TIDE, GATORS, 'ZONA ALL GO DOWN, BOISE & TCU ROLL, STANFORD, AUBURN & LSU WIN LATE & ARE WE SUPPOSED TO BELIEVE OHIO STATE IS #1?
It took 19 games for someone to beat Alabama but Steve Spurrier's 19th ranked South Carolina Gamecocks did it this afternoon, upsetting the Crimson Tide 35-21. SC quarterback Stephen Garcia had his best day ever with 17 of 20 passing for 201 yards & three scores. Running back Marcus Lattimore ran for two scores on 93-yards & WR Alshon Jeffrey caught a pair of touchdowns. But what made this victory possible was the S. Carolina defense holding Heisman winner Mark Ingram & Trent Richardson to 63 yards rushing & no scores. How far Bama falls in the polls is irrelevant in my mind, if they win out, they have an excellent chance to get to the BCS title game, provided there are less than 4 undefeated teams at season's end.
The Florida Gators can kiss any title hopes they held goodbye after losing for the second straight week, this one at home in "the Swamp." LSU won in typically bizarre LSU fashion 33-29 on a 3-yard pass from backup QB Jarrett Lee to Terrance Toliver with 6-seconds left in the game. The Tigers actually fooled Gator coach Urban Meyer into believing they were going to attempt a 43-yard field goal with :38 left on the clock. They line up & LSU's Les Miles calls a timeout with his usual "why in the hell did he call a timeout now?" They lined up for the kick, ball snapped, the kicker makes a break to his right & the holder flips the ball blindly over his shoulder toward him. The ball bounces perfectly, the kicker scoops it up & makes a 1st down. Then Lee throws a perfect strike to Tolliver who runs to the 3-yardline, spike the ball, incompletion on 2nd down & with 6-seconds to play.....touchdown! I get a reprieve from Miles' shenanigans next week, LSU plays McNeese State & they won't be on TV.
The #9 Arizona Wildcats' luck finally ran out, losing to Oregon State 29-27. The Beavers never trailed in the game, the same Beaver team that lost to TCU & Boise State earlier this season. When Zona hung on to defeat Iowa three weeks ago, I had serious doubts about Mike Stoops' Wildcat team. After watching them squeak out a come-from-behind 10-9 win against Cal last week & then again tonight, this team is no better than middle of the conference pack.
Oregon's 3rd ranked Ducks had a much tougher time than expected with Washington State, they of three wins in three years. The Ducks prevailed 43-23, but lost QB Darron Thomas & backup RB Kenjon Barner to injuries. What they are & how serious they are remains to be seen, mum is the word from the Ducks.
Number four Boise State's coach Chris Peterson called off the dogs at the end of the 3rd quarter leading 57-7 against Toledo. Maybe if he hadn't stopped the slaughter, his team wouldn't get jumped in the polls by the "heartless Huskers" of Bo Pelini. He doesn't mind running up the score, like Pete Carroll used to. Both of them are huge whiners when someone beats them. Anyway, I figure Nebraska will leap frog over Boise & TCU, who won 45-0 today. Whatever way the BCS finds to put the screws to these two teams come bowl time, I just hope they get matched up with someone other than themselves. They have played each other in bowl games the past two years, believe me, that was by design. No one wants to get "Boisied" like Oklahoma did in '06.
Auburn remained undefeated with a Wes Byrum 24-yard field goal with no time left, beating Kentucky 37-34. The Tigers were leading 24-7 & 31-14 in the first half before they put it in cruise control & watched while the Wildcats came storming back with 17 unanswered second half points. They were very lucky not to lose the game. Auburn is basically a one-man team with quarterback Cam Newton running for 198-yards & 4 touchdowns. I had bet Auburn -6 & said "keep scoring, don't take your foot off the gas." Well coach Gene Chizik allowed his guys to pretty much sleep walk thru the entire 2nd half. The meat of their schedule is coming, the Tigers will not remain undefeated much longer.
How soon before we start hearing "Joe has to go?" The Penn State Nittany Lions are absolutely dreadful. Their homecoming was ruined by Ron Zooks' Illinois squad 33-13. PSU QB Robert Bolden was 8 of 21, RB Evan Royster managed just 35-yards on the ground. The Illini rolled over State with 282-yards rushing. I've said my peace about Paterno & Penn State several times, but honestly it's time for Joe to go.
