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 13

News and Notes Week 13 Part 1

Texas A&M dominated the 1Q with Texas not even getting a FD and the Aggies getting the ball at midfield on most of their poss. A&M got a TD and 2 FG’s to lead 13-0. The FG’s were 49 and 52 yds by Randy Bullock. The game started to change when A&M fmbl’d a punt at its own 41 and on the next play UT got a 41 yd trick pass from WR Shipley to Irby, 13-7. UT trailed 16-7 at the half but got a 58 yd IR TD then an 81 yd PR but after the PR they settled for a short 23 yd FG, 17-16. Ryan Tannehill had 3 int’s and his 3rd set up UT for a 24/6pl drive for a TD and a 24-16 lead. A&M battled back and actually took the lead with 1:48 left but UT QB McCoy ran 25 yds down the middle of the field to the Aggie 23 setting up a 40 yd FG for the win in what figures to be a final game for quite some time in this storied rivalry.

Eastern Michigan had an 18-11 FD edge vs Northern Illinois but a couple of big plays allowed the Huskies to escape and advance to the MAC Title game. EM had 1st & gl at the N12 and 8 but they settled for FG’s each time on a windy day. Once they passed up a 43 yd FG as they were going into the stiff wind and were SOD on 4&3. NI’s big play was a 3&1, 68 yd TD run by Harnish in the 3Q which made it 18-6. Trailing 18-12 EM got to the NI32 but a pair of sks forced a dropped pass on 4th down.

USF played without starting QB BJ Daniels and Bobby Eveld hit 20-35-210 yds. Louisville clinched its share of the Big East Championship with the win and snapped a 16 game losing streak in reg ssn games played in the state of FL dating back to 1972. USF took a 17-3 lead on a 1 yd TD run with :35 left in the half and appeared in control but UL got a 54 yd KR and 2pl later an 18 yd TD pass to make it 17-10 at the half. UL trailed 24-20 but took the lead with 9:38 left, 27-24. USF was int’d and UL drove 17 yds for a TD. USF was SOD on 4&4 at its own 34 with 2:59 left.

Tulsa and Houston were playing for the CUSA West Title and UH was also playing to keep their BCS bowl bid alive. The Cougars moved to 12-0 for the first time in school history and the game was close at the half with TU having a 226-224 yd edge. Trailing 13-10, TU fmbl’d at the UH10 with :47 left in the half. UH got 2 big plays in the 3Q. On 4&10 they got a 33 yd TD pass to increase their lead to 20-10 and later on 4&1 got a 38 yd TD pass with 1:23 left in the quarter, 27-16. Case Keenum was pulled after an 8 yd TD pass with 7:16 left and UH added a 14 yd TD pass from bkp QB Turner with 6:18 left.

In Western Michigan’s FHG QB Alex Carder DNP due to injury and Tyler VanTubbergen hit 19-21-252 yds. WM had a mistake-filled game and yet still won 68-19. WM fmbl’d a punt at their own 49 then after an Akron punt was tkl’d for a safety and only led 10-2. The Broncos fumbled a 2nd punt at their 46 setting up a UA FG and only led 10-5 but then scored TD’s on their next 8 poss to go up 66-5. UA went 80/9pl for a TD then ret’d a fmbl 72 yds for a TD to make it 66-19. WM was also SOD at the UA5 and 12 on their final 2 drives.

Arkansas and LSU’s last 6 meetings had all been decided by 8 pts or less and Ark jumped out to a 14-0 lead after a 47 yd FR TD but in the first meeting of 2 teams ranked in the Top 3 in Death Valley since 1959, when Billy Cannon got his famous PR vs Ole Miss, Tyrann Mathieu ret’d a punt 92 yds for a TD which tied it at 14. While LSU only had a 201-166 yd edge at the half and led 21-14, they dominated the 2H with a 293-88 yd edge and finished with a 26-11 FD edge, even taking a knee at the AU18 at the end.

Pitt had a commanding 217-74 yd edge at the half vs West Virginia but lost RB Zach Brown to injury on their 2nd to last play of the half. Isaac Bennett spelled him in the 3Q before he also went out with injury. Keep in mind, earlier in the year, Pitt had lost their top RB Ray Graham. Without their RB’s, the offense stalled in the 2H and was held to just 79 yards. WV made a big rally and went for it on 4&6 at the Pitt24 when a FG would have put them back within 3 but the gamble paid off and they would get a TD 4pl later for their first lead of the game with 6:10 left and Pitt punted with 2:30 left and their final 3pl were 2 sacks and an intentional grounding.

Denard Robinson accounted for 5 TD’s and Michigan snapped a school record 7 game losing streak to Ohio St. Braxton Miller threw for 235 yards and rushed for 100 and UM may have locked up their first BCS bowl since 2006 as the fans rushed the field afterwards. A key play late kept the Buckeyes in the game when UM appeared to get a TD to go up by 10 but it was overruled by relay as the RB was ruled down at the 1. Robinson’s TD on the next play was called back due to a hold and a PF and they settled for a FG and only led by 6 with 1:59 left. OSU only got to their 35 and their final pass was int’d at the UM48 with :39 left. Brady Hoke is the first coach in UM history since 1901 to win 10 games in his first season. OSU will not win the Big Ten Title for the first time since 2004 and they lost 3 str Nov games for the first time since 1999.

It was Deja Vu all over again for Nevada. Last week vs Louisiana Tech they had a 465-412 yd edge and this week vs Utah St they had a 290-134 yd edge but only led 10-7 at the half. NV lost starting QB Fajardo to an ankle injury late 3Q while leading 10-7. Backup QB Lantrip led 1 TD drive and NV took over at their 27 with 10:26 left. On 4&1 NV got a FD at the Utah St 11 on a Lantrip run but he fmbl’d and Utah St would get 4 FD’s incl 4&1 and 3&10 conv and took a knee.

Oklahoma had allowed a school record 616 yards last week vs Baylor but held Iowa St to a season low 245 yards and ISU did not have a drive longer than 35 yards with their only TD coming on a 10 yd drive (after a bad punt). It was ISU’s lowest yardage total since last year when they only got 183 being shutout by Oklahoma. Iowa St had not beaten ranked foes in B2B weeks since 1974. Even though it was the home finale for Oklahoma, there were thousands of empty seats and the winds were 30-40 mph which slowed down the OU offense. OU settled for a 20 yd FG, on 2nd &gl from the 1 was int’d in the EZ and settled for 27 and 36 yd FG’s in the 1H. OU fmbl’d at the ISU20, was int’d at the ISU12, settled for a 21 yd FG and was int’d at the ISU20 in the 2H which is why they only won by 20 points.

