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Daily Blog • Tuesday, October 5th
Louisiana Tech had been struggling to run the ball but dominated Hawaii on the ground with 352 yards rushing in a Wednesday night meeting. Both teams left a lot of points off the board with LT going on a 17 play drive settling for a 28 yd FG and UH going on a 13 play drive settling for an 18 yd FG after a 1st & goal at the 2. With UH trailing 24-6, QB Alexander was injured late 3Q (OFY). Backup QB Bryant Moniz hit 5-11-109 and almost had a TD as he completed a 40 yd pass to Salas who had the ball knocked out of his hands just before the EZ and it was rec’d for a TB by LT…
The Pitt/Louisville game was a story of 2H’s. In the 1H UL actually led 10-7 with a 174-151 yd edge but 37 and 71 yd TD passes early in the 3Q had Pitt roll to a 266-134 yd edge and 28 unanswered points in the 2H in their 35-10 win on Friday night…
USF forced 7 TO’s vs Syracuse including 5 int’s off Greg Paulus. Thanks to the TO’s and an 85 yd TD pass, USF led 34-13 in the 4Q. SU got a TD with 10:02 left and USF, after a 13pl drive missed a 40 yd FG but Syracuse was SOD at their own 31 on the last drive…
It was a tale of 2H as Minnesota had a 209-137 yd edge in the 1H but only led 13-10 settling for a couple short FG’s after long drives. The 2H belonged to the Badgers with UM only staying in it thanks to an 88 yd FR TD but the Gophers did have the ball at their own 34 with :30 left when Weber fmbl’d while getting sacked…
Kansas St dominated on their first 2 drives of the game vs Iowa St scoring a TD and getting to the ISU8 but they fmbl’d and that allowed ISU back in the game. At the half it was tied at 10 and ISU opened the 3Q with an 80 yd TD drive but K-St (after fmbl) drove 36 yds for a TD and then with 5:36 left got a 54 yd TD pass to lead 24-17. K-St punted with 1:49 left and ISU converted on 4th & 5 then got the apparent game tying TD with :32 left but K-St Coach Snyder said after the game the team had never come close to blocking a FG all year but they blk’d the xp and got the win…
If you just look at the score (UCF 32-14) and the stats which had UCF with 28-14 FD and 475-325 yd edges, you would assume they dominated the game. Memphis got a 61 yd TD pass to lead 7-3 at the half. MEM led 14-9 but UCF got a TD with :03 left 3Q to lead 15-14 (2ptng). MEM missed a 42 yd FG and with just 7:28 left then UCF got a 22 yd TD pass 22-14. After an int, UCF got a 26 yd FG with 3:25 left. After MEM was SOD at their own 30 on 4th & 5 Harvey got a 25 yd TD run with :41 left to make it look like a blowout, 32-14. Harvey did rush for 219 yards on 42 carries and while Tigers RB Steele did play, he had just 8 carries for 22 yards showing he was not yet 100%…
Illinois had a 222-170 yd edge vs Penn St at the half but trailed 7-3. PSU dominated the 3Q with a 208-8 yd edge. PSU fmbl’d at the UI30 but went 69/7pl, 79/12pl and 80/5pl for TD’s to take control, 28-3. PSU led 35-10 when UI went 80/16pl for a garbage TD with :42 left…
Russell Wilson’s streak of 379 passes without an int came to an end as he tossed 2. The int that broke the streak came on a 1st & 35 when he was picked off at the 14 and ret’d 61 yds. It didn’t cost NCSt as Wake missed a 35 yd FG. WF led 13-10 at the half and led the entire 2H by either 3 or 10. They got a 79 yd KR to the NCSt16 then got a 1st & gl at the 2 but settled for a 21 yd FG leaving NCSt in the game. NCSt got a FD to the WF29 with a chance for the win but Wilson was int’d in the EZ with 2:02 left and that int was costly…
In the 1Q Maryland had 1 FD and 28 yds and Clemson led 10-0 but the Terps battled back for a 17-13 halftime lead. CU has one of the best K in the country, in fact Jackson hit 41 and 51 yd FG’s in this one. He nailed a 48 yd FG which would have given CU the lead with 3:54 left but Friedgen called time-out and Jackson then missed the FG. After MD fumbled at their own 31, Jackson missed another 48 yd FG with 2:43 left and on 3&6 from the MD28, in FG range again, Parker took a sack and it was ruled that he fmbl’d and MD recovered….
