Daily Blog - Monday, September 21st

NEWS AND NOTES - Miami, Fl dominated GT. We can only imagine that all summer long they heard the number “472, 472” which was the amount of rush yards GT gained on them last season. UM’s D held GT to 95 yds rushing on 39 carries and dominated by even more than the 33-17 score. They had a 235-95 yd edge in the 1H and led 33-10 going on 2 long drives but missing 26 & 31 yd FG’s in the 4Q...

Boise St jumped out to a 24-3 lead but FSU made a game of it. The game also featured a lot of big plays as the 2 combined for eight plays of 60+ yards, had two 77 yd KR’s, an IR TD and Fresno St RB Mathews had TD runs of 69, 60 and 68 yds...

N Carolina had 22-13 FD and 433-247 yd edges. Still, EC fmbl’d at the NC27 in the 1H and in the 2H had a 47 yd FG blk’d. EC only trailed by 7 after settling for a 22 yd FG with 6:21 left but NC went 81/8pl for a 5 yd TD run with 1:58 left...

Ball St did have a 375-265 yd edge vs Army but the Cadets led 17-10 with 1:21 left in the half. BSt went on a 38 yd drive but missed a 29 yd FG on the 1H’s final play. The Cardinals opened the 3Q getting a 3&13, 34 yd TD pass to tie. BSt was int at the Army14 then at their own 8 were int and ret for a TD with 6:41 left...

Jahvid Best had 5 TD’s vs Minnesota, the first Cal Bear in 88 years to have such an accomplishment...

Clemson vs Boston College. Amazingly it was the first time we can remember a game going through 2 lightning delays. At the half, CU was in complete control but just did not put BC away. They had a 137-(-2) yd edge but only led 16-0. When the first rain delay hit, BC had a grand total of 1 yd of offense with 5:02 left in the 3Q. BC would get a TD after CU fmbl’d in the rain at their own 8. CU allowed just 4 FD and 54 yds in their commanding 25-7 win which was more dominating than the final score....

There’s nothing fluky about N Illinois’ win over Purdue. NI finished with a 454-362 yd edge and had a 247-74 yd edge at the half. NI actually led 28-7 in their 28-21 win. PU PR Valentin had a 62 yd PR TD but later in the 1H fmbl’d a pair of PR, the 2nd setting up a TD...

Terrelle Pryor had a big game vs Toledo hitting 17-28-262 yds passing while also rushing for 110. Ohio St, playing in front of a 90% OSU crowd in Cleveland, had a 24-0 halftime lead with a 327-85 yd edge. UT did fmbl into the EZ for a TB with 12:20 left and the Buckeyes went 80/11pl for another TD in their 38-0 win...

Temple did not score a TD vs Penn St for the 4th straight year. PSU led 21-3 at the half with a 222-99 yd edge. TU settled for a 22 yd FG in the 1H and a 35 yd FG in the 2H. TU gained 56 yds but was SOD at the PSU16 with 8:25 left and gained 50 yds on their final drive after having just 145 prior to that...

Tough loss for Louisville. In the 1H, leading 7-3 they had a KO go through the EZ for a TB but offsides was called. They rekicked and Locke ret’d it 100 yds for a TD. UL was SOD at the UK15 in the 2Q and trailed 17-7 at the half. UL settled for a 23 yd FG after a 7 play drive then settled for a 28 yd FG and had it bounce off the upright. UL settled for a 42 yd FG to pull within 17-13. UL led 27-24 when UK punted with 5:31 left but UK got the go-ahead TD. UL got to the UK19 but had a pass tipped and int with 1:56 left on 3rd down...

Florida usually piles on the points in the 4Q and leading Tenn 23-6, they were driving again. Tim Tebow, from the UT13 rushed but fmbl’d at the 8 and it was ret’d 29 yds to the 37 with 11:37 left. UT went 63/6pl for a TD with 8:11 left. UT got the ball back and got to the UF40 but was int’d at the 26 with 1:51 left...