Tennessee blew a chance at a Liberty Bowl bid by losing to Kentucky in their final game. It was UK’s first win in the series since 1984 breaking a 26 game losing streak to Tenn. UT had a 15-10 FD edge and a 276-217 yd edge. UK wore black jerseys for the 2nd time this season at the request of its 21 seniors. UT had 3 TO’s late which cost them a shot at the win. UT had a 46 yd FG blk’d in the 1H and on 4&4 were SOD at the UK31. In the 2H UT had a 1st & gl at the 8 and went to the Wildcat but fmbl’d. UK fmbl’d and it appeared to be a clear recovery for UT but it was not overturned and 3pl later UK got a TD.

Another game with late 1H heroics, Michigan St and Northwestern were tied at 3 and NU at the end of a 15 pl drive and at the MSU4 when they fumbled with 5:25 left in the half. MSU went 97/8pl getting a TD with 1:40 left then got a 57 yd PR TD with :34 left in the half and a 3-3 game blew open a 17-3 and MSU never led by less than 7 after that. Trailing by 7, NU did have the ball but punted with 10:22 left and on 3&17, MSU got a pass to Cunningham which he bobbled 3 times but hauled in for a 29 yd TD. MSU was playing with the Big Ten Title game on deck.

Kansas and Missouri have a long rivalry, second in games played only to Wisconsin and Minnesota but only 47,059 were on hand at Arrowhead Stadium in what was likely the final of the series on a cold, wet afternoon. KU led 10-3 at the half but fmbl’d a punt snap on their own 14 at the start of the 3Q and MO went 14 yards for a TD then 93 and 82 yds for TD’s and rolled to a 24-10 win and finished with a 357-137 yd edge.

MarQueis Gray ran 27 times for 167 yards and set a Minnesota record for rushing yards by a QB with 966 topping Billy Cockerham’s 831 (1999). Illinois actually held an opponent under 100 yards passing for the 5th time this season but in the 1H UM had an amazing 217-18 yd edge and led 20-0 and extended it 27-0 en route to their 27-7 win. Ron Zook is 34-51 in 7 seasons, a winning % that is 11th among the 13 UI coaches who have coached more than one season and was fired the next day after the Illini’s 6 game slide.

NC State had the 2nd biggest comeback ever in an ACC game as they amazingly trailed 41-14 in the 3Q but rallied for the win and won by 15, 56-41 over Maryland! The key play of the game was a 59 yd IR TD by CJ Brown with 1:00 left. The previous high was when Clemson came back 28 pts down to beat Virginia in ‘92, 29-28. NCSt turned it over on each of their first 3 poss of the game incl when James Washington fmbl’s with nobody around him for 5 yards which MD scooped up and ret’d it 66 yards for a TD and a 7-0 lead early.

Virginia Tech usually peaks at the end of the year and they had their best game of the season vs Virginia with a 38-0 win and a 410-241 yd edge.

Alabama was even more dominating than their 42-14 final score would indicate. The Tide entered the 4Q with a 309-44 yd edge. In fact, after the opening KO of the 3Q, Bama had 221-31 yd edge and 13-1 FD edges but fmbl’d into the EZ which Auburn fell on for a TD and AUB ret’d the opening KO of the 3Q 83 yds for a TD and Bama at that point only led 24-14. Trent Richardson rushed for 203 yards on 27 carries and also had a TD receiving in the Tide’s 42-14 win. Richardson has avg’d 198.4 ypg vs ranked foes (all-purp yds).

Penn St jumped out to a 7-0 lead vs Wisconsin but the Badgers led 28-7 at the half incl a fmbl’d KR with 2:09 left in the half setting up UW for a TD. PSU then fmbl’d to start the 3Q and the Badgers got another TD and rolled to a 45-7 win. They did have a 450-223 yd edge.

Southern Miss got their first CUSA East Title since 2006 and first 10 win season since 1988. Memphis avoided a shutout when trailing 44-0, SM fmbl’d into the EZ and UM fell on it for a TD with 6:54 left. While SM had 2 IR TD’s in the game, they also fmbl’d into the EZ for a TB on the last play of the 1H on 1st & gl from the 1.

Louisiana got their 7th IR TD of the season which tied an NCAA record which was set by Tennessee in 1971. While UL jumped out to a 7-0 lead at Arizona, AZ did not start QB Foles who was ? coming in but AZ rolled to a 45-37 win with Foles hitting 33-43-352.

Boise St trailed Wyoming 7-0 with 2:00 left in the half. They got a TD with 1:10 left in the half then forced a punt with :08 left. Kellen Moore threw up a prayer and the ball was deflected at the goal line by a WY DB and fell into the hands of Miller for a 46 yd TD on the final play of the half giving Boise St some momentum into the locker room.WY went 3&out on their first 2 poss and were int’d on their 3 in the 3Q while BSU built a 36-7 lead.

Louisiana Tech wrapped up a bid to the Poinsettia Bowl with the win over New Mexico St giving them the WAC Title. Louisiana Tech led just 9-0 when they got the ball with 4:00 left in the half at their own 4. They went 96/13pl and got a 1 yd TD run with :28 left in the half. NMS opted to not take a knee and instead threw it and LT got a 45 yd IR TD with :07 left to blow it open 23-0. LT did have a 295-178 yd edge at the half and would roll 44-0.

FAU got a TD with 3:18 left in the half to tie at 14. UAB was sk’d and fmbl’d at their own 9 with 1:30 left and FAU got a 28 yd FG to take the lead, 17-14 with :10 left. FAU took that momentum into the 2H and built a 38-28 lead before UAB got a TD with :33 left to pull within 3 but FAU rec’d the onside kick.

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 12

News and Notes Week 12 Part 1

Teams playing with BCS pressure have struggled, like in 2007 when all of the teams that controlled their own destiny lost. Oklahoma St had it all in their favor. They were ranked #2 in the BCS, would play in the National Title game if they won their final 2 games and Brandon Weeden had moved to the top of the Heisman polls. They were taking on an Iowa St team that entered play 0-56-2 vs teams ranked 6 or higher in the AP poll. Paul Rhoads was the DC at Pitt when the Panthers knocked W Virginia out of the #2 spot and National Championship game back in that wacky 2007 season with a huge upset as a 4 TD dog and now engineered a 2nd one. At one point, ISU actually had an 8-3 FD edge but gave up a 70 yd IR TD and trailed 7-0. For the game ISU had a 33-24 FD edge and it was 24-24 after regulation with ISU winning in the 2OT.

Illinois outgained Wisconsin 301-285 but was done in by 4 TO’s and ST mistakes. The Badgers’ 4 TD’s came on drives of 2, 30, 44, and 39 yards. Illinois had leads of 14-0 and 17-7 (after a PI wiped out a TD IL kicked a FG) at the half and IL had 15-5 FD and 224-93 yd edges. IL had TO’s on 3 of their first four 2H poss setting up 2 UW short TD drives and at the end IL got to the UW29 and was int’d at the 19. Also, with the wind at the back of the punt, IL’s PR let the punt sail over his head and it ended up going an extra 25 yds to the 3 yd line for a 74 yd punt.

Buffalo scored its most points S/’92 with 51 vs Akron and had a 497-239 yd edge. It was 30-3 at the half.