Cal had 146 points in their first 3 games but now has 6 the past 2 weeks vs Oregon and USC. Cal did have some opportunities. During the USC game they had a 3&gl at the 5 but were int in the EZ. Cal missed a 38 yd FG in the 2Q, was SOD at the USC38 in the 3Q and SOD at the USC18 in the 4Q. Cal settled for a 29 yd FG and USC did get a late drive for a TD with 5:01 left. USC only had a 20-17 FD edge but had a commanding 457-283 yd edge…Oregon St got their first road win over Arizona St in 40 years (1969). Sun Devil Stadium was just over half full for this game and ASU had 26-14 FD and 406-295 yd edges…
Notre Dame continues to have “Luck of the Irish”. Trailing Washington by 2, the Huskies settled for a 20 yd FG but a roughing the snapper pen gave them a FD at the 1. Four plays later UW was settling for a 23 yd FG and only led by 5. ND got a TD then the 2 pt conversion by Hughes looked to be stopped short at the 2 but ND players including Hughes moved the pile into the EZ for the TD although replay showed his knee was down at the 2. That allowed ND to be up by 3 and when UW kicked a FG with :11 left it forced OT…
LSU didn’t play a complete game in their first 4 outings but had 19-11 FD and 368-274 yard edges vs Georgia. Still, UGA got a TD with 1:09 left to apparently pull out the 13-12 win but a poor unsportsmanlike conduct call on the celebration and a 40 yd KR by Holliday set up LSU at the UGA 38 and they got a 33 yd TD run 2pl later. UGA was int’d with :21 left. At half LSU had a commanding 12-1 FD edge…
Jevan Snead looked shaky again this week hitting 19-34-237 yards with 3 int. Ole Miss finished with a 397-240 yd edge over Vandy in a game the Rebels led 23-0. Ole Miss came in with the NCAA’s #19 ranked defense…
Baylor lost Robert Griffin for the year but appeared to be in good shape with Blake Szymanski having 13 career starts. Szymanski was scratched so 3rd string QB Nick Florence played vs Kent St and while he rushed for 2 TD’s and hit 20-27-216 BU could only win by 16. The Bears did lead 28-7 in the 3Q. Kent St drove deep in BU terr but had a 26 yd FG blk’d, missed a 38 yd FG and were stopped twice on 4th down inside the 10, once on a fake FG. Once again, Kent St’s starting QB Giorgio Morgan played very little hitting just 3-16 as he is still not 100%…
South Carolina was actually outgained 159-149 by SC State in the 1H (led 10-7) but won 38-14…
Josh Nesbitt threw for a career high 266 yards and Miss St had 5 TO’s greasing the skids for GT’s 42-31 win.
BCS CHATTER – Every November teams are distracted when they’re figuring out the chances of getting into the BCS Title game. This time of year, many non-BCS teams are caught up looking ahead at scenarios for a possible BCS bowl berth. This past week there was plenty of talk comparing the schedules for TCU, Houston and Boise and discussing which one, if they ran the table, would be able to get to the Title game. All 3 of the teams performed at levels lower than the “experts” predicted this week. While Boise had a 226-90 yd edge vs UC Davis, they only led 13-0 at the half and after UCD got a TD with 11:27 left, BSU only led 27-16. UCD was SOD on 4th & 6 at the BSU49 with 6:53 left and punted with 3:39 left and BSU got a TD with :38 left to extend the margin to 34-16 in a game in which BSU was favored by 43…
TCU was coming off their big win vs Clemson. The last time they were off a big win was vs Oklahoma and they lost to SMU the next week. This time they vowed to be fully focused but SMU led 7-0 and only trailed 12-7 at the half and 25-14 after 3Q’s. TCU scored two 4Q TD’s and at the end of the game, had a 1st & gl at the 5. Two runs, which would have given them the cover ended up being stopped at the 1…
Houston may have been distracted comparing schedules with the other 2 non-BCS contenders but remember last year UTEP should have beaten UH on the road and this time took care of business at home. UTEP piled up 58 pts and 581 yds offense and led the game 58-34 before UH got a TD with 1:40 left.
MISLEADING FINALS – A look at the final score and even the final box shows complete domination for Nevada vs UNLV. They won the game 63-28 and piled up 773 total yards including 559 on the ground to UNLV’s 346 yards. For the first time in NEV school history 3 players topped 100 yards rushing in a game. Here are a couple things that might surprise you. With 4:20 left 3Q the game was tied at 28 before NV broke 3 long drives off for TD’s then got 89 and 26 yd TD runs, both in the final 5:00 to extend their margin and increase their statistical dominance…For the first time since Duffy Daugherty (1965-’67) was the HC at Michigan St, the Spartans have beaten Michigan twice in a row. UM did get a 92/12pl TD drive with :02 left to force OT.
