NEWS AND NOTES: Texas A&M had a commanding 222-63 yd edge at the half vs Okla St but Jerrod Johnson, who had 4 int and a costly fmbl kept the Cowboys in the game. It was 21-7 A&M at the half but OSU rallied for a 21-21 tie. A&M was SOD at the OSU33 and then int’d. OSU went 48/5pl for a TD and the lead. A&M went on a 43/9pl drive but Johnson was sk’d & fmbl’d and ret’d 63 yds for a TD, basically a 14 pt swing, 35-21. A&M put together a pair of 80 yd TD drives to tie it with 2:54 left then forced a punt with 1:16 left. The Aggies were at their own 46 when Johnson was int’d and ret’d 28 yds to the Aggie40 with :16 left. On the final play OSU got a FG for the win.

BYU fell to 1-4 for the first time since 1973 and Utah St, who had lost 10 straight to BYU, won for the first time since 1993. BYU trailed 31-10 when they scored a TD with :28 left.

Ohio St did struggle vs Illinois early with UI getting a 55/9pl TD drive for a stunning 7-0 lead and the Illini led 10-7 before the half and the Buckeyes drove for 57 yds for a TD with :45 left for the lead. The key play happened on OSU’s first poss of the 3Q. Terrelle Pryor ran for a FD but was inj’d and would not only miss 2 1/2 series, but when he returned, they basically handed the ball off to the RB almost every offensive play after that and OSU only managed an 11 pt win, 24-13.

Florida St was possibly even more dominant than the score would indicate vs Virginia in their 34-14 win. They led 27-0 at half with a 292-42 yd edge and UVA’s only TD’s came on a 76/1pl TD pass early 3Q and then trailing 34-7 they drove 70/14pl and on 4&gl from the 12 got a TD with 1:39 left.

Vanderbilt/Connecticut was closer than the final as UC only had a 376-326 yd edge. VU led 21-14 with 5:26 left 1H when UC drove for a TD with 1:04 left. UC got a TD on their opening 3Q drive then after a roughing the P gave them a FD, they got a 25 yd FG to lead 31-21. VU was int’d at the UC20 but UC fmbl’d at the VU7. With 8:33 left UC got a 44 yd IR TD to clinch it.

TCU continues to win unimpressively. This time vs Colorado St they only had a 6-0 lead at the half with a 164-51 yd edge. TCU scored TD’s on 2 of their first three 3Q poss and led 27-0. CSU fmbl’d at the TCU25 with 3:55 left and TCU took a knee at the 13 on the final play.

Kent St led Miami, Oh 14-3 in the 1Q and gave up a TD with 2:31 left 1H to only lead 14-10. KSU was int at the MU31 late 3Q and MU drove 69 yds for a TD and their first lead, 17-14. MU then blk’d a punt for a TD, 24-14. After a KSU TD, MU went on a 14pl drive getting a 21 yd FG with 3:32 left. KSU drove and had a 1&gl. On 2&gl from the 7 QB Keith was int’d in the EZ for a TB with :56 left.

Army actually led Temple 28-13 at the start of the 3Q and TU was playing without star RB Pierce. Matt Brown rushed for 226 yds on 28 carries and TU scored TD’s on their first four 2H poss to turn it around and take a 42-28 lead before Army scored with 1:18 left. TU rec’d the onside kick and got a 4&3, 5 yd run to the Army31 on the last play.

The key to the Tulane/Rutgers game was probably RU QB Savage being inj’d and missing the final series of the 2Q and the entire 2H. RU also had some short punts with a 35 yarder setting up a TU 30 yd drive for a FG and a 20 yd’r setting up RU for a 33 yd TD drive and TU led 10-7 at the half. After a 23 yd punt TU went 43/4pl for a TD and a 17-7 lead with 9:30 left. RU cut it to 17-14 after 3Q’s and after punting 2x on 4th & 6 they were SOD at the TU36 with 1:38 left. The Knights got it back after an 18 yd TU punt but were int’d.

The last few years Air Force had outgained Navy almost every season but came up short but this year they finally ended their jinx. This time Navy had a 17-13 FD edge. AF benefitted from a couple of key plays as Navy went inside their 20 3x but missed a FG and settled for 2 short FG’s. AF also blk’d a punt and drove 15 yds for a TD after to lead 14-6. Navy’s last drive got to the AF33 but they were int’d at the 22 and ret’d 10 yds with :25 left.

