Phil's Weekly Notes
NEWS AND NOTES - Miami, Fl came in ranked for the first time this year but then Georgia Tech ripped them for 472 yds rushing. It was the 2nd most rushing yds allowed in a single game by UM (the most being 1944 when they gave up 536 to Auburn). GT led the game 41-10 before UM got a couple of garbage TD’s including a 99 yd drive for a TD with 1:18 left after GT was SOD at the 1 with 3:01 left, threatening to make it 48-16...There were some questionable spots in the Ball St/C Michigan game and even when the ball was spotted a half yd short of ESPN’s yellow line, it was still a FD, especially on a crucial 4th & 1 for Ball St at their own 38 yd line. They appeared to be stopped short which would have given CM control of the game, but amazingly it was ruled a FD. CM blew a 24-17 4Q lead and was int’d at the Ball St 9 yd line, down by 7 with :27 left...Toledo RB Morgan Williams rushed for a school record 330 yds eclipsing the previous record of 304 set by Casey McBeth vs Akron in 1994. It was a frigid night vs Miami and Toledo rolled to a 42-14 win in their first home game since Tom Amstutz stepped down...San Jose St dominated the 1st 2.5Q’s of the game vs Fresno but only led 10-3 thanks in part to a couple of missed FG’s. FSU got a 49 yd PR TD with 5:27 left 3Q then Pat Hill went with a 3-TE, no WR lineup. Exclusively running the ball FSU went 69/11pl and 90/8pl all on the ground with a pair of TD’s in their 24-10 win over SJSt on Friday night...Ohio St had not beaten Michigan by more than 16 since 1968 (40 years). That was the year Woody Hayes went for 2 to make it 50-14 at the end and when asked why, he said it was because he could not go for 3. The next year OSU paid the price when UM knocked off their unbeaten team, keeping them from a National Title. This time, the Buckeyes were in a defensive struggle. UM did not get their first FD until 8:47 was left in the 2Q and they trailed 14-0 and it was 14-7 at the half. The Buckeyes got an 81 yd PR and later after UM fmbl’d the KO drove 22 yds for a TD to lead 42-7 with 13:16 left and unlike 40 years ago, Tressel did not pile it on...Rutgers opened the year 1-5 but is now bowl eligible as they waxed Army 30-3 with 25-11 FD and 521-219 yd edges. RU ended the game being SOD at the Army 6 with :36 left threatening to tack onto the lead...Florida led The Citadel 42-0 with 9:46 left in the 2Q scoring on their first 7 poss and pulled Tim Tebow at that point. It was 70-13 when Citadel gained 77 of their 317 yds on a 12pl drive for a garbage TD with :28 left...Tennessee led Vanderbilt 20-0 at the half with a 122-25 yd edge and held on for a 20-10 win. While the game totalled 30 points, each team got an IR TD for 14 of those...While NCSt benefitted from a 6-0 TO advantage vs rival N Carolina, they also held NC to a season low 203 ttl yds while NCSt piled up a season high 466 yds. QB Russell Wilson had a career high 279 yds passing and extended his school record to 203 passes without an int...Penn St was dominant vs Michigan St leading 28-0 and later 49-7 having already brought in the backups. MSU gained 82 of their yds in the final 2:36 including a garbage TD with 1:09 left...Troy RB DuJuan Harris rushed for 234 yds, the 2nd most in Troy history as the Trojans took control of the SBC race. It was closer than the final as at the half Troy only had a 188-176 yd edge benefitting from a 65 yd blk’d FG (10 pt swing). ULL was also int’d at the 10 and Troy led 17-3 and blew it open in the 2H...New Mexico St had a 20-15 FD edge vs Louisiana Tech and 523-357 yd edge but after a 1st & gl at the 4 on a 16 pl drive, settled for a 22 yd FG, gave up a blk’d punt for a TD and despite a 302-231 yd edge trailed by 11 at the half. NMSt passed up a FG with 4:05 left going for it on 4th & 9 from the 32 but fired incomplete. LT got a 68 yd TD pass to take the lead with 3:45 left and NMSt was sk’d on 4th & 15 at the LT 45 on their last drive...A lot of Akron’s wins this year have come when it looked like all was lost. Against Ohio they gave up a 66 yd PR TD and a 63 yd KR set up OU for a 19/1pl TD. OU later got a 97 yd KR TD and led 42-28. The special teams then imploded for OU. Leading by 14, they fumbled a punt setting up a 30 yd drive for a TD by UA then OU fmbl’d the KO and Akron got a TD with 2:12 left to tie it and unlike other games, OU went 74/10pl and got a TD to pull out the win with :32 left...In the final game at the Metrodome, Iowa had 23-6 FD and 483-134 yd edges and led 55-0 with 11:13 left in the game. Most of the Gopher fans were gone and the large contingent of black and gold fans took over the building. Shonn Greene set Iowa’s single season rushing record with 1,729 yds. It was the largest Big Ten loss ever for Minnesota...Notre Dame had one of their most embarrassing losses in school history and simply left Syracuse in the game. They got a 35 yd TD pass to lead 13-10 at the half. The blown opportunities for ND came in the 3Q when they started a drive at the SU23 due to a partially blk’d P and SU penalty but ended up punting on 4th & 40. They started the next drive at the SU21 due to another blk’d P but missed a 26 yd FG then ret’d a fmbl 20 yds to the SU5 but settled for a 23 yd FG and only led 23-10. The Irish missed a 49 yd FG with 4:58 left and SU went 68/8pl for a TD with :42 left to take a 