GUTSY CALL BUT NO GLORY - The Ball St/Toledo game was a back and forth game in the 2H. Ball St led 22-14 but UT drove for 2 straight TD’s to lead 29-22 with 3:45 left. Ball St drove 66/10pl and got a TD with :42 left. Stan Parrish made a gutsy call for BSt as he opted to go for 2 and got it to apparently pull out the win, 30-29. The QB stepped back to pass and put the ball behind his back and he took it in for the 2 points. Nobody will talk about that play, however, as Toledo returned the KO to the 49 and on the next play got a 51 yd TD pass and 2 pt conversion with :27 left to win 37-30. TU did have a 479-310 yd edge…
Alabama and Kentucky got a bit chippy at the end. In the 1H it was actually close with UK having drives of 36/10pl and 38/14pl both ending in FG’s and Bama’s only TD came on a 37 yd drive after a 60 yd KR. The Tide led 7-6 with 1:00 left 1H but got a TD with :40 left then a 45 yd FR TD made it 21-6 (:19 later). UK turned it over on their first two 3Q poss setting up 10 Tide points and a 31-6 lead. UK was down 38-20 and Bama had the ball at the UK34 when UK called a time-out. That had Saban go for a fake punt and a 17 yd gain to the 15 but their 4th & 9 pass with 1:26 left was incomplete…
It was an interesting game between Tulane and Army. TU had a 129-114 yd edge at the half but Army blocked a punt setting up a 10 yard TD drive. Army was int’d at the TU3 and led 10-7 at the half. TU missed a 30 yd FG and trailing 16-7 drove 61 yds for a TD, 16-14 (9:10). Army’s P was forced to run on a bobbled snap but was SOD at the TU37 (6:58). TU got a 42 yd run by Anderson for a 1st & gl at the 4 but settled for a 23 yd FG with 2:20 left. Army drove to the 20 but missed a 37 yd FG with :19 left…
Cincinnati was the first ever Top 10 team to play at Yager Stadium and Miami, thanks to playing their close rival #10 UC at home, had their largest crowd in six years. UC led 23-7 at the half but MU actually pulled to 23-13 when then rec’d an onside kick and then got to the UC10 but were int’d in the EZ. Two poss later, UC drove 45/7pl and 62/5pl for TD’s to ice it but Zac Dysert making his 2nd start for MU, outpassed Tony Pike 286-270 but was sacked 10 times.
GARBAGE TD’s - Many times teams get what appears to be meaningless points at the end of the game but it skews people’s perception of how close the games were and also of the total yardage for both the offense that scored and the D that allowed it. Here are the weekend’s examples… Temple led 21-0 early 2Q and lead 24-6 after a 40 yd FG with 5:52 left and EM did go on a 51/12pl drive for a garbage TD with 1:39 left…
ULM led FIU 24-14 at the half but after a 56 yd FR set up FIU for a short TD, it was only 31-28. ULM then got 2 TD’s and a FG, the 2nd TD a 23 yd run with 1:37 left to lead 48-28. FIU drove 50 yds and got a garbage TD with :10 left and ULM had a 577-341 yd edge prior to that drive…
Ohio St was dominating Indiana, in fact they led 33-7 despite being inside the 20 yet missing 35 and 29 yd FG’s. OSU’s backup QB fmbl’d with 2:13 left at their own 40. IU converted on 4th & 11 with a 30 yd pass to the 11 and got a TD on the last play of the game to make the final 33-14 and IU gained 40 yds on the drive when they had just 188 yards prior.
DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN - Last year Virginia got off to a 1-3 start including a 31-3 loss to Duke and it appeared that 2 or 3 wins would be the most they could achieve in a season. Last year UVA rebounded and in the final game of the season had the ball down by 3 to VT with a shot at a bowl. This year the Cavs opened with a shocking loss to William & Mary at home and were blown out by TCU. Once again, Groh was given very little chance at being around at the end of the year but they dominated Southern Miss and while they came up short on the road, the didn’t let N Carolina off the ropes having a 254-74 yd edge and 16-9 FD edge in the 10-3 win. They have now won 10 of their last 12 meetings vs the Heels…
Navy defeated Air Force for the 7th straight year and for the 5th time in 7 years they were outgained in the game as AF had a 240-209 yd edge. AF on 3rd & 10 from the Navy 14 ran to the wide side of the field and their overtime FG was at a bad angle and they missed it from 31 yards after Navy had connected on a 38 yarder. AF also had a 14-10 FD edge…
Wisconsin won the Paul Bunyan’s Axe for the 6th straight time.
