GAMES NOTES

Any time the weather gets cold for Miami, they tend not to show up so Notre Dame had a large edge in the unusually chilly temps in Chicago. UM was also off two wire-to-wire gut wrenching ACC conf games and now travelling in a non-conf game. As you would expect, ND had a 34-13 FD edge, 587-285 yd edge and held the ball for 39:08 to UM’s 20:52. Both teams were ranked in the top 10 when they met in four consecutive years from ‘87-’90 with the winner going on to win the National Title 3 straight years. UM WR Dorsett did have 2 open td passes that he dropped and he was also wearing gloves and full long sleeves while most Irish players were in short sleeves. ND went 88/10pl for a td then after each team drove for a short FG, the Irish made a 32 yd FG and missed a 34 yd FG and only led 13-3 at the half. ND went 81/6pl for a td, then 86/12 for a td as it got chillier as the night went on in the 2H. ND went 66/3pl for a td and after UM was SOD at the ND7, the Irish took over with 9:51 left and went on an 8:45 drive adding a 1 yd td run with 1:06 left for the dominating win.

Memphis alternated QB’s Jacob Karam and JC Eric Mathews. Mathews first completed career pass was the game winner as it put UM ahead 14-10 in the 3Q. UM fumbled on the game’s first offensive play and Rice returned it 12 yards for a td and they added a 36 yd FG in the 2Q to go up 10-0. The game was played through heavy rain most of the game and UM due to the rain had a 245-221 yd edge. Late 1Q MEM fumbled at the Rice24. After three 3&outs to open the 3Q UM drove 44/7pl for a 5 yd td pass then after Rice rec’d an onside kick and missed a 53 yd FG, UM went 64/8pl with Mathews hitting Cross with an 11 yd td pass on FD. Rice did not cross midfield and punted on 4&21 with 2:24 left but UM went for it on 4&1 and got a FD at the Rice 31 with :49 left to ice it.

Louisiana had a 294-53 rushing edge as Tulane lost its 15th straight game and are 0-5 for the first time since 1991. Terrance Broadway took over as the full-time starter with their other starter, Gautier, injured and hit just 9-22-150 yards but rushed for 36 yards on 9 carries. UL missed a 41 yd FG late in the 2Q and after an int, took over at the Tulane 42 and was SOD at the 34 but on the next play got a 38 yd IR td and led 17-0. TU got a 71 yd td pass, 17-7. UL went 75/8pl for a td but was int’d with 1:17 left in the half and TU got a 40 yd FG with :09 left to pull within 24-10. UL went 75/10pl and 54/8pl for td’s to open the 3Q. They later had a 27 yd FG blk’d and settled for a 21 yd FG after rec’ing a fumble at the TU19 in their 41-13 margin.

The key to the Missouri/Vanderbilt game was an injury to QB James Franklin. MO took their opening drive 61/9pl and settled for a 31 yd FG, then went 62/9 and settled for a 28 yd FG. Franklin hurt his leg during the 2nd series. Bkp QB Berkstresser fumbled on their first series and their punter also mishandled the snap for a safety. A key to VU’s td drive was that they punted on 4&7 but MO was called for jumping over the wedge giving them a FD and 4pl later they had a 5 yd td run for a 9-6 lead. MO was SOD on 4&1 with :06 left in the half and MO had a 174-78 yd edge at the half despite trailing. The Tigers started at their own 8 late 3Q and went on a 88/15pl drive, their longest of the season but settled for a 21 yd FG. Later they got an 85 yd td pass but missed the xp and still trailed by 1. Vandy converted on 3&13 with a 40 yd jump ball and would get a 21 yd FG with 7:20 left to go up by 4 and MO on 4&10 was SOD at the VU25 with 2:43 left.

Dominique Blackman has had an up and down season so far for Idaho including being suspended for the opener. He had an up and down game vs New Mexico St, at least at the beginning. His first pass was int’d but he recovered to hit 26-48 for 304 yards. Andrew Manley for NMSt hit 28-45-309. With the game tied at 3, NMSt fumbled a punt at their 35 and Idaho got a 35 yd td pass on the next play. ID was SOD on 4&1 at the NMSt12 but after an int Idaho got a 15 yd td pass to lead 17-3 and it was 20-10 at the half with NMSt being SOD on 4&5 at the ID5. ID went on a 66/12pl drive for a 32 yd FG and NMSt was int’d at the ID10 from the 28. NMSt fumbled at their 33 and ID got a 53 yd FG for a 26-10 lead. NMSt was SOD on 4&5 at the ID32 and then went 89/15pl incl a 4&6 incomplete pass but a personal foul gave them a FD. They got a 1 yd td run with 1:55 left to only lose by 9 and ID recovered the onside kick and took a knee.