1 pt lead. The Irish missed a 53 yd FG on the final play....Pitt opened the Cincinnati game with a 69/10pl drive for a TD and led 7-0 with 9:25 to go in the 1Q. On UC’s next 7 poss they scored 4 TD’s and had a 359-32 yd edge as they built a 28-7 lead early in the 4Q in a dominating win. It was their first sellout crowd of the year and the first time they wore red jerseys in five years...Arkansas RB Michael Smith had 45 yds rushing on the first drive vs Miss St but then was held to 15 the rest of the game. MSU came in avg just 77 rush ypg vs SEC teams and had 226 rushing vs the Hogs. Just like Arkansas’ game vs Mississippi, the Hogs appeared out of it when they took over with 2:18 left but drove 80 yds for a TD with :25 left then rec’d the onside kick. This time they missed a 46 yd FG on the final play...UNLV had a shot at bowl eligibility but came up short vs a San Diego St team that had been winless in the MWC. Ryan Lindley finally looked healthy and hit 35-50 for 387 yds for the Aztecs and UNLV was still playing without their QB Omar Clayton. Mike Clausen hit 26-40 for 316 for the Rebels...The Sooners were dominant vs Texas Tech in their showdown of #2 vs #5. TT got a 27 yd TD pass with :11 left trailing 65-14. It was 42-7 at the half and 58-14 after 3Q’s...Adam DiMichele threw a school record 6 TD passes for Temple in their shootout win over E Michigan. Andy Schmidt set school records for completions, att and yards for EM hitting 50 of 76 passes for 484 yds as the teams scored 49 pts in a wild 4Q and TU held on to win 55-52...Cal Poly nearly upset Wisconsin as they missed 3 xp’s including a crucial one after a TD gave them a 29-21 lead. Those missed xp’s allowed UW to get a TD and 2 pt conv to force OT. In OT CP missed another xp which clanked off the upright and the Badgers escaped with a 1 point win...At least the Apple Cup was a good game. It was the first matchup of 10-loss teams in Pac-10 conf history and as you would expect, one team blew the lead. Washington led 10-7 when WSU got a 48 yd pass in the final seconds to set up a 28 yd FG and force OT. UW missed a 37 yd FG in the 2nd OT and WSU has now won in the rivalry four out of the last 5 years, the first time that’s happened in series history...TCU’s D dominated Air Force holding them to 7 FD’s and 161 yds offense. TCU piled up 504 yds and delivered a 44-10 win.
UPSET AND NEAR UPSETS - UTEP led Houston 28-9 in the 3Q and 35-23 in the 4Q but UH got a TD with :41 left to pull out the win at home. They appeared to have taken the lead with 4:54 left but their 2 pt att was int’d and ret’d for 2 and UTEP retook the lead 37-36...Houston Nutt beat #1 ranked LSU in Death Valley last year and with a different squad, beat #18 LSU this year. Ole Miss snapped a 6 game losing streak to LSU and the Rebels now have the inside track to 2nd place in the SEC West and a possible Cotton Bowl bid. Ole Miss dominated with a 409-215 yd edge.
MISLEADING FINALS - Kansas St led Iowa St 35-17 after 3Q’s and settled for a FG with 2:17 left to lead 38-23. Iowa St on the last play of the game got a 5 yd TD pass to only lose by 8.
COACH ON THE HOT SEAT - Charlie Weis’ record of 28-20 in 4 seasons, which is soon to be 28-21, is the same winning % as Bob Davie who was fired after 5 seasons and Ty Willingham who was fired after three.
INJURIES OF NOTE - It was a very unimpressive game for VT vs Duke. Duke was missing their starting QB Thaddeus Lewis and backup Zack Asack hit 2 of 9 passes for 20 yds with 4 int. Even with that, VT’s first score came on an 86/11pl drive for a 19 yd TD pass with :38 left in 1H to take their first lead, 7-3. With just 1:23 left, after VT punted on all 5 of their 2H poss, they got a 23 yd IR TD to make the final 14-3...BC lost starting QB Chris Crane to inj in the 2Q. Backup QB Dominique Davis had 2 fmbl’s ret’d 15 and 20 yds for TD’s and WF got a blk’d punt which they ret’d to the 1 yd line setting up a TD. At this point, after BC had settled for 32, 30 and 30 yd FG’s, WK had 3 TD’s on a combined 1 yd of offense and led 21-16 with 12:33 left. WF missed a 47 yd FG with 5:02 left and BC went 70/9pl getting a TD with 1:12 left to pull out the win...Oregon St was playing without starting QB Lyle Moevao and then lost TB Jacquizz Rodgers, the Pac 10’s leading rusher on their 2nd poss. OSU fell behind 17-10 but had a 390-297 yd edge. It appeared kicking would cost them as Justin Kahut missed the potential game tying xp in the 4Q but then nailed a 24 yd FG on the final play to give them the 19-17 win.
TURNOVERS CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE - Utah had a 6-0 TO edge vs BYU as QB Brian Johnson hit 30 of 36 for 303 yds. At one point, Utah had a 246-17 yd edge and led 17-3 but needed an int with :36 left in the half to set up a 32 yd TD pass to lead 27-17 at the half. BYU pulled within 27-24 mid-3Q but then turned it over on their final 5 poss of the game and Utah turned it into a rout and got a BCS bowl bid.
FINAL GAME - Joe Tiller’s FHG was a grand finale for him from start to finish. At the half Purdue led 41-3 with a 339-86 yd edge and they scored on their first 2 poss of the 3Q to lead 55-3. PU’s final poss of the game ended SOD at the IU10 on 4th & 2 with :09 left or they could have tacked on more to their 62-10 win where they finished with 35-12 FD and 596-214 yd edges.