Munchie Legaux got his first QB start at Cincinnati as Zach Collaros was out. UC was held to a season low 225 yds by Rutgers. The Big East now has 5 teams with just 2 losses on the season and the race for an automatic BCS bowl berth is wide open. RU did have 385 yds offense and a 23-11 FD edge.

Georgia clinched an SEC Title game berth but were very unimpressive vs Kentucky. They did have a 317-165 yd edge but settled for short FG’s. In the 1H they settled for 5 FG’s, missing 1. In the 2H UGA was int’d in the EZ and fmbl’d at the UK40 before finally getting a 7 yd TD pass with 14:55 left to get up by 2 scores. UGA was SOD at the UK27 with 3:39 left.

Army ret’d QB Trent Steelman but he lasted just 2 plays. Temple led 28-0 at the half. Last year TU had 8 wins but did not get invited to a bowl and they now have 7 wins this year.

Michigan St clinched the Big Ten Legends div when Nebraska lost to Michigan. UM now has a shot at 10 wins and a win over Ohio St making it a glorious season in Brady Hoke’s first year. The Wolverines did benefit from some short fields in the game but finished with a 418-260 yd edge and had a 24-11 FD edge. It was NU’s first game in Michigan Stadium since 1962. The game was tied at 10 and UM led 17-10 at HT before rec’d the 2H KO at the NU33 which set up a TD. They blk’d a punt setting up a 50 yd drive for a TD, got an 11 yd PR setting up a 31 yd TD drive, rec’d a fmbl.

Wake Forest WR Chris Givens had 191 yards receiving and WF had a 514-415 yd edge snapping a 3 game losing streak and becoming bowl eligible. Maryland is one of the most banged up teams in football and fell to 2-9 and gained 68 of their yards on an 11 play drive at the end of the game.

Miami and USF, a couple of disappointing teams were tied at 3 when UM drove 61/15pl to get a 36 yd FG on the final play of the game. One key play was that BJ Daniels, the starting QB for USF, left in the 3Q with a shoulder injury. Daniels had accounted for 371 yards total offense the previous week. The surprising number in this game was that at the 1H, UM had a 205-162 yd edge and the teams had combined for 6 points. The usual average in the NCAA is 13.8 yards for every point scored but this 1H had 367 yds for 6 pts – or 61.2 ypp.

Rice had a 13-0 lead hitting 54 and 51 yd FG’s but Tulane got a 4&7 TD pass with 10:03 left. Rice got a TD with 1:04 left and opted for 2 but the 2 pt failed. TU did get to the Rice37 on their last drive, which helped them finish with a 289-237 yd edge.

San Jose jumped out to a 10-0 lead and led 20-14 at the half with a 264-153 yd edge. Navy went for it on 4&19 and were SOD at the SJS38, punted with 7:03 left and fired incomplete on 4&3 at the SJS45 with 2:29 left on their final 3 poss after SJSt went ahead 27-24 on the 4Q’s 1st play.

Luke Kuechly set the career ACC record for tackles with 523. Notre Dame took their opening drive 80/7pl for a TD and their 2nd 46/9pl for a 40 yd FG and while they finished with a 417-250 yd edge, this one was ugly. ND only led 13-7 at the half and in the 2H, 8 of the first 9 poss were punts with the other being an int. Boston College got a TD with 1:57 left to pull within 16-14 but ND rec’d the onside kick.

It was a tough loss for Texas Tech who had been beaten by an avg of 42 ppg the prior 3 wks but led for all but the final 2:22 vs Missouri. TT jumped out to a 14-0 lead and led 17-10 at the half, 27-17 after 3Q’s and finally with 2:22 left MO got a TD for the lead. TT lost 3 players to injury (WR Torres, RB Washington and OG Edwards) and were the 2nd straight team to complain about the condition of MO’s artificial turf. MO was without Coach Gary Pinkel who was susp’d for the game due to a DWI. After leading the entire game, TT got the ball and drove right down the field and had a FD at the MO11. On 2&6 from the 7 a pass was tipped and int’d at the 4 with :32 left and MO got the fortuitous win.

Oregon St beat Washington for the 7th time in the last 8 meetings. UW was starting Nick Montana at QB as Keith Price was banged up. Montana hit 11-21-79. When Oregon St went up 31-14 Price came off the bench and led an 85/10pl drive and got a 4&9, 20 yd TD pass. OSU fmbl’d the kick at their own 17 but Price was int’d at the 1 and the Beavers went 99/12pl getting a 4&gl, 1 yd TD run with 2:06 left to go up by 17 and Montana came back in. OSU had a 484-315 yd edge.

TCU showed some clear letdown after their upset win over Boise St which basically handed them the MW Title this past week. In fact in the 1H vs Colorado St they were outgained 183-148. TCU did end up recording its 45th victory for its senior class, a school record in a 34-10 win and extended their MW records by winning a 23rd straight league game and 16th straight league game at home. CSU had a first time starting QB in true frosh Garrett Grayson (14-24-228) and CSU finished the game with a 408-372 yd edge with TCU getting a 69 yd IR TD in the 3Q.

NC State did indeed blow out Clemson but they benefitted from a short field the majority of the 1H. NCSt finished with a 398-337 yd edge. Clemson had just clinched the ACC Atlantic and decided to rest Sammy Watkins who was banged up. In the 1H NCSt led 7-3 when CU fmbl’d at their own 6 setting up a 6 yd drive for a TD, fmbl’d at their own 18 setting up an 11 yd drive for a 21 yd FG. NCSt got a 34 yd PR setting up an 11 yd TD drive to go up 24-3. CU did take over with 2:35 left trailing 37-6 and went 68/8pl getting a 2 yd TD run with 1:22 left.

Teams that have unbeaten seasons and National Championship hopes dashed, usually have a letdown spot the next week. Stanford struggled to get past Cal and Boise St gave up plenty of yards and pts vs San Diego St. BS did benefit from 3 early TO’s by SDSt as after an int they went 24/4pl for a TD, SDSt fmbl’d a punt on their 10 setting up a BS TD and SDS fmbl’d the ensuing KO at their own 23 and BS on 3&14 got a 14 yd TD pass to lead 21-0. BS did lead 42-14 at the half. Leading 45-14 BS fumbled at the SDS3. SDS got to midfield and punted but roughing the P gave them a FD and they would get a TD 2pl later to pull within 45-21. SDS got a TD with 6:25 left to make it 45-29 with the 2 pt conv. BS rec’d the onside kick and went 36/4pl for a TD, 52-29 with 4:11 left. The Aztecs went 76/17pl converting on 3&13, 4&14, 3&8 and with just :05 left in the game, got a 1 yd TD pass to make it 52-35. BS rec’d the onside kick.