Oregon St had a school record crowd of 46,579 on hand vs Washington St and opened 4-0 for the first time since 2002 and the Beavers were actually #14 in the AP Poll. Connor Halliday started and hit 9-20-81 vs a tough Beaver D with 3 int’s but Jeff Tuel took over and hit 11-17-126. Oregon St QB Sean Mannion who was the Pac-12 Player of the Week the previous week vs Arizona threw for 433 yards was pedestrian in comparison hitting 25-42-270 yards. OSU settled for a 30 yd FG, was SOD at the WSU24, int’d at the WSU5, int at the WSU31, settled for a 24 yd FG in the 1H. WSU was SOD at the OSU35 and settled for a 24 yd FG and the Beavers led 6-3. OSU drove 69/10pl for a td then was int’d at the WSU17 and led 13-6 when they took over at their 14 with 9:28 left. They went 86/12pl for a td with 4:27 left for a 13 pt lead. WSU fumbled at the OSU33 with 3:00 left and the Beavers got a 4&1 FD and took a knee at the Cougar 23 and finished with 370-227 yd and 21-14 FD edges.

It was a tough loss for Mississippi as they lost their 16th straight SEC game but actually led 27-17 midway thru the 4Q. Hugh Freeze gambled at the end going for it at his own 39 and it backfired as Texas A&M went 49 yds for the td and the win. A&M had a 481-464 yd edge with the comeback. Ole Miss missed a 40 yd FG in the 2Q but got a 68 yd pass to Mackey setting up a 14 yd td run by Wallace for a 17-10 lead. It was 17-10 when Texas A&M got a 37 yd IR td with :42 left in the half to tie it. Miss settled for a 28 yd FG at the end of an 80/17pl drive to open the 3Q but led 27-17 and got an int off A&M at their own 27. They punted with 8:25 left and A&M got a td with 6:24 left and Miss took the big gamble and failed and A&M went 49/4pl for a td. Miss got to the A&M37 but was int’d at the 21 with 1:06 left. There were questions about who would start at QB but Bo Wallace hit 20-34-305 with Barry Brunetti having just 3 rush attempts for 7 yards and no pass attempts.

Florida St came in with its highest ranking since 2003 and was in complete control at the half vs NC State. FSU had a 221-68 yd edge but at the end of the half settled for 20 and 36 yd FG’s and only led 16-0. It was the first time a top five team came to Carter Finley Stadium since 1998. Chris Thompson ran for most of his 114 yards in the 1H. FSU had a just 115 yards in the 2H. FSU had a 3&2 at the NCSt19 when EJ Manuel took a sack. They do have an excellent kicker but passed up a 51 yd FG to punt 26 yds to the 8 with 6:09 left. Florida St appeared to avoid the upset when NCSt’s 4&10 pass came up short at the FSU31 with 2:47 left. FSU went 3&out and NCSt blk’d the punt and it went just 10 yards. NCSt then converted on 4&2, 4&10 then facing a 4&2 got a td pass with :16 left to take its first lead of the game. FSU got a 21 yd pass to midfield but their 4&10 Hail Mary was incomplete and I had a very disappointing Saturday as I had picked Florida St to win the National Title and that game they let slip away probably will prevent it. I can only wonder how if they had defensive and AA Brandon Jenkins how they would not have allowed all of those FD conversions late in the game with even better depth on the D-line.

Louisiana Tech matched their 1975 team for its best start ever in program history at 5-0. LT was off big wins over Illinois and Virginia on the road and had a game vs Texas A&M on deck. LT went on 2 long drives for 27 and 33 yd FG’s and actually trailed 7-6 but blocked a punt setting up a 9 yd td to extend their lead to 20-7 and UNLV went on a 75/12pl drive but was SOD on 4&1 at the LT2. It was 27-17 at the half and LT only had a 349-331 yd edge. LV, with a 67/6pl drive to open the 3Q, cut it to 27-24 then LT scored 2 td’s and a FG on their next 3 poss to blow it open 44-24. UNLV on 4&3 was SOD, int’d on their next poss, 2 poss later were SOD on 4&5. LT took over with 7:09 left, converted on 4&2 and went 55/8pl to extend the margin to 34 with 2:42 left and UNLV went 59/6pl getting a 13 yd td pass with 1:33 left.

While New Mexico only had a 17-16 FD edge and a 370-248 yd edge, they were firmly in control vs Texas St. They opened up with a 75/10pl drive for a td then rec’d a fumble and went 1 yd for a td, 14-0. TSU faked a punt on its own 40 and NM went 40/9pl for a td to lead 21-7 and led 28-14 at the half with a 221-160 yd edge. After an int they drove 62/5pl for a td to lead 35-14. TSU was SOD on 4&4 at the NM42 and after the team’s combined for 4 punts, NM missed a 47 yd FG. NM fumbled with :56 let and TSU gained 22 yds getting to the NM24 where they were int’d.

