News and Notes - Week 13
By Phil Steele
NEWS AND NOTES
Miami’s first 3 drives vs Buffalo were 12, 12 and 15 plays and at one point they had a 39-8 play advantage. MU only led 3-0 and Buffalo did not have a FD with 10:02 left in the 2Q. UB then went 69/7pl and 79/6pl for TD’s and added a 52/8pl drive in the final 1:26 and actually led 21-3 at the half. In the 3Q MU went 71/12pl and 30/10pl for a TD and a missed FG. MU then went 63/12pl but fmbl’d at the UB25 and UB got 2 TD’s in the final 6:58 for a misleading 42-17 win...
The Minnesota/Iowa game was a punt-fest. The two teams combined for 17 punts. In the 1H UM fmbl’d at the UI17 and then threw an int with 3:44 left in the 1H and UI drove 39/6pl for a TD to lead 9-0. In the 2H UI got a 45 yd FG to lead 12-0. UM’s final 5 poss ended on a 4th & 1 SOD at the UI34, a punt, a 4th & gl from the 1 SOD (9:46 4Q), a 4th & 10 SOD at the UI22 (6:20) and a 4th & 9 SOD at the UI50 (:49)...
When you looked at the Houston/Memphis matchup you wondered if Memphis’ poor D would be able to stop the prolific UH offense and in the first 9 poss, UH scored 8 TD’s and led 55-14. Their 9th poss was led by backup QB Turner and with the backups in the game which was clearly out of reach, UH punted on the last 2 poss with UM gaining 134 yds on their final 2 drives in a 55-14 blowout...
Michigan finished with consecutive losing seasons for the first time since 1962 and 1963. The story of the game was 5 UM TO’s as they were only outgained 318-309. Ohio St won for the 6th straight year in this series, a school record. UM’s first miscue in this one happened when they fmbl’d from their own 9 and OSU rec’d in the EZ for a TD. Later UM went on a 52/11pl drive but missed a chipshot 24 yd FG. It was 14-3 at the half and UM actually had a 166-164 yd edge. UM trailed 21-10 when they were int’d at the OSU6 (12:11 4Q). On the next drive UM was at the OSU7 when they were int’d in the EZ (8:09). On the next drive they were int’d at the 47 (3:34). UM’s final drive ended on a SOD at their own 22...
As expected, Florida and Alabama, playing two overmatched opponents, got to play a lot of backups and had dominating wins. UF won 62-3 getting 3 TD passes from backup QB Brantley with 30-11 FD and 585-189 yd edges despite sitting DE Cunningham, DT Sanders and RB Moody. Alabama had 27-5 FD and 422-85 yd edges. Ingram who is competing for the Heisman only rushed for 102 yards on 11 carries...
Texas Tech was playing with revenge from the previous year’s 65-21 loss to the Sooners which kept them from the National Title game. OU had their chances early. With the game tied at 3, OU went 51/15pl and had a 1st & gl at the 3 but after a dropped TD pass on 3rd down settled for a 22 yd FG. TT scored on their next 2 poss and led 17-6 at the half and then scored on their first 3 poss of the 3Q for 2 TD’s and a FG. The decisive drive came when, leading 27-6, they went on an 18pl drive for a 22 yd TD run. After an OU TD with 7:30 left, TT went on an almost 7:00 drive going 82/14pl and added a TD with :47 left...
N Carolina and Boston College combined for 10 TO’s but they were mostly costly to BC. QB Shinskie for BC had 4 int’s and 2 fmbl’s. After NC went on a 70/11pl drive for a TD, BC fmbl’d and it was ret’d 20 yds for a TD. Two plays later NC got a 30 yd IR TD to lead 21-0. BC pulled within 21-13 at the half and BC had a 144-117 yd edge as they were playing to keep alive their ACC Title hopes. That score remained when BC was int’d and ret’d 39 yds to the 1 with 4:42 left in the game. NC got a TD on the next play then Marscovetra came in at QB and threw an int which was ret’d 19 yds to the BC24 and NC got a 29 yd FG with 1:35 left to close the scoring...
