Temple was given a short field often in their game versus Toledo. Toledo had punts of 32 and 23 yards setting up Temple for 44 and 34 yard drives for TD’s. Temple recovered a fumble at the Toledo 18 and got a 5 yard “drive” for a 30 yard FG, 23-7. It was 23-17 at the half. Coming into the game Temple’s leading rusher, Bernard Pierce, was listed as doubtful but not only played, he rushed for a career high 212 yards and 3 TD’s. Toledo QB Aaron Opelt was downgraded to probable prior to the game but did not play and his backup, Alex Pettee, hit 29 of 47 for 265. Pettee’s interception early 3Q was returned 39 yards to the 6 setting up another short TD “drive”, 30-17. Toledo was SOD at the Temple 13 with 14:30 left, intercepted at the Temple 2 with 7:47 left but trailing 40-17 did get a TD with 3:01 left. After recovering the onside kick with a personal foul penalty added, Temple ended the game at the Toledo 15 yard line.

Stanford dominated Arizona St as much as the score indicates. At the half it was 24-0 with a 300-100 yard edge. Stanford even had a 55/11pl drive where they were SOD at the 1 and missed a 49 yard FG in their 19 point win. The Cardinal had a balanced attack with 237 yards rushing and 236 yards passing.

Notre Dame’s defense allowed 349 yards versus Boston College but yielded just 16 points to a BC team that was averaging 30.9 prior to the game. The defense also recorded five turnovers so they earned a “win” as my Defense of the Week. It was a surprise pick as the Irish came in allowing 442 ypg vs BCS conference foes. ND faked a FG for a TD mid-2Q but it was called back on a hold and they settled for a FG and a 6-2 lead. The Irish led 13-9 at the half. BC opened the 3Q with a 56/6pl drive for a TD to make it 16-13. BC fumbled at the ND1 and was intercepted at the ND23. The Irish went on an 11 play drive but was SOD at the 1 but on their next poss got a 36 yd TD pass with 8:12 left for the lead. BC was intercepted at the ND26 with 4:23 left and on their last drive the Eagles got a 4th & 16, 28 yard pass to keep it alive but Shinskie was int’d at the ND22 with 1:38 left.

As you can tell by the final score, it was a wild one between Idaho and Nevada. Nevada scored the first 3 times they had the ball and big plays were plentiful with 9 TD’s coming on plays of 25 or more. Idaho even had a pair of 73 yard TD passes from Enderle to Shaw. Idaho rallied to make it just a 28-24 halftime deficit but Nevada incredibly scored TD’s on all 6 2H poss before they ran out the clock on their 7th. It was as close as 49-38 after 3Q’s but Nevada got a 44 yard TD pass on the 2nd play of the 4Q, 56-38. Idaho then turned it over on their next two drives and Nevada went 36 and 19 yards for another pair of TD’s to go up 70-38 with 7:09 left. Wolf Pack QB Kaepernick rushed for 230 yards and Taua rushed for 146.

Iowa had another narrow escape at Michigan St. Both teams struggled once they got inside the 5 yard line. The 1H featured just 2 FG’s and in the 3Q Michigan St had a 1st & goal at the 1 but were forced to settle for a 23 yard FG. Early 4Q Iowa had a 1st & goal at the 1 but settled for a 20 yard FG then Iowa went 72 yards in 11 plays and had a 1st & goal but settled for another 20 yard FG and only led 9-6 with 2:56 left. Michigan St needed a tying FG but used a 3rd & 18 hook and ladder on an 11 yard pass then a 27 yard run after the lateral for a FD to the Iowa 30. MSU then shockingly got a 30 yd TD pass with 1:37 left for the lead. Iowa then got the ball at their own 30 with 1:32 left with 1 time out. The Hawks had an int wiped out by a defensive hold and then on 4th & goal with :02 left got a 7 yard TD pass to pull out the win and move to 8-0 for the first time in the program’s history.

The Clemson/Miami, Fl game was a wild one as in the 1H Miami had a 214-132 yard edge. The ‘Canes had a FD at the 20 but Harris was intercepted at the 5. UM got a 23 yard TD run to lead 10-7 but then gave up a 90 yard KR for a TD by CJ Spiller. Spiller had a school record 310 all-purpose yards for Clemson. Late 2Q Miami was at the Clemson 37 but Harris was intercepted at the 10 with :07 left and Clemson led 14-10. In the 3Q Miami fumbled at their own 26 but Clemson was sacked and fumbled and Miami got a 53 yard fumble return for a TD, 24-21. Clemson dropped a TD pass and settled for a 43 yard FG, 24-24. Clemson got a 23 yd IR TD but on the next play Miami got a 69 yard TD pass to retake the lead 34-31. Clemson’s hopes appeared dashed when on 3rd & goal from the 4 Parker was intercepted in the EZ with 5:37 left. The Tigers then forced a 3 and out and with 3:23 left drove 47 yards in 10 plays for a 30 yard FG with :05 left to force OT. In OT Miami got a 22 yard FG. On the FG Miami declined an offsides penalty on Clemson which would have given them a 4th & goal at the 2 and Clemson, on 3rd & 11, got a 26 yard TD pass for the win.

A quick glance at the Fresno St/New Mexico St box score would see an 88 yard PR and 17 yard IR TD’s for Fresno and you might think their 34-3 win was fortunate to be so lopsided. Upon closer look, Fresno went on a 73 yard, 15 play drive but on 2nd & goal from the 4 was intercepted from the EZ so when they got a 17 yard IR TD two plays later they were simply reclaiming the score they should have had in the first place. As expected RB Ryan Mathews got his 7th TD run of over 50 yards on the year with a 68 yarder early 4Q. Fresno finished with a 401-283 yard edge.