When Penn St took the field against Ohio St it was basically a meaningless game and the winner of next week’s game vs Wisconsin will be the winner of the Big Ten Leaders div whether PSU beat or lost to OSU. The Lions showed great character and pulled out the road win. They led after Stephfon Green ran 39 yds for a TD 1:30 in and led the rest of the way. PSU had won just 2 of their last 10 games in Columbus but both came vs true frosh QB’s in Art Schlichter in 1978 and Terrelle Pryor in 2008 and now a 3rd time vs Braxton Miller.

Tulsa was playing in basically a meaningless game vs UTEP. If they beat Houston next week, they get a spot in the conf champ game. TU showed no look ahead but did only have a 500-443 yd edge. In fact, at the half it was TU 297-263 and they only led 21-15 when they got a 94 yd KR TD with 2:45 left in the half, 29-15. TU got a 37 yd IR TD to go up 50-15 and UTEP did gain 64 of its yards on 11 plays in the final 4:00 after TU had scored a TD to make it 57-28.

Texas A&M went to backup QB Showers with 8:00 left in the 3Q as the game vs Kansas was a rout. A&M finished with a 469-197 yd edge. KU took over with 6:52 left trailing 61-0. They would convert on 4&6 for a FD to the 13 and then with just :46 left in the game, got a 15 yd TD run by Sims on 2&12 for a TD which all’dd KU to avoid the shutout.

It was a shocking early score in the Furman/Florida game as FUR jumped out to a 22-7 1Q lead. UF used big passes. In the 1Q FUR had a 196-72 yd edge. UF got 80, 29, 64 yd TD passes and a 77 yd TD run then added 27 and 75 yd IR TD’s for a very misleading 54-32 final in which FUR had a 20-19 FD edge.

At the half vs Louisville, Connecticut had a 165-105 yd edge but gave up a 100 yd KR TD to open the game and settled for a 24 yd FG and trailed 14-10. The game was 28-20 when UC rec’d an onside kick at their own 41 with :13 left when they tried the lateral play and UL ret’d a fumbled lateral 36 yds for a TD with no time left on the clock to make what was a 1 score game into a 34-20 final.

I’m not sure if we should classify Nevada as a Misleading Final or just a brutal loss for the Wolf Pack. In the 1H NV had an amazing 272-43 yd edge. They fumbled at the LT22, were int’d at the LT30 and were SOD at the LT33. NV had a 15-2 FD edge. NV still dominated the 3Q as well going 67/12pl for a 19 yd FG, 59/6pl settling for a 24 yd FG and on their 3rd poss, went 49/9pl for a TD. With 13:01 left, NV had a commanding 20-3 lead that should have been much worse and a 437-118 yd edge. LT got 84, 89 and 92 yd drive on their final 3 poss for the win.

Three big plays hurt Alabama and we have to wonder why FBS schools even schedule an FCS school which runs the option as it is very difficult to prep for. Georgia Southern basically had 2 big plays on its triple option offense and a ST play for their 3 TD’s. Bama jumped out to a 17-0 lead but GS got an 82 yd run by FB Swope. With :52 left in the half GS had just converted on 4&1 at its own 32 and 5pl later got a 39 yd TD pass. GS also got a 95 yd KR TD and the confounding option had by far the best effort vs Alabama’s D all year with 341 yards. Jaybo Shaw is a Georgia Tech transfer and hit 1-5 passes for 39 yds. GS did gain 37 of its yds in the final couple of plays when trailing 45-21. Trent Richardson rushed for 175 yds and had 3 TD’s.

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 10

News and Notes Week 10 Part 1

With 4:51 left in the 1H Florida St not only led 28-0, they had a 214-16 yd edge and Boston College had 0 FD. BC got a TD early 3Q then gave up a 47 yd FG and Florida St was then SOD at the BC5 but after an int, FSU drove 36/6pl for a TD with 10:16 left, 38-7. Luke Kuechly had 20 tkls and BC clinched their first losing season since 1998 and was eliminated from bowl contention.

There have been some fine QB’s at USC but Matt Barkley set a school record with 6 TD passes with 3 other USC QB’s at one time having 5. Colorado did have a couple of blown opportunities as they had 31 and 37 yd FG’s blk’d and settled for a 30 yd FG after a 1st & gl at the 8. It was 35-17 with 11:19 left when USC drove 66/9pl incl a 4&3 conversion to the CU31 and they got a 19 yd TD pass with 7:06 left for Barkley’s 6th TD. USC’s final drive did go 71/8pl and the game ended at the CU16.

Scott McCummings who has been used mainly as a running QB for Connecticut took over in the 4Q and his option-style change of pace running guided to the 7 pt win over Syracuse. CT amazingly turned the ball over 5 times in the 1H getting inside the SU32 on the first 5 drives but it was just 7-7 at the half due to the TO’s. The Orange were forced to stay in a hotel an hour away from the stadium due to a power outage in East Hartford.

Marcus Coker ran for 132 yds vs Michigan and Iowa led as much as 24-9 but had to survive at the end. UM got a TD with 7:53 left to pull within 24-16 and Iowa punted 2x, the latter with 2:15 left. UM got to a 1st & gl at the 3, but a pass caught in the back of the EZ was ruled OOB then on 4&3 the pass was broken up on the final play of the game.

One week after a solid game vs Wisconsin, Braxton Miller hit just 5-11-55. He had a scintillating 81 yd QB draw for a TD on 2&12 which put Ohio St up 10-7. With the game tied at 20, they faced a 3rd & gl at the 20 and Miller’s 20 yd TD run on a QB draw gave them the lead, 27-20. Indiana was int’d with 4:07 left and OSU drove 58/4pl for a TD with 2:41 left to finally get some breathing room, 34-20. IU actually took the game’s opening drive 42/11pl for a 35 yd FG then after a fumble drove 41/6pl for a 10-0 lead.

Texas frosh Joe Bergeron ran for 195 yds and 3 TD’s. UT ran for 439 yds vs Texas Tech. UT’s top rusher, Malcolm Brown, was sidelined with a toe injury and top WR Jaxon Shipley had a knee injury. UT led 31-6 at the half and 52-13 when TT went 74/12pl for a garbage TD with 1:01 left.

Florida led Vanderbilt 17-0 at the half and could have been up by more as they had a 277-119 yd edge. A key play happened on their first series when on 3&1 they got a 39 yd pass which appeared to be for a TD but fmbl’d for a TB. They also missed a FG. Jordan Rodgers came to life in the 2H and hit 19-28-297 on the day. VU got a TD with 10:54 left to pull within 20-14 but UF took over with 5:59 left and went 94/8pl for a TD with 2:13 left and missed the 2 pt conv, 26-14. VU went 80/5pl and got a TD with 1:16 left but UF rec’d the onside kick.

Virginia became bowl eligible for the first time since 2007 and dominated Maryland with a 527-353 yd edge. MD suffered their 5th straight loss. It was the Terps’ FHG and 16 seniors were honored. UVA ret’d the opening KO 48 yds and on the first play got a 47 yd TD run but only led 14-13 at the half. UVA drove 94/13pl for a TD then after an int went 66/7pl for a TD and after a punt went 69/7pl for a FG and a commanding 31-13 lead at the start of the 4Q and rolled.