As I predicted, Michigan State, a 4 1/2 point underdog, went into Ann Arbor today & whipped the 18th ranked Michigan Wolverines 34-17. The Spartans did it with a balanced attack, 249 rushing & 287 passing, intercepting Denard Robinson three times & bottling him up on the ground. Robinson went into the game leading the nation in rushing with a 187-yard average. He was held to 81-yards by Sparty. His receivers didn't give him much help either, dropping four passes, two in the endzone. But in the end, it was Robinson's inexperience, especially in the redzone, throwing two picks in the endzone. Love this kid, but he's at least a year away from being truly competitive against ranked opponents.
The 13th ranked Miami Hurricanes had their asses handed to them by Florida State, 45-17 & it wasn't that close. Miami QB Jacory Harris was brutal, completing just 19 passes in 47 attempts. The usual stingy Miami defense was shredded by the Seminoles with 298-yards rushing. They should mercifully fall out of the rankings entirely.
Stanford made me smile tonight when Andrew Luck led his Cardinal team downfield with 1:08 left in the game to defeat USC 37-35 on the last play of the game. I love seeing that bewildered look on Lane Kiffin's face as the Trojans lost their second game in two weeks. Best news is, the hardest part of their schedule is yet to come, I see another 4-loss season in the Trojans' future & a return trip to the prestigious Emerald Bowl.
Mizzou let their special teams & defense do their stuff tonight as they shutout Colorado 26-0. The Tiger offense sputtered all night. QB Blaine Gabbert sustained a hip pointer in the 2nd quarter but continued to play. He was out of synch for most of the night even tho he threw two scoring passes. The special teams blocked a punt & a field goal attempt. The defense held the powerful CU running game to just 61-yards & tho the Buffaloes passed for 250-yards, it was all underneath stuff, they only averaged 5.4-yards per attempt. Even without their best pass rusher, Aldon Smith, the Tigers constantly harassed both CU QB's. Now comes the brutal part of Mizzou's schedule, @ A&M, Oklahoma, @ Nebraska & @ Texas Tech. The Aggies were beaten by Arkansas 24-17 as QB Jerrod Johnson(picked by the media as all-Big-12) continued to pile up the turnovers. He threw an interception & lost a fumble. His 15 of 40 passing performance was hardly All-Big-12 either.
Iowa State was crushed by 10th ranked Utah 68-27. The Cyclones were right in the thick of it after one quarter, leading the Utes 14-10, then Utah scored 34 unanswered points, it was as ugly as it sounds, had to turn to another game.
The game I turned to was not the "Big Pillow Fight" Part Deaux, altho I did check on it a few times, call it morbid curiosity I suppose. This battle of the titans(2 of the 3 worst teams in the nation, Eastern Michigan has a spot here in my bottom-3) was won by New Mexico State 16-14, breaking it's 11-game losing streak. New Mexico has now lost 21 of their last 22 games. The Aggies managed this victory with just 207-yards of offense, 38-yards passing. They kicked three field goals & recovered a Lobo fumble in the endzone for their only touchdown. There were 16 penalties for 190-yards between these two. They also coughed up 7 turnovers. I once played on a team as bad as these two, it isn't fun getting the crap kicked out of you week after week, that's why playing your instate rival & beating them is monumental. So here's a big RFR salute to the New Mexico State Aggies, you finally won one! Next Saturday will find them in Fresno, getting trampled by the Bulldogs.
So are we supposed to buy into this Ohio State at the top of both polls crappola? This is precisely why I despise these preseason polls. Teams like Ohio State, who don't belong this high in any preseason poll, get there by other Big Ten conference coaches voting them there. If, by some crazy bounce of the ball, Ohio State should land in the number one spot & get into the BCS title game, then it's a financial windfall for every team within the Big Ten. That bounce of the ball happened today when Alabama lost, probably vaulting the Buckeyes into the #1 spot in both polls. If OSU can travel to Madison Wisconsin next week & beat the slowest ranked team I've ever seen, then only a stumble in Iowa will keep the Buckeyes from the BCS title game. They won't win it, but every Big Ten school will get their big bag of money & all will be right with the world. Not so fast my friend. I count six teams ranked in the top-10 who can give Ohio State a game & probably beat them. Say, how about a playoff, wouldn't that be cool, actually have the national championship decided on the field instead of by a bunch of parasite voters & 3 computers? Doesn't that make sense? Of course it doesn't, how are we going to write off me taking 14 family members to the Orange Bowl for a week of golf, 5-Star dining & limo's? Playoffs? "No, it's just too hard on our student athletes" is the excuse we've gotten for over ten years all the while we've been forced to watch one crappy title game after another(save the Texas-USC game of 2006). This season's disappointment is scheduled for January 10th in the Rose Bowl, maybe I'll watch the Roseanne marathon on TV Land that night.
