Daily Blog •October 17, 2011

During the offseason I had just one weekend blog but each week during the season I will take a look at the Top 25 performances from the just completed week with a little analysis as well as a quick review of the past weekend. On Monday I will give you my News & Notes where I delve deeper into every game that was played this past weekend, breaking down individual drives and giving you misleading finals and other interesting tidbits.

As far as my game grades go after the 2008 season was completed I devised a power ratings system, which lets me analyze at what level each team played during an individual game. This “game grade” takes into account the yards rushing, yards passing, points scored, rushing yards allowed, passing yards allowed and points allowed and factors them in against the opponent played and even factors in the site the game was played at.

With all these factors taken into consideration you will see teams that lost the game having a better individual game grade than teams that beat them simply because the team they played was superior and much less was expected of them.

Top 25 Game Grades (Team Performances) Week 7
*Means Garbage Yards/Pts Were Subtracted (Includes all OT Yds/Pts)


OFF
OFF
OFF
DEF
DEF
DEF
Total
Game
Rank FOE
RUSH
PASS
PTS
RUSH
PASS
PTS
TO's
Yards
Grade
1
 ALABAMA AT Mississippi
434
207
52
27
117
7
2
497
119.1
2
 BOISE ST AT Colorado St
372
360
63
83
147
13
1
502
113.0
3
 LSU AT Tennessee
252
130
38
110
128
7
2
144
103.7
4
 N ILLINOIS W Michigan
494
203
51
91
233
22
1
373
103.3
5
 STANFORD AT Washington St
139
336
44
48
209
14
-1
218
102.3
6
 TEXAS A&M Baylor
266
415
55
50
430
28
0
201
101.2
7
 MICHIGAN ST Michigan
214
120
28
83
168
14
-1
83
98.9
8
 ULM AT Troy
248
275
38
-14
140
10
1
397
98.7
9
 OKLAHOMA ST AT Texas
202
218
38
231
139
26
2
50
98.5
10
 OKLAHOMA AT Kansas
248
360
47
143
108
17
-3
357
98.2
11
 WASHINGTON Colorado
295
267
52
62
207
24
-1
293
96.5
12
 FLORIDA ST AT Duke
242
239
41
63
226
16
0
192
94.3
13
 MISSOURI Iowa St
294
289
52
157
186
17
0
240
93.5
13
 OREGON Arizona St
315
209
41
148
300
27
0
76
93.5
15
 VIRGINIA TECH Wake Forest
193
280
38
59
261
17
1
153
92.4
16
 TEMPLE Buffalo
400
58
34
71
84
0
1
303
91.6
17
 AUBURN Florida
154
123
17
67
129
6
3
81
89.7
18
 USC AT California
118
195
30
35
294
9
3
-16
89.4
19
 VIRGINIA Georgia Tech
273
135
24
272
24
21
1
112
88.8
20
 UTAH AT Pittsburgh
124
127
26
70
50
14
3
131
88.6
21
 NEVADA New Mexico
338
260
49
168
89
7
12
341
88.0
22
 SMU UCF
82
358
38
110
349
17
-1
-19
86.6
23
 BYU AT Oregon St
282
217
38
59
306
28
2
195
86.4
24
 TEXAS TECH Kansas St
119
461
34
193
146
41
-4
241
85.5
24
 ARIZONA ST AT Oregon
148
300
27
315
209
41
0
-76
85.5

 

News and Notes Week 7 Part 1

USC took advantage of 5 Cal TO’s. In the 1H USC had a 187-132 yd edge and blew one opportunity off a TO by fumbling a snap on a fake FG. They settled for a 39 yd FG and also benefited from stopping a Cal fake punt at the Cal37 which 5pl later resulted in a USC TD. The Trojans led 20-0 at the half en route to the 30-9 win.

Air Force was missing all 3 starting DL and got worn down by San Diego St in the 2H. Ronnie Hillman rushed for 172 yards for the Aztecs including 22 and 57 yd TD runs on B2B plays to blow open a close game. AF had a 215-160 yd edge at the half.