NC State came in ranked in the bottom half of the ACC in defensive stats but held Giovani Bernard to 47 yards on 18 carries and knocked North Carolina QB Bryn Renner out of the game at the end of the 3Q. It was NCSt’s first shutout in over 5 decades vs their rival and the 1st time NCSt had won 5 straight over UNC since 1988-92. The win came after HC’s O’Brien and Withers traded verbal jabs about graduation rates and the NCAA investigation of UNC during the week. NCSt had a 290-165 yd edge. At the half NCSt finished with a 230-32 yd edge and UNC was int’d at the NCSt goal line to open the 3Q and in their only other shots in the 2H they were SOD at the NCSt23 and int’d at the UNC42.

Georgia was without 3 susp’d RB’s and Aaron Murray only played the 1H but UGA jumped out to a 49-3 HT lead and rolled to a 63-16 win over New Mexico St. Later, after South Carolina lost to Arkansas, UGA found out it controls its own destiny to get to the SEC Title Game.

Louisville was overlooked in the Big 12 expansion for West Virginia and dealt WV’s Big East Title hopes a setback. WV had a 533-351 yd edge. The key play happened at 24-21 when WV lined up for a 23 yd FG. UL blk’d it and ret’d it 82 yds for a TD for a 31-21 lead. UL extended it to 38-28 with 1:50 left but WV got a TD with :42 left but UL rec’d the onside kick. Teddy Bridgewater hit 21-27-246 yds and WV went scoreless in the 3Q for the first time all season.

The two teams who might be playing in the Big Ten Title game (Michigan St and Ohio St) both struggled vs overmatched foes and the weakest 2 teams in the B10. MSU was off their crushing loss to Nebraska but actually regained the top spot in the division as both Michigan and Nebraska lost. They actually trailed 14-7 and got a TD with :04 left in the half to lead 21-17. Minnesota went back ahead 24-21 and MSU tied it with 14:49 left and then got a 35 yd Bell TD run with 10:58 left for the lead. UM’s last 2 drives ended on an SOD on 4&10 at the MSU48 with 4:12 left and they got to the MSU45 and were int’d at the 23 with :09 left. UM had a 415-402 yd edge.

TCU won their Mt West record 21st straight league game and tied the league record with consecutive road wins with 11. TCU finished with a 617-353 yd edge and had to overcome 5 TO’s and trailed 20-17 late 3Q when they drove 80/10pl for a TD and the lead. TCU got a 74 yd James run to the 8 to set up another TD with 13:20 left, 31-20. TCU fumbled’ at the Wyoming7 and surprisingly on 4&14 with 2:01 left in the game, down by 11 pts, WY opted to punt and it went 40 yds and TCU ran the clock out.

At the half SMU had a 31-0 lead and 296-61 yd edge and was dominant. The Mustangs fumbled the opening snap of the 3Q and Tulane ret’d it for a TD. After another 18 yd punt drove 20 yds for a 43 yd FG and after an 18 yd punt went 47/7pl for a TD to get back to 31-17. Trailing 38-24 they were SOD at the SMU26 and SMU got a TD with 1:39 left for the 21 pt margin.

Navy earned their biggest halftime lead since 2006 with a 385-109 yd edge vs Troy and led the game 35-0. QB Kriss Proctor was doubtful coming in but did start and played most of the game.

Montee Ball rushed for a career high 232 yds with 3 TD’s for Wisconsin. Purdue’s Raheem Mostert had 5 KR’s for 206 yds keeping PU in the game early but UW had 605-285 yd and 30-14 FD edges. The Badgers had 425 yds at the half and led 38-17.

In the 1H vs Air Force, Army had a 286-81 yd HT edge but only led 14-0. They were SOD on 4&1 and fmbl’d into the EZ for a TB and could have easily been up 28-0. AF rallied to tie it at 14 then the key play happened when Army faked a punt on 4&6 and they snapped it to the upman who pitched it back to Allen who never got a handle on the pitch and AF rec’d at the Army14 and got a TD 4pl later to lead 21-14 and never trailed again. Army fumbled at their own 19 setting up an AF FG and was int’d with 3:53 left. Army finished with a 366-301 yd edge.

Zach Maynard was almost benched during the week but hit 10-17-118 and Cal dominated Washington St as at the half they had a 243-55 yd edge and led 23-0 and extended it to 30-0 when WSU rec’d a fumble and drove 17 yds for a TD with 13:38 left.

The wind was a big factor for Oklahoma as they were playing with legitimate revenge vs Texas A&M and off their first home loss in 39 games. OU appeared in control at 13-3 when A&M got a 79 yd pass on 3&9 with 1:39 left in the half which gave them the yardage edge at the half, 208-180 and pulled them within 13-10. OU had the wind at their backs in the 3Q and took advantage driving 31 yds (after 34 yd punt), 28 yds (after int), 69 yds and 34 yds (after int) for TD’s and a dominating 41-10 lead. A&M got a couple of late TD’s, one with 9:49 left then drove 95/9pl for a garbage TD with 2:37 left to make the final score respectable. The key news for OU is that the FBS’s #1 all-time rec’r, Ryan Broyles, tore his ACL and is out for the year and remember last week, OU lost its top rusher RB Whaley.

Tennessee had just taken on 4 top 10 D’s but last week took on my #118 rated D in Middle Tenn and rolled up 411 yards in their 24-0 win. Each team was SOD inside the other’s 20 twice in the game incl Tenn with 1:26 left on 4&5 at the MT 19.

Houston moved to 9-0 for the first time ever after having been 8-0 in 1979 and 1990. Case Keenum became the career leading passer in college football passing up Timmy Chang’s 17,072. It happened with 6:00 left in the 3Q on a 16 yd pass to Justin Johnson. UH only led 21-10 at the half and was up 42-13 when they got a 52 yd IR TD with 8:06 left and bkp QB Turner guided a drive with 5:00 left and UH ended at the UAB35 running out the clock.

Tough loss for USF vs Rutgers. In the 1H they had a 158-87 yd edge and led 10-0. USF fmbl’d the punt at their 12 setting up an RU FG. USF went on a 16 play drive but missed a 47 yd FG. USF appeared to ice it with a TD with 7:38 left which put them up 17-3 but RU got a 98 yd KR TD with 7:25 left. Two poss later RU converted on 4&9 with an 11 yd pass to the USF45 and would get a TD with 1:01 left to tie it. USF’s final drive got to the 10 yd line where they lined up for the game winning 27 yd FG but missed it. In OT USF was int’d and RU got a 37 yd FG.

Missouri was SOD twice deep in Baylor terr and led 14-13 at the half but trailed 42-25 after an 80 yd run by Ganaway. MO drove 80/11pl for a TD with 3:55 left and 87/7pl for a TD with 1:59 left but BU rec’d the onside kick and finished with a 697-578 yd edge which was much wider prior to those final 2 drives.

