More News and Notes

Fresno St could have had a much bigger victory over New Mexico St. At the half it was FSU 30-3 and they had 273-93 yard edge. They appeared to put it in idle in the 2H. They got a 47 yd FG with 12:13 left to lead 33-3. NMSt had started Manley but Christian came in with 3:15 left in the 1Q and played the rest of the game. Christian led a 90/11pl drive which included a 4&11, 15 yd pass to the 19 and the 19 yd TD run by Turner with 7:44 left for a garbage TD. Fresno finished the game at the NMSt33 taking a knee.

Oklahoma had led by at least 15 points in every game this season. Their problem was defense as they seemed to let up some in the 2H and let teams back in the game and it’s almost come back to bite them. Their DC Brent Venables sent a message to his D that he wanted to get the first shutout of the year. Iowa St came close twice in the 2H somewhat. Early 2Q they missed a 45 yd FG and on the last play of the half they missed a 50 yd FG. OU, which had a 37-10 FD edge for the game and 682-183 yd edge for the game did not allow ISU past the OU49 in the 2H. The Sooners pulled their starters after taking a 45-0 lead after 3Q’s but did add a TD with 1:23 left by backup QB Drew Allen. DeMarco Murray broke Steve Owens record of 57 TD’s in his career. WR Ryan Broyles set an OU record with 13 rec in the 1H and Murray rushed for 112 yards. Landry Jones hit 30-34-334 yards.

San Diego St beat a ranked team for the first time since 1996. They had lost 25 straight games to ranked foes. The Aztecs blew a couple of opportunities to put the game away and it seemed like their luck against ranked opponents would remain the same. At the end of the half, leading 7-6 Air Force had 1st & goal at the 1, spiked it, had a false start, an incomplete pass and then settled for a 23 yd FG and led 10-6. Leading 20-12 San Diego St got a 59 yd pass and had a 1st & gl at the AF4. Any score would make it a 2 score game and give them plenty of breathing room. They settled for a 19 yd FG from the 2 and missed it. That left it open for AF and the Falcons went 80/16pl and got a 4 yd TD with 2:08 left. AF converted on the 2 pt conversion but replay overturned it. SDSt recovered the onside kick and got a 44 yard run by Hillman on the next play to make it 27-18 with 2:00 left. AF went 65/11pl and got a TD with :18 left but SDSt recovered the onside kick.

Boise St dominated San Jose St just like the final score would indicate with a 38-6 FD edge and 535-80 yd edge for the game. BS actually led 41-0 at half with a 346-62 yd edge and scored on their opening poss of the 3Q with backup QB Southwick in. BS ended the game taking a knee at the SJS20 and scored TD’s on 5 of their six 1H poss and added a 43 yd IR TD. SJS’s best chance to score came on a 36 yd FG with 6:46 left in the 2Q but it was blocked.

North Texas’ banged up, beaten up squad finally had a bad game. FAU took advantage of their depth shy team and throttled them. At the half FIU led 27-3 but the yards were 323-37. NT was ougained 479-295 but got 64 yards of their offense on a fake punt to start the 4Q which set up a TD and then gained 50 yds on the final 10 plays of the game running out the final 4:39.

Following the scoreboard, I was very disappointed in Kent St. I saw that they were up 21-7 at the half and I thought they must have played a pretty feeble game to lose by 13 points to Toledo, being outscored 27-0 in the 2H. Doing the play-by-play, Kent St could easily have won this one. As mentioned, they led 21-7 at the half and in fact had the field position edge when they fumbled the punt at the 50 with 3:00 left in the half, which cost them a chance to add to their lead. KSU had a 232-135 yd edge at the half. After each team punted to open the 3Q, Toledo did go 66 and 39 yards for TD’s to tie. Toledo went 32/10pl for a 38 yd FG and 54/8pl for a 32 yd FG to make it 27-21 but Kent St was just 1 score away. KSU forced a punt with 6:43 left and took over at its own 9. Unfortunately Jacques Terry, who had 92 yards rushing, fumbled and Toledo tacked on a short 6 yard TD run 3 plays later to make it 34-21. Kent St got to the Toledo 15 but they were int’d at the 3 with 3:11 left and the Rockets got a crucial 3&10, 16 yd QB run and ran out the clock.