TCU had 25-5 FD and 523-178 yd edges vs Wyoming. TCU led 10-3 and was at the WY9 when a fmbl was ret’d 98 yds for a TD to tie it at 10 with just 6:00 left in the 2H but TCU broke it open from there and led 45-10 with 3:48 to go in the 3Q...
Arkansas led 21-7 at the half but Miss St went on a 94/11pl drive entirely on the ground for a TD then got a 70 yd TD run and only trailed 28-21after 3Q’s. Ryan Mallett threw for 313 yards and 5 TD’s and got a TD pass with 12:35 left. After Miss St was SOD at their own 43, the Hogs tacked on a TD 8pl later with 2:35 left...
UCF dominated Tulane with a 263-41 yd edge at the half and 504-50 yd edge for the game. Early on the Knights went on a 93/14pl drive but were SOD at the 2 and also went 65/13pl to the 10 but were int’d in the EZ. TO’s made up for those mistakes. TU turned the ball over on 4 of its next 5 poss and UCF got TD “drives” of 3, 13, 29 and 22 yards, the longest being 3 plays as they opened up a 35-0 lead en route to their win...
The Missouri/Iowa St game featured some big plays. Just before the half, Missouri fmbl’d at the ISU34 with :54 left and 4pl later ISU got a 38 yd TD pass to lead 17-10 at the half. MO got 70 and 63 yd TD passes on their first 2 drives of the 3Q to lead 24-17. Tied at 24, MO went for it on 4th & 1 at the ISU40 and converted and continued on for a 38 yd FG and a 3 point lead. MO then went for it on 4th & 1 at the 50 and converted and continued on a 59/11pl drive for a TD to make it 34-24 with 4:37 left and ISU was int’d at the MO4...
Kent St/Temple was a tough loss for Kent St. In the 1H they had a 277-138 yd edge but settled for a 21 yd FG, missed a 32 yd FG and from the TU12 were int’d and only led 10-9 at the half. In the 2H Kent St played without starting QB Keith and not only did they not get a FD on their first 5 poss of the 2H they also allowed a 36 yd IR TD, a fmbl set up a 25 yd TD and they allowed a 52 yd PR TD and a lead turned into a 47-13 loss. TU RB Pierce (#10 NCAA) was inj’d on TU’s first drive and didn’t return...
Notre Dame jumped out to a 14-0 lead vs Connecticut but it was 14-10 at the half. The Irish went 77/11pl and settled for a 20 yd FG and later fmbl’d a the UC14 after a 61/7pl drive. ND went 41/11pl and settled for a 23 yd FG and only led 20-17. UC was int’d in the EZ from the 12 and settled for a 29 yd FG after a 12pl drive but rec’d a fmbl with :49 left. UC missed a 37 yd FG on the last play of regulation and won it in 2OT...
Penn St missed 2 FG’s in the 1H and the game was tied at 7 but they took control in the 2H. In fact, PSU led 42-7 getting a TD with 2:53 left when MSU got a 71 yd garbage TD pass with just 1:44 left for the 42-14 final...
There was some mass confusion at the end of the LSU game but Ole Miss probably should have had the game put away prior to that. In the 1H UM settled for 3 FG’s from 45, 25 and 33 yds while LSU nailed a 50 yd FG. UM had a 40 yd IR called back and a few plays later a 27 yard TD pass was called back. They settled for a 45 yd FG and LSU not only blocked it, but they ret’d it 42 yds for a TD giving LSU a 7-3 lead. UM took the lead with a 27 yd TD pass with 13:33 left then went on a 60/15pl drive. They had a 1st & gl at the 4 and a TD would have iced it but settled for a 23 yd FG with 2:42 left, 25-17. LSU got a TD with 1:17 left but when the 2 pt conversion failed, it appeared UM had won but LSU rec’d the onside kick. They got a FD to the MSU42 but after a sk and a screen pass which lost 7 yds the Tigers actually let :15 run off the clock using their final time-out with :09 left. On 4th & 26 they got a Hail Mary FD to the 6 with :01 left but spiked the ball on the last play...