San Jose St beat Hawaii at home on a Friday night in front of a charged home crowd. The game featured a 2011 season high of 12 TO’s with each team having 6. In the 1H SJS took advantage of some UH TO’s and could have led by more than 20-7 as they missed a FG, settled for a FG and had an IR TD called back by a pers foul that was 40 yards behind the play. In the 2H SJS turned it over on their first 5 poss but one of the key plays of the game happened after UH had just taken the lead, 21-20. SJS turned it over after an 8 pl drive at their own 40 and UH got a 32 yd TD run. The xp was blk’d and ret’d for 2 and instead of leading 28-20, it was 27-22. Each team missed a FG and SJS got a TD with :36 left to go up 28-27 and missed the 2 pt conv. UH only got as far as its own 39.

Miami, Fl gained 263 of its 311 yards in the 1H and avoided their first 0-3 start in conf play in program history. They led 27-10 at the half with a 274-177 yd edge but North Carolina finished with a 429-311 yd edge. Giovanni Bernard became the school’s first NC player to rush for at least 100 yards in 5 consec game since Ethan Horton in 1984 and NC did get within 30-24. UM’s Lamar Miller was held to 29 yards on 16 carries. Once NC got a TD with :46 left to pull within 30-24 they actually rec’d the onside kick and got to the UM 30 but on 3&17 tried the lateral on the last play which came up short.

Ryan Tannehill threw for 415 yards and a career-high 6 TD’s for Texas A&M. Robert Griffin threw for a school-record 430 yards and 3 TD’s but Texas A&M had a 266-50 yd edge on the ground. Baylor has not beaten Texas A&M in Kyle Field since 1984 and A&M had a 681-480 yard edge. While A&M opened a 31-14 lead, Baylor closed it to 34-28. A&M got a 68 yd TD pass and BU was SOD on 4&gl at the A&M4 with 13:12 left. A&M went 96/7pl for a TD to go up 48-28 then after an int went 66/7pl for a TD to turn it into a blowout, 55-28.

The Cincinnati Bearcats played their 3rd game in Bengals home, Paul Brown Stadium, and got their first victory. They also drew 40,971 fans, which almost matched the Bengals crowd for their last home game. A big play happened when UC trailed 9-7 and had the ball at the Louisville 46 and was int’d and ret’d 63 yds for a TD with :06 left in the half and instead of getting into FG range for the lead, they trailed 16-7 at the half. UC finished with only 330-271 yd edge and didn’t take the lead until they got a 50 yd TD run by Pead with 12:19 left to go up 22-16. UL was SOD on 4&3 at their own 44 and UC added a 21 yd FG with 1:21 left.

Wisconsin shelled Indiana 59-7 but it actually wasn’t as bad as LY when they won 83-20. Trailing 14-0, Indy was SOD at the UW36 and UW drove 64 yds for a TD and after an int, drove 80 yds for a TD. They led 38-7 at the half but the yards were only 379-217 as IU was SOD at the UW36, int’d at the 20 and int’d setting up a UW39 yd TD in the final minute. In the 2H UW got a 60 yd PR for a TD and rec’d a fmbl by the IU QB for a TD with 9:17 left to close the scoring.

Missouri probably dominated Iowa St even more than the 52-17 margin although they did lose DT Terrell Resonno who inj’d his right knee in the 1H and DNR. Missouri opened the game with 10 straight runs, the first on an 50/8pl TD drive. They led 28-3 and had the ball at the ISU27 yd line when they were int’d and ret’d 78 yds for a TD. At the half MO had a 368-117 yd edge but only led 31-10. They expanded it to 52-10 in the 4Q and ISU went 74/6pl for a garbage TD and added 58 additional yards after that. Missouri had 13 yds on their final 4 poss with a backup QB.

Utah’s D dominated Pitt as they had a 251-120 yd edge. The Utes were without their QB Jordan Wynn (out for yr) and top WR Devon Christopher. Pitt appeared in control early thanks to special teams. The Panthers did got on a 10pl drive to open and punted and Utah went on a 12pl drive and settled for a 23 yd FG but Pitt got a 98 yd KR TD then blk’d a punt for a TD. The KR TD was their first since 2006 and the blk’d punt TD was their first since 1991. They led 14-3 but Utah, with 2:07 left in the half, with QB Hays under heavy pressure, threw a pass which tipped off the LB’s hand, over a DB and into WR Matthews hands which he took 33 yards for a TD to pull them within 14-13. Utah took a lead with a FG on the opening drive of the 3Q and never trailed again in a game played in 20-36 mph winds. Pitt trailed 19-14 when they were SOD at the Utah35 on 4&3 with backup QB Anderson in. On the next drive on 3&10 Anderson was int’d and ret’d 23 yds for a TD with 1:10 left for a somewhat misleading 26-14 final.

