COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEK 13, WHAT I SAW PART ONE
Another very long day, my 3rd in a row with one to go. I will finish my college wrap-up tomorrow night, I'm out of gas & I have to be up extra early to say goodbye to our company who've been here since Wednesday. We've had a great time, one fabulous meal after another(tonight it was prime rib) all cooked by Linda & her sister. Here's a few things I saw.
Pinkel & Franklin drive me to drink. Fortunately, the Tigers survived winning the last Border War game.
Saturday afternoon had us all hopeful for a big Mizzou win over the Kansas Jayhawks in would could have been the last Border War game. Tigers' head coach Gary Pinkel & quarterback James Franklin had us cussin' the entire first half. The only thing that saved them was Mizzou's defense, which played lights out against the anemic 'Hawks. KU had 57-yards of total offense at half, 88 at the end of three & 137 for the entire game. Now how much of that was the Tiger defense & how much was the KU offense, well I'll leave it to you to decide. Personally I think it was both. Franklin saved his worst outing of the season for today's first half, three interceptions & a fumble. One pick set KU up at Mizzou's 15-yardline for a field goal & the third one was run back 57-yards for a score. That was the sum total of Kansas' scoring. Pinkel was once again clueless with his timeouts before half. Nothing better than taking 2 or 3 timeouts to the locker room I always say. The Tigers pitched a shutout in the second half while scoring three measly touchdowns for a 24-10 win. It was anything but an inspiring close to the Border War series, Mizzou was damn lucky they were playing such a weak sister. It's over, now we'll await a bowl invitation with a 7-5 regular season record. Sure wish we could've seen a more dominant performance in what was once a very special rivalry.
Wolverines get it done, defeat the Buckeyes for the first time since 2003.
Another bitter rivalry that has been very one-sided as of late. No more, Michigan fought tooth & nail to fend off the Ohio State Buckeyes 40-34. It was essentially a battle of the dual-threat quarterbacks, OSU's Braxton Miller & UM's Denard Robinson. Miller made play after play, throwing for 235-yards & 2 scores while running for 100-yards with another score. Robinson completed 14 of 17 for 167-yards & 3 scores plus he ran for another 170-yards & 2 more touchdowns. I have to give Buckeye coach Luke Fickell his due, with everything he's had to deal with this season & now with Urban Meyer rumored to be taking his job, his team played their butts off, right to the end. Since Meyer asked for the weekend off from his color commentator duties with ESPN, you have to think he is going to take this job. On the other sideline, new coach Brady Hoke promised when he took the job he would "Beat Ohio." He did & after a long dry spell against the Buckeyes, the Michigan Wolverines have to be very proud with their 10-2 record & an attractive bowl bid to come.
Wisconsin clinches their spot in the very 1st BIG TEN Championship game.
The badgers were ready, they spotted Penn State a 7-0 lead & then reeled off 45-straight to eliminate the Nittany Lions from next Saturday nights title game. This Wisconsin team is looking for revenge for their last second loss to Michigan State five weeks ago. I like the Badgers in the rematch, it's tough to beat a team like this twice in one season. Wisconsin's strong suit is running the ball, in fact their leading rusher, Montee Ball, ran all over PSU, 156-yards & 4 touchdowns. Sophomore James White added another 73 as they rushed for 256-yards, a helluva lot against a Penn State defense. QB Russell Wilson chipped in 2 touchdown passes, this is an excellent team & should make for a great title tilt.
The Spartans did their job whipping Northwestern to get to Indianapolis.
It rained from kickoff to the end & Kirk Cousins & his offense fought thru it, winning 31-17, having already secured the other title game spot vs. Wisconsin. Cousins threw two scores to become the school's all-time leader in TD passes with 62. The Spartans finished 10-2, their second consecutive season with 10-wins, a school first.
Baylor & Tech score 108-points combined & it gets worse from there.