Auburn came into Death Valley averaging 465 ypg but were not only held to just 193, they gained 59 of those yds on a late garbage drive. LSU dominated the 1H with a 186-42 yard edge but missed a 49 yd FG and fumbled into the EZ for a TB so they only led 17-0 at the half. LSU also had a 52 yard FG hit the crossbar in the 2H. With 2:19 left, LSU punted and Auburn went 59 yards in 8 plays for a TD with :03 left.

Western Michigan controlled the 1H against Buffalo. They had 278-158 yard and 14-6 FD edges and led 17-7. In fact, Buffalo’s only score came after they recovered a fumble at the WM11 and got a one play TD. Buffalo RB Nduka rushed for 172 yards and Brandon West rushed for 133 for WM. Zach Maynard hit 26-51-327 yards for Buffalo and Tim Hiller 34-55-350 for WM. WM led the entire game including 24-14 late in the 3Q, but Buffalo got a 56 yard run by Nduka with 5:16 left to lead 28-24. WM went 67 yards in 9 plays getting a TD with 1:58 left to lead by 3 but Buffalo would go 69/15pl for a 28 yard FG on the last play to send it to OT. In the extra session Buffalo missed a 43 yard FG and WM got 1 FD and nailed a 28 yard FG for the win.

USC had their chances as they led Oregon St 21-6 getting a TD with 2:15 left in the half but OSU got a 33 yard FG to make it 21-9 at the half. USC got a 63 yard PR TD with 14:05 left to lead 42-23 and apparently put it away, but OSU would get a 70 yard KR and drive 26 yards for a TD. After an interception with 9:26 left, the Beavers drove 74 yards in 10 plays for a TD with 5:41 left. They kicked off deep but USC got 3 FD’s and ran out the clock.

Colorado St led San Diego St 14-0 but SDSt went 79 yards in 14 plays and 55 yards in 8 plays, however, on the 2nd drive they missed a 32 yard FG and still trailed 14-7. CSU went 80 yards in 8 plays for a TD and led 21-7 at the half. The Aztecs drove 80 yards in 11 plays to open the 3Q then after a 29 yard IR to the CSU33, got a 1 play TD pass to tie it, 21-21 (8:57 3Q). Each team got a TD on their next drive but SDSt had the xp blocked, 28-27. CSU punted on their next 2 drives while SDSt had 2 84/7pl TD drives, the latter scoring on a 60 yard TD pass, 42-28 with 3:07 left. QB Ryan Lindley hit 29-43 for a career high 459 yards and 6 TD’s despite losing star WR Vincent Brown to a hand injury late in the 2Q. WR DeMarco Simpson was Lindley’s primary target with 15 rec for 257 yds.

South Carolina had a 239-112 yard edge at the half vs Vanderbilt. Vandy did miss a 25 yard FG and SC got a controversial 35 yard TD pass. It was ruled a TD but it appeared the receiver Moore may have been bobbling the ball as he touched the line but it was ruled a TD. VU did get a 99 yard KR TD and it was 7-7 at the half. VU led 10-7 when SC took over at their own 1 at the start of the 4Q. The Gamecocks got 43 and 23 yard passes on the first two plays then on 3rd & 20, a 43 yd TD pass made it 14-10. After 3 punts, SC went for it on 4th & 3 at the VU29 but QB Garcia was sacked for a six yard loss with 4:00 left. VU converted on 4th & 3 and 3rd & 6 and had a FD at the SC25 with a chance at the win. On 3rd & 8 QB Smith was called for intentional grounding and on 4th & 32 Smith scrambled for 8 yards. SC did have a 431-273 yard edge.

SMU/Houston was a lot closer than the final score and there were a couple of key plays and factors that resulted in UH winning by 23. SMU was only outFD’d 21-19 and actually had a 397-394 yard edge. One key factor was that QB Bo Levi Mitchell was knocked out of the game on a sack late 1Q. His backups Kyle Padron and Branden Smith combined to hit just 13-21 passes for 160 yards. On the play Mitchell was knocked out, he fumbled and UH recovered it at the 1 setting up a short TD. SMU had a TD overturned by replay and they settled for a 27 yard FG. UH had a 3rd & goal, 7 yard TD pass and SMU was SOD at the UH26 in the 1H and trailed 24-3. In the 3Q SMU fumbled at the UH2 yard line at the end of a 29 yd reception. Houston only led 31-15 but would drive 75 yards in 11 plays getting a 6 yard TD pass with 5:44 left. SMU was SOD at the UH 48 with :53 left.

Last week Tulane gave Ryan Griffin his first start at QB and he was sacked six times by Southern Miss and fumbled twice. Tulane actually played closer than the final score. In the 1H SM only had a 148-101 yard edge. SM did have an 86 yard, 15 play drive where they settled for and missed a 23 yard FG. The Golden Eagles did get a 16 yard fumble return for a TD with 6:16 left in the half then TU went on a 58 yard, 12 play drive but settled for a 28 yard FG, SM not only blocked it, but they returned it 77 yards for a TD with just :38 left in the half to lead 20-0. It was just 29-6 when TU was SOD on 4th & 1 at their own 35 and SM got a TD 4 plays later to make it 36-6. After recovering a fumble on a sack, SM drove 25 yards in 5 plays for a TD with 1:31 left.