Howard Schnellenberger called FAU’s first HG in their brand-new $70mill stadium their most important game in school history. David Kooi, making his first career QB start hit just 10-21-79 and WKU dominated with 17-6 FD and 289-121 yd edges. It was just 6-0 at the half even though WK had a 131-43 yd edge. WK’s final score was off a blk’d punt as they went 19/5pl for a TD with 2:40 left for the 20-0 final.

Teams with extra time to prepare for Georgia Tech’s option usually do well and Virginia upended #12 GT which had been off to its best start since 1966. UVA had 407-296 yd and 21-17 FD edges. UVA went 73/4pl and 45/12pl for TD’s on their first 2 poss to lead 14-0. GT got a 32 yd IR TD to pull back to 14-14 with 8:24 left in the half but UVA went 72/10pl and 21/8pl (after int) for a TD and a 36 yd FG and led 24-14 at the half with a 272-154 yd edge. GT opened the 3Q with an 85/19pl drive for a TD, 24-21 but punted on their next 3 poss and UVA took over at their 23 with 5:58 left in the game and would get 5 FD’s on the 69/13pl drive taking a knee at the GT6.

USF had a 339-253 yd edge vs Connecticut and tied a school record with 7 sacks. It was Skip Holtz’s return to CT where he was HC from 1994-’98. USF QB BJ Daniels, however, fumbled a shotgun snap at the UC16 and UC rec’d it. USF missed a 46 yd FG and Daniels was int’d at the UC19 with 4:39 left in the half and CT led 6-3. With the score 10-9 USF fmbl’d and UC ret’d it 10 yds for a TD to take the lead 16-10. USF missed a 44 yd FG after a 52/10pl drive and was int’d at the UC38 with 9:46 left. USF was SOD on 4&7 at the UC24 with 2:23 left and CT got 1 FD & ran out the clock.

Marshall benched QB starter Rakeem Cato and AJ Graham hit just 11-22-99 yds but rushed for 129 yards on 20 carries and was the team’s leading rusher. Rice finished with a 361-328 yd edge. Marshall went 69/1pl and 87/11pl for TD’s, 14-0 and Rice went on 43 and 50 yd drives for 2 FG’s, 14-6 at the half. Rice battled back to take a 20-17 lead. MAR rec’d a fmbl at the Rice25 but was int’d at the 8 with 11:42 left and after 4 punts, Rice fmbl’d at their own 23 with 3:31 left. MAR converted on 4&10 and went 23/5pl to get a 4 yd TD run by Martinez with 1:49 left to take the lead. Rice was SOD at their own 33 on 4&13.

Dan Herron ret’d to the lineup for Ohio St and rushed for 114 yards. Braxton Miller hit just 1-4 passes for 17 yards as the Buckeyes kept it on the ground but his only completion was a 17 yd TD pass to Jake Stoneburner to put the Buckeyes up 17-7. OSU did not throw its first pass until 7:22 mark in the 2Q. Illinois had a 285-228 yd edge and OSU went 45/10pl for a 43 yd FG to open and the next 9 poss resulted in punts. At the half OSU had a 105-95 yd edge. UI was int’d and ret’d 37 yds to the 12 and Herron got a 12 yd TD run on the next play, 10-0 early 3Q. OSU rec’d a fmbl’d at the UI22 and on 3&5 got a 17 yd TD pass to Stoneburner 17-0. UI went 80/15pl for a 3 yd TD pass. UI’s last drives ended on an int at the OSU20 (from midfield) and a 41/8pl drive that was SOD at the OSU16 with 1:11 left.

Colorado was last in the P12 in TD passes allowed while Washington was #1 in the P12 in TD passes. Keith Price had 4 TD passes in the 1H as UW rolled up a 379-104 yd edge and led 44-10. UW scored on all 6 poss in the 1H. Price was pulled with 1:05 left in the 3Q and on Nick Montana’s first ever snap as a UW QB, he fumbled setting up a CU36/6pl TD drive which pulled them within 45-24. UW got a TD with 2:32 left for the 52-24 final. CU is a banged up team without top WR Paul Richardson, top rusher Stewart and numerous DB’s.