Tough loss for Nebraska. The Huskers had 18-11 FD and 343-278 yd edges. A couple of blown opportunities on 1st & gl cost them. In the 2Q the Huskers had a 1st & gl at the 3 but settled for a 19 yd FG and only led 12-10 at the half. Late 3Q NU started at its 18 and drove to a 1st & gl at the VT6. Two holds, 2 false starts and a sack took away a scoring opportunity as they punted on 4th & gl from the 37. With 2:07 left, leading 15-10, NU stopped VT on 4th & 9 but the Huskers punted with 1:40 left and UVA got an 81 yd pass and a 3rd & 11 TD pass with :21 left for the home win...

Connecticut was playing without their starting QB and Cody Endres only hit 12-23-147 yd vs Baylor. BU was off bye but UC had two RB’s in Andre Dixon and Jordan Todman top 100 yards rushing for the second time this year and actually had a 232-86 yd edge at the half but only led 13-7. That was corrected early 3Q when BU fmbl’d on their first 2 plays setting up UC for 22 & 20 yd TD drives and a 27-7 lead en route to their 30-22 win...

As was projected right here on philsteele.com, Landry Jones, OU’s backup QB outpassed GJ Kinne who came in among the leaders in NCAA in passing. It wasn’t even close. Jones, who was taking on the much weaker D hit 25-37-336. Kinne, who had played 2 weak D’s now was taking on one of the nation’s finest hit 12-26-106. OU broke the school record for consecutive wins at home and got their first B2B shutouts since 1987...

Tough loss for SMU as they had 28-17 FD and 504-276 yd edges. Four key things hurt SMU. Just before the half, WSU took over with 1:34 left and would drive 53/4pl trailing 17-0 and got a TD in the final seconds of 1H. SMU in the 3Q, built a 24-7 lead but gave up 52 and 67 yd IR TD’s and the Cougars were back in it. SMU had a FD at the WSU18 up by 7 but was int when a FG would have clinched it and the Cougars got their 2nd late drive, this time taking over with 2:03 left going 80/11pl incl a 4th & 7 incomplete pass where pass interference gave them a FD and their TD forced OT and Mitchell threw his 4th int in OT...

All the talk was about BYU’s possible BCS contention but Florida St’s offense steam rolled them. In the 1H they went 80/11pl, 86/17pl, 60/3pl and 85/13pl scoring on all 4 poss building a 30-14 halftime lead. BYU turned it over 5 times but FSU was very impressive...

Texas Tech gave Texas a great game. In fact they had a 414-340 yd edge with Taylor Potts hitting 46-62 for 420 yds having double the yards of Colt McCoy who hit 24-34 for 205...

Arkansas jumped out to a 21-10 lead over Georgia and appeared on their way to a blowout but Arkansas was hit with 2 unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on LB Jerry Franklin who was kicked out of the game and then called for an illegal block and after they punted then were called for another unsportsmanlike conduct for 60 yds of penalties within 4 plays. Georgia QB Joe Cox hit 18-25-375 yds...

It’s good to see the much maligned Kevin Craft lead UCLA to a comfortable 23-9 win. Craft “only” threw one int after setting a school record with 20 int last season. He hit 13-24-186 and threw a beautiful 51 yd pass in the 4Q which iced the game...

Darius Marshall rushed for 186 yds as Marshall outrushed Bowling Green 246-10 in their win. BG WR Freddie Barnes did break a school record with 17 rec but they went for a total of 109 yards so they were mostly extended handoffs...

As expected, Ole Miss got its 8th straight win, their longest streak since 1971-’72 vs SEL, 52-6...

Syracuse jumped out to a 17-0 lead over Northwestern after 1Q but needed a 41 yd FG on the game’s final play for a 37-34 win...Nothing fluky about Miss St’s 15-3 win at Vanderbilt. MSU had 18-10 FD and 241-157 edges...

WKU was actually an underdog to an FCS school in C Arkansas and it showed. CA had a 407-287 yd edge in their 28-7 win...

Memphis has officially switched QB’s as Tyler Bass (PS#135) took over as the starter for Arkelon Hall. Bass hit 21-27-293 yd with 4 TD’s over an overmatched UT-Martin. Bass started a game as a true frosh but was inj’d last season...

Texas St was without their top RB Karrington Bush due to a knee inj. As expected, TCU dominated with a 505-249 yd edge...