Ohio St was #1 in the country and went into a very loud venue. Wisconsin took advantage of OSU’s Achilles heal which is KR defense and got a 97 yd KR TD on the opening KO. Surprisingly UW would go 58/6pl and 89/19pl for a pair of TD’s and a stunning 21-0 lead to start the 2Q. OSU battled back but blew 2 opportunities in the 2Q. They went 65/12pl and had a 1st & gl at the 3 but settled for a 21 yd FG. Then after an int had them start at the UW23, they missed a 45 yd FG and trailed by 18. OSU opened the 3Q with 77/10pl, 94/8pl drives for TD’s and the 2 pt conversion made it 21-18 with 11:38 left. UW faced a 3&3 and was on the ropes but hit a 20 yd pass and continued on a 73/10pl drive for a TD. OSU opted to punt on 4&10 from its own 29 with 6:29 left and UW not only got 2 FD’s, they added a 41 yd FG to lead 31-18 with 4:14 left. OSU got to the UW30 but Pryor was int’d at the 14 which likely ended his Heisman hopes.

LSU’s 32-10 win over McNeese was actually a lot closer than the final. LSU fmbl’d at their own 5 and MSt got a TD. LSU fmbl’d a punt at their own 41 and MSt got a 21 yd FG to lead 10-7 early 2Q. MSt was pinned at their 3 and tackled for a safety which gave LSU a 16-10 lead with 6:04 left 2Q and at the half LSU only had a 132-75 yd edge. MSt fmbl’d at the LSU39 and then trailing 22-10 MSt was int’d & returned 29 yards to their 31. LSU got a 31 yd FG with 9:32 left to lead 25-10. MSt went 50/13pl but was SOD on 4&9 at the LSU 31 with 4:10 left. LSU then went 69/5pl. They got a 36 yd TD run with just 1:12 left to extend the margin to 32-10.

Washington’s first 4 drives of the game vs Oregon St were solid going 56/8pl, 69/10pl, 45/6pl and 91/6pl. On the first one they fumbled at the OSU12. On the next 3 they got TD’s and led 21-0 with 9:57 left in the half. OSU got 62 and 35 yd TD drives to make it 21-14 at the half but UW had a commanding 274-133 yd edge. OSU opened the 3Q with a 76/7pl TD drive. UW was SOD at the OSU48 and OSU was int’d on a deep pass at the 8. OSU had a 3&gl from the UW13 with :30 left 3Q but was int’ in the EZ. UW missed a 45 yd FG with 8:49 left and then fmbl’d at the OSU16 with 5:37 left. After each team got a TD in the first OT, UW on 2&17 got a 21 yd TD pass to lead 35-28. OSU faced a 3&20 but got a 23 yd pass to the 12. On 4&1 pass interference and an incomplete pass gave them a FD and they got a TD on the next play but Riley went for 2 and the win and the pass was incomplete.

Troy played a great game vs Middle Tennessee and dominated but vs Louisiana they only had a 380-350 yard edge. Troy trailed 14-10 when they got a 75 yd IR TD with 2:45 left 1H but they were at the UL14 and int’d in the EZ for a TB with :45 left. They led 17-14 with a 209-198 yd edge. UL was int’d at the Troy21 but drove 65/9pl for a TD with 12:54 left, 21-14. Troy was int’d and ret’d to their 42. UL got a 29 yd run to the 13 and a pers foul moved them ahead to the 5. The key play of the game happened. Threatening to go up by 2 scores, UL fmbl’d and Troy ret’d it all the way to the UL33. On 3&11 Troy got a 34 yd TD pass for the lead, 24-21. UL went 28/7pl for a 42 yd FG, 24-24. Troy went 53/7pl for a TD with 4:43 left. UL punted with :46 left but Troy going 3 & out ate up all but :06 and UL16 threw 3 incomplete passes.

