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Daily Blog • Monday, October 12th

NEWS AND NOTES - In case you didn’t stay up late on Thursday night, the Nebraska/Missouri game changed in a matter of 5:00. The heavy rain was dominant early and thanks to a gutsy 4th & 1 Missouri TD with no time-outs right before the half, the Tigers led 12-0 after 3Q’s as the Huskers had not threatened to score. On 3rd & 8 NU got a 56 yd TD pass with 13:56 left. They got 2 int’s on Missouri’s next 4 plays and they were returned to the 18 and 10 yard lines setting up TD’s and the Huskers scored 20 points in a span of 3:22. MO was SOD at the NU32 with 5:24 left and the Huskers tacked on a TD with :56 left scoring twenty-seven 4Q points...

Nevada’s Chris Ault became just the 35th coach to win 200 games at the same school. Louisiana Tech opened their Friday night contest with an 84 yd KR and scored on a 15 yd TD run 2pl later to lead 7-0. Nevada punted on their first poss but scored on the next 3 and took control of the game. They led 17-7 at the half and finished with 25-10 FD and 511-256 yd edges in their 37-14 home win...

Boston College and the road do not mix. In their first road game, BC travelled to Clemson and had 2 yards offense with 5:00 to go in the 3Q. They travelled to Virginia Tech and while they trailed 34-0 at the half, they were outgained 293-2 and had zero FD’s. They got their first FD on the 1st drive of the 2H. VT led 48-7 with 6:40 to go and BC put together an 80/15pl drive getting a garbage TD on 4th & 1 with :33 left...

Syracuse’s Greg Paulus had a great start to the season but last week vs West Virginia, after hitting 5 of 9 passes for 30 yards and with WV leading 27-0 early 3Q he was replaced by Ryan Nassib. Nassib hit a 50 yd TD pass on his 2nd drive but WV still easily prevailed 34-13 with a 385-222 yd edge...

Michigan St/Illinois both opted to switch QB’s for their game. IU’s McGee had a horrible performance hitting 2 of 11 passes for 31 yards and was pulled early in the 3Q. Juice Williams led IU to 2 TD drives and nearly had another 80 yd TD pass. MSU gave Keith Nichol the start for an inj’d Kirk Cousins and he hit 13 of 25 for 179. The Spartans did lead 24-0 after the 44 yd IR TD off of McGee and had a 281-60 yd edge at the half. Nichol (elbow) was inj’d late and Cousins came in to hand the ball off...

Army had a 152-101 yd edge at the half and led 3-0. They led 13-10 when Vanderbilt had a 3rd & goal from the 3 but had a TD called back for offensive pass interference. On 4th & 23 Vandy got a 41 yd FG off the upright to send it to OT. Vandy was driving for the EZ but Norman fumbled and it was rec’d in the EZ for a TB and on 4th & 10 Army got a 42 yd FG off the upright to give us a Big Dog Play of the Week upset...

Auburn had scored in every quarter on the year but Arkansas’s D which had shown plenty of holes this season held them scoreless in the 1Q and in fact Arkansas not only led 27-3 at the half, they extended it to 34-3. Hogs fans had to start getting some deja vu about the Georgia game, where Arkansas led 21-10 but ended up losing by 11. With a 34-3 lead, they allowed 3 straight TD’s by Auburn to make it 34-23 but the Hogs had a 65 yd KR and drove 30/7pl for a TD with 11:22 left to ice it...

E Michigan had beaten C Michigan in 4 of the last 5 including the last 2 in Mount Pleasant. In the 1Q, EM had 26 yards offense while CM went 96/8, 48/5pl and 68/11pl all for TD’s and led 21-0. They led 49-0 after 3Q’s before EM pieced together a drive for a garbage TD...

Houston did not lead Mississippi St until they got a TD with 6:23 left in the game to go up 24-17. That drive was set up when MSU was int’d at the 2 yd line with 9:33 left. MSU’s next drive got a 17 yd TD run by Dixon but was called back on a hold and on the next play they fumbled and UH got a 58 yd pass followed by an 18 yd TD pass to go up 31-17 with 4:14 left. MSU went 62 yards for a TD with 1:22 left and UH recovered the onside kick...

