NCAA Football Week#7

[mckbln]

There were some good games, some near upsets, and some blowouts. Yep, just another week in college football. Notre Dame dodged a bullet, LSU found a running game, WVa's offense was finally unable to cover their defense, and Texas...wow.


ACC (pronounced "ACK"):
Florida St crushed Boston College 51-7. The 'Noles will be cruising thru a weak ACC schedule all the way to the title game, but they have virtually NO shot at the BS, er BCS title.

Big Least:
Louisville, Cinncinnati and Rutgers are both still undefeated...and still irrelevant.

Big 12:
The "Red River Rout, er Rivalry" continued to be a lopsided affair. Last year the Sooners hung 55 points on the 'Horns, this year they upped it to 63, which included 4 rushing TDs by the backup QB. At some point I was wondering if Bevo would charge the sideline and gore the defensive coordinator.
Kansas St won an impressive road victory 27-21 over Iowa St. May not sound like a big deal, but go back a year ago and guess who blew away OSUs BS, er BCS title hopes? It won't get any easier next week; the Wild Cats have to travel east to Morgantown...
...speaking of West-BY GOD-Virginia, they went to Lubbock to face Texas Tech and one of the best pass defenses in the Big 12. The Mountaineers did not adapt well to the flat land and Geno Smith had his worst outing of the season and while their porous "D" coughed-up 49 points, they only managed to score 14.

Pig Ten:
Ohio St played sloppy but still managed to hold on to a 52-49 win over Indiana (pretty close to what the basketball score would be). The BlackEyes are undefeated and the best team in a really bad conference, but still on probation...which actually might be a good thing since the Pig Ten conference winner will head off to it's annual slaughter come BS, er BCS bowl time.

PAC 12:
Oregon did not play, Oregon St used a 21 point 4th Qtr to beat BYU and remain undefeated, and USC beat Washington 24-14, despite being shut-out the entire 2nd half.
Stanford played Notre Dame, a team they had pounded in the 3 previous meetings. This would be a match-up of two defense-oriented teams, and weak QBs. Both teams committed a pair of bad turnovers that led to TDs. As bad as Golson is (two fumbles, one a drive killer, the other recovered for a TD), I still don't understand why Rees doesn't start. I also don't understand why Stanford didn't go to it's two tight ends more (6'6" and 6'8", both over 230lbs). The Irish gave up 102yds rushing to Stanford RB Taylor, which unfortunately for the Cardinals was one yard short of what they needed. Down for the first time this year, 13-6 in the 4th Qtr Golson took a helmet to helmet hit and was taken out of the game. Rees threw the tying touchdown pass and the game went into OT, tied 13-13. On NDs first possession Rees tossed a 7-yd TD pass to put the Irish up 20-17. On Stanford took the ball and drove to first and goal at the 4-yd line. The Irish "D" stuffed Taylor and the Cards on 4 straight run plays, although the 3rd down play was considered "controversial" because Taylor appeared to get the ball across the goal line; while his knee never actually touched, the play was blown dead when his initial forward progress was stopped. Whew. What a game.

SEC:
Alabama continued to roll, undefeated and still the clear #1 with a 42-10 win over Mizzou. Florida avoided the so-called "trap" game, beating Vandy 31-10, although the score was only 11-7 at the half. In typical Gator fashion the passing game was not working, so they made the offensive adjustment at the half. Result? Florida QB Driskel runs for 177yds and 3 TDs. Mississippi St won and also remained unblemished.
South Carolina had to play LSU in Baton Rouge, where the Bayou Tiggers haven't lost in 11, no make that 12 now, straight games. Coming off of a tough loss to Florida, LSU couldn't afford to lose two in a row. It was a defensive struggle and the Roosters hung tough to the end, but LSU found a run game in RB Hill (which helped to keep DE Clowney OUT of their backfield) and hung on for the 23-21 win.

Notes:
Looking ahead, Oregon has the big game with Oregon St down the road which will probably decide the North and USC is still the best team in the South.
In the Big 12, KSU is in the driver's seat, but they play in Morgantown this Saturday. If they lose and Oklahoma can run the table, it could be a toss-up at the end of the season with no title game.
The SEC is in a brutal stretch right now for all teams not Alabama. LSU won, but they have to travle to College Station to take on Texas A&M. It's even worse for South Carolina; the Gamecocks lose to LSU and now have to play Florida...IN Gainesville. Ouch. To be fair, a one-loss South Carolina or Florida could still be in the BS, er BCS hunt as long as they win the SEC East and then beat the SEC West winner, be it Alabama or, unlikely LSU.
Notre Dame has a relatively easy part of the schedule coming up, BUT...they have two BIG road games ahead. Oklahoma and USC. The 'Domer "D" is outstanding, but they have yet to face a team like OU that has both a good defense AND a very good ofense. For the Irish to go undefeated and contend, they need to run the ball and get MUCH better QB play.

That's all for now...

[mckbln]

Games to watch this Sat:

1. South Carolina at Florida - This will probably decide the SEC East and have BS, er BCS title impact. If Florida wins, they will solidfy their #2 ranking. If South Carolina wins, they will get a shot at the SEC title and a chance to move-up to #1 if they win the SEC. It's going to be tough for SC; after the Bulldog beatdown, they lost a close one to LSU and now face Florida in Gainesville. Florida is playing really well right now and if they win this one, they could run the table.

2. Oregon at Arizona St - The Ducks haven't faced a tough team yet and this game is in Tempe, AZ against a good team that has been flying under the radar. If you are looking for an "upset special" this could be it.

3. Kansas St at WVa - The Wildcats have been as good on the road as they have been at home, beating OU and Iowa St in Norman and Ames. West-BY GOD-Virginia got exposed last week vs Texas Tech. The thing that gets me...KSU will be playing their 2nd straight road game and is travelling east to Morgantown. The Mountaineers are a tough home team and will be really UP for this game after the flat performance in Lubbock. While the Wildcats are one of the most balanced teams in DI, they could lose if this turns into a shoot-out. Sooner fans will be rooting for WVa.