Nothing fluky about Hawaii’s win over Nevada. UH after a 26 yd PR missed a 20 yd FG then recovered a fumble and went 20/2pl for a TD, 7-0. UH went 76/9pl for a TD, 14-0. NU was SOD on 4&6 at the UH35 and UH went 58/9pl for a 24 yd FG, 17-0. UH fmbl’d at their own 39 and NU had a 3&gl at the 10 but Kaepernick was int’d in the EZ. At the half UH had a 181-97 yd edge. NU opened the 3Q with an 81/12pl drive. On 2&gl from the 10, Kaepernick raced 9 yds towards the EZ but fumbled for a TB. NU got a 44 yd PR which set up a 17/7pl TD, 17-7. UH answered with a 55/10pl for a 30 yd FG, 20-7. NU got an 84 yd KR to the 14 and on 3&14 Kaepernick hit an 18 yd TD pass, 20-14. Each team went on a TD drive, NU’s came with 3:06 left pulling it to 27-21. NU recovered the onside kick at the 43. They got 2 FD’s to the UH45 but was int’d at the 12 with 1:30 left. Normally teams would run the ball 3 times and punt but UH threw 17 yd pass on the first play and after a 4 yd run, a 7 yd pass for its 2nd FD and was able to take a knee.

Alabama was off their loss to South Carolina but only had 14-13 FD and 317-239 yd edges. Bama’s first TD came after they made a 37 yd FG. Roughing the kicker had Saban take the points off the board and on 3&gl from the 7 they got a 7 yd TD pass. Bama got a 49 yd FG after a 12 yd PR and after a 37 yd PR added a 19 yd FG, 13-0 on a 6 yd drive. Bama fumbled the punt at its own 21. Mississippi converted on 4&1 for a FD and got a 22 yd FG with 1:28 left 1H, 13-3. Bama went 52/7pl and got a 44-yard FG on the final play of the half. McElroy on 3&13 threw a screen pass to Richardson who did the rest going 85 yards for a TD, 23-3. UM went 71/10pl for a 15 yd TD on 3&7, 23-10. UM was int’d at their own 37. Bama missed a 42 yd FG. UM was SOD on 4&10 with a 9 yd Masoli run to the 43 with 1:07 left.

There were 3 key stories of the Arkansas/Auburn game. Ryan Mallett was injured with 9:43 left in the 2Q after a TD put Arkansas up 14-10. His replacement, Tyler Wilson, hit 15 of his first 17 passes. The 2nd story line is Cam Newton stepped to the forefront of the Heisman rushing for 180 yards and throwing for 140 guiding his team to 65 points and the third, was that Arkansas actually led 43-37 in the 4Q until they imploded with TO’s on 3 straight possessions. One was a 47 yd FR TD followed by a 33 yd IR to the 7 and an int at the AU47 setting up a 47/2pl drive and Auburn blew it open. AU also benefitted from a blocked punt, which set up a 25 yard TD drive and a 99 yard KR by McCaleb to the 1 which set up another TD. Thanks to all the short TD drives, despite their 65 points, AU was outgained 556-470.

Your initial reaction to seeing Kentucky’s upset of South Carolina would be that SC was let down from beating #1 Alabama giving the Tide their first regular season loss since 2007. There was not let down in the 1H. SC flat out dominated with a 361-139 yd edge and while they led 28-10 it could have been by more. They fumbled a punt at their own 11 setting up a UK FG and at the end of the half up 28-10 at their own 44 Garcia hit Sanders with a pass. He looked like he’d have a chance to score as he was running to the EZ but the ball was punched out from behind at the UK28 with :19 left. The key was in the 2H when UK RB Marcus Lattimore was injured. Lattimore’s 212 yards total offense were almost all in the 1H. UK rallied and pulled within 28-23. They got it back with 7:31 left but faced a 4&7 at the 24 yard line. An incomplete pass would have ended their hopes but instead a blown coverage gave them a TD and the 2 pt conv put UK up 31-28. SC got 3 FD to the UK20 and were in FG range to tie. The decided to take one last shot at the EZ but Garcia threw it into double coverage and it was overthrown. It bounced off the receivers hands and was int’d with :04 left and it was UK’s turn to storm the field.