Week 10 Rewind
By Judd Hall
Saturday’s slate of college football sure looked like we might have some upsets to whet our appetite at the start of the action. Yet it turns out that they were all just pulling our leg. Yeah, that tends to happen a lot on the college gridiron.
The most obvious spot for an upset early came up in Ann Arbor as Illinois took on the Wolverines as three-point road pups. When all the dust settled, Michigan became bowl eligible for the first time under Rich Rodriguez as they outlasted the Fighting Illini 67-65 in triple-overtime. It was the highest scoring game in the FBS this year. And you know there is some poor S.O.B. out there that decided to play ‘under’ 58 on this game. I feel for you, really.
One look at the score shows you that the defensive efforts of both teams looked more like middle school square dancing than actual tackling. That helped Denard Robinson rip Illinois’s stoppers for 305 passing yards and three touchdowns. The majority of Robinson’s passing yards going to Roy Roundtree, collecting 246 yards and a pair of scores on nine receptions. As good as his day was, Robinson didn’t return to the game late into the fourth quarter, giving way to Tate Forcier.
Illinois had every chance to knock the Wolverines down in this one as they recovered five turnovers from the Maize and Blue. Yet they converted those turnovers into just 18 points. Mikel LeShoure was the brightest start for Ron Zook’s Illini, gaining 120 rushing yards with another 52 receiving yards to go with his five touchdowns. Nathan Scheelhaase also had a solid day under center with 211 passing yards and 101 more yards on the ground for four scores. However, he’ll be remembered for not getting off a throw on the two-point conversion attempt in the third and final overtime.
That wasn’t the only close call in the Big Ten on Saturday.
Wisconsin found itself struggling with the Boilermakers in the first half, trailing 10-6 after the opening 30 minutes. Montee Ball helped the Badgers out with 127 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns in the second half to gain a 34-13 win and still cover as 20-point road favorites.
The Hawkeyes had their hearts in their throats for a split second against the Hoosiers in Bloomington. Ben Chappell kept Indiana in this game all afternoon with 222 yards and one pick, but he came awfully close to a game-winning touchdown. Damarlo Belcher appeared to have grabbed the winning score from Chappell in the end zone with 28 seconds remaining. However, he dropped the ball as he was heading to the ground to solidify an 18-13 win for Iowa.
Maryland looked like they might have a chance to upset the Hurricanes in South Florida as they held a 20-18 late in the fourth quarter. But Stephen Morris tossed a 35-yard strike to Leonard Hankerson to help Miami 26-20 advantage with 45 seconds remaining. It was a lead they’d never relinquish. At least the Terrapins were able to cover as eight-point road pups.
For every group of close games, you’re going to get a laugher. Florida had just that in its annual beatdown of the Commodores. This time the Gators cruised to a 55-14 win over Vanderbilt as 14 ½-point road faves. The majority of that scoring came in the second quarter, where UF outscored Vandy 34-0 and eliminate any doubt as to who would win. Now Urban Meyer’s crew has set up a prime showdown with South Carolina next Saturday night in Gainesville for control of the SEC East race.
Over in the Big XII South, Baylor was the surprising front runner. But the Bears didn’t keep that spot too long by getting by Oklahoma State 55-28 as nine-point road pups. To give you an idea of how dominant the Cowboys were in this game, they were scored four points fewer in the first half than Baylor had in the entire game. This game really was done in the first 30 minutes of play as the Bears punted the ball away three times, fumbled twice and Robert Griffin had a pick. The turnovers alone were turned into 14 points in just 13 plays. That’s efficiency on offense by Oklahoma State, my friends.
While upsets and blowouts were the norm to start out Saturday, mid-day battles were all about fireworks and statements.
There were no shortage of attention being paid to the game in Salt Lake City between the Horned Frogs and Utah. How could anyone not pay attention as it was a battle between No. 3 and No. 5 in the BCS standings?
What nobody could predict that Texas Christian was going to deliver a 47-7 pimpslap to the Utes as a 4 ½-point road favorite. The Horned Frogs lit up what is a decent Utah defense for 535 yards, while converting 9-of-13 of their third downs. Andy Dalton proved that he and his team are set for a run at that national title battle after completing 21-of-26 for 356 yards and three scores.
The other non-BCS test people were watching for was Boise State playing host to the Warriors. And the Broncos must have been paying attention to the TCU-Utah game because they throttled Hawaii 42-7 as 22-point home favorites. Boise State lit up Hawaii for a mind-boggling 738 yards and three of its six first half drives lasted for 10 or more yards. Kellen Moore continues to pile up numbers worthy of a Heisman Trophy candidate, connecting on 30-of-37 passes for 507 yards and three touchdowns.
While Boise State has stayed up near the top of the BCS rankings, it’s hard to not believe that TCU deserves to be leap frog them in the rankings. They have arguably the best defense in the FBS and an offense that is firing on all cylinders. There is a possibility that we would see these two teams meet in a bowl game for the third year in a row, but I believe nobody would have a problem if they met for all the marbles.
Oregon would have an issue with that non-BCS qualifier version of the national title game. You know, seeing as they’re No. 1 in the nation and all. The Ducks were a bit sluggish in their game against Washington. They didn’t find the end zone until there was just five minutes left in the first half with LaMichael James. Darron Thomas made sure the Quack Attack was rolling after that score by guiding them to a 53-16 triumph over the Huskies, but failed to cover as 37 ½-point home favorites.
For anyone that was wondering about Auburn, they beat the tar out of Tennessee-Chattanooga, 62-42. However, the Tigers failed to cover the number as 44-point home favorites. I figure that’s a nice way for Cam Newton to not think about the controversy swirling around him and his recruitment.
I wrote earlier this week that the Cyclones were a prime wager to cover as 16 ½-point home pups against Nebraska. The Cornhuskers were coming off of a big win at home over then-unbeaten Missouri. All Iowa State did was score two fourth quarter touchdowns to draw even at 24-24 to force overtime. ISU even pulled to 31-30 in overtime. The Cyclones decided to go for the throat on the PAT attempt by trying a trick play for two points and the win, but it fell short to give the ‘Huskers the win and a stranglehold on the Big XII North.
The primetime affairs were a mixed bag in terms of what gamblers may have been expecting.
Missouri looked like they were going to avoid a letdown in Lubbock by surging to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter over the Red Raiders. It turns out that it was going to be all downhill from there as the Tigers scored just three points the rest of the way in a 24-17 setback as 5 ½-point road favorites against Texas Tech. Mizzou was just inept on offense after that first quarter. Outside of the field goal in the second quarter, The Tigers had nine other drives. How many of those drives wound up in Red Raider territory? Just one drive, that’s all. And that was because their defense held Texas Tech to a three-and-out on its own 13-yard line.
Out in Palo Alto, Stanford and Arizona were supposed to play a great game for second place in the Pac-10. The Cardinal had other plans. Jim Harbaugh’s club pushed out to a 21-3 lead at the half and went on for a 42-17 rout of the Wildcats. Andrew Luck had his usual strong performance, connecting on 23-of-32 passes for 297 yards and a pair of touchdowns. But Stanford’s defense was the real star. They may have allowed 414 yards, but just four of the Wildcats’ 11 drives were able to make it into the red zone. That is the definition of bend, don’t break.
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