Baylor won this combination track meet/football game/fist fight 66-42. There's more. The two teams combined for 1,061-yards of total offense, 20 penalties for 229-yards & let's not forget the 6 turnovers, one returned for 90-yards & a score. This game took exactly 4-hours but even tho the two teams roared up & down the field, it was tough to watch. For parts of the game the fist fight description was was more applicable. Personal fouls, a couple of cheap shots, late hits & a helluva lot of pushin' & shovin'. One late hit knocked RG3 out of the game with concussion-like symptoms. His status for their final game with Texas is unknown, he did walk the sideline all during the 2nd half. His backup, Nick Florence filed in with 2 TD passes & another on the ground. But it was Bear RB Terrence Ganaway who on 42 carries, amassed 246-yards. Baylor ran for 360-yards & 5 TD's on the night. Tech's Tommy Tuberville has always been considered a "defensive coach". He's gonna need another moniker, his team surrendered over 40-points for the fifth time this season. Their loss dropped the Red Raiders to 5-7 & out of bowl consideration. This was Baylor's 5th conference win, a school record since joining the Big-12. With a win over Texas, the Bears would finish 9-3.
Make no mistake about it, USC should be playing for the PAC-12 title.
USC put an exclamation point on their 2011 season, finishing 10-2 by blasting crosstown rival UCLA 50-0. Believe me when I tell you it could have been a lot worse, once QB Matt barkley threw his 6th TD pass to set the all-time USC season record, coach Lane Kiffin took his foot off the gas. Barkley's wideouts, Marqise Lee & Robert Woods combined for 25-receptions, 337-yards & 4 touchdowns. UCLA will now face Oregon next week for the first ever PAC-12 Championship game. USC finished two full games ahead of the Bruins but their NCAA-imposed post season sanctions preclude them from competing for the title. UCLA finished at 6-6 & has virtually no chance against the Ducks next week. So this game carries no interest for anyone other than Oregon fans. Look out for the Trojans, they have 19 0f 22 starters returning in 2012.
In Kentucky, the agony is over as Wildcats finally beat the Vols.
The Kentucky Wildcats finally got over a very large hump. After losing 26-straight to Tennessee, they finally bested the Vols 10-7. Neither team is bowl eligible, but in Kentucky, I really don't think that mattered tonight.
Gators hold Noles to just 95-yards of total offense & lose by 2-touchdowns. Huh?
Yes, it's true, Florida State couldn't move the ball all evening, but came out a 21-7 winner thanks to 4 interceptions that set up two of the scores from pointblank range. Florida was held to 130-total yards & avoided their first shutout in 23-years by getting into the endzone late in the 4th quarter. Brutal game, unless you you like to watch 18 punts.
More later today.
Pinkel & Franklin drive me to drink. Fortunately, the Tigers survived winning the last Border War game.
Saturday afternoon had us all hopeful for a big Mizzou win over the Kansas Jayhawks in would could have been the last Border War game. Tigers' head coach Gary Pinkel & quarterback James Franklin had us cussin' the entire first half. The only thing that saved them was Mizzou's defense, which played lights out against the anemic 'Hawks. KU had 57-yards of total offense at half, 88 at the end of three & 137 for the entire game. Now how much of that was the Tiger defense & how much was the KU offense, well I'll leave it to you to decide. Personally I think it was both. Franklin saved his worst outing of the season for today's first half, three interceptions & a fumble. One pick set KU up at Mizzou's 15-yardline for a field goal & the third one was run back 57-yards for a score. That was the sum total of Kansas' scoring. Pinkel was once again clueless with his timeouts before half. Nothing better than taking 2 or 3 timeouts to the locker room I always say. The Tigers pitched a shutout in the second half while scoring three measly touchdowns for a 24-10 win. It was anything but an inspiring close to the Border War series, Mizzou was damn lucky they were playing such a weak sister. It's over, now we'll await a bowl invitation with a 7-5 regular season record. Sure wish we could've seen a more dominant performance in what was once a very special rivalry.
Wolverines get it done, defeat the Buckeyes for the first time since 2003.
Another bitter rivalry that has been very one-sided as of late. No more, Michigan fought tooth & nail to fend off the Ohio State Buckeyes 40-34. It was essentially a battle of the dual-threat quarterbacks, OSU's Braxton Miller & UM's Denard Robinson. Miller made play after play, throwing for 235-yards & 2 scores while running for 100-yards with another score. Robinson completed 14 of 17 for 167-yards & 3 scores plus he ran for another 170-yards & 2 more touchdowns. I have to give Buckeye coach Luke Fickell his due, with everything he's had to deal with this season & now with Urban Meyer rumored to be taking his job, his team played their butts off, right to the end. Since Meyer asked for the weekend off from his color commentator duties with ESPN, you have to think he is going to take this job. On the other sideline, new coach Brady Hoke promised when he took the job he would "Beat Ohio." He did & after a long dry spell against the Buckeyes, the Michigan Wolverines have to be very proud with their 10-2 record & an attractive bowl bid to come.