Fresno St continued their streak as Derek Carr threw 3 td passes and Phillip Thomas leads the NCAA with 6 int’s and also forced a fumble. CSU was down to 3rd string RB McPeek who hit 15-29-192 yards in his first career start and was sacked 4 times. Fresno finished with a 24-18 FD edge, 408-249 yd edge. Fresno was SOD at the CSU33 on their first poss but after a fumble drove 29/6pl for a td. FSU was SOD on 4&1 at the CSU22 and punted on their next 3 poss but after a 7 yd punt drove 33 yards for a td with :33 left in the half to lead 14-0. CSU was SOD at their own 41 but FSU missed a 41 yd FG. CSU on 4&2 was SOD at their own 47 and FSU went 47/9pl for a td. After an int, FSU went 71/12pl for a td, 28-0. CSU took over with 1:37 left and went 77/6pl for a 12 yd td pass.

Charles Sims set a career high with 210 yards rushing for Houston in just his 2nd game back. David Piland hit 31-41-321 yards. UH opened with a 75/7p, 80/7, 83/12pl drive the first 2 for td’s the 2nd settling for a 21 yd FG vs North Texas. UH was SOD on 4&4 at the NT36. Each team scored a td on the final 2 poss of the 2H to make it 31-14. UH had 424 yds to NT’s 253. UH extended it to 44-21 and NT was SOD at the UH3 with 3:08 left and int’d at the 11 with 1:00 left. UH finished with a 623-485 yd edge.

Ohio St’s Braxton Miller broke his school record for a QB rushing with 186 yards. Nebraska gave up a 40 yd IR td but went 92/7, 28/4 (after 42 yd PR) to lead 17-7 over OSU. the Buckeyes scored td’s on their next 2 poss including a 20 yd drive after an int but NU went 75/4 for a td to lead 24-21 with 6:59 left. OSU used 2 scores at the end of the half to take momentum and turn this into a rout. They went 75/10 for a td and 57/6pl, the key play happened when Miller on 4&1 ran 30 yds for a td to give them an 11 pt lead at the half. A 76 yd PR td helped OSU extend it to 49-31 and then at 56-38 NU fumbled with 3:02 left and OSU tacked on a 26/4pl drive for a td with :28 left.

San Diego St finished with 27-12 FD and 412-173 yd edges vs Hawaii. They scored on their 2nd poss going 59/7pl for a td then UH fumbled the KO and SDSt went 18/5pl for a td. After a 28 yd PR, they went 44/4pl for a td. UH was SOD at the SDSt28 then with 1:05 left in the half, fumbled at their own 29 and SDSt went 29/4pl for a td and led 35-7 at the half with a 262-113 yd edge. UH drove for a td to open the 3Q but after the teams combined for 3 punts, UH fumbled and SDSt got a 22 yd drive for a 35 yd FG then went 69/6pl for a td to ice it, 45-14. Later roughing the P on 4&21 gave them a FD en route to a 58/15pl drive for a td with 3:40 left in their 52-14 rout.

Washington entered the game ranked after knocking off #8 Stanford the previous week but UW fumbled a punt at their own 20 and Oregon got a td. The Ducks then went 80/4pl for a td, added a 43 yd IR td to lead 21-0. UW fumbled mid-2Q and UO went 64 yards with a 34 yd td pass, 35-7 at the half with a 319-206 yd edge. They would extend it to 52-14 before Washington took over with 3:31 left and went 55/9pl getting a garbage td with :32 left.

Miami played Cincinnati a lot closer than the final score. In fact, MU trailed 14-6 and UC picked up their first FD of the game on the 2^nd to last play of the 1Q as UC had a 68 yd IR td and a 15/2pl td drive after an int. At this point, MU had a 6-0 FD edge. At half it was 24-14 with MU having a 254-163 yd edge but UC scored td’s on their first 4 poss of the 2H including a 39 yd drive (after 58 yd KR) and 13 yd drive (after int). MU was SOD at the UC35 and 19 on their final 2 poss.

SMU played their most impressive game of the year at UTEP. In the 1H they settled for a 19 yd FG after a 64/14pl drive. They were int at the UTEP29 with 2:07 left in the half but 2pl later got a 30 yd IR td to lead 17-0. SMU also missed a 48 yd FG and led 17-0. In the 2H Utah went 64/13pl and had a 28 yd FG blk’d, UTEP was SOD at the SMU26 and SMU went 65/13 and missed a 27 yd FG, 38/1pl and missed a 37 yd FG and SMU with the shutout, ended the game on 3&gl at the UTEP 2 and could have extended the margin.

