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By Bob Gaughan
UL Monroe 34 Arkansas 31 in OT
This was supposed to be a tune-up for the big Alabama game on deck for the Razorbacks, but instead they lost at home to a team that was picked to finish sixth in the Sun Belt conference. To make matters worse for Arkansas, their star QB Tyler Wilson never came out for the second half after sustaining a head injury. Wilson’s replacement Brandon Allen was horrible in the second half completing only six of twenty passes. What happened to the Arkansas defense? UL Monroe drove the ball up and down the field all night long to the tune of 550 yards of offense. Warhawks QB Kolton Browning was 42 of 67 for 412 yards. He ran for 69 yards as well. The fans in Little Rock left stunned as the number eight team in the country goes down as a thirty point favorite.
Virginia 17 Penn State 16
Hope you are all on board at thinking it is ridiculous that Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” was banned from Beaver Stadium this year because of the “touching me, touching you” lyrics. Since this game was played in Virginia here are songs that could have been played today but will never be heard in Beaver Stadium this year: “Let’s Get It On” (Marvin Gaye), “Touch Me” (The Doors), anything that Barry White ever sung, “I Love You, You Love Me” ( Barney the Dinosaur) and “She Falling in Love with a Monster Man” (Screaming Lord Sutch).
As far as the game is concerned it might have been the first game Penn State can point directly to the sanctions from the Jerry Sandusky scandal for costing them a victory. All Big 10 kicker Anthony Fera transferred to Texas after the scandal. His replacement Sam Ficken missed four field goals including a 42 yard attempt in the final seconds.
Kansas State 52 Miami Florida 13
This was supposed to be a rematch of a thrilling 28-24 K-state win last year in Coral Gables. Instead it turned into a rout. Tough QB Collin Klein ran and passed for 281 yards and four touchdowns for the Wildcats. The Wildcats rolled up 498 total yards of offense compared to only 262 for the “U”. This performance by Miami was as bad as Fox sports Erin Andrews assault on my eardrums in that annoying Tru-Pro-Biotics-Yogurt-Sports- Supplement ad. I guess the “U” isn’t back.
NC State 10 UCONN 7
This was an interesting bounce back game for NC State pro prospects QB Mike Glennon and CB David Amerson. Amerson delivered with his 14th career interception and a break-up of a fourth down pass to seal victory. Gleenon had another sub-par performance. Glennon went 15 of 30 for only 204 yards and one touchdown. This game wasn’t pretty.
Mississippi State 28 Auburn 10
You think Auburn misses innovative offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, who took over the head coaching job at Arkansas State. The story of this game was that Auburn had 90, yes 90 yards of total offense through three quarters. In the first half Tigers QB Kiehl Frazier was one of seven for minus two yards and two interceptions. This was a big win for Dan Mullen and Mississippi State. The Bulldogs had lost ten of the last eleven contests to Auburn.
South Carolina 48 East Carolina 10
Don’t believe that Gamecock fans have to worry that Steve Spurrier is going to “Strasburg” Marcus Lattimore in late October even though he is coming off a serious knee injury. Lattimore took it easy in this one only gaining 40 yards on 13 carries. QB Dylan Thompson replacing the injured Connor Shaw threw for 330 yards and three touchdown passes. Story of the game was East Carolina turnovers. The Pirates gained over 400 yards off offense but shot themselves in the foot by turning the ball over five times.
Notre Dame 20 Purdue 17
Irish fans are delighted that Tommy Rees came to the rescue. Rees was suspended for the first game because of an off field incident this past May. Rees relived Everett Golson after Purdue tied the game by scoring a touchdown on fourth and goal from the ND 15.
Rees drove the Irish down the field and set up a game winning 27 yard field goal from Kyle Brindza. The late Neil Armstrong would have been proud of his alma mater because Purdue hung tough all day.