Arkansas had a frustrating 1H vs South Carolina. They had a dominating 253-43 yd edge but settled for FG’s of 44, 45 and 29 yds and missed 2 of them. Also, QB Wilson was trying to throw the ball away and threw it right to DT Taylor who ret’d it 48 yds for a TD. Also at the end of the half, Ark on 3&10 had a wide open TD pass dropped and settled for the FG and missed it. SC got as close as 24-21 and 30-28 (10:30 4Q) but the Hogs pulled out to 44-28 lead. In the 2H was SOD on 4&gl at the 2 and on 4&1 at the SC29 and finished with a 435-207 yd edge.

Basically in Utah games, whoever has the TO advantage usually wins and wins big. Arizona had a 457-332 yd edge but Utah had a 3-0 TO edge and won by 13. At half Utah led 20-7 despite UA having a 212-191 yd edge. On top of the 3-0 TO edge, Utah also blk’d 2 punts so it was like having 5 TO’s. The most crucial TO happened at 27-14 when UA had a 1st & gl at the 2, were int’d in the EZ and ret’d 57 yds.

Texas Tech upset Oklahoma and the next week suffered a huge upset to Iowa St. Iowa St off their upset win, almost lost to Kansas. KU led 7-3 but had a 49 yd FG blk’d and then missed a 46 yd FG and then fmbl’d at the ISU14 all in the 1H. It was an almost identical situation to the previous year where KU had the yardage edge and should have had a significant 1H lead. This time they had a 178-169 yd edge and actually trailed 10-7. KU went for it on 4&1 at the 6 and got a FD to the 4 but then surprisingly opted for a 19 yd FG on 4&gl at the 1 to tie it at 10. KU punted with 11:46 and 9:12 left and ISU went on a 63/12pl drive for a 42 yd FG with 4:30 left. KU opted to punt on 4&11 with 2:37 left and ISU got 2 FD’s and escaped.

Nebraska was off their big win over Michigan St and was a huge favorite. At the half Northwestern led 7-3 but Nebraska had a 181-160 yd edge as they fmbl’d at the N’wstrn6. NW had leads of 14-3 and 21-10 and Neb got within 21-18 with 8:55 left but NW went 66/13pl for a 1yd TD run with 1:34 left to put it away. Neb got a TD with :18 left for the final score which helped them finish with a 468-411 yd edge.

Miami scored on all four 1H poss and had a 300-106 yd edge but Duke, trailing 35-14 was SOD at the UM14, int’d at their own 27 and UM drove 27/2pl for a TD and then Duke fumbled at their own 21 and UM drove 21/4pl for a 6 yd TD run with 5:23 left to put the game at its final.

Stanford has played by the same MO for most of the year. It was close in the 3Q vs Oregon St. In fact, there were a couple of key plays. Late in the 1H SU had a 4 yd pass which was fumbled and ret’d for a TD but a personal foul call on a hit to the WR wiped it out. Later, OSU on 3&11 got a 31 yd screen pass deep int’d in SU terr but a holding call wiped it out. At the time they trailed just 17-13. SU got a 27 yd TD pass with 2:40 left in the quarter then after rec’ing a fmbl went 24/3pl for a TD then with a 95/13pl drive for an 8 yd TD run with 6:07 left. OSU got to the SU22 with 4:42 left. SU did finish with a 507-285 yd edge despite playing in a huge situational disadvantage coming off a triple OT win vs USC with Oregon on deck.

Idaho scored a TD with 9:57 left to pull within 22-17 of San Jose then got a TD and 2pt with 3:59 left, 25-22. Idaho got the ball back and on 3&5 ripped off a 70 yd run to the 10. SJ used their last time-out but thanks to the long run, ID was able to tuck in a TD with 1:49 left and then SJS went 76/3pl getting a 47 yd TD pass with 1:08 left and had ID got just gotten a FD they likely would have run out the clock.

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 9

News and Notes Week 9 Part 1

Pittsburgh dominated their Wed night game vs Connecticut even more than the final score as in the 1H they had a 321-80 yd edge but had a FD at the UC22 with :13 left and no time-outs and took a sack and got zero points and only led 21-3. Pitt led 35-13 when UC took over with 3:22 left and went 71/8pl for a garbage TD with :43 left. The victory was costly for Pitt as they lost star RB Graham (knee) as well as starting OT Matt Rotheram (brk ankle) and starting WR Cameron Saddler (fractured sternum) all for the season.

The Houston/Rice game opened in heavy rain and Rice, after rec’ing a Case Keenum fmbl for a TD, had a shocking 17-7 lead. Keenum at that point had not thrown a TD pass. Tyron Carrier got UH’s first score on a 100 yd KR TD tying the NCAA career KR TD record with 7. Keenum needed 5 TD passes to set the NCAA record for career TD passes and had 9 vs Rice. He would have 3 TD passes in the final 6:28 of the 1H to make it 38-20 and UH had a 331-214 yd edge. UH even had a 97 yd TD run with 5:11 left in the 3Q but UH’s 47 yd TD pass with 10:13 left closed the scoring at 73-34.

Special teams hurt BYU. In fact, they had a 218-191 yd edge vs TCU but trailed 28-10. BYU had a low snap on a punt that the P kicked OOB at their own 8 setting up a TCU TD and then BYU pulled within 14-10 but was SOD on 4&3 at the TCU29, int’d at midfield and under pressure they only got off a 23 yd punt. BYU was int’d in the EZ on 2&6 from the 9 and then BYU was watching a punt roll dead when Wesley scooped it up and ret’d it 19 yds with :49 left in the half setting up a 33 yd TD pass 2pl later. BYU had a shot at a 50 yd FG but a late decision by Mendenhall to go for the FG had the unit run on the field and the K slipped on the attempt. Another bad snap on a punt set TCU up for a 38/4pl TD drive and the Cougars trailed 35-10 early 3Q but got a key TD with 2:01 left in the game to pull within 38-28.

Michigan RB Fitzgerald Toussaint ran for a career-high 170 yards. UM had 339 yds rushing and a 535-311 yd edge. Things looked good for Purdue early as they got a 48 yd TD pass to lead 7-0 and UM scored a TD then was int’d on their next 2 drives but PU was sk’d for a safety then gave up a 37 yd FG, was int’d and UM drove 83/5pl for a TD and UM added a 22 yd FG on the final play of the half to lead 22-7 and PU’s first four 2H poss were 3 punts and an SOD at the UM1 when trailing 36-7.

Central Michigan was in control vs Akron leading 13-0 at the half with a 200-97 yd edge and led 23-9 when UA took over with 5:51 left. The Zips got a TD with 2:57 left to pull within 7 and CM punted with 1:47 left. UA went 56/9pl and got a TD on the final play of the game on a 4&1, 9 yd pass and went for 2, the wind was swirling, and it failed.