Virginia came into the Indiana game #117 in the NCAA in total offense averaging just 272 ypg. They topped that at the half with a 337-124 yd edge and led 30-0 and for the first time since 2004, they topped 500 yards offense finishing with a 536-272 yard edge for the game...

Nothing fluky about Navy’s win over Rice. While Rice missed a FG on their first poss, Navy scored TD’s on their first 5 poss of the game to lead 35-0. It was 56-7 in the 4Q before Rice went 83/5pl for a TD. In fact, Navy had a 295-62 yd edge prior to a Rice drive for a TD late in the 1H...

The big game of the week was #1 Florida vs #4 LSU and all of the speculation around if Tim Tebow would play. An amazing streak was ended as LSU had won 32 consecutive home night games on Saturday and the crowd was loud but UF actually left some opportunities off the board and had 22-12 FD and 327-162 yd edges. The Gators had drives of 82/15pl, 45/10pl result in a 28 yd FG and an SOD. The Gators would also have a 76/13pl drive for a missed 25 yd FG at the start of the 3Q. UF ended the game at the LSU42. In the last 20 years there have been five #1 teams that have travelled to face an undefeated team on the road at 5-0 or better and Florida was the first of those #1 teams to escape with a win...

Last week N Carolina had 9 FD’s against a previously winless Virginia team. They had 7 in their opening drive vs Georgia Southern but despite their 25 FD’s and 42 offensive points, UNC only had 289 total yards. NC had TD drives of 16 and 22 yards after TO’s and also had 49 yd FR and 41 yd IR TD’s. They did have 232 of their 289 yards at the half with Yates playing just 2 series in the 2H and backup QB’s Blue and Hanson both seeing action...

Duke ended their 11 game losing streak to NC State and got their first league road win in almost 6 years. The first six poss of the Duke/NCState game were all long drives for TD’s and it was 21-21. In the 2H NCSt had 2 punts bounce off of a PR and Duke rec’d one at the 11 setting up a TD for a 42-28 lead and then rec’d one in the EZ for a TD with 3:07 left to put them up by 21. Carter-Finley Stadium was almost empty in the final 5:00 of the Wolfpack’s 21 pt loss to Duke...

Sam Bradford returned to the lineup and the Sooners rolled up a 586-268 yd edge. It was surprising that BU did have 268 yards as 3rd string QB Nick Florence hit 22-41-220 yds. OU’s yardage production did not translate into more points because they settled for FG’s from the 18, 8, 4 and 6 yd lines in the 2H...

Florida St Coach Bobby Bowden was under a lot of pressure from boosters to step aside during the week and it was a tumultuous week for the Seminoles. Their offense looked great in the 1H vs GT but the D could not get GT off the field. FSU led 35-28 at the half with 403 yards offense but blew some opportunities in the 2H and came up 5 points short. FSU’s 2-4 start is the worst in Bowden’s career since his first season at FSU...

Louisville had not beaten an FBS team in nearly a year but got a 32 yd FG with :30 left to get past Southern Miss. UL had trailed 16-7 at the half. SM gave Martevious Young his first start and he was impressive hitting 22-30 for 229 yards and both Damion Fletcher and DeAndre Brown ret’d to the lineup for the Eagles with both leading the team in their respective rushing and receiving categories...

N Texas led Louisiana 34-24 going into the 4Q but UL got a 4 yd TD pass with :27 left to pull out a 38-34 win at home...

Arizona had 26-14 FD and 461-256 yd edges but blew numerous opportunities. A pass bounced off the foot of WR Dean and was int’d by Washington and they ret’d it for a TD with 2:37 left and UW pulled the home upset...

Washington St managed just 181 yards offense vs ASU and 99 of them came early 4Q on a school record 99 yard TD pass when they trailed 27-7. WSU had -54 yards rushing.

