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Week 9 College Football Recap
Notre Dame 30 Oklahoma 13
Notre Dame broke Oklahoma’s 47 game winning streak back in November of 1957 by shutting out the Sooners 7-0. Little known fact is that this is the game that launched the Sports Illustrated jinx. Leading up to the game Oklahoma was on the cover of the magazine and the headline read “Why Oklahoma is Unbeatable”. You would have thought that this was going to be Oklahoma’s revenge but Notre Dame came up big when the game was on the line. Oklahoma tied the game on a one yard run by Brett Bell with nine minutes to go. It was the first rushing touchdown Notre Dame had given up all year. Everett Golson then came of age and responded with a seven play 73 yard drive to put the Irish up for good. The big play was a 50 yard pass to Chris Brown. Manti Te’o intercepted a Landry Jones pass in the next possession and the game was settled in the Irish’s favor.
Kansas State 55 Texas Tech 24
Collin Klein is single-handily taking out his Heisman competitors one week at a time. Last week it was Geno Smith and this week it was Seth Doege. Klein is throwing the ball more effectively. He threw for over 300 yards last week and threw for 233 yards in this game. Texas Tech may have felt the effects of the triple OT thriller last week against TCU. Wildcats are averaging 44 points per game and allow 17 points per game. The Kansas State defense deserves a lot of credit this year. So much is going towards Klein and the offense but defense has been great as well. Next week Oklahoma State comes to Manhattan.
South Carolina 38 Tennessee 35
Tennessee kept South Carolina star DE Jadeveon Clowney in check for 59 minutes. With a minute to go and Tennessee driving for a tying field goal or winning touchdown, Cloweny caused a fumble on a sack of Tyler Bray that won the game for the Gamecocks. It was a costly win for South Carolina. Late in the second quarter RB Marcus Lattimore had to leave the game with a knee injury. Both teams came to the center of the field as Lattimore was carted off the field. The injury was so bad you have to wonder if his career is over. Tennessee coach Derek Dooley is in trouble and maybe fired. His team played inspired ball for him but it just wasn’t enough. Some rumors having Jon Gruden take over Tennessee if Dooley is fired.
Florida State 48 Duke 7
Duke is bowl eligible this year. Why is that important? The "Trustfunders", last bowl win was 7-6 over Arkansas back in 1961 in the Cotton Bowl. That was when "PRESIDENT DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER" was still in office, cleaning out his desk for the incoming JFK Administration! Today was not Duke’s day. Florida State scored 17 first quarter points on way to a romp. EJ Manuel had only 8 completions but two were for touchdowns. More impressive is he threw for 282 yards on those 8 completions average of over 35 yards a completion.
Georgia 17 Florida 9 at Jacksonville
The only place Tim Tebow lands before the Tuesday trade deadline is where this game was played in Jacksonville. This was the game that was once known as “the greatest outdoor cocktail party” before political correctness stopped it. Georgia stopped Florida from stamping a ticket to Atlanta and the SEC championship game. Actually Florida stopped Florida. Six turnovers by the Gators did them in. The last one was a strip by LB Jarvis Jones as Florida was ready to score with two minutes left. Georgia now controls their destiny to get to Atlanta. Teams are focusing in on Florida RB Mike Gillislee. The last three weeks he has rushed for 67, 37 and 78 yards. Draft note: Georgia LB Alec Ogletree has been a disappointment against the run because he isn’t taking on blockers at the point of attack.
Kent State 35 Rutgers 23
You won’t get any tears from me seeing David Stern going away. To me he was the most arrogant pompous dictator the sports world has ever seen. Good-bye, Good riddance, auf wiedersehen David Stern. Rutgers is now taken off the list of unbeaten teams. Rutgers QB Gary Nova was intercepted six times in the loss. Mark Fackler intercepted one of those passes and raced 25 yards for a touchdown to help Kent State jump out to a 21-3 lead. Kent State has only lost one game this year as well.
Arizona 39 USC 36
USC had too many mistakes in this game. USC had five turnovers and 13 penalties. Matt Barkley had some suspect decisions this year and they continued. He has been surpassed as the top QB in the upcoming draft in my eyes by Geno Smith. A great battle between two game breaking WR’s took place. USC’s Marqise Lee had 16 receptions for 345 yards and two touchdowns. Arizona’s Austin Hill had 10 receptions for 259 yards. Arizona was down 28-13 before rattling off 26 straight points to take the lead. Arizona lacks team speed but their execution under Rich Rodriguez has been very good. Lane Kiffin has always been a shady person to me. Don’t know if you saw but he was caught changing the numbers on his players on special teams last week. This was to beat Colorado.
Oregon 70 Colorado 14
Good thing Colorado always ranks high as one of the best party schools in the country because the only way to enjoy this one as a Buffaloes fan was drunk. Oregon scored 28 first quarter points and followed that up with another 28 points in the second quarter. This is the last easy game for the Ducks. Oregon will prove their worth the next three weeks when they have to play USC, Stanford and Oregon State.
Michigan State 16 Wisconsin 13 OT
This was a defensive game that neither team deserved to win. The signature series in this game was when Wisconsin botched a punt giving the Spartans the ball at the Badgers 11. The Spartans then traveled back 23 yards and were forced to punt. Wisconsin had only 19 yards rushing on the day. When was the last time you could say that about a Badgers team? Andrew Maxwell may have come of age a little in this one hitting Bennie Fowler from 12 yards out to win the game in overtime.
Ohio State 35 Penn State 23
Because of "Play for Ink" Tattoo and Pedophile Scandal neither teams is eligible for a bowl game this year. Ohio State improved to 9-0 on the season and snapped the Penn State five game winning streak. The health of Braxton Miller was a big question coming into the game. Miller missed the fourth quarter of last week’s game against Purdue. Miller answered the bell by rushing for 134 yards, throwing for another 143 and combining for three touchdowns.
Stanford 24 Washington State 17
Little disappointed in Mike Leach’s first season in Pullman, but I still believe he will turn the program around very soon. This game showed that the Cougars have potential. Washington State went into Stanford and gained over 140 yards more than the Cardinal. Stanford got back to back sacks after State converted a fourth and 21 and had the ball on the 9 yard line with less than :30 left. Biggest play of the game happened early in the fourth quarter when Ed Reynolds intercepted a Jeff Tuel pass and raced 24 yards to give Stanford a 24-10 lead.
Texas A&M 63 Auburn 21
Never a good sign when newspapers are asking how much it is to buy out your contract. That’s what Gene Chizik faces on the Plains at Auburn. It wouldn’t shock me if Chizik is let go this week. This game was embarrassing to have in front of your home crowd. Johnny Manziel ran all over the Tigers defense. Manziel combined for five touchdowns in the game and he was pulled in the third quarter. The Aggies gained 671 yards on offense.
Nebraska 23 Michigan 9
Denard Robinson had to leave the game late in the second quarter and that pretty much ended the Wolverines chances of winning the game. His replacement Russell Bellomy came in threw three interceptions and completed only three of sixteen attempts. The much maligned Taylor Martinez threw for 166 yards and a score. This was the second straight week where Michigan failed to score a touchdown.
Alabama 38 Mississippi State 7
It doesn’t look like anyone is going to touch Alabama this year. Mississippi State came into the game undefeated in the SEC but the teams they had beaten in the SEC still were looking for their first SEC win (Auburn, Kentucky, Tennessee). The Bulldogs had done a good job of not turning the ball over coming into this game. The best defense in America got three turnovers from Dan Mullen’s team. AJ McCarron was efficient again at the helm for the Tide throwing for 208 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Alabama travels next week to face LSU.