Michigan St is now 4-0 since the Mike Hart’s infamous “little brother” comment. The Spartans held Michigan’s potent offense to 250 yards and had 333 yards on offense. It was MSU’s first 4 game win streak in the series since 1962. MSU had 6 sacks for 54 yards while the Wolverines had zero sacks. MSU rushed for 213 yards on 39 carries while UM rushed for 82 yards on 36 carries. It was tied at 7 and MSU had a 162-138 yd edge and the Spartans had leads of 14-7 and 21-7. UM got a 34 yd TD pass with 9:49 left then rec’d a fmbl but on 4&1 Robinson was tackled for a 10 yd loss. On the next drive Robinson was int’d and ret’d 39 yds for a TD to put the Spartans up 28-14 with 4:31 left to clinch it. UM was SOD at their own 46 with 3:18 left and the Spartans ended the game at the UM 21.

Matt Simms made his first start of the season for Tennessee and hit 6-20-128 and 2 int. It was the 2nd straight bkp QB LSU has now faced. The key play of the game happened at the end of a scoreless 1Q. UT was at the LSU42 when Simms threw into the EZ and was int’d and ret’d 89 yds to the 5. That set up an LSU TD and a 7-0 lead. LSU then got a 10 yd PR setting up a 36/7pl drive for a TD to lead 14-0. It was 17-7 at the half. LSU had 3 poss in the 2H. They went 66/12pl, 99/16pl for TD’s to put them up 31-7. After Tenn was SOD on 4&7 at the LSU35, the Tigers went 65/10pl and on 4&3 got a 14 yd TD pass with 1:35 left. UT which had run for negative yards vs both Florida and Georgia rushed for 111 yds on LSU.

The Penn St/Purdue game was played in a heavy wind as were many games in the Midwest. At the end of the half, PSU on 3&10 threw a TD pass where the rec caught the ball in both hands and had both feet down but it was punched away and ruled incomplete. PSU settled for a FG, 10-6. PSU led 20-12 and was at the PU23 when a pass into the EZ was tipped into the air bouncing off both the DB and WR and their feet and it was ret’d 50 yds and PU got a TD to pull within 20-18. PSU got a 98 yd KR and their KR Powell just flipped the ball towards the ref but was called for a 15 yd pen which took the ball from the 3 back to the 18 and PSU settled for a 29 yd FG. PSU finished the game at the PUR5 taking a knee.

Northern Illinois/Western Michigan was a close game at the half. In fact, WM led 15-10 when they missed a 47 yd FG with just :38 left in the half which would have put them up 18-10. NI got a couple of big passes and nailed a 36 yd FG and only trailed 15-13 at the half. NI’s run game took over in the 2H and they finished with 494 yds rushing and a 697-324 yd edge. NI scored on their first 6 drives of the 2H to blow it open 51-15 and got back into the MAC West race.

In the 1H Tulane had a 229-184 yd edge but UTEP led 31-7 and rolled a 44-7 win. TU was int’d setting up a UTEP 25 yd TD drive. UTEP went 92/9pl for a TD to tie it at 7. Down 21-7, TU had a punt blk’d and rec’d for a TD then TU went 78/14pl and was int’d in the EZ. TU was int’d at the UTEP26 and ret’d 27 yds setting up another FG and trailed 31-7 at the half and UTEP got a 66 yd TD pass on the 2nd play of the 3Q to put it away.

Shovels of dirt were being thrown on Florida St after their 3rd straight loss but they dominated Duke with a 481-289 yd edge as EJ Manuel returned to the starting lineup but hit just 9-14-239. The game was tied 3-3 when FSU went 60/2pl for a TD then after a 26 yd PR went 64/4pl and 95/7pl for TD’s to blow it open, 24-3. At half they had a 286-106 yd edge. Duke recovered a pair of onside kicks in the 2H and got within 34-16 but a 3rd onside kick was recovered by FSU and the Seminoles went 39 yards for a TD in just 4 plays.

UCF actually had a 184-144 yd edge vs SMU in the 1H but allowed a 47 yd PR setting up a 19 yd TD drive and also allowed a 92 yd PR TD by Richard Crawford so they trailed 17-3 at the half and never got within 14 points the rest of the game.

As expected, the Miami, Oh/Kent St game was a low scoring defensive struggle. KSt finished with a 244-166 yd edge. KSt was int’d in the EZ on the final play of the half, missed a 43 yd FG and only led 3-0. MU’s TD “drive” was 30 yds and came after kick catch interf and a pers foul for 30 yds in pen’s on a punt set them up at the KSt30. Later they got a safety for their other points. KSt’s final drive got to the MU33 where were SOD.