Florida 20 Texas A&M 17
Florida really gutted out this win in a hostile Kyle Field. A&M controlled the first half but the Gators hung around and shutout the Aggies in the second half. A&M freshman QB Johnny Manziel had a great first half but was shutdown after halftime. Key was Gators coach Will Muschamp forced Manziel to make plays from the pocket as you might remember Bill Belichick would do to Doug Flutie. The Gators had four defensive players injured in the first half. Most notably is future pro LB Jelani Jenkins who was on the sideline with his arm in a sling.
Iowa State 9 Iowa 6
Hayden Fry, the former Iowa coach, would always put extra emphasis on this game because of recruiting purposes. Hawkeye fans must now be yearning for Fry’s’ “three yards and a cloud of corn” offense. For the second week in a row the Hawkeyes looked like a glacial speed offense. Iowa gains a mere 304 yards for the game. Iowa is known for their offensive lineman in the NFL but so far this year they have done a horrible job of protecting the QB.
USC 42 Syracuse 29
Matt Barkley continued his quest for the Heisman trophy by throwing six touchdowns.
At the same time questions continue about the Trojans defense. For the second week in a row Syracuse QB Ryan Nassib was valiant in defeat. Nassib threw for 327 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Other than Barkley the star of the day for USC was WR Robert Woods. The Orange had no answer for Woods, who finished the day with 200 all purpose yards and two touchdowns. In spite of the offensive fireworks it wouldn’t surprise me if USC slipped in the polls. The game was played in the Meadowlands and was subject to a long weather delay.
Oregon State 10 Wisconsin 7
Wisconsin almost lost their home opener to Northern Iowa. One had to wonder if the 13th team in the nation had a bad day or maybe were over-rated. Over-rated is the answer loud and clear after a miserable performance in Corvallis, Oregon. Badgers star rusher Montee Ball was held to only 61 yards on the ground by and inspired Beaver defense. Oregon State held the Badgers to 207 total yards. The Wisconsin offensive line hasn’t looked this bad in over a decade. The Badgers recovered an on-side kick with a minute and a half remaining but the ruling on the field was over-turned by the review booth.
Florida State 55 Savannah State 0
After losing 84-0 to Oklahoma State, Savannah State follows up with a possible national championship contender. How could this game be allowed to be played? Isn’t the NCAA concerned about the safety of Savannah State players? Savannah State is now 4-30 since the start of the ‘09 season. This was the biggest spread in Las Vegas history at 70 ½ points. The game was called in the third quarter because of lightning.
LSU 41 Washington 3
Can someone please show Les Miles how to wear a cap? The guy just barely puts the cap on his head, like you would do to an infant baby. LSU physically pushed Washington all over the field. The Tigers flexed their muscles all night long. Washington’s only three points were scored when LSU fumbled the opening kick-off and they had to settle for the FG. This game can be summed up with the rushing yards for the game. LSU had 242 and Washington only 26.
Georgia 41 Missouri 20
Georgia was able to withstand a raucous crowd and pull away with a hard fought victory in the second half. Missouri LT Elvis Fisher got hurt early in the game. Why was that a big deal? Missouri didn’t block LB Jarvis Jones all night. Jones made a huge interception to put the game away in the fourth quarter. Jones is projected as a top 10 pick next April in the NFL draft. The game was very sloppy to start with both teams making bad miscues. The offenses started to click late in the second quarter and Missouri held a 10-9 halftime lead. Aaron Murray threw three touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs offense that exploded for 32 second half points.
UCLA 36 Nebraska 30
In a day that we saw too many bad offenses this was a game that was very entertaining.
UCLA’s offense was the key to this game. We knew that Nebraska was going to score but could they stop the Bruins? The answer was no. Jonathan Franklin rushed for 214 yards in Week one against Rice but no one expected him to duplicate the performance against the Cornhuskers defense. Franklin had over 250 yards combined rushing and receiving to lead UCLA to victory. UCLA coach Jim Mora made the proper adjustments at the half because his defense gave up only six points in the second half.
Hot Seat: Colorado head coach Jon Embree after falling to Sacramento State at home.