INJURIES OF NOTE – E Michigan lost starting QB Andy Schmitt for the season in the 2Q vs Temple. They still have an experienced QB in Kyle McMahon and he hit 25-36-230 yds…Texas Tech lost the nation’s leading QB Taylor Potts to a concussion in the 2Q. Surprisingly the game was tied at 7 when he went out with 1:46 left in the half. Backup QB Sheffield led TT on a TD drive to finish the half and TT led 35-7 after 3Q but NM got a 28 yd IR TD with 11:55 left then rec’d an onside kick. The two teams combined for 4 TD’s in the last 3:36 with TT getting 38 and 1 yd TD drives after rec’ing onside kicks and NM getting a 95 yd drive and 61 yd TD pass…
Washington St went to true frosh QB Jeff Tuel but he hit just 1-2 passes in the 1Q and was knocked out of the game with injury. Marshall Lobbestael hit 7-13-48 in his place and the Cougars managed just 5 FD’s in Autzen Stadium.
LETDOWN LOOKAHEAD – Virginia Tech was off their big win as a home dog vs Miami, Fla and they definitely showed some letdown vs Duke. The game also featured a lot of 3rd & long conversions. VT used a 3&12, 30 yd pass to set up a 40 yd FG in the 2Q. Duke had a 3&11, 74 yd pass down to the VT 7 setting up a 25 yd 3Q FG. VT had a 3&34, 62 yd pass to the Duke 22 setting up a 33 yd 3Q FG. Duke used a fake punt to set up a 47 yd FG to pull within 20-16. After Duke got a 3rd & 11, 55 yd pass setting up a 43 yd FG to make it 27-19, VT got a 3rd & 11, 37 yd pass setting up a 19 yd TD by Oglesby which clinched it with a TD with 2:28 left, 34-19. Duke went 90/14pl getting a TD with :25 left but VT rec’d the onside kick…
Iowa was coming off their big upset of Penn St with Michigan on deck so they figured to be in a flat a spot. They actually had just their 2nd non-sellout at Kinnick Stadium in the last 40 games. They did take their first 2 poss 72 and 63 yards for TD’s but Arkansas St got an 89 yd drive for a TD with :44 left in the half to pull to 14-7. Arkansas St got a 75 yd IR TD to pull to it 21-14. Iowa settled for a 20 yd FG and ASU went 68/17pl for a TD with 2:01 left, 24-21. Iowa rec’d the onside kick and escaped.
TURNOVERS CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE - Purdue basically handed the game to Northwestern. The Boilermakers had a 375-311 yd edge. PU led 21-3 and was in complete control but turned the ball over 3 times in the final 2:15 of the 1H setting up NU for a TD and 2 FG’s. NU got a 39 yd FG to pull within 21-19. Then after a 12pl drive, the Boilers fmbl’d at the NU33 with just 6:28 left. NU went 67/11pl and took their first lead of the game. PU went 79/13pl but Elliott with a man open in the EZ, overthrew him on 4th & gl from the 5.
ROUGH STARTS BIG FINISHES – Jacory Harris threw int’s on his first two drives vs Oklahoma and the Sooners jumped out to a 10-0 lead. Miami would score the game’s next 21 points and held on for a 21-20 upset of the #8 team…
Ryan Mallett threw incompletions on his first 3 passes and was sk’d twice and A&M led 10-0. Arkansas would control the rest of the game leading 30-10 at the half in their 47-19 rout.