It was a record breaking game for Baylor. Robert Griffin set a single game record with 444 totals yds and BU set a school record with 678 yds offense. BU got their largest B12 win ever and their biggest conf win since back in 1922 when they won by 47 over Arkansas as BU hammered Kansas 55-7.

Miami, Fl had a 280-169 yd edge at the half vs Clemson and led 27-14. CU turned the ball over six times but UM also turned it over 2x. The key play happened with CU down by 6 when they were SOD at the UM20 and the Hurricanes drove 69/10pl for a 29 yd FG with 2:40 left. Two of CU’s TO’s came on their final two drives.

Jeremiah Masoli accounted for 4 TD’s vs Kentucky but his stats were average as he hit just 9-17-90 and rushed for 43 yards. It was business as usual for the Rebels who have had trouble holding big leads. They led this one 42-20 but gave up 2 TD’s in the 4Q, the second with 1:40 left. Miss rec’d the onside kick at its 45 on a ball that bounced off numerous players hands including some UK players. After getting 1 FD on 3&19 with 1:05 left and UK had used their last time-out, Bolden ripped off a 33 yd run to the UK21 and the Rebels took a knee.

Minnesota lost their first 4 HG’s of the season for the first time since 1983. Northwestern trailed almost the entire 2H as they got the apparent tying TD at 21-20 but missed the xp. Trailing 28-20 they got a TD with 8:12 left, forced a punt and got the go-ahead 27 yd FG with 1:58 left. UM, needing only a FG for the win, got to the NW39 but on 3&11 were int at the 40 and ret’d 9 yds with :17 left.

Les Miles must have a collection of horseshoes and rabbit’s feet at his house as once again LSU looked to be on their way to a loss but came away with the win. At least this time LSU had a yard edge of 432-217. Last year they were outgained by an avg of 328-305 but ended up winning 9 games. Against a Tennessee team, with a young O-line and QB making their first road start, LSU trailed 14-10 when they stopped the Vols at the LSU31 with 5:41 left. The Tigers drove to the UT1 with :04 left but the snap went past QB Jefferson and UT rec’d for the win and celebrated on the field. Unfortunately they had 13 men on the field and LSU got another crack at it after it appeared they had lost. They converted on the last play of the game for a 1 yd TD run and pulled out the 16-14 win. LSU also converted on 4&14 on their final drive with no time-outs left and sent 3 subs on the field as the clock continued to click down and it looked like Miles would have another time clock malfunction. Dooley pointed out that with LSU running 3 players on the field the rules state the D has to be given enough time to make a substitution and the refs should have held the play up until UT’s D was set but that protocol was not followed.

Pitt’s Ray Graham ran for 277 yds in his first college start and Dion Lewis did not play (shoulder inj). The Pitt/FIU game was just 13-10 at the half and 16-10 after 3Q’s. It was 23-17 Pitt with 12:07 left when they got some big plays. After Pitt converted on 3&13 with a 15 yd pass, Graham got a 79 yd TD run. After an FIU punt, Pitt went 45/6pl with a 19 yd TD run then FIU was sk’d & fmbl’d at their own 16 (4:22) and Pitt got a 4 yd TD run with 1:32 left for a 42-17 score and it was not as comfortable as the final.

UCLA faced Washington St without starting QB Prince. Richard Brehaut hit 12-23-128 yds but Johnathan Franklin rushed for 216 and Derrick Coleman for 185 as UCLA continued their strong run game. The key play of the game happened in the 4Q. WSU thought they had taken the lead, 35-28 when a 2&1 QB sneak was orig called a TD. After a review, they spotted it at the inch line. Two plays later on 4th & gl from the 1 WSU was SOD with 13:51 left. UCLA went 99/7pl with a 73 yd run by Coleman on 3&2 the key. After an 11pl drive, WSU missed a 45 yd FG and UCLA went 72/8pl for a TD with 3:04 left for some breathing room. WSU fmbl’d at the UCLA38 with :58 left.

Michigan St held John Clay to 17 carries for 80 yds breaking his streak of 10 straight games of 100+. They also held Scott Tolzien to just 11-25 passing while Kirk Cousins was 20-29. MSU had a 230-118 yd edge at the half and led 20-10. At the end of the game, they faced a tough decision. They had a 4&gl at the 1, up 27-24. A FG would put them up more than a FG ahead but they opted to go for it and got a 1 yd TD pass with 2:43 left for a 10 pt lead. Wisconsin would end up being SOD on 4&17 at the MSU32 with 1:04 left.

