NEWS AND NOTES
Tulane had some bad breaks against UCF. Tulane led 14-13 when they fmbl’d with 5:16 left in the half. UCF got a 50 yd TD run two plays later and then after a 34 yd punt return, would get a 7 yd TD pass with :07 left in the half to lead by 13. TU had its chances at the backdoor cover but were int’d at the 50 and had a FD at the 15 with 1:08 left but were int’d in the EZ...
The Ball St/Ohio game featured 3 TD’s in a :25 span. OU capped a 47 yd, 6 play drive for a TD to make it 10‑0 with 14:14 left in the 2Q. BSU’s Dante Love ret’d a KO 94 yds for a TD but OU ret’d the favor when Scott Mayle ret’d the KO 88 yds for the 3rd TD. OU rushed for 414 yds including Kalvin McRae’s 264 yds, the 3rd highest total in school history...
Marshall had its longest road trip in 18 years and played in front of 51,500, the fourth highest attendance in UTEP history and the Miners simply dominated in a 31-3 win...
It was the first scoreless game in regulation since 1983 as Arkansas St and Florida Atl finally decided it in OT, 3-0. ASU actually had a 393-168 yd edge but 3 int’s and a lost fumble kept them from the EZ and each team missed FG’s...
The Buckeyes have struggled on the road as they had just their 2nd Big 10 road win since November 2003 (7 games) but the game at Indiana was hardly like a road game as a large amount of OSU fans were on hand as part of the 52,866 crowd and were just as loud as the Hoosier fans. The Bucks rolled up a 478-137 yd edge...Kansas St QB Allan Evridge threw for 357 yds, 5 short of KSU’s frosh record and was plagued by a series of dropped balls including 4 by WR Yamon Figurs. Due to those dropped passes, KSU needed an 80 yd, 7 play drive for a TD with 1:27 left to get the backdoor cover vs the Aggies...Michigan had its fifth straight game decided in the final seconds when they got a 1 yd TD run in OT to get past Iowa, 23-20. Iowa needed a 32 yd FG on the final play of regulation to force OT...
It was a wild game between Cal and Washington St as Cal led 28-10 at the half but WSU had twenty-two 3Q pts and led the game 38-28 in the 4Q. Cal managed a comeback including a TD pass with 1:50 left to pull out the 42-38 win at home...Army broke an 11 game losing streak with a 20-0 shutout win over Akron...
Four of Navy’s first 5 games were decided by 3 points and they also had a 7 pt win but they beat Rice by 32 points. Rice actually held the ball for 37:40 and had a 17-16 FD edge but Navy had a 367-284 yd edge.
SCHOOL RECORDS - Penn St has had some pretty fine teams but they put up 56 pts in the 1H vs Illinois which set a school record breaking the old mark of 55 set back in 1947 against Fordham. It was the 2nd consecutive home game the Illini have yielded more than 60 points and most of PSU’s starters did not play in the 2H of their 63-10 rout...
Notre Dame’s Brady Quinn threw for a school record 6 TD passes vs BYU, breaking his own record of 5 which he had set vs Michigan St earlier in the year. Quinn hit 32 of 41 for 467 yds giving Charlie Weis his first home win. This was also a frontdoor cover for the Irish as they led just 28-23 in the 3Q but would score the game’s final 3 TD’s including a 14 point turnaround play at the end which sealed the spread win...
Div III Mount Union lost for the first time since 1994, breaking the Purple Raiders’ 110 game winning streak...
Brad Smith set a school record with 480 yds of total offense and ran for 3 scores in a dominating game recapturing the magic of 2 seasons ago. He became the 6th QB in NCAA history to throw for 200 yds and run for 200 yds in the same game. Missouri won 2 straight at home over Nebraska for the first time since 1967-’69. Two things surprising in the game were NU’s solid rush attack being held to -2 yds by a Mizz D that had been weak all year and NU’s staunch D allowed 523 total yds...ULL recorded a school record 9 sks vs Middle Tenn and HC Rickey Bustle who had been 0-17 all-time when trailing at the half, got his first win in that category...
UCLA’s Drew Olson threw six TD passes vs Oregon St in a battle of QB’s who used to be teammates. Olson threw for just 262 yds and Matt Moore threw for 279...
Miss St RB Jerrious Norwood set a school record with 257 yds rushing but it was not enough as MSU lost at home to CUSA member Houston, 28-16. MSU lost K Keith Andrews to an injury but backup Adam Carlson did have a 20 yd FG in the 3Q.
INJURIES OF NOTE
BG led 6-0 and was on the W Mich 30 when QB Omar Jacobs was sk’d and fmbl’d. Not only was it ret’d 53 yds for a TD but Jacobs would not return with a shoulder injury. WM’s offense moved on BG piling up 471 yds offense and WM led 31-6 at the half. BG backup QB Turner hit 20 of 38 for 242 yds as WM coasted at BG with a 31 pt win..