Wisconsin clinches their spot in the very 1st BIG TEN Championship game.
The badgers were ready, they spotted Penn State a 7-0 lead & then reeled off 45-straight to eliminate the Nittany Lions from next Saturday nights title game. This Wisconsin team is looking for revenge for their last second loss to Michigan State five weeks ago. I like the Badgers in the rematch, it's tough to beat a team like this twice in one season. Wisconsin's strong suit is running the ball, in fact their leading rusher, Montee Ball, ran all over PSU, 156-yards & 4 touchdowns. Sophomore James White added another 73 as they rushed for 256-yards, a helluva lot against a Penn State defense. QB Russell Wilson chipped in 2 touchdown passes, this is an excellent team & should make for a great title tilt.
The Spartans did their job whipping Northwestern to get to Indianapolis.
It rained from kickoff to the end & Kirk Cousins & his offense fought thru it, winning 31-17, having already secured the other title game spot vs. Wisconsin. Cousins threw two scores to become the school's all-time leader in TD passes with 62. The Spartans finished 10-2, their second consecutive season with 10-wins, a school first.
Baylor & Tech score 108-points combined & it gets worse from there.
Baylor won this combination track meet/football game/fist fight 66-42. There's more. The two teams combined for 1,061-yards of total offense, 20 penalties for 229-yards & let's not forget the 6 turnovers, one returned for 90-yards & a score. This game took exactly 4-hours but even tho the two teams roared up & down the field, it was tough to watch. For parts of the game the fist fight description was was more applicable. Personal fouls, a couple of cheap shots, late hits & a helluva lot of pushin' & shovin'. One late hit knocked RG3 out of the game with concussion-like symptoms. His status for their final game with Texas is unknown, he did walk the sideline all during the 2nd half. His backup, Nick Florence filed in with 2 TD passes & another on the ground. But it was Bear RB Terrence Ganaway who on 42 carries, amassed 246-yards. Baylor ran for 360-yards & 5 TD's on the night. Tech's Tommy Tuberville has always been considered a "defensive coach". He's gonna need another moniker, his team surrendered over 40-points for the fifth time this season. Their loss dropped the Red Raiders to 5-7 & out of bowl consideration. This was Baylor's 5th conference win, a school record since joining the Big-12. With a win over Texas, the Bears would finish 9-3.
Make no mistake about it, USC should be playing for the PAC-12 title.
USC put an exclamation point on their 2011 season, finishing 10-2 by blasting crosstown rival UCLA 50-0. Believe me when I tell you it could have been a lot worse, once QB Matt barkley threw his 6th TD pass to set the all-time USC season record, coach Lane Kiffin took his foot off the gas. Barkley's wideouts, Marqise Lee & Robert Woods combined for 25-receptions, 337-yards & 4 touchdowns. UCLA will now face Oregon next week for the first ever PAC-12 Championship game. USC finished two full games ahead of the Bruins but their NCAA-imposed post season sanctions preclude them from competing for the title. UCLA finished at 6-6 & has virtually no chance against the Ducks next week. So this game carries no interest for anyone other than Oregon fans. Look out for the Trojans, they have 19 0f 22 starters returning in 2012.
In Kentucky, the agony is over as Wildcats finally beat the Vols.
The Kentucky Wildcats finally got over a very large hump. After losing 26-straight to Tennessee, they finally bested the Vols 10-7. Neither team is bowl eligible, but in Kentucky, I really don't think that mattered tonight.
Gators hold Noles to just 95-yards of total offense & lose by 2-touchdowns. Huh?
Yes, it's true, Florida State couldn't move the ball all evening, but came out a 21-7 winner thanks to 4 interceptions that set up two of the scores from pointblank range. Florida was held to 130-total yards & avoided their first shutout in 23-years by getting into the endzone late in the 4th quarter. Brutal game, unless you you like to watch 18 punts.
More later today.
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