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This was a weird game. At halftime Florida had 21 points but had less than 30 yards of offense. South Carolina gave the game away. The Gamecocks fumbled on the first play from scrimmage that gave Florida the ball at the two yard line and they fumbled a kick-off return as well. Not too many times do you see a guy throw four touchdown passes but only have 11 completions on the day. Those were the stats of the Gators Jeff Driskell. Florida scored 44 points and only had 185 yards all day. They became the first team in over a century to score over 40 points and gain under 200 yards of offense. Injured South Carolina RB Marcus Lattimore played but only rushed three times for 13 yards. Florida plays Georgia next week and it will be their third hard game in a row.
LSU 24 Texas A&M 19
This game was very similar to the Florida- Texas A&M game earlier this year at Kyle Field. A&M jumped out to a 12-0 lead but then the LSU defense put the clamps on and held the Aggies for the most part the rest of the way. Johnny Manziel threw three interceptions and was held in check by the great Tigers defense. Tigers DE Barckevious Mingo lined up off-sides four times because he was trying to get the jump on the two A&M stud tackles Luke Joeckel and Jake Matthews. Mingo has more upside but I believe Sam Montgomery has been more productive this year for the Tigers. LSU freshman RB Jeremy Hill coming off a 124 yard performance against South Carolina had 127 against the Aggies. Big road win for LSU who now has the week off before their showdown with Alabama.
Clemson 37 Virginia Tech 17
Virginia Tech is without a doubt one of the biggest disappointments in college football this year. Virginia Tech is having problems on offense so maybe Frank Beamer can pull an Andy Reid and fire his defensive coordinator. Makes sense in Philly. Logan Thomas has been inaccurate all year and he threw two more interceptions in this one and one was returned for a touchdown. Tajh Boyd didn’t have a great day but he did run for two touchdowns and threw for a third. Star of the game was the much maligned Clemson defense that had three interceptions and two fourth down stops.
Ohio State 29 Purdue 22 OT
Ohio State pulled one out in a game that they should have lost. Braxton Miller was injured on the late in the third quarter and was taken to the hospital. Purdue led 22-14 when Ohio State drove 51 yards to tie the game after the two point conversion. Kenny Guiton came in to relieve Miller and threw a two yard TD pass to tie the game. The loss over-shadowed a good defensive effort by the Purdue defense led by DT Kawann Short. Short is one of the best DT in the country and has now had two good games against good competition. Earlier this year Short had a monster game in a loss to Notre Dame.
Oklahoma State 31 Iowa State 10
Oklahoma State got a little revenge on the Cyclones, who ended their national championship hopes last year. Iowa State will have a short trip in the Top 25 as they are sure to drop out of the rankings after this one. JW Walsh threw for 415 yards as the Cowboys gained 625 yards of total offense. Iowa State scored 10 points in the first quarter but they were shutdown the rest of the way.
Stanford 21 Cal 3
This is “The Big Game”. Don’t like messing with the football gods and moving this into October. This game was moved up because of expanded league play. This is the earliest the game has ever been played in the 115 year history of this rivalry. Cal was held to nine yards rushing on the day. Stepfan Taylor was the star offensively for Stanford; he rushed for 189 yards and a touchdown.
Pitt 20 Buffalo 6
The Bulls just can’t seem to put a full game on both sides of the ball together. Tough conditions with the winds made it hard on the offenses. UB held the Panthers offense to only 254 yards. Turnovers had been a problem for UB coming into the game but they only had one in this game. The offense couldn’t finish drives and it didn’t help that RB Bo Oliver and WR Alex Neutz sat out the game because of injuries. Ray Graham rushed for 75 yards and a touchdown to lead the Panthers offense.
Michigan 12 Michigan State 10
Somewhere up above Fielding Yost and Bo Schembechler are smiling as Michigan football recorded their 900th victory. The Wolverines are on a roll after early season losses to Alabama and Notre Dame. This one wasn’t pretty as it was a defensive struggle most of the way. Michigan was down 10-9 with two minutes to play when Denard Robinson drove the ball 36 yards to set-up a Brendan Gibbons 38 yard field goal to win the game. Robinson had 259 yards of offense on the day. The Spartans are reeling offensively when Le’Veon Bell can’t get off running. Bell was held to 68 yards on 28 carries.