Denard Robinson continues to carry Michigan on his shoulders. He had 19 carries for 217 yards incl a game winning 4 yd TD run with :17 left. Robinson also hit 10-16-277 yds. Robinson is the first QB to throw for 200 and rush for 200 twice in season. He now has the top 3 highest total offensive yards in a single game in school history and in 5 starts already has 1,008 pass yds and 905 rush yds in five games Indiana had its first sellout crowd since Memorial Stadium was renovated. Indiana’s Ben Chappell hit 33-64-480 yds - all school records. The game could have been even higher scoring than the 42-35 final. In the 1H UM fmbl’d at the 1 and IU was int’d in the EZ.

Oklahoma is beginning to make a habit of this. They have led each of their games this season by 17 pts and had been outscored in the 4Q, 41-10 coming into the Red River Rivalry. They were outscored again. OU led 21-7 at the half and appeared to clinch it with a TD making it 28-10. Texas used a fake punt which set up a FG and then stuffed Oklahoma on a fake FG for an 8 yd loss. Texas also took advantage of a 17 yd punt with 2:37 left for a 21 yd FG to pull within 28-20. UT kicked off deep as they had all 3 time-outs left and forced a punt with 1:02 left but fmbl’d the punt and OU rec’d at the UT41 for their 8 pt win. OU did have a 26-15 FD edge.

Toledo had a 374-266 yd edge vs Wyoming. They gave WY 2 TD’s in the 1H, one on a 24 yd “drive” following a fmbl and after a 30 yd punt, WY WR David Leonard’s 37 yd TD pass to TE Chris McNeill made it 14-0. UT missed a 33 yd FG with 4:26 left 1H and in the 2H were SOD on 4&2 at the WY34, 4&9 at the WY30, 4&8 at the WY26 and on their final drive, were SOD on 4&5 at their own 49 with 2:34 left.

Rice actually had a 24-17 FD edge vs SMU but gave up a 32 yd IR TD in the 1Q and trailed 7-0. It was 7-3 late 1H when SMU took over with 1:04 left but they needed 3 plays to go 80 yds for a TD and led 14-3. Rice missed a 58 yd FG on the final play of the half. Rice rec’d a fmbl’d punt in the EZ for a TD to pull within 14-10. Each team went on a long drive but SMU got a TD and Rice had a 1st & gl at the 3 but settled for a 35 yd FG. SMU not only blk’d it but ret’d it 77 yds for a TD to make it 28-10. SMU would extend it to 42-17 after an int but Rice got a TD with 5:04 left, rec’d the onside kick and got a TD with 1:40 left.

Last week NC State was ranked for the first time since 2003 and they appeared on their way to a big win over Virg Tech leading 17-0. At the half they had a 299-187 yd edge but Russell Wilson had some costly int’s. He was int at the VT18 with 8:17 left 2Q. On 4&9 they dropped a TD pass from the VT31 and then on 3&10 from the VT16 Wilson was int’d in the EZ again with :48 left 1H. NCSt, trailing 28-27, had a 14 yd gain to the VT 9 yd line but it was called back on a hold. On 4th &11 they settled for a 42 yd FG with 4:42 left, 30-28. VT got a 39 yd TD pass with just 1:27 left then a 46 yd IR got them to the NCSt6 and Evans got a 3 yd TD run after an offsides pen for a misleading 41-30 final in a game VT trailed with 1:40 left.

Alabama did have a 268-96 yd edge at the half but Florida finished the game with a 281-273 yd edge but also had a 4-0 TO deficit. Each team went on a long drive to open. Bama got a 28 yd FG and UF on 4&gl from the 2 was int’d in the EZ on a jump pass. It was 24-3 at the half but UF opened the 3Q with a 69/10pl drive. They had a 1st & gl at the 5 but settled for a 21 yd FG. The Gators were cooked when they had the ball back down at the 18 and were int’d and ret’d 32 yds for a TD with 6:10 left in the 3Q. UF went 72/9pl and had a 1st & gl at the 2 but fmbl’d. On their next drive, they were SOD at the Bama13 and Bama took over with 4:22 left and gained 37 yds and got 3 FD’s running out the clock.