Louisville had a 339-182 yd edge and led 27-3 when Syracuse took over with 2:53 left and went 63/6pl and on 4&7 got a 20 yd TD pass with 1:31 left to “only” lose 27-10.

Virginia Tech in the 1H vs Duke had a 301-162 yd edge, was int’d at the Duke2 and from the Duke30 was int’d in the EZ and also missed a 29 yd FG. In the 2H VT clinging to a 14-10 lead, punted with 1:50 left and Duke was int’d on 4&1 at their own 38 with :55 left.

Western Michigan led Ball St 35-14 with 2:08 left in the half but gave up a TD with :52 left. Being aggressive, they opted to throw it and were int’d and BSU drove 41/5pl for a TD with :08 left to get back in the game, 35-28 at half. It was 42-35 with 5:50 left when EM added a 40 yd FG with 1:55 left for some breathing room and BSU was stopped on 4&gl at the WM.

Washington St actually had a 30-20 FD edge vs Oregon despite the fact that RB LaMichael James and QB Thomas ret’d and started. Brian Bennett replaced Thomas in the 2H. In the 2H WSU had a 260-215 yd edge but they were int’d at the 2 with 8:17 left in the 1Q, int’d at the 2 with 8:35 left and missed a 25 yd FG and trailed 15-10 at the half. The Ducks finally got some breathing room with a Thomas 93 yd KR TD and WSU trailed 43-20 when they went 85/13pl getting a 9 yd TD run and 2 pt conversion with 1:50 left in the game.

There was surprise snowfall in Maryland and while they announced 29,945 there were less than 10,000 on hand. Boston College led 14-3 after 1Q and 21-3 at the half. MD took over with 5:23 left and went 68/12pl for a TD with 2:07 left to pull within 28-17 but BC took a knee at the MD14 to end it.

Oklahoma lost leading rusher Whaley to injury on the first play of the game and it was really a story of 2H’s. In the 1H Kansas St led 17-14 mid2Q but a key play of the game happened with :19 left in the half. KSU was down by 3 and had the ball but fmbl’d and OU would get a 53 yd FG that just cleared the upright on the final play of the half which gave them momentum into the locker room and a 23-17 lead. The Sooners scored TD’s on their first 5 poss of the 2H while KSU punted on all 5 and the game turned into a blowout with OU finishing with a 690-240 yd edge.

Notre Dame was coming off a disappointing loss the previous week to USC and held Navy to a season low 229 yds. Navy was starting backup QB Miller (5-13-33) who rushed for 55 yards on 19 carries. ND had 2 RB’s score multiple TD’s for the first time since 2001 and the starters sat the 4Q. ND led 35-7 at the half with a 258-100 yd edge. Navy was SOD at the ND14 on their opening 3Q drive and the Irish went 86/9pl for a TD to go up 42-7. Navy was SOD at their own 43 and the Irish 5pl later got another TD for a 49-7 lead en route to their 56-14 win.

As has been the case in all 3 Texas A&M losses this year they blew a double digit halftime lead as they led 28-17 at the half but only managed a FG in the 2H. A&M led 28-14 when Missouri got a 26 yd FG on the final play of the half to give them some momentum. Still the game shifted when A&M up 28-17 with 11:20 left was int’d at the 25 and ret’d 45 yds. MO drove 30/3pl to get a TD to get back in the game and then went 79/6pl for the lead, 31-28. A&M tied it on a FG with 4:10 left after having a FD at the 15. A&M was sk’d on FD at the MO42 with :25 left and fmbl’d and MO missed a 46 yd FG but got a TD on 3&8 in OT on an 11 yd pass and A&M was SOD on 4&5.

Arkansas is the anti-Texas A&M as for the 3rd time this season, they trailed by DD but rallied for a win. Casey Hayward broke up 6 passes and Vandy actually finished with a 462-388 yd edge. Ark rallied to tie it on a 94 yd FR TD with 13:25 left in the game and took the lead on a 42 yd FG with 6:53 left but had the ball on their own 39 with 4:37 left and went conservative. On 3&8 that was partially blk’d, they ran for a 1 yd loss and punted and VU went 80/8pl but missed a tying 27 yd FG at the end.

Northwestern scored on 9 of their first 10 poss and piled up a 616-488 yd edge in a high scoring shootout vs Indiana. IU has now allowed 40+ points in 4 straight games. NU had a 59-31 lead when IU got a TD with 9:08 left and NU then ate up the final 9:08 going 54/17pl taking a knee at the IU8 to end it.

Minnesota students stormed the field after their upset of Iowa. It was a game where UI blew numerous chances to put the game away and left the scrappy Gophers in the game. UM had been outscored 48-0 in the 1Q of their first 7 games but it was scoreless. UI took their first 5 drives of the game into UM territory but were SOD at the UM31, punted 19 yds, missed a chip shot 21 yd FG on 4&2 and missed a 43 yd FG that clanged off the upright and it was just 7-7 at the half despite a 260-165 yd edge. UI leading 14-7 was at the UM14 when they were sk’d and fmbl’d and it was ret’d 43 yd getting the Gophers back in the game. It was still UI 21-10 when they gave up a TD with 8:22 left and UM then rec’d a surprise onside kick and would get a TD on 4&gl from the 3 with 2:48 left and went for the gutsy 2 pt conv (failed) but they still led by 1. IU was SOD on 4&10 at its own 31.

Tulsa pounded SMU with a 451-265 yd edge. The game was played with 28 mph swirling winds but TU settled for a 22 yd FG on their 2nd poss then after an int, drove 20/5pl for a TD and after a 27 yd punt into the wind and K/C interf, drove 25/6/pl for a TD to lead 17-0. It was 24-0 at the half and they had a 230-76 yd edge and increased the lead to 38-7 when SMU gained 72 and 56 yds on their final 2 drives which ended on SOD at the 3 and int in the EZ from the 4.

The Sun Belt Conference has one bizarre finish after another. ULM had 30-9 FD and 456-283 yd edges at home vs WKU. Unfortunately for ULM they had a 38 yd FG blk’d and a 9 yd punt set up WKU for a 29 yd TD drive. ULM was SOD at the WKU25 late 1H. ULM went on a 58/14pl drive but missed a 30 yd FG to open the 3Q. ULM got a TD with 1:00 left to take a 21-20 lead but gave up a 79 yd KR to the 9 and a TD and 2 pt conversion 2pl later. ULM still tied it with :06 left but in OT, on 1st & gl from the 3 was int’d in the EZ and WKU got a 24 yd FG.

Florida lost their 4th in a row for the first time since 1988. Georgia had a 354-226 yd edge but ST hurt them as UF had a 99 yd KR TD and a 63 yd KR set up a 40 yd FG. UGA got a TD with 13:18 left to lead 24-20 and at the end of the game, UGA had a 4th & 2 at the UF10 and broke a tackle and was brought down at the 1 on what would be the last play of the game.