Texas had a 24-21 FD edge vs Oklahoma St but the Cowboys had a 420-370 yd edge. UT controlled the ball for 39:18 but had trouble punching it in. UT was SOD on 4&3 at the OSU32, settled for a 34 yd FG after a 10pl drive and trailed 21-10 at the half. Each team got a 100 yd KR for a TD to open the 3Q, 28-17. UT pulled within 28-24 but then gave up a 74 yd TD run with 4:14 left in the 3Q to fall down 14 pts. UT on 4&3 had an open receiver but was caught inches short of the EZ on 4th & gl. UT was sk’d & fmbl’d at the OSU43 and int’d at the OSU47 on their final 2 poss.

Brandon Ogletree had a big game forcing TO’s on 3 str poss with an int and 2 FF but BYU only turned those poss into 3 pts. Thanks to a 51 yd IR TD BYU and Oregon St were tied at 14 at the half despite BYU having a 222-141 yd edge. BYU was up 21-14 when OSU turned it over those 3 times and 24-14 after. OSU got a TD to pull within 24-21 but BYU got a TD with 10:39 left and then OSU missed a 48 yd FG and BYU went 69/6pl for a TD with 3:37 left to make it 38-21. OSU went 63/16pl getting a TD with :23 left for the 38-28 final.

Eastern Michigan got a big outright upset. They blocked a punt and ret’d it for a TD in the 3Q to go up 28-13 and that lead stood until Central Michigan got a TD with 3:36 left to pull within 28-20. CM then went 70/10pl and got a TD and 2 pt conversion with 1:09 left to tie it and apparently avoid the upset but EM got a 14 yd pass and a 20 yd run by QB Gillette followed by a 30 yd TD run by Gillette with :37 left to retake the lead. CM got down to the EM28 but was int’d at the 4.

Memphis led East Carolina 10-7 at the half thanks to recovering a fumble in the EZ for a TD as EC had a 218-99 yd edge. EC got a 24 yd IR to the 9 setting up a TD to take its first lead 14-10 with 10:57 left in the 3Q. EC then went 89/7, 70/6pl and 65/7pl for TD’s to take command 35-10. Memphis got a TD with 5:12 left but EC ran off the final 5:12 getting 3 FD’s to the MEM31.

Temple set a school record rushing for 400 yards vs Buffalo and dominated with a 458-155 yd edge getting their 2nd straight shutout. RB Pierce set the single season rushing record with his fifth straight 100 yard game rushing for 152 yards and also became the career leading rusher and even backup Matt Brown had 120 yards.

Kansas St had another outright upset, this time over Texas Tech. KSU got a 24 yd IR TD early and then added a 100 yd KR for a TD 14-13. They missed the xp but Coach Snyder, unlike some other coaches in college ball (Lane Kiffin) doesn’t go for 2 unless needed and KSU would score 3 TD’s in the 2Q and 3Q and not once did Snyder go for the odd 2 points which helped the Cats stay ahead by 7 at the end of the game. At half TT actually led 28-20 with a 389-94 yd edge and had 2 FG’s blk’d. KSU got a TD on the last play of the 3Q to take a 34-31 lead and would not relinquish it and KSU in the 4Q was SOD at the TT27 and missed a 31 yd FG. TT got a 19 yd FG with 2:32 left then rec’d the onside kick but on 4&4 fired incomplete from the KSU47 and the Wildcats remain unbeaten.

As you can see by the 49-7 final, Nevada dominated New Mexico with a 598-257 yd edge and in fact NV went on long drives on almost every poss. They fumbled at the NM22, were SOD at the NM27, and were int’d at their own 47 but scored TD’s on their other 4 1H drives and had a 318-136 yd edge. NV scored TD’s on their first 3 poss of the 3Q and then went on a 12pl drive and had a 21 yd FG blk’d with 1:10 left. NM only scored after trailing 49-0 with the backups in.

Trent Richardson may have had a Heisman moment vs Mississippi with a 76 yd TD run where he had 4 players cornering him on the sidelines at the end of a run, stopped and started up again and got the TD. Richardson rushed for 183 yards. Alabama actually gave up a 59 yd pass on the 3rd play of the game and Miss got a TD 2pl later for a stunning 7-0 lead. The Rebels had 72 yards on that drive and 69 yds the rest of the game as Bama finished with a 615-141 yd edge in their dominating 52-7 win.