Texas Tech 56 TCU 53 3 OT
The fun game of the day was played in Fort Worth as these two teams went back and forth in an offensive shoot-out. Seth Doege coming off a six touchdown performance against West Virginia followed it up by throwing seven touchdowns against TCU. The loss spoiled a furious comeback by TCU who scored 10 points in the last four minutes to tie it up and send it into overtime. TCU’s Trevone Boykin did throw for 332 yards and four touchdowns but he did throw two interceptions. Not shocked or sad at all that Texas native Lance Armstrong was forced to step down from the foundation that bears his name and lost all his endorsement deals.
Notre Dame 17 BYU 14
A battle of great LB’s in this one with Notre Dame’s Manti T’eo and BYU’s Kyle Van Noy. T’eo is a Mormon by faith and spurned going to BYU which still doesn’t sit well in Provo. Both Van Noy and T’eo answered the bell and had interceptions in the game. Notre Dame’s defense is first class but this team isn’t national championship material with this offense. Tyler Eifert is their only passing weapon and it seems they target him on every play. Notre Dame did rush for 279 yards on the ground. Thank goodness according to numerous Public Service Announcements/Commercials broadcast during football games, it appears Notre Dame Alumnus Joe Theisman's frequent urination problems are improving.
Florida State 33 Miami Florida 20
The Florida State fan base wasn’t happy with where the Seminoles ranked in the first BCS standings. This performance didn’t help them much. The game was closer than the score indicates. The “U” had lost two straight coming in and QB Stephen Morris was banged up in the North Carolina loss. Florida States defense is first class but their offense can struggle at times as it did in their loss at NC State. The Seminoles DE Bjoern Werner has some people comparing him to JJ Watt. Werner had a sack and a half in another productive game.
Alabama 44 Tennessee 13
The third Saturday in October doesn’t mean much to people in this area but it is the week that these two teams meet every year. A book called “Third Saturday in October” was written a few years ago that chronicled this series. Tennessee has allowed 173 points in four losses in the SEC. Alabama has allowed 58 points all year. AJ McCarron was supposed to be banged up coming into the game but he looked perfect. He completed 17 of 22 passes for 306 yards and four touchdowns. Alabama’s defense is a turnover machine. They intercepted Tyler Bray twice and now lead the NCAA with a plus 15 turnover ratio.
Georgia 29 Kentucky 24
Who would have seen this as a close game? Kentucky was reeling with injuries on an already thin team. Lightning was the only thing that saved the Wildcats last week as they gave up almost 50 points in two and a half quarters in Arkansas. Instead the Wildcats jump out to an early lead and Georgia has to fight and claw its way to a hard fought victory. Aaron Murray was fantastic for the Bulldogs completing 30 of 38 passes for 427 yards and four touchdowns. Kentucky rushed for 204 yards against a good Georgia defense led by LB’s Jarvis Jones and Alec Ogletree.
Kansas State 55 West Virginia 14
This was a showdown of the two Quarterbacks that were leading the way in the Heisman race with Geno Smith going up against Collin Klein. It wasn’t even close as Klein threw for 323 yards which was most in his career and combined throwing and running for seven touchdowns. Smith threw the first two interceptions of his season. The West Virginia defense is horrible. Their defense must take hitting lessons from the Yankees. The job Bill Snyder does at Kansas State is amazing. This is greatest coaching job in the history of college football.
Toledo 29 Cincinnati 23
Usually when you hold a team out of the end zone offensively you expect to win. Toledo used an interception return, a kick-off return and five field goals to upset the 21st ranked Bearcats. Toledo is no fluke they are 7-1 and their only loss was a tough one at Arizona. This was Cincinnati’s first loss of the year. Cincinnati’s Ralph David Abernathy IV, is the grandson of the noted Civil Rights Leader, and most historically-significant named player in College Football. His grand-father led the bus boycott that got Rosa Parks fame. Dr. Martin Luther King said “Ralph Abernathy is the best friend I have in the world.” The next day as they shared a room at the Lorraine Motel, King was murdered. This has nothing to do with college football but I felt you should know anyway. Abernathy IV led Cincinnati in rushing with 98 yards on only 9 carries.
Oklahoma 52 Kansas 7