Previous Blogs In old blog format • interactive previous blogs available here
| Sun Oct 4 | Recap of Top 25 performances | Radio Shows | |
| Sat Oct 3 | NFL Selections | 2004 (grade performances) | |
| Fri Oct 2 | Phil's FBS Selections! | Attention FCS Fans!!! | |
| Thu Oct 1 | College Fantasy | Most Improved NFL Tms | |
| Wed Sep 30 | Top 25 | FBS Career Starts Returning | |
| Tues Sep 29 | Non-Conf Projections | College Football Hall of Fame | |
| Mon Sep 28 | News & Notes | How Important Are NFL Injuries? | |
| Sun Sep 27 | Recap of Top 25 performances. | Final Fan Votes | |
| Sat Sep 26 | NFL Selections | NFL's Toughest Schedule | |
| Fri Sep 25 | Phil's FBS Selections! | NFL Mag's are Here | |
| Thu Sep 24 | College Fantasy FB | 2005 Top performances | |
| Wed Sep 23 | WEEK FOUR - TOP 25 | Philsteele.com | |
| Tue Sep 22 | Additonal News & Notes, non-con | 2006 -Top Performances | |
| Mon Sep 21 | News & Notes | Q&A with Phil Steele | |
| Sun Sep 20 | Interesting Thoughts on Top 25 gms | 2007 -Top 10 individual game efforts | |
| Sat Sep 19 | NFL Selections | Coaches (Hot Seat) | |
| Fri Sep 18 | Phils FBS Selections! | Results for all 120 teams comb | |
| Thu Sep 17 | College Fantasy FB | Current away records this decade. |
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| Wed Sep 16 | WEEK THREE - TOP 25 | Home records this decade | |
| Tues Sep 15 | Additional News&Notes/Non-Conf Proj | Marquee gms - by Golden Nugget | |
| Mon Sep 14 | News & Notes | PhilSteele.com Store | |
| Sun Sep 13 | Interesting Thoughts on Top 25 gms | Conf tms of the decade | |
| Sat Sep 12 | NFL Selections | Non BCS Schools - Part 1 | |
| Fri Sep 11 | Phil's 60 FBS Selections! | SEC, Big 12 and Pac 10 | |
| Thu Sep 10 | College Fantasy FB | NFL - The YPP Factor | |
| Wed, Sep 9 | WEEK TWO - TOP 25 | Top 3 BCS Conf of the decade | |
| Tues, Sep 8 | Additional News/Notes/Non Conf Proj | NFL - Finding Value in the YPG | |
| Mon Sep 7 | News & Notes | NFL Playoffs - Division Champs | |
| Sun Sep 6 | Recap of Top 25 gms | NFL Magazine, Slipping & Sliding | |
| Sat Sep 5 | FCS Preview | Top 15 Questions | |
| Fri Sep 4 | Selections for Wk1 | Random thoughts | |
| Thu Sep 3 | College Fantasy | Odds | |
| Wed Sep 2 | Non-Conf Poll Resutls | NFL Preview is expanding!! | |
| Tue Sep 1 | WEEK ONE - TOP 25 | '08’s Top performances | |
| Mon Aug 31 | Injuries, Awards, Polls | National Elimination Bracket | |
| Aug 29-30 | College fantasy football | Help Wanted | |
| Fri Aug 28 | Latest Happenings in College FB | Mountain West Conference | |
| Thu Aug 27 | FCS Updates | Advertising | |
| Wed Aug 26 | Home Field Edge | FCS - An Early Look | |
| Tue Aug 25 | Injuries | Who will be this year’s Vanderbilt? | |
| Mon Aug 24 | Free Fantasy Football Guide | MIP Off Pts & MIP Def Pts | |
| Aug 22-23 | Final Fan Votes | Turnovers=Turnaround | |
| Fri Aug 21 | Friday Notes | Most Accurate Chart update | |
| Thu Aug 20 | Polls | Regional Mag, IAA, Facebook | |
| Wed Aug 19 | How often do underdogs win outright? | Going Up....Going Down | |
| Tue Aug 18 | You Pick the Conference Contest | Toughest Sched for '09 | |
| Mon Aug 17 | 2009 Starters Adjusted | The Closs Loss Factor | |
| Aug 15-16 | Non-Conference Projections | Magazines, Blogs | |
| Fri Aug 14 | Friday Thoughts | Draft Day Party Hangover | |
| Thurs Aug 13 | Tenn Radio Show/L12 Yr Results | Q&A w/PS, Facebook.... | |
| Wed Aug 12 | FCS, FCS, FCS! | Experience Chart | |
| Tue Aug 11 | AP Polls | Experience Chart | |
| Mon Aug 10 | Overrated/ Underrated teams | Experience Chart | |
| Aug 8-9 | Coaching Changes | Guidelines for each of the FCS teams. | |
| Fri Aug 7 | MAC Media Days | '09 % of Lettermen Ret | |
| Thurs Aug 6 | Injuries | % of Yds Ret (Off) | |
| Wed Aug 5 | Ssn Forecast: Pt. 2 | Phil Steele FB Preview | |
| Tues Aug 4 | Ssn Forecast: Pt. 1 |
The biggest favs among conferences | |
| Mon Aug 3 | Phil Steele's Favorite Tms for '09 | % OF Tackles returning | |
| Aug 1-2 | 2009 Players to Circle | ||