News and Notes: 

San Diego St got off to an impressive start as one of my Most Improved Teams this year. They rolled to a 47-0 win over Nichols St with QB Lindley hitting 17-26-303 yards. It was 20-0 at the half and SDSt finished with a 531-171 yd edge.

Rice did play Texas as tough as the 34-17 final but both of their touchdowns came as the result of somewhat fluky plays. At the end of the half, Rice threw a long pass down the middle which bounced off the hands of WR McDonald and right into the hands of Randy Kitchens who dragged a defender into the end zone, barely getting in for the 47 yard TD with :04 left in the half. At the end of the game, Texas fumbled a punt at their own 20 with :43 left and 3 plays later Rice got the TD with :24 left.

Wofford attempted only 4 passes vs Ohio and all 4 were incomplete. The game was actually closer than the 33-10 final. OU got a 38 yd FR for a TD in the 1H and led 17-7 despite only having a 137-130 yard edge. OU led 20-10 when Wofford went 62/13pl but was SOD at the OU17 with 10:44 left. OU converted on 3rd & 19, 3rd & 10 and 4th & 1 and an 83/15pl drive for a TD with 3:36 left then recovered a fumble on the KO and drove 29/5pl for a TD with :53 left.

Southern Utah did have a 24-20 FD edge vs Wyoming. They missed 33 and 36 yd FG’s in the 1H at the end of 9 play drives and were SOD at the Wyoming 34 early 3Q. The key play of the game happened when WY on 3rd & 13 got a 69 yd TD pass to go up 21-0 and it was 28-0 after 3Q’s. SU went on a 14 play drive settling for a 30 yd FG then went 66/7pl to get to 28-20 but their final 2 drives did not get past midfield.

In the 1H Wisconsin had a 269-30 yd edge but they went on a 77/14pl drive and settled for a 20 yd FG, had a 19 yd IR TD and only led 17-7. They were about to make it 24-7 as on 3rd & 9 from the UNLV22 Tune caught a pass for 21 yards but he fumbled at the end and Chandler returned it 82 yards to the UW16. UNLV got a TD on the next play with 1:08 left in the half to make it 17-14. UW got a 20 yd FR for a TD in the 3Q and scored on their next 3 poss to lead 41-14 but UNLV got a 3rd & 9, 9 yard TD pass with 12:36 left to make it 41-21 and even missed a 48 yd FG with 6:24 left.

Case Keenum set the school record for completions and yards passing. UH also extended its home win streak to 16. While the box score shows Texas St with a 24-22 FD edge and 28 points, in reality it was not that close. At the half UH led 54-7 and scored on their first 2 possessions of the 3Q to lead 68-7. Texas St would go 83/14pl, 86/17pl and 32/10pl for 3 TD’s after the game was decided - the latter with 1:19 left.

Jacksonville St beat an FBS team for the first time since 2001 when they beat Arkansas St. Jeremiah Masoli was cleared late and played and Ole Miss appeared in control as they had a 323-70 yd edge at the half and led 31-10. Masoli threw an int, up 31-13 with 3:32 left in the 3Q and JSt would go 59/8pl and 67/11pl for TD’s. After Stanley led a drive for a 35 yd FG with 3:21 left, JSt went 71/9pl for a TD and 2 pt conversion to tie it at 34. In the 2OT JSt overcame a 3rd & 15 with a 30 yd TD pass and then on the 2 pt conversion, the RB fought his way into the EZ for the upset.

Syracuse had a 3-0 turnover deficit vs Akron but still dominated 29-3. They lost fumbles at their own 48 and 43, the latter was returned 25 yards setting up an Akron FG to get the into the game at 10-3. Syracuse got a 26 yard TD pass with :05 left in the half and at the half led 17-3 with a 260-48 yard edge. They were int’d at the Akron10 but the big play happened when Akron went on a 57/7pl drive and Syracuse blocked a 39 yard FG and returned it 59 yards for a TD with 4:56 left in the 3Q. Syracuse had an 80/9pl drive for a TD in the 4Q and Akron never threatened after the blocked FG in SU’s 29-3 win. Syracuse had 202 yard rushing and 202 passing while Akron had 166 yards.

Sean Renfree in his first start for Duke was impressive as he hit 13 of his first 14 passes and finished 31-39 for 350 yards. Elon is an FCS Playoff caliber team. Duke jumped out to a 21-3 lead and at the end of the 1H on 2nd & gl from the 2 settled for a 22 yard FG on the final play to lead 27-23. While Elon pulled within 27-20 early 4Q, Duke drove for 2 TD’s to lead 41-20 with 2:10 left before Elon went 79/10pl including a 4th & 4 conversion and got a garbage TD with :40 left.

Northwestern was in complete control vs Vanderbilt. They went on 2 long drives to open and settled for a 26 yard FG and got a 33 yard TD pass to lead 10-0. Vandy had punted on the first six poss but then took advantage of a fumble to score a TD and a questionable personal foul call which would have been 4th down to get a 30 yard FG and pulled within 10-9 at the half. NU still led 23-15 with 4:37 left when VU got a 33 yd TD run by missed the 2 pt conversion and NU won 23-21.

TCU had a commanding 28-13 FD edge and 453-255 yd edge vs Oregon St. Andy Dalton who only threw 5 int’s in all of the 2009 regular season, had 3 in the bowl and 2 costly int vs Oregon St. OSU scored 2 TD’s in the 1H, both set up by Frog mistakes. The first was after a Dalton int was returned to the TCU31. Two plays later Katz had a 29 yard TD pass. OSU faked a punt and got a 23 yard gain to the TCU34 and on the next play hit a 34 yard TD pass for a stunning 14-7 lead. TCU led 21-14 when they were int’d at the OSU13 early 3Q at the end of the game TCU almost fell on a bad snap for a TD but it was kicked out of the EZ for a safety and they only led by 9 with 4:08 left. TCU ret’d the free kick to the OSU 47 and got to the OSU13 as the clock ran out.