NCSt QB Russell Wilson had 4 TD passes for the 2nd straight week and threw for a career high 345 yds over an overmatched Gardner-Webb.

TOP 25 UPSETS - Utah had the nation’s longest wins streak (16) and while it was not an upset, #18 Utah lost to an unranked team (Oregon). While the 2 combined for 55 points, neither team was that explosive with the Ducks having a 312-307 yd edge. Just before the half Utah had a 1st & gl at the 2 with :02 left and opted to go for it and their pass was incomplete so they did not score and Utah’s final threat ended on an int at the Duck8.

KEY PLAYS - At the half SDSt had a 174-146 yd edge but trailed 20-10 with the key play of the game happening early 1Q when the Aztecs were poised to score but were not only int but ret’d 74 yd for a TD (14 pt swing). ID also got a 40 yd FG on the final play of the half. Leading 27-20, Idaho got a 53 yd TD run on 2nd & 5 to ice it...

Oklahoma St was off a loss with only Grambling on deck taking on a Rice team that came in #120 in the NCAA in pass defense. You would expect OSU’s high scoring offense to get on track but shockingly they had just 351 yds. Still, thanks to a botched 48 yd FG by Rice which was fmbl’d and OSU ret’d for a TD in the 1H, the Cowboys appeared in control 28-3 in the 3Q on their way to a big win. Rice got a 3&5, 72 yd pass to the 1 to set up a TD and then OSU fmbl’d the KO and Rice got another TD 5pl later and stunningly it was 28-17 in a 3:00 span and OSU only won 41-24. Rice ended the game taking over with 1:51 left going 90/11pl ending at the OSU9...

For the 2nd straight year USC suffered a post-Ohio St hangover and lost to an unranked Pac-10 team on the road. There were some key plays to this game. USC left some points off the board as at the end of the half they could not get a FG off and also fmbl’d at the UW16, were int at the UW20, SOD at the UW27 and settled for a short 25 yd FG late. There were also 3 key plays made by Locker on their scoring drives. Locker, on 3&17 in the 1H hit a 30 yd pass which set up a 28 yd FG. At the start of the 4Q, Locker converted on a 3&11, 12 yd pass setting up a 46 yd FG. On the final drive, it appeared UW would have to punt to USC as they faced a 3rd & 16 but Locker hit a 22 yd strike to the 49 and they continued on a 64/10pl drive for the game winning FG with :22 left.

DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN - Last year Maryland was upset by Middle Tennessee and it happened once again this year. MD was done in by 4 TO’s including 2 fmbl’s by RB Scott. With 1:30 left MD, up 31-29, missed a 42 yd FG and MT connected on a 19 yd FG on the game’s final play for the win.

COACHES ON THE HOTSEAT - Dan Hawkins of Colorado was clearly on the hotseat after a couple of disappointing performances but vs Wyoming the Buff5 forced six 3 & outs in the 1H and had a 206-61 yd edge and led 17-0 en route to their 24-0 win...

Al Groh is on one of the hottest seats in the country but his Cavs put on an excellent performance at The Rock in Hattiesburg. UVA actually led 27-10 at the half with a 268-147 yd edge. It was 34-17 mid-3Q when SM got a 100 yd KR TD. UVA led by 10 when a key play happened. SM faced a 3rd & 37 at their own 20 but pass interference gave them a FD and they would continue on a drive for a TD and later UVA was SOD at the SM32 (8:37 4Q) and SM got a 57 yd TD run for their first lead of the game with 8:01 left. UVA’s final drive got to the SM41 where they were SOD.

STREAKS SNAPPED - Oregon St had a streak of 26 straight non-conf victories at Reser Stadium dating back to 1996 snapped by Cincinnati. One key play happened just before the half. OSU punted with :46 left and UC got a 45 yd TD pass with :18 left to make it 21-8. UC did have a 229-121 yd edge at the half. OSU had a 1st & gl at the 5 trailing 21-15 but settled for a 23 yd FG and UC converted on 3rd & 14 on the next drive and got the game clinching TD with 8:08 left.