The Florida Gators can kiss any title hopes they held goodbye after losing for the second straight week, this one at home in "the Swamp." LSU won in typically bizarre LSU fashion 33-29 on a 3-yard pass from backup QB Jarrett Lee to Terrance Toliver with 6-seconds left in the game. The Tigers actually fooled Gator coach Urban Meyer into believing they were going to attempt a 43-yard field goal with :38 left on the clock. They line up & LSU's Les Miles calls a timeout with his usual "why in the hell did he call a timeout now?" They lined up for the kick, ball snapped, the kicker makes a break to his right & the holder flips the ball blindly over his shoulder toward him. The ball bounces perfectly, the kicker scoops it up & makes a 1st down. Then Lee throws a perfect strike to Tolliver who runs to the 3-yardline, spike the ball, incompletion on 2nd down & with 6-seconds to play.....touchdown! I get a reprieve from Miles' shenanigans next week, LSU plays McNeese State & they won't be on TV.
The #9 Arizona Wildcats' luck finally ran out, losing to Oregon State 29-27. The Beavers never trailed in the game, the same Beaver team that lost to TCU & Boise State earlier this season. When Zona hung on to defeat Iowa three weeks ago, I had serious doubts about Mike Stoops' Wildcat team. After watching them squeak out a come-from-behind 10-9 win against Cal last week & then again tonight, this team is no better than middle of the conference pack.
Oregon's 3rd ranked Ducks had a much tougher time than expected with Washington State, they of three wins in three years. The Ducks prevailed 43-23, but lost QB Darron Thomas & backup RB Kenjon Barner to injuries. What they are & how serious they are remains to be seen, mum is the word from the Ducks.
Number four Boise State's coach Chris Peterson called off the dogs at the end of the 3rd quarter leading 57-7 against Toledo. Maybe if he hadn't stopped the slaughter, his team wouldn't get jumped in the polls by the "heartless Huskers" of Bo Pelini. He doesn't mind running up the score, like Pete Carroll used to. Both of them are huge whiners when someone beats them. Anyway, I figure Nebraska will leap frog over Boise & TCU, who won 45-0 today. Whatever way the BCS finds to put the screws to these two teams come bowl time, I just hope they get matched up with someone other than themselves. They have played each other in bowl games the past two years, believe me, that was by design. No one wants to get "Boisied" like Oklahoma did in '06.
Auburn remained undefeated with a Wes Byrum 24-yard field goal with no time left, beating Kentucky 37-34. The Tigers were leading 24-7 & 31-14 in the first half before they put it in cruise control & watched while the Wildcats came storming back with 17 unanswered second half points. They were very lucky not to lose the game. Auburn is basically a one-man team with quarterback Cam Newton running for 198-yards & 4 touchdowns. I had bet Auburn -6 & said "keep scoring, don't take your foot off the gas." Well coach Gene Chizik allowed his guys to pretty much sleep walk thru the entire 2nd half. The meat of their schedule is coming, the Tigers will not remain undefeated much longer.
How soon before we start hearing "Joe has to go?" The Penn State Nittany Lions are absolutely dreadful. Their homecoming was ruined by Ron Zooks' Illinois squad 33-13. PSU QB Robert Bolden was 8 of 21, RB Evan Royster managed just 35-yards on the ground. The Illini rolled over State with 282-yards rushing. I've said my peace about Paterno & Penn State several times, but honestly it's time for Joe to go.
As I predicted, Michigan State, a 4 1/2 point underdog, went into Ann Arbor today & whipped the 18th ranked Michigan Wolverines 34-17. The Spartans did it with a balanced attack, 249 rushing & 287 passing, intercepting Denard Robinson three times & bottling him up on the ground. Robinson went into the game leading the nation in rushing with a 187-yard average. He was held to 81-yards by Sparty. His receivers didn't give him much help either, dropping four passes, two in the endzone. But in the end, it was Robinson's inexperience, especially in the redzone, throwing two picks in the endzone. Love this kid, but he's at least a year away from being truly competitive against ranked opponents.