.The reports from Arizona St were that Sam Keller was close to 100% healthy and ready to go for their game vs Stanford. Those reports were clearly wrong. Playing with an injured thumb, shoulder and ankle he was highly ineffective vs Stanford hitting just 10 of 16 for 98 yds and was benched in the 3Q. SU blk’d two punts which set up TD’s and also had a 26 yd int return for a TD on backup QB Carpenter’s 3rd pass. The Cardinal forced P McDonald into an illegal kick with the resulting field position making it, in effect, a 3rd blk’d punt. SU won 45‑35 despite ASU having a 528-369 yd edge...
Connecticut was down to their 3rd string starting QB in Dennis Brown due to injuries and the true frosh, making his first college start, hit 18 of 35 for 196 yds. Rutgers had replaced their career leading passer, Ryan Hart the previous week with frosh Mike Teel. Teel started vs Conn but suffered a shoulder inj so Hart stepped in with RU trailing 10-3. While he hit just 5 of 11 for 94 yds, he led RU to 23 points and the 26-24 win. Conn lost just their 3rd home game since they opened Rentschler Field 3 years ago. Conn got the backdoor cover with a TD with 2:40 left, trailing 26-17...
DJ Shockley went down with a knee injury on Saturday and probably will not play vs Florida. Joe Tereshinski hit 5 of 9 for 91 yds with 1 int in his place but is nowhere near the runner that Shockley is and lost 4 yds on 4 carries...
Oregon, a prime contender for a BCS spot, as their only loss all year had been to USC, saw those chances take a significant jolt when outstanding QB Kellen Clemens broke his ankle and will likely miss the rest of the season. Backup QB Dennis Dixon went down on the next poss and it was 3rd stringer Brady Leaf who took over. UO led 21-0 before the inj’s. After Arizona battled back to tie it, UO got a 34 yd fmbl return for a TD to pull out the win...
E Michigan was without QB Matt Bohnet but Tyler Jones rushed for 107 yds and hit 19 of 26 for 135 in his place. Anthony Sherrell got out of EM’s doghouse and after not having a carry the previous two games, rushed for 107 yds.
MISLEADING FINALS, FRONTDOOR AND BACKDOOR COVERS
Ole Miss missed 4 FG’s against Kentucky with a 38 yd’r blocked and a 27 yd FG in the 2Q. They took advantage of 2 fumbles late in the 1H to nail a 45 yd FG and missed a 47 yd’r. Later UM had a 44 yd FG blk’d while UK missed a 48 yd FG with 13:31 left. UM went on a 17 play drive and had a 1st & goal at the 2 but settled for an 18 yd FG with 5:04 left to lead just 13-0. UK went 70 yds in 10 plays and got a 4 yd TD run for the backdoor cover with 2:36 left...
Florida St only led Duke 41-21 with 12:56 left but got 2 TD’s, one on a 4th & 2, 45 yd run and the other with just 5:20 left to get the frontdoor cover. Duke did get to the FSU 32 but were SOD...
Utah led UNLV 42-20 when they punted with 9:53 left. UNLV went on a 76 yd, 13 play drive for a TD with 5:00 left and after getting the ball with 3:28 left, went 80 yds in 16 plays getting a TD with 1:07 left for the backdoor cover. UNLV’s last two drives gained 156 of their 488 yds...
Louisiana Tech absolutely dominated the 1H vs N Texas. Inn fact they did not punt but on 3 consecutive poss they settled for short FG’s and led just 30-0 in the 3Q. NT, which had just 4 FD’s in the 1H, battled back for the apparent backdoor cover with a TD to only trail 33-14 but LT turned it around with a TD with 2:31 left to go out the backdoor and into the frontdoor for the 40-14 cover...
Utah St punted with 1:22 left in the 1H and Boise drove 77 yds for a TD with :13 left but led just 24-14. Utah St appeared to ice the cover with a TD with 10:48 left only trailing 31-21. Boise drove 65 yds in 13 plays for a TD with 5:24 left but then Utah St’s 4th & 4 pass fell incomplete at their own 43 and backup QB Tharp led BSU to the frontdoor cover with a TD with 1:35 left on the 43 yd drive. One of BSU’s TD’s was also set up by a fmbl’d punt (29 yd drive)...
Memphis dominated the 1H vs E Carolina with 250-82 yd and 11-4 FD edges but led just 17-0. They led 20-3 mid-3Q and EC got a TD with 10:25 left to make it 20-17. UM went on an 80 yd, 15 play drive getting a TD with 2:17 left to get back ahead of the spread but EC went on a 75 yd, 9 play drive and got a 1 yd TD pass with :10 left for the backdoor cover.
FOURTEEN POINT TURNAROUNDS
ND led BYU 28-23 in the 3Q but the Irish would score the game’s final 3 TD’s. Trailing 42-23, BYU fumbled at the ND 34 and then a huge play happened. They had a FD at the ND 19 yd line and were right at the spread when Beck was not only int’d but ret’d 83 yds for a TD, a 14 pt turnaround and the Irish went up by 26 and BYU’s final 2 poss ended in punts...