MISLEADING FINALS - Duke was only outFD'd 23-22 vs Kansas and when they took over with 6:33 left in the 1H, the game was tied at 7. KU got 2 TD drives to lead 20-7 at the half. KU got a 48 yd IR TD and Duke settled for a 37 yd FG, was SOD at the KU28 but still only trailed 37-16 and had the ball with 6:01 left. They punted with 3:08 left and the punt went 19 yds. Backup QB Pick got a 30 yd run to the 18. Duke did get to the KU29 but on 4th & 12 was int'd in the EZ...

California was in control vs Minnesota with a 277-92 yd edge in the 1H until UM went 30/2pl for a TD to pull within 21-14. Cal went 73/8pl for a TD with 7:14 left. The key play of the game was a 3rd & 16, 36 yd pass with the crowd loud. They got an int on the next play and Cal drove 44/8pl, the key play was a 4th & 1 conversion at the UM34...

At the half LSU only had 155-127 yd edge vs Louisiana and led 17-3. Trailing 24-3 UL had a 1st & gl at the 3 but was stuffed on 4th & gl at the 1. UL converted for a 4th & 1 FD at the LSU34 with 8:46 left but on the next play was int and ret 24 yds. LSU drove 56/6pl and got a TD with 5:48 left. UL got to the LSU24 on their final drive...

Rutgers dominated FIU much more than the final score would indicate. In the 1H they had a 201-55 yd edge but they settled for a 39 yd FG, were SOD at the FIU35, had a 32 yd FG blk’d and settled for a 29 yd FG and only led 13-0. They went on a 70/14pl drive in the 3Q but settled for a 27 yd FG. Leading 23-0 with 8:06 left, they let the backups come in. FIU went 73/6pl for a TD with 6:51 left. RU had a 1st & gl at the 5 but lost 23 yds and their 45 yd FG was missed with 3:24 left and FIU went 72/10pl for a garbage TD with :31 left. FIU had 99 yds offense into the 4Q...

The Auburn/W Virginia game was delayed for over an hour (rain) and WV opened strong scoring TD’s on their first 2 drives to lead 14-0. They led 21-13 before Aub got a TD with 1:34 left in the half to pull within 1. Aub got an 82 yd catch to tie it at 27 with 8:02 in the 3Q but WV led 30-27 after 3Q’s. Interceptions killed WV in the 4Q. After a 21 yd IR, Aub drove 19 yds for a TD. WV was int at the Aub3 then int and ret 15 yd for a TD then int at the Aub39 on their next 3 poss and Aub got ahead of the spread with that 15 yd IR TD putting them up by 11 with 3:41 left...

It appears W Michigan/Miami, Oh game was fairly close at 48-26 but WM led 48-6 with MU getting 3 garbage TD’s after that and statistically MU ended up with a 27-23 FD edge.

INJURIES OF NOTE - N Texas faced Alabama without QB Riley Dodge who separated his non-throwing shoulder. Backup Nathan Tune did hit 16-23-126 but most of that was in the 2H as Bama led 37-0 early 3Q. Bama also sat out WR Julio Jones...

E Michigan QB Andy Schmitt got injured with 7:40 to go in their game vs Michigan...

Kent St not only lost their star RB Eugene Jarvis who was ruled out for the season but also played Iowa St without their starting QB. Spencer Keith, seeing his first real action did hit 21-32-255 yds but ISU won comfortably 34-14 over a beaten up KSU team...

Notre Dame has lost star WR Michael Floyd to a broken collarbone and QB Jimmy Clausen was banged up in the 2Q and hobbled around the rest of the game vs Michigan St...

Air Force played much of the game vs New Mexico without their starting QB Tim Jefferson who was inj in the 1Q with a sprained right ankle. Connor Dietz hit 2-4-40 passing and only carried 5x for 23 yards in his place. NM got an 84 yd TD run for 3:00 left for a garbage score with AF leading 37-6...

Akron susp starting QB Chris Jacquemain indef and naturally it had an impact on their game vs Indy. UA was actually favored over the Big Ten team but trailed 38-14 before getting a TD with :35 left. Matt Rodgers hit 14-23-165 yds but had 4 int. USF QB Matt Grothe (ACL) was lost for the season vs FCS Charleston Southern.