News and Notes - Week 10
By Phil Steele
NEWS AND NOTES
The Buckeyes allowed just 2 FD's and 62 yards. OSU had a 305-41 yd edge at the half but missed a pair of 52 yard FG's. In the 2H Pettrey suffered a knee inj and backup Barclay missed 2 of 3 FG's (47 & 36). They also settled for a 29 yd FG and only led 31-0 but recovered a fmbl in the EZ for a TD and got a 53 yd TD run by Herron to make it 45-0 at the end of 3Q's. QB Pryor sat out the entire 2H in a 45-0 win...
Florida St/NC State was a shootout. At the half, NCSt had a 316-294 yd edge yet surprisingly the score was just 21-21. The teams continued to trade scores in the 2H with NCSt taking their first lead 42-38 with 3:50 left, but FSU got a TD with 1:36 left and at midfield NCSt was int'd in the EZ on the last play of the game...
Missouri dominated the 1H vs Colorado. In fact, they had a 306-55 yd edge and led 33-3. CU took its opening 3Q poss for a TD then got a 78 yd IR TD to pull within 2 scores. Unfortunately, CU on 4th & 1 at the MO13 early 4Q was stopped and on their next drive the Buffs were int'd at the 24 and could not get any closer...
Clemson only led Coastal Carolina 21-0 at the half and played mostly backups in the 2H but a 28 point 3Q put them up 49-0. CC drove 64/15pl getting a 31 yd FG with 4:02 left to avoid the shutout...
Navy/Temple had a lot of twists and turns. Bernard Pierce rushed for 267 yds for TU as the Owls won their 6th straight game, their longest streak since 1974 and they clinched bowl eligibility for the first time since 1979. They also stopped Navy's 5 game win streak. Navy settled for a 30 yd FG and was SOD at the TU32 and TU got a 68 yd TD run 2pl later to lead 7-3. Navy blk'd a punt for a TD to lead 10-7 (2:24 2Q) but TU ret'd the KO 100 yds for a TD, 14-10. TU was up 17-10 when they fmbl'd the punt at their own 29 setting up a Navy TD then after an int, Navy went 51/12pl for a TD to lead 24-17 early 4Q. TU settled for a 21 yd FG with 12:02 left but was int'd at the Navy 22 with 6:37 left. After forcing a Navy punt, they got a 41 yd TD run by Pierce with 2:47 left to pull out the win...
UConn QB Cody Endres went down with just over 6:00 left 1Q but Zach Frazer hit 21-46-333 yds and 3 TD's. Frazer lost his job to Endres after he suffered a knee injury in the 2nd game of the season. CU also lost senior CB Robert McClain late 2Q and had 3 rFr in the secondary. It looked like it was going to be another tough loss for Rutgers as they led almost the entire game vs Connecticut. They ret'd the opening KO 98 yds for a TD and they were up 21-10 at the half allowing a UC 100 yd KR. They still led in the 4Q by that margin when UC got a TD with 10:19 left and then UC took over with 3:49 left and converted on 4th & 1, 3rd & 10, 4th & 5 and on 4th & 2 got a TD with :38 left to apparently pull out the win, 24-21. RU, however, threw a short pass to Brown which he took 81 yds for a TD on the next play and RU got the 28-24 win...
Nebraska appeared in control vs Baylor as they led 20-0 with 9:29 left in the half. The Huskers gave up a 41 yd FG early 3Q and then a 45 yd IR TD put BU under the spread, 20-10 (3:27 3Q). NU fmbl'd at the BU28 and BU went 65/9pl but had a 24 yd FG bounce off the upright (6:28) then went 58/8pl and fired incomplete on 4th & 10 from the NU20...
Kent St had a 287-137 yd edge at the half vs W Michigan but only led 13-7 after settling for a couple of short FG's. For the game, KSU had a 477-293 yd edge and ended the game at the WM9 yd line in a 26-14 win...
Central Michigan at one point vs Boston College had a 14-2 FD edge but only led 3-0. BC drove 80/11pl and got a TD with :50 left in the half to take the 7-3 lead and the momentum. BC opened the 3Q with the wind at their back and went 74/7pl, 72/7pl, 55/8pl for 2 TD's and an 18 yd FG and led 24-3. CM pulled QB LeFevour for the 4Q...
Utah St led Fresno St 27-17 at the half with a 354-245 yd edge. USt still led 27-24 when they missed a 21 yd FG with 14:12 left. Each team punted twice and FSU took over at their 22 with 5:59 left. They got a 46 yd run to the 25 and a 10 yd TD run by Mathews with 4:53 left. USt punted with 3:13 left and FSU was pinned at their 6 but got a FD on 2nd & 5 and then on 3rd & 11 got an 11 yd run to the 32 and took a knee...