Purdue, along with NC State lead the NCAA in blown and missed opportunities this year and had two fourteen pt turnarounds go against them vs UW. The Boilermakers had a 428-288 yd edge and the Badgers had done nothing for 5 straight offensive series with Purdue leading 13-10 and driving. UW got an amazing 84 yd int return for a TD that ignited the crowd and gave the Badgers the lead. They added another TD to lead 24-13 and PU was driving to cut into it when another Painter pass was int’d & ret’d 62 yds for a TD, this one with 3:21 left in the second 14 pt turnaround.
POINTS LEFT OFF THE BOARD - Northwestern/Michigan St totalled 63 points but it could have been much more than that. In the 1H, MSU missed a 47 yd FG and NU had a 1st & goal at the 2 but fmbl’d. MSU was at the NU 14 when Stanton was int’d in the EZ. MSU was at the NU 26 when they were int’d at the 2 and the Spartans also missed a 37 yd FG. Early in the 4Q Stanton was int’d again at the 2 yd line. For the game MSU would have 480 yds but just 14 pts...
Auburn RB Kenny Irons rushed for a career high 218 yds, the most allowed by LSU since 1996. LSU had their chance twice at the cover vs Auburn on a windy day. The first came early in the 4Q with LSU up 14-10 and at the Aub 11 yd line when a pass into the EZ to a wide open receiver hit him on the numbers and he simply dropped the ball. LSU would then miss a 47 yd FG. The game went to OT and LSU, on 3rd & 10 had 2 receivers all by themselves in the middle of the endzone and Russell threw the ball but Doucet dropped the easy TD. LSU settled for a 30 yd FG. Auburn gained just 2 yds in 3 plays and missed a 40 yd FG which hit the upright in their part of OT.
DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN
Last week Pitt had early TO’s get them in a 10-0 hole vs S Florida but recovered for a comfortable win. This past week, TO’s and a blocked punt for a TD had them trailing 17-7 but they once again rallied for a 17 pt win and had 22-11 FD and 378-202 yd edges in a game played in the rain vs Syracuse.
SPECIAL TEAMS MISTAKES RESULT IN LOSSES
Last week we told you how UAB had 2 punts blk’d and a 10 yd punt after that and all 3 of those miscues set up Marshall’s 20 pts in the game and somehow UAB lost by 1 with a 432‑251 yd edge. Versus SM, UAB’s special teams proved charitable again. SM punted early on 4th & 10 but UAB jumped offsides. That allowed SM to attempt a 27 yd FG which they made (3 pts). SM had a drive go 3 & out but roughing the punter gave them a FD and they would go on to score a TD. In the 3Q it happened again with SM going 3 & out but UAB roughed the punter and SM drove for another TD with the special teams miscues costing them 17 points in a 9 pt SM win. Darrell Hackney threw for 407 yds for the losers who compiled 487 yds of offense...
Another team that had some huge punting errors was Idaho, despite them remarkably giving up a frontdoor cover to Fresno. At the half Idaho had a 142-138 yd edge but trailed 16-10 as they allowed a 73 yd PR for a TD and a bad snap on a punt was picked up by FSU and ret’d 26 yds for a TD. It got worse in the 2H as they had a blk’d punt set up an 11 yd TD drive, a shanked 18 yd punt set up a 1 play TD drive for FSU and then went for a fake punt on 4th & 14 and came up a yd short with 9:03 left setting up FSU’s final 37 yd drive for a TD with 5:51 left for the frontdoor cover by a pt. Idaho got to the FSU 30 but was int’d at the 7 with 3:25 left...
At the start of the year we called Colorado one of the best special teams in the country and their game vs Kansas proved how good that unit is. CU was held to just 184 yds and 9 FD’s through 3Q’s but won comfortably 44-13. The Buffs had an 81 yd PR for a TD, a 28 yd blk’d punt for a TD, got a safety on a KU punt and even faked a FG which set up a TD on the next play. KU finished with a 354-304 yd edge and 22-14 FD edge but thanks to the Buffs special teams dominance, lost the game by 31 points...
Air Force actually held the ball for 34:54 vs TCU but in atypical Falcon fashion, had a punt blk’d and missed two FG’s hurting their chances, as well as a Shaun Carney int in the EZ. TCU’s offense was also effective with 526 yds and QB Jeff Ballard said, “It was like pitch and catch” as he threw for 302 yards.
GAME TURNING PLAYS
Probably the biggest game turning play of the weekend happened when Tennessee had the ball at the Alabama 15. On 3rd & goal Anderson caught a swing pass on a perfect call and rambled towards the EZ but Roman Harper’s hit jarred the ball loose and it bounced out of the EZ for a TB. Bama then got a 43 yd pass on 3rd & 8 to keep their game winning drive alive and for the 2nd straight week, Christensen nailed the game winning FG in the final seconds as Bama kept its unbeaten season alive...
Miami (Oh) led E Michigan 24-17 but gave up the apparent game tying TD with just :13 left but a mishandled snap forced the xp to hit the right upright and fell into the EZ as MU held on for the win.