POINTS LEFT OFF THE BOARD - Pitt was in control vs Connecticut yardage-wise with a 489-303 yd edge. The yards could have been much worse as Pitt missed 2 wide open TD passes, the first on their opening drive when Lewis had the ball hit him in the hands in the EZ and he dropped it on a 43 yd pass and they punted. On their 2nd poss there was a man wide open in the secondary but QB Stull underthrew him and the pass was batted away at the last second and they settled for a FG. Instead of leading 14-0 it was just 3-0. Pitt had a 1st & gl at the 3 but was int’d in the EZ leaving another TD off the board. UC took over at their own 21 with 2:36 left 1H and got a 79 yd TD pass and stunningly led 7-3 at the half despite being outplayed. CT got a 20 yd IR TD for a TD to open the 3Q to make it 14-3. Pitt went 80/9pl and had a 1st & gl but once again on 3rd & gl from the 2, fired incomplete and settled for a short FG, 14-6. UC got their only long scoring drive of the game, 61/8pl to lead 21-6. Pitt would then go 71/8pl, 68/10pl for TD’s while CT went 3 & out twice. Pitt took over at their 25 with 6:14 left and went 74/11pl and could easily have won by a TD. They had a 1st & gl at the 5 but on 3rd & gl from the 1 came up a foot short and settled for an 18 yd FG...

For the 2nd straight year Iowa St ALMOST upset Kansas. It was a game of blown opportunities for the Cyclones. K Mahoney had a streak of 47 straight xp’s end on a blk vs Kansas St last week and actually missed his first 2 xp’s in this game which had them going on 4th down late in the game. ISU also went on a 59/9pl drive settling for a 26 yd FG but mishandled the snap and did not score. ISU led 23-20 and 30-27. Trailing 41-36 they took over with 2:36 left and got to the KU31. On 4th&4 Arnaud scrambled and bought some time and his receiver was wide open at the 5 with no defender around him. The pass missed by inches and had it been just a hair more accurate, they would have had the go-ahead TD with 1:00 left. ISU had 512 yards offense while KU had 551.

SNOW ON THE SIDELINES - It was 25? at KO for Utah/Colorado St. The game was tied at 3 at the half with Utah being SOD at the CSU46 and 26 and CSU being SOD at the Utah35. Thanks to a Utah fmbl early 3Q, CSU drove 79 and 61 yds after a fmbl for TD’s and had a commanding 17-3 lead. Utah battled back to tie with 9:29 left and CSU was int’d at the Utah 25 and the Utah 29 (12:20) on their final 2 poss. Utah got a game winning TD pass with 3:40 left for a 24-17 win and did have 22-17 FD and 457-334 yd edges.

TOTAL DOMINATION - Georgia was dominated for the 2nd straight week in league play. This time, Tennessee had 24-14 FD and 472-241 yd edges. They stayed in the game thanks to a 100 yd KR TD and 28 yd IR TD and after the latter, only trailed 24-19 but UT drove 80 and 62 yards for TD’s on their next 2 poss to lead 38-19 after 3Q’s...

Prior to the game vs Kansas St, Leach speculated that K-St had not faced a pass attack like his and thought they would have success. 66-14 does not sum up the game. In the 1H Texas Tech scored on all 6 poss and although they did settle for a FG on one drive, they led 38-0 with a 427-55 yd edge. K-St got an IR TD stopping TT’s scoring streak but TT responded with drives of 85, 55 and 95 yards to lead 59-7 and brought in their backup QB Doege with 10:37 left. Leach had never started a backup QB in his 10 year history at TT and Sheffield hit 33-41 for 490 yards and 7 TD’s in a little over 3Q’s of work!

TOUGH 4:00 - It was a tough 4:00 to open the 3Q for UCLA and they also had a couple plays go against them in the 1H. The Bruins had a 1st & gl at the 2 late 1Q but on 4th & gl from the 1 were SOD. They appeared to tackle RB James in the EZ for a safety 2pl later but he broke through and raced to the 50 yd line changing the field position. After a UO punt, UCLA were pinned at the 1. UCLA would still lead 3-0 at the half after a 52 yd FG. The first 4:00 of the 3Q for UCLA was a disaster. UO got a 102 yd KR TD and on the next play a 32 yd IR TD before QB Prince fmbl’d at the 50 two plays later. Eight plays later the Ducks had a 20 yd TD pass on 3rd & 5 to go up 21-3 scoring 3 TD’s in 3:54 on 50 total offensive yards to start the 3Q. The Ducks only had a 15-14 FD edge but were playing without QB Masoli. UCLA QB Craft who started the last 2 games, was demoted to 3rd string and after Prince's 2 TO’s, they went to true frosh Brehaut for a couple of series in the 4Q.