Michigan’s Denard Robinson apologized to his team for his performance against Notre Dame with the turnovers and then rushed for 285 yards and threw for a td in a rout of Purdue. He became the Big Ten’s career rushing leader among QB’s topping Antwaan Randle El from Indiana. UM had a 19-15 FD edge and 409-213 yd edge. The Wolverines took their opening drive 78/17pl for a td, their 2nd drive 63/8pl for a td then added a 63 yd IR td to go up 21-0. PU rec’d a fumble with 1:40 left in the half and trailed 28-3 and went 36/7pl for a td with :10 left to get back to 18 and even forced UM to punt twice in the first 3 2H poss but when backup QB Marve led them 58/14pl for a 37 yd FG to get back to 31-13 with 12:46 left, that’s as close as they would get as UM tacked on 42 and 27 yd FG’s and then after PU went for it on their own 33 yd line, UM went 33/4pl for a td with 2:04 left.

Both QB’s left the Wyoming/Nevada game although UN’s probably had a bigger impact. The Wolf Pack lost Cody Fajardo with the team leading 21-7 as Fajardo was int’d with 5:04 left in the half and injured on the play. UW went 51/11pl for a td with 1:18 left to pull within 21-14. Backup QB Devin Combs QB’d the rest of the way and hit 11-19-217 but things looked glum for Nevada. The Wolf Pack missed a 30 yd FG on their opening 3Q drive and UW went 80/10pl to tie it. UW then went 82/17pl and Smith got an 8 yd td run to put them up 28-21. Smith was ejected from the game on the next series. UN took over with 8:10 left but fumbled at the 9 with 7:24 left. After a 15 yd PR to the UW36, Combs had a 2 yd run on 4&gl from the 6 with 2:43 left. On 3&1 UW was stuffed and UN forced a punt and Combs led UN 59/2pl with a 44 yd td pass with 1:18 left to force OT. UN got a 24 yd td pass from Combs to Bradley and on 4&9 UW fired incomplete.

Cal beat UCLA at home for a 7th straight time. After a horrendous game vs Arizona St the week before where Zach Maynard hit 9-20 passes, he hit 25-30-295 vs UCLA. UCLA turned it over 6 times to 3 for Cal. UCLA opened with a 28/7pl drive for a td after an int. UCLA, leading 7-3, fumbled at the Cal33 and Cal went 67/8pl for a td. UCLA missed a 36 yd FG then UCLA muffed a punt and Cal went 34/5pl for a td. UCLA got to the Cal 18 but was int’d in the EZ and at the half Cal led by 9 and Cal had a 205-187 yd edge. UCLA trailed 29-17 with 7:57 left when Hundley was int’d at the Cal 16 and returned 57 yards. Cal went 27/4pl for a td then after another int, was running out the clock, got 1 FD and on 3&6 Anderson ripped off a 68 yd td run with 1:23 left to complete the 26 point rout.

MISLEADING FINALS:

Toledo only had a 23-20 FD edge and 433-373 yd edge vs Central Michigan. In fact, they only led 40-35 with 1:00 left in the game. UT got a 28 yd FG with :54 left and then got a 31 yd IR td for their largest lead of the game and the only time they were ahead by more than 2 td’s as it made it 50-35. CM led the game 21-10 in the 2Q and 21-17 at the half. A 66 yd PR by Toledo gave them the lead and earlier they had a 39 yd IR td with 9:38 left to go up by 12. CM got a td with 3:05 left before UT25 just tried to run the clock and got a 40 yd run and 21 yd run setting up their 28 yd FG with :58 left.

Just like in Toledo’s game, in the 1H Ball St fumbled at the Northern Illinois 31 and settled for a 20 and 27 yd FG’s and trailed 14-6. They did get an 85 yd drive for a td with 3:19 left in the half then recovered a fumble on the KO and added a 43 yd FG to lead 16-14 and had a 294-185 yd edge. Ball St drove 61/8pl for a td and a 9 pt lead but NI QB Lynch who ran for a 29 yd td in the 1Q got a 12 yd td run to pull within 2. BSU missed a 38 yd FG but NI was SOD at the BSU43. BSU missed a 33 yd FG with 10:58 left. NI fumbled with 7:56 left but got a 54 yd td pass for the lead with 4:52 left. BSU punted with 3:58 left and NI was trying to run the clock but on 3&7 Lynch raced 71 yards for a td. Ball St went 63/14pl and on 4&gl from the 4 was SOD.