The 13th ranked Miami Hurricanes had their asses handed to them by Florida State, 45-17 & it wasn't that close. Miami QB Jacory Harris was brutal, completing just 19 passes in 47 attempts. The usual stingy Miami defense was shredded by the Seminoles with 298-yards rushing. They should mercifully fall out of the rankings entirely.
Stanford made me smile tonight when Andrew Luck led his Cardinal team downfield with 1:08 left in the game to defeat USC 37-35 on the last play of the game. I love seeing that bewildered look on Lane Kiffin's face as the Trojans lost their second game in two weeks. Best news is, the hardest part of their schedule is yet to come, I see another 4-loss season in the Trojans' future & a return trip to the prestigious Emerald Bowl.
Mizzou let their special teams & defense do their stuff tonight as they shutout Colorado 26-0. The Tiger offense sputtered all night. QB Blaine Gabbert sustained a hip pointer in the 2nd quarter but continued to play. He was out of synch for most of the night even tho he threw two scoring passes. The special teams blocked a punt & a field goal attempt. The defense held the powerful CU running game to just 61-yards & tho the Buffaloes passed for 250-yards, it was all underneath stuff, they only averaged 5.4-yards per attempt. Even without their best pass rusher, Aldon Smith, the Tigers constantly harassed both CU QB's. Now comes the brutal part of Mizzou's schedule, @ A&M, Oklahoma, @ Nebraska & @ Texas Tech. The Aggies were beaten by Arkansas 24-17 as QB Jerrod Johnson(picked by the media as all-Big-12) continued to pile up the turnovers. He threw an interception & lost a fumble. His 15 of 40 passing performance was hardly All-Big-12 either.
Iowa State was crushed by 10th ranked Utah 68-27. The Cyclones were right in the thick of it after one quarter, leading the Utes 14-10, then Utah scored 34 unanswered points, it was as ugly as it sounds, had to turn to another game.
The game I turned to was not the "Big Pillow Fight" Part Deaux, altho I did check on it a few times, call it morbid curiosity I suppose. This battle of the titans(2 of the 3 worst teams in the nation, Eastern Michigan has a spot here in my bottom-3) was won by New Mexico State 16-14, breaking it's 11-game losing streak. New Mexico has now lost 21 of their last 22 games. The Aggies managed this victory with just 207-yards of offense, 38-yards passing. They kicked three field goals & recovered a Lobo fumble in the endzone for their only touchdown. There were 16 penalties for 190-yards between these two. They also coughed up 7 turnovers. I once played on a team as bad as these two, it isn't fun getting the crap kicked out of you week after week, that's why playing your instate rival & beating them is monumental. So here's a big RFR salute to the New Mexico State Aggies, you finally won one! Next Saturday will find them in Fresno, getting trampled by the Bulldogs.
So are we supposed to buy into this Ohio State at the top of both polls crappola? This is precisely why I despise these preseason polls. Teams like Ohio State, who don't belong this high in any preseason poll, get there by other Big Ten conference coaches voting them there. If, by some crazy bounce of the ball, Ohio State should land in the number one spot & get into the BCS title game, then it's a financial windfall for every team within the Big Ten. That bounce of the ball happened today when Alabama lost, probably vaulting the Buckeyes into the #1 spot in both polls. If OSU can travel to Madison Wisconsin next week & beat the slowest ranked team I've ever seen, then only a stumble in Iowa will keep the Buckeyes from the BCS title game. They won't win it, but every Big Ten school will get their big bag of money & all will be right with the world. Not so fast my friend. I count six teams ranked in the top-10 who can give Ohio State a game & probably beat them. Say, how about a playoff, wouldn't that be cool, actually have the national championship decided on the field instead of by a bunch of parasite voters & 3 computers? Doesn't that make sense? Of course it doesn't, how are we going to write off me taking 14 family members to the Orange Bowl for a week of golf, 5-Star dining & limo's? Playoffs? "No, it's just too hard on our student athletes" is the excuse we've gotten for over ten years all the while we've been forced to watch one crappy title game after another(save the Texas-USC game of 2006). This season's disappointment is scheduled for January 10th in the Rose Bowl, maybe I'll watch the Roseanne marathon on TV Land that night.
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