MISLEADING FINALS - It appears Minnesota had an easy win over Purdue 35-20 but the Boilermakers actually had 23-14 FD and 402-281 yard edges. PU led 10-0 after 1Q. UM got a 2Q, 2 yd drive for a TD after an int and opening the 3Q, PU had a 7 yd punt, fmbl’d the KO and UM got 30 and 31 yd TD drives. PU went on a 10pl drive but a 38 yd FG was blk’d and ret’d for a TD by UM and stunningly the Gophers led 34-13 with only 1 drive over 31 yards...

Ohio St was fortunate to win by 18 vs Wisconsin. The game was dominated statistically by the Badgers who had 22-8 FD and 368-164 yd edges. OSU amazingly got the cover as UW blew some scoring opportunities as well. OSU had 36 yds total offense on their first 5 drives but an 89 yd IR TD put them up 7-0. UW led 10-7 after a FG with 1:53 left 1H but on 3rd & 15 OSU got a 32 yd TD pass, 14-10. UW missed a 57 yd FG and then OSU got another IR TD to lead 21-10. After a UW FG, OSU got a 96 yd KR TD, 28-13. UW went on a 16pl drive but missed a 33 yd FG and OSU got a 37 yd FG (12:32). UW got a 1st & gl at the OSU8 but on 4th & 18 fired incomplete with 4:59 left and got to midfield but was SOD on their final drive...

Much like Ohio St, Texas had three return TD’s in one game. At least they had 21-11 FD and 313-127 yd edges. Unlike OSU, UT actually trailed this one 14-3 late 2Q. They got a 39 yd TD pass with :46 left in the half to pull within 14-10. Fans actually booed UT after they went 3 & out on their first two 3Q poss but UT blk’d a punt for a TD mid 3Q. UT got a 14 pt swing with CU having a 3rd & 5 at the UT12 as they got a 92 yd IR TD, 24-14. UT added a 74 yd PR TD with 12:29 left to get some breathing room, 31-14 and got a 50/6pl drive for a TD with 6:12 left for the final margin.

INJURIES OF NOTE - Ohio was on their 3rd straight road game and Akron was off a bye but the Bobcats did catch a few breaks. OU was at the Zips' 19 when they were int’d in the EZ in the 1Q but Akron missed a 39 yd FG. The key play of the game happened late 1H with Akron having a 1st & goal at the OU4. QB Matt Rodgers, who was already replacing their susp (OFY) starter was tkl’d on the 3 and fmbl’d and OU rec’d in the EZ for a TB. Rodgers (ACL) would not take another snap and true frosh Patrick Nicely (PS#80) QB’d the rest of the game. OU blk’d a punt for a TD to lead 10-0 but the Zips rec'd a fmbl'd punt at the OU30 which led to a TD. UA then went on an 11pl drive and missed the tying 43 yd FG (2:41 3Q). OU added a FG & then a 33/5pl TD drive after a fmbl'd KO to lead 19-3. UA’s last gasp was at the OU14 where Nicely threw incomplete...

Kentucky lost starting QB Mike Hartline to a knee injury early 3Q after he had given UK a 17-14 halftime lead. Backup QB Will Fidler hit just 2-8-16 yards and the Cats went to the Wildcat with WR Cobb at QB. UK still had a chance but failed on the 2 pt conversion with 4:34 left.

GARBAGE YARDS - Temple was in control a good portion of the game vs Ball St jumping out to a 10-0 lead in the 1Q and it was 10-0 at the half. BS got 2 big plays in a 2:00 span. On 3rd & 14 they got a 50 yd TD pass and then BS got a FR TD in the EZ and stunningly led 13-10. TU got a TD, missed a 47 yd FG and added another TD to lead 24-13 iwth 3:29 left. TU had the ball at the BS44 with 1:30 left in the game. After purposely losing 11 yards to try to run the clock, the P fmbl’d the snap and then kicked the ball and BS took over at the 12 with :12 left and got a TD on the final play and did not even attempt the xp.