There were two key plays in the Maryland/Florida St game. FSU appeared in control as they had a 233-129 yd edge at the half and they led 14-6 and were driving but on 3rd & 7 at the MD17 they were not only int’d but ret’d 82 yards which set up a 4th & gl, 1 yd TD run with :06 left and MD pulled within 14-13. MD led 26-22 and got an int at their own 40 with 2:57 left but punted with 1:46 left and Reid got a 47 yd return to the MD45. Four plays later FSU got a TD for the lead, 29-26. On the last play, MD, from its own 25 got a 15 yd pass and a few laterals and almost broke it open but was tkl’d at the FSU40...
At the half Baylor had a 14-10 FD edge vs A&M but trailed 21-3. A&M did have a 317-174 yd edge. The game was decided at the start of the 2Q. A&M led 14-3 and BU had a 3rd & gl at the Aggie 8 but they were int’d in the EZ and ret’d to the 1. Frosh Christine Michael got a 97 yd TD run, which was the longest play from scrimmage in A&M school history to make it 21-3. Later BU had a FD at the A&M13 but was int’d at the 2. A&M scored TD’s on their first two 4Q poss to pull ahead 38-3...
Kansas settled for 27 and 26 yard FG’s at the end of long drives in the 1H and trailed 27-6. They were also SOD on 4th & 4 at the Texas 42 on their opening drive of the game. UT went up 44-13 with 11:43 left but KU got a 98 yd KR TD to get back under the spread, 44-20 (11:29). UT went 68/11pl and got a 19 yd TD run with 7:01 left for the 51-20 lead. UT got a 50 yd PR to the KU25 and then took McCoy and Shipley out after calling time-out. Backup QB Gilbert got them to the KU6 where they were SOD with 2:18 left...
As usual, BYU matches up extremely well with Air Force and dominated the game. The Cougars led 24-0 mid-2Q and had a 265-147 yd edge at the half. It was 31-7 and BYU had a 1st & gl at the 2 when QB Hall came out from center and called an audible. Unga took a direct snap into the EZ for a TD but Hall said something to a ref who flagged them for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty which took the TD off the board. On 4th & 1 they were int’d in the EZ. BYU led 38-13 when AF drove 71/12pl for a garbage TD with 1:57 left and BYU ended the game at the AF25 yd line.
MISLEADING FINALS/BACKDOOR/FRONTDOOR COVERS
Oregon St played in front of 16,167 fans as Washington St students were already away for break and it was cold and windy. They led 21-3 but had 4 consecutive pen’s including a roughing the passer and pass interf which moved WSU 43 yds just before the half to the OSU5 and on 4th & gl WSU got a 1 yd TD run to only trail 21-10 at the half despite being outgained 264-104. OSU only led 35-10 and WSU was at their 14 with 9:36 left but fmbl’d and backup QB Katz led OSU 84/7pl and they got a 3 yd TD run with 5:54 left for the frontdoor cover. OSU did get it back with 2:21 left and on 4th & 8 got a 17 yd pass to the WSU15 on the last play...
While East Carolina won comfortably 37-21, in fact led the game 37-14, UAB played much closer than the final score. UAB had 24-14 FD and 520-325 yd edges. In the 1H UAB went 84/11pl and settled for a 27 yd FG. They missed a 47 yd FG, fmbl’d at their own 44 and were SOD at the EC19. EC had a FG drive kept alive by roughing the P, converted on a fake punt and later with UAB at the EC34, they were int’d at the 3 and ret’d 89 yd to the 8 with :04 left setting up another EC FG. EC led 23-3 at the half but UAB had a 241-200 yd edge. UAB missed a 42 yd FG and after an 80/12pl drive settled for a 33 yd FG and trailed 23-6 and EC got a 99 yd KR TD to give them the 37-14 lead...
Georgia had 22-15 and 487-260 yd edges but came up short at home vs Kentucky. They led 27-13 but UK scored the game’s final 3 TD’s and a 4-0 TO margin was the key.