Michigan appeared in control vs Illinois. They had a 238-94 yd edge at the half but only led 13-7 as they settled for 2 FG's. They opened the 3Q with a 79/7pl drive down to the 1. After being stuffed on 3 straight run plays they opted to go for it on 4th & gl at the 1. The game changed dramatically as they were SOD and 6pl later UI got a 70 yd TD run. UI then went 79/4pl and 45/6pl for TD's and a stunning 28-13 lead. UM fmbl'd at the UI21 (14:47 4Q), was SOD at the UI11 and the UI10 (8:20 4Q) and fmbl'd at UI's 15 (3:44 4Q). UI on 3rd & 9 not only got the FD but got a 79 yd TD run by Ford with 1:45 left...
Duke won their 3rd ACC game in a row for the first time since 1989. Duke had a 178-81 yd edge at the half but only led 9-3. They actually trailed 17-12 after Virginia got a TD with 11:17 left. Duke was int'd in the EZ with 8:01 left but got a 42 yd TD pass with 3:45 left to take the lead. They then got a 7 yd FR TD and after UVA was SOD at their 29 Duke added a 42 yd FG with 1:05 left for some margin, 28-17. Duke did have a 424-196 yd edge...
Arkansas led E Michigan with a commanding 391-39 yd edge at the half. EM began to move against their backups in the 2H and even got a 10 yd TD run with 2:14 left in the game...
N Texas/WKU was a wild one and WKU had the upper hand most of the game. The Hilltoppers got a TD with :47 left 1H to lead 35-21 but gave up a TD with :06 left. They were still up 49-42 late 3Q. NT got a 71 yd TD run then after an int scored a TD. WKU was SOD at their own 46 and NT got a 29 yd FG. After pinning WKU at the 6 on the KO, WKU was tkl'd for a safety. NT took the free kick and went 51 yds for another TD to break it open for a 19 pt win. WKU was SOD at its own 32 and NT took a knee at WKU's 3 yd line at the end...
California jumped out to a 14-0 lead over Arizona St and in the 1H had a 15-7 FD edge. ASU got an 80/1pl TD pass to tie it at 14 and only trailed by 3 at the half. Trailing 20-14, ASU got a TD with 10:21 left and Cal went on a 47/9pl drive but missed a 39 yd FG with 5:46 left. ASU came up inches short and punted with 3:16 left and Cal would get a 24 yd FG with :21 left to pull out the win. Cal had missed 2 FG's so they tried for the EZ on the play prior and it was almost int'd...
There were some interesting happenings in the Toledo game. UT's top 2 QB's Opelt and Dantin were both questionable and Opelt QB'd the 1Q but left with an inj with the game tied at 7. UT trailed 24-7 at the half. One of Miami's TD's was on a 20 yd IR TD. Opelt came back in for the 2H and they pulled within 31-24. He was inj'd again and this time they turned to 3rd stringer Pettee. UT took over at their own 1 with 7:52 left and drove 99/6pl and got the apparent tying TD with 1:02 left but replay overturned the TD saying the ball was fmbl'd into the pylon and ruled a TB and MU ran out the clock...
Notre Dame was coming off a school record 6 consecutive games decided by 7 or less pts. A look at the stats makes you wonder how ND only won by 26 points as they had 32-12 FD and 592-206 yd edges. Of Washington St's 209 yards, 95 came when they were trailing 40-7 in the final 8:22...
Oklahoma St had a 275-273 yd edge but was done in by 5 TO's. Each team drove for a TD in the final 2:18 of the 1H but there were 3 key int's which turned this into a route. Trailing 10-0, OSU was driving to pull within a score when they were int'd and ret'd 77 yds for a TD with 6:21 left in the half which made it 17-0. In the 2H UT got a 31 yd IR TD to make it 34-7 and then got another 31 yd IR to the OSU15 setting up a 15/3pl drive for a TD, 41-7. OSU had a 28 yd TD drive after a 15 yd PR so despite neither team topping 275 yds offense, there were 55 pts on the board and Texas was not as dominant as the 41-14 final would indicate...
Georgia was coming off a bye and came out in black pants and black helmets but UF opened with an 80/6pl drive for a TD and 92/11pl drive for TD to lead 14-0. They were up 24-10 at half and 31-10 early 3Q. UF led 34-17 when UGA brought in backup QB Gray and on 2nd & 15 from his own 3 was int'd and Spikes walked into the EZ for a TD with 6:24 left. UF's backups moved 73/8pl on the final drive taking a knee at the UGA20 up 41-17.
MISLEADING FINAL SCORES
UTEP in the 1H had 19-9 FD and 315-228 yd edges but trailed UAB 28-17. The key play happened when UTEP had a 3rd & gl from the 4 and Vittatoe was int'd & ret'd 99 yds for a TD. UTEP went on a 60/14pl drive and settled for a 28 yd FG and after UAB got a 43 yd IR to the UTEP36 on 3rd & 8 they got a 34 yd TD pass. For the game UTEP had 35-18 FD and 585-375 yd edges and once again, after gaining control of the CUSA West, they lost as a favorite...
Utah had a 12 pt win over Wyoming but actually trailed most of the game. Utah RB Eddie Wide had his fifth straight 100 yd rushing game but the Utes trailed 10-3 at the half when they took the RS off of true frosh QB Jordan Wynn. He guided the team 61/12pl and 50/10pl for a pair of FG's on his first 2 poss to pull Utah within 10-9. His 23 yd TD pass with 7:35 left gave them their first lead, 16-10. WY was int'd at the Utah 40 then went for it on 4th & 6 with 1:53 left at their own 20 and was sk'd back at their 9 and Utah got the TD 2pl later for the misleading final of 22-10.
