowly New Mexico State Saturday. Louisiana Tech won the yardage battle by a ridiculous 540-142 count, held a 30-6 first down advantage and led on the scoreboard 45-0 before the Aggies scored on a late fumble return.
TCU wasn’t sharp in their win over Air Force last week, and started slowly this week against Colorado State. But the Frogs got rolling in the second quarter and ended up crushing the Rams. TCU put up nearly 500 yards of offense while holding CSU to less than 200.
Virginia lost the stats, but won the game at Maryland. The Terps gave this one away with a -3 in net turnovers and the Cavaliers scored a TD on an errant Maryland pass.
Idaho continues to amaze. The Vandals are now bowl eligible with six wins as they took care of business against Hawaii. This game was close for quite some time, but Idaho eventually pulled away to 35-17 lead before Hawaii got on the board with a meaningless late score.
Georgia Tech had just one pass completion against Virginia Tech. But the Yellow Jacket option was clicking all day and the Hokies never figured out how to slow it down. Virginia Tech has struggled in all three of their games away from Blacksburg.
Toledo was without QB Aaron Opelt, but the backups were impressive as the Rockets rebounded from a terrible game against Western Michigan and got the upset over Northern Illinois.
Troy was up 42-20 before allowing Florida International a couple of late scores, including one on the last play of the game. The Trojans have clearly put their surprisingly slow start behind them and are once more the team to beat in the SBC.
Kansas State was a home underdog against Texas A&M, but they sure didn’t need any help from the oddsmakers to get the money against the Aggies. The Wildcats led 59-0 in the third quarter and coasted to the wipeout win.
Colorado held a 24-3 lead over Kansas and appeared on its way to an easy upset win. But the Jayhawks got untracked and eventually took the lead. Give the Buffaloes credit for not coming unhinged as they put together a good drive to retake the lead and got the win. The Buffs also got some help on a controversial Kansas penalty called after the Jayhawks had driven to a 1st and goal at the Colorado two-yard line, and KU was eventually stopped on downs.
Jim Harbaugh decided to pass on a FG attempt in the fourth quarter with Stanford leading Arizona 38-36. The Cardinal failed to convert on the fourth down play, and the Wildcats put together a big drive to earn a wild 43-38 victory.
Alabama was very flat off the win against Mississippi and struggled against South Carolina. The Tide managed to win the game by a couple of TD’s, but they were not sharp throughout and committed four turnovers.
Florida Atlantic had a big lead against North Texas and the Mean Green had to go with backup Nate Tune after an injury to starting QB Todd Dodge. But Tune got hot and brought North Texas back from a 37-19 deficit to eventually take the lead. The Owls were able to gather themselves, took back the lead and held on this time for their first win in five tries.
Fresno State continues to impress. The Bulldogs were a little off early against San Jose State, but eventually got the ground game going took over the proceedings. It was 41-14 before the Spartans scored a late TD to landthe game on the number.
UNLV made some crucial mistakes that cost them dearly against Utah. The worst was an ill-conceived fake FG with the Rebels rallying and down by only 13 points. The Rebels had lined up for the kick and then suddenly called time out. Utah was subsequently expecting the fake and defensed it easily. UNLV actually played the Utes pretty close but did themselves in with their errors.
The wildest finish of the day came in the Washington-Arizona State game. This one sure seemed destined for overtime, but the Huskies had a complete defensive breakdown on a Wildcat pass with just seconds to go, and ASU got the win on a bomb to a totally uncovered receiver.
I’ll be back on Tuesday with a recap of some of the Week Six NFL action.
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