USF played without leading rusher Demetris Murray but Moise Plancher rushed for 93 yds and 2 TD’s. USF recorded a school record 7 sacks. USF did have a 291-208 yd edge. FAU came in avg 262 ypg passing but was limited to just 136. USF blocked a punt and ret’d it 11 yards for a TD in the 1H but they also missed a 35 yd FG after a 15 play drive. FAU went 68/15pl getting a 28 yd FG with :09 left 1H to trail 14-3 and that gave them the yardage edge at 141-128. USF scored a TD and a FG on 2 long drives to open the 3Q and then rec’d a fmbl at the FAU45 and 6pl later had a TD with 12:00 left, 31-3. FAU was int’d at the 3 with 10:04 left in their only other chance to score.

New Mexico’s 3 scoring “drives” vs UTEP were a 27/4pl drive following a UTEP fmbl, a blk’d FG which they ret’d 45 yds for a TD and then after UTEP scored a TD with 3:37 left in the game, Myles Daughtry ret’d the ensuing KO 100 yds for a TD. That’s how they accounted for 20 pts in a 38-20 loss. UTEP had a 455-237 yd edge.

Southern Miss dominated Marshall as the score would indicate. They had a 269-46 yd edge at the half with Marshall punting on their first 7 poss and it was 28-0. MU did get a 104 yd KR TD and trailing 34-7 a snap went over SM’s P head for a safety. Marshall benched starting QB Anderson and AJ Graham hit 10-12-98 yds in the 2H.

Duke went on three long drives but settled for 3 short FG’s and led 9-0. They were at the Maryland 16 when they were int’d in the EZ for a TB with 4:37 left in the half in a game they had dominated. Maryland then went 80/8pl for a TD with 1:12 left 1H to only trail 9-7. The Terps got an 84 yd PR TD early 3Q and then on 3&7 got a 71 yd TD run by Scott early 4Q, 21-9. Duke got a TD with 7:20 let and got the ball back driving to the Maryland 33 but were SOD on 4&15 with 2:00 left. For the game, Duke had a 399-294 yd edge.

Buffalo flat out dominated BG statistically with 27-10 FD and 441-176 yd edges while Buffalo had 6 TO’s and BG 5. UB left BG in the game because they fumbled at the 2 and were int’d setting up BG for a 5 yd “drive” in the 1Q. UB missed a 35 yd FG and only led 14-13 at the half. They led 28-13 when they were int’d in the EZ. UB had the ball at the BG21 on FD leading by 15 when they were int’d and ret’d 82 yds for a TD with 10:14 left. BUF got off an 11 yd punt and BG went 37/4pl for a TD with 7:12 left. BG faced a 4&18 from the 50 and was int’d at the UB21 with 1:35 left but UB fmbl’d 2pl later and BG attempted a game winning 40 yd FG on the final play and missed it.

A check of the FD’s shows C Michigan with 21-14 FD edge vs Ball St but BSt controlled the game. At one point BSt had a 422-246 yd edge and led 31-11 before CM gained 125 yds on their final 2 drives. BSt led 14-3 at half and 28-3 after 3Q’s and rushed for 306 yards.

Tulsa had a 26-12 FD edge vs Memphis, 233 yds rushing and 214 passing while Memphis had 207 total yards. TU led 20-7 at half but scored TD’s on their first 3 poss of the 2H to break it open 41-7 and added a TD with 2:57 left for the 48-7 final.

North Texas had 21-13 FD 371-358 yd edges. There were 2 crucial plays in the game. NT trailing 7-0 had a 3&1 at the UL32 when they fmbl’d and it was ret’d for a TD by UL and NT trailed 14-0. It was 21-14 at the half. Trailing 28-14, NT went 72/11pl for a TD with 8:53 left then forced a punt with 4:54 left. NT drove 91/12pl and got the apparent tying TD with :31 left but UL blk’d the xp and rec’d the onside kick and won by 1.

Georgia’s AJ Green ret’d from his 4 game suspension and had a big game with 7 rec for 117 yds incl 2 TD’s, with one of them being spectacular. Unfortunately the altitude and lack of PT had him cramping up in the 2H and after hauling in a 50 yd rec on the 3rd snap of the 2H he did not catch another pass. Georgia settled for a 33 and 20 yd FG’s in the game and missed a 41 yd FG. Colorado settled for a 38 yd FG but roughing the K late 3Q gave them a FD and on the next play they got a 10 yd TD run for a 29-24 lead. CU missed a 52 yd FG with 3:37 left and UGA appeared on their way to a win. They had a FD at the CU27 with 1:56 left and CU used a time-out. CU LB Beatty blitzed and stripped RB King of the ball and CU rec’d it at the 30, got 1 FD & took a knee.