CLOSER THAN THE FINAL
The Syracuse/Cincinnati game was closer than the final. UC got an 81 yd pass on 3rd & 11 for the first score. SU went on a 75 yd TD drive, 7-7. UC faked a FG and got a 16 yd TD pass, 14-7. SU had a 1st & gl at the 8 in the 2Q but was int'd in the EZ and SU had a 1st & gl at the 7 but fmbl'd in the 3Q. UC led 21-7 and got the spread covering TD with 9:53 left capping a 48 yd drive and SU punted on their final 2 poss. Tony Pike missed the game with inj and Collaros got his 2nd straight start...
The Iowa St/Texas A&M game was closer than the score. In the 1H A&M only had a 207-188 yd edge but led 21-3 as ISU punted from the 37 of A&M, was int'd at the 34, was SOD on 4th & 1 at the A&M23 and settled for a 29 yd FG. A&M fmbl'd the opening 3Q KO but ISU was int'd in the EZ. A&M took over with 8:28 left and would go 56/13pl getting a 2nd & gl at the 1 and taking a knee 3 straight times giving the ball back to ISU with :26 left.
FRONTDOOR/BACKDOOR COVERS
It was a remarkable ATS win for Iowa, let alone an 18 point win as a 17.5 pt favorite. Indiana led 14-0 as they took advantage of 5 Stanzi int's but they were only +3 in TO's for the game. It was 21-7 Indy at the half. Iowa got back in the game in remarkable fashion. Indy had a 3rd & gl at the 2 after an int and Chappell's pass was deflected 4 different times, int'd by Sash who ret'd 86 yds for a TD and Iowa was back in it at 21-14. Indy got a 48 yd pass to the 15 then an 11 yd TD pass put them up 28-14. Amazingly the replay officials took the TD off the board on a very questionable ruling and Indy missed a 28 yd FG and got no points. After an int Indy got a 37 yd FG, 24-14. Iowa then got a 93 yd TD pass on the first play with 13:03 left to pull within 3 then got a 66 yd TD pass on their next offensive play with 11:38 left to take a 28-24 lead. After an Indy int, Iowa drove 45 yds for a TD to put it away 35-24 with 7:34 left. Iowa took over at their own 34 with 5:09 left and got 2 FD's. Had they picked up a FD on 3rd & 2 they would have gone to a knee but Wager ripped off a 27 yd TD run to get them ahead of the spread and the frontdoor cover with 1:12 left, 42-24...
Northern Illinois dominated the 1H. They had a 53/15pl drive result in a blk'd 37 yd FG, went 46/8pl but dropped a TD pass and settled for a 22 yd FG then went 45/10pl for a 37 yd FG yet only led 6-0. Akron did miss a 38 yd FG. UA, on an 80 yd TD pass, led 10-6 after 3Q's. NI got a 28 yd TD run with 13:35 left then after an 18 yd punt drove 53/7pl for a TD with 7:59 left to lead 20-10. UA got down to the NI13 yd line but fmbl'd. After each team punted, UA only got off a 24 yd punt with 3:02 left and NI, after getting a FD on 3rd & gl from the 7, got a TD run with :46 left for the frontdoor cover...
Houston had a 39-28 FD edge vs Southern Miss. UH led 30-22 at the half and increased the margin to 40-22 with 12:25 left but SM got 3 TD's while UH settled for a 23 yd FG and fmbl'd at the SM22. SM's 3rd TD came with :57 left to tie it at 43. UH got 1 FD then on 3rd & 10 an 18 yd pass to the SM28. They were in position for the game winning FG but got a 28 yd TD pass with :21 left to get ahead of the spread...
TCU did have a 339-101 yd edge at the half but only led 20-0. TCU was SOD at the UNLV40 (4:59 3Q) and led 27-0. LV fmbl'd the punt at their own 37 and TCU got a TD 5pl later early 4Q, 34-0. After 3 punts, TCU took over at their 39 with 6:32 left and went 61/8pl and on 3rd & 7 got a 10 yd TD pass for the frontdoor cover.
SPECIAL TEAMS CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
In the 1H, Florida Atl had a 260-73 yd edge but only led 17-13 as Middle Tennessee blk'd a punt and ret'd it 29 yds for a TD, tackled the P for a 9 yd loss setting up a FG without a FD and FAU also had a 34 yd FG blk'd. In the 2H, FAU had a 3 yd punt but still led 20-13 and for the game FAU had 28-11 FD and 478-329 yd edges. MT tied it early 4Q. FAU passed up a 43 yd FG with 6:19 left and fired incomplete on 4th & 3 and Dwight Dasher got a 74 yd run on a QB draw for a TD to give MT their first lead with 5:31 left. QB Rusty Smith was inj'd and backup Vancamp led them to the MT27 and on 4th & 7 a FD pass to the 8 was overturned and MT took a knee.