Eastern Michigan played a solid game vs Army. Two turnovers set up Army’s 10 points as EM fumbled at their own 15 and later in the 3Q fumbled a KR at their own 32. That helped Army lead 24-14. Army did fumble at the EM26 up 24-20 with 12:22 left but EM got a 10 yd TD pass on 3rd & 9 with 2:55 left to lead 27-24. Army then drove 72/8pl and got a TD with :38 left to escape with a 31-27 win. EM did get to the Army32 but their Hail Mary pass was incomplete.

Kansas did have a 293-168 yd edge vs North Dakota St but 3 turnovers and some missed FG’s did them in. They went on an 81/9pl drive in the 1Q and settled for a 25 yd FG and missed a 52 yd FG with :29 left in the half and it was 3-3 with a 187-98 yd edge. KU fumbled at their own 45 setting up an NDSt 32 yd FG with 8:04 left in the 3Q, 6-3. KU had a 3rd & gl from the 7 but was int’d in the EZ. They switched QB’s to Webb at the end of the 3Q and missed a 42 yd FG with 6:50 left. They fumbled at their own 36 with 3:10 left and were SOD at their own 24 with :29 left and NDST got the improbable upset spoiling Turner Gill’s debut.

Fresno St got off to a slow start vs Cincinnati getting their first FD with 11:20 to go in the 2Q and had 1 FD on their first 7 drives. UC took advantage of a Fresno int at the 35 getting a 2 pl TD drive then went 76/10pl and appeared in command, 14-0. Three key plays changed the outlook. UC had a 20 yd sack forcing a punt at their 10 which set up FSU for a 49/4pl TD drive, 14-7 (2:25 2Q). UC was then sacked and fumbled with :39 left in the half and FSU went 42/5pl for a TD with :16 left and tied it at 14. FSU converted on 4th & 2 to open the 3Q and would go 80/9pl for a TD, 21-14. UC missed a 48 yd FG and FSU got a 59 yd TD pass to make it 28-14. UC’s next drive they were sacked 3 consecutive times and they would not cross midfield the rest of the game.

It was a game of momentum shifts between Washington and BYU. Jake Locker on 3rd & 17 hit a 19 yd TD pass. BYU went on an 56/11pl drive but missed a 44 yd FG. UW had a snap go over the P’s head for a safety on a 39 yd loss but BYU after the free kick had a 1st & gl at the 4 and settled for a 22 yd FG. It was 14-13 when UW took over at their 1 with 1:55 left in the half and got a crucial 3rd & 9, 22 yd run then would get a 54 yd FG before the half to lead 17-13. BYU went on a 58 yd drive settling for a 29 yd FG in the 3Q then got a 3rd & 10, 48 yd TD pass to lead 23-17. UW was SOD on 4th & 2 at the BYU23 and 4th & 7 at the BYU27 on 2 of their final 3 drives.

Texas Tech took advantage of a couple of turnovers to lead 21-7 at the half but had a 264-145 yd edge. They extended it to 35-14 but SMU battled back including a school record 61 yd FG by Matt Szymanski. They got a TD with 7:10 left to pull within 35-27 and on their final drive, got to the TT39 but QB Padron was injured and on 4th & 21 roughing the QB would have given them a FD but an illegal shift offset it and on the next play on 4th & 21 again, backup QB McDermott was sacked for a 1 yard loss.

North Carolina had a remarkable performance vs LSU as they were missing 13 key players including 7 defensive starters. At the end of the game NC finished with a 21-11 FD edge and 433-333 yd edge. Special Teams was a major culprit in their loss and you would figure that due to the lack of depth missing key players, LSU’s Patrick Peterson had 257 PR and KR combined yards. LSU had a pair of 1pl 50 yard TD plays in the 1H and led 30-10 but NC chipped away. Trailing 30-24 NC drove to the LSU6. On 3rd & 1 their pass to the end zone was dropped by Pianalto. On 4th & 1 the LB grabbed Pianalto with his left arm and he dropped it again and LSU held on for another win, just like last year when they were significantly outgained and outfirstdowned on the season.

Tulsa and East Carolina scored TD’s on their final 10 possessions combined. The ending of the game was tough for Tulsa with EC at midfield they dropped an interception which would have ended the game then on 4th & 10 EC was at the Tulsa 33 and they threw up a Hail Mary pass and their prayer was answered with a TD for their win in Ruffin McNeil’s first game.

Stony Brook took advantage of 2 USF special teams mistakes. USF fumbled a punt at their 35 and Stony Brook got a TD 3 plays late and then USF’s punter took a knee while fielding the ball at his 27 and Stony Brook got a 27 yd TD pass on the next play to stunningly lead 14-7 with 5:30 left in the 1Q. USF dominated after that and led 31-14 at the half and extended it to 45-14 after their 3rd drive of the 3Q. They added a 33 yd IR TD to make it 52-14 (5:09 3Q) and coasted, even missing a 32 yd FG after a 78/13pl drive.

Auburn only had a 23-22 FD edge vs Arkansas St but had a 608-366 yd edge.

HESIMAN CANDIDATES:

Stanford’s Andrew Luck got off to a great start hitting 17-23-316 yards and tied a career high with 4 TD passes. Stanford did have a 375-57 yd edge at the half and led 38-7 with Sacramento St’s only 1H score being on a 70 yard PR TD.