One week after North Carolina committed 6 TO’s vs Clemson, they forced 5 from Wake Forest. It wasn’t just the TO’s that had NC winning 49-24 as they had a 562-331 yd edge. NC drove 34 and 77 yds on their first 2 poss, both after WF TO’s for a 14-0 lead but only led 14-10 at the half with a 215-134 yd edge. NC missed a 47 yd FG and only led 21-17 when they went 80/9, 34/5pl (after int), 41/3pl (after int) and 75/6pl (WF SOD) for TD’s on 4 consecutive poss to go up 49-17.

Joe Paterno broke Eddie Robinson’s record for victories by a Div I coach with 409 but this was a low scoring defensive battle with 18 punts in a game played in snow. Illinois had 94 yds passing and the Lions just 98. Penn St was SOD on 4&1 at the UI35 and UI went 64/11pl for a TD and a 7-0 lead with 3:32 left 3Q, which appeared commanding. PSU settled for a 30 yd FG with 7:00 left and got it back at their 20 with 3:05 left and went 80/10pl for a TD with 1:08 left. UI did drive but a 42 yd FG bounced off the upright on the final play.

Army gave Max Jenkins his first career start in what would be his last game at Michie Stadium as a senior. The game was played in snow. Fordham was shutout for the first time in six years and allowed 50 points for the first time in over a decade. Army led 42-0 at the half and very few fans remained at the end in the freezing stands. Rich Ellerson who played in the CFL said he’d never played in a game with such high winds and that they were playing a team that wanted to throw the ball and it was difficult to throw. Army finished with 544-86 yd and 27-6 FD edges.

If you were watching the scoreboard, Oklahoma St absolutely dominated Baylor in their 59-24 win as it was 35-0 at half and 49-3 after 3Q’s. BU actually finished with a 36-23 FD edge and it was not all garbage yards. In fact BU’s first drive went 69/16pl but on 4&1 they were SOD at the gl line. BU fmbl’d the KO setting up a 13 yd OSU TD. BU went 49/7pl but missed a 48 yd FG. BU went 63/13pl but on 3&gl from the 5 was int’d in the EZ. BU went 46/11pl but on 4&1 was SOD at the OSU32. BU went 57/8pl but on FD from the OSU26 was int’d at the 11 and ret’d 34 yds. BU fmbl’d in the 3Q to set up an OSU 7 yd TD drive, went on a 10pl TD drive for a 36 yd FG, a 66/9pl drive but fmbl’d at the OSU1 before finally getting a TD on the first play of the 4Q when trailing 49-3.

It was a tough loss for Colorado St as they had a 480-361 yd and 26-20 FD edges. CSU was SOD at the UNLV33, allowed a 98 yd KR TD, went on 12 and 9pl drives but settled for 40 and 23 yd FG’s and perhaps on the key play of the game fumbled a punt at their own 11 with :51 left in the half setting up a UNLV TD with :14 left and they trailed 17-14 at the half. CSU missed a 47 yd FG, was SOD at the UNLV27 and fumbled at their own 15. At the end of the game UNLV got a TD with 1:20 left for the lead and CSU got a FD at the UNLV 28 but was int’d at the 24.

Louisiana Tech had a 339-127 yd edge at the half but only led 24-14 vs San Jose St. LT opened it to 38-14 with SJS getting a late 3Q TD and then driving 99/11pl for a 3&20, 20 yd TD pass with 3:18 left.

Rutgers was led out on the field by former player Eric LeGrand and the game was played in poor conditions with rain and blowing snow. Footing was tortuous and no more than 5,000 were in the stands cutting down on RU’s home edge. The Knights appeared poised for the upset as they led 31-21 at the half and were up 31-28 when with 11:02 left when they faked a 28 yd FG and had an open man in the EZ but the pass was floated and hung up for a little but was dropped. West Virginia got a TD with 6:18 left then RU fumbled at their own 37 and WV got a 37/3pl drive for a TD with 4:50 left. RU’s last 2 drives were SOD at the WV33 and int’d WV22.

Hawaii did have a 353-234 yd edge vs Idaho but it was a tough loss for the Vandals. In the 1H they were SOD on 4&1 at the UH42 which set up a UH FG and they trailed 13-7. UI got a 70 yd FR TD with 4:22 left in the 3Q to lead 14-13. Idaho had 2 chances to put it away. They went for it again on 4&1, this time at the UH16 with 14:11 left and was SOD. UI was driving again and with 3:04 left, up by 1, UI had 3&6 at the UH9 but was int’d at the 5. UH drove and got a 35 yd FG with :30 left for the lead. UI got 1 FD and then gained 6 yds on 2 passes and their 53 yd FG on the game’s final play was no good.

Texas had a 5 game home losing streak in Big 12 play end in a thoroughly dominating 43-0 romp over Kansas. UT had a 35-3 FD and 590-46 yd edge. At the half they had a 316-10 yd edge and punted just once while KU punted 7 times.

Mississippi and Auburn were tied 17-17 at half and UM had a 215-191 edge but Clint Moseley would have his first 4 career TD passes and AUB got WR Blake back and he had 71 yards rec. AUB dominated the 3Q with a 141-22 yd edge and pulled away in their 41-23 win with UM even getting a 10 yd TD pass on the game’s final play.

There were a couple of key plays in the South Carolina/Tennessee game. UT settled for a 22 yd FG on their first drive then were going to go for it on 4&1 at the SC20 but 2 false start pen’s forced a 47 yd FG and they missed it. Trailing 7-3 on 4&1 Worley’s QB sneak was stuffed at the 44 with 4:48 left in the half. In the 3Q SC appeared to get a break when UT had a 54 yd int that appeared to be for a TD but the defender was knocked out at the 2. Two plays later, frosh Worley, who was making his first start at QB was int’d at the 2 and SC went on a 98/20pl drive almost exclusively on the ground and got a TD to go up 14-3. UT rec’d a fmbl at the SC27 but Worley threw into double coverage in the EZ for a int TB. UT brought Sims in at QB and converted on 4&1 and 4&5 but on 4&1 at the SC28 WR Rogers fell down and the pass was incomplete and SC got 3 FD’s to run out the clock.

Clemson came in unbeaten and Georgia Tech off 2 losses and a key injury note was that RB Andre Ellington for CU DNP. CU took their opening drive 67/12pl but settled for a 34 yd FG. CU fmbl’d on their own 19 and GT would go 71/8pl, 80/11pl and 78/9pl on their next 3 poss all for TD’s to lead 24-3 at the half with CU missing a 40 yd FG. CU got a TD with 14:47 left to get within 14 then got a 26 yd IR to the GT9 but threw an int in the EZ and GT went on a back breaking 58/16pl drive before being SOD with 1:29 left while CU’s final play was an int at midfield with 1:06 left.

Kentucky lost starting QB Morgan Newton on the 3rd series of the game trailing 7-3 at the time. Mississippi St had a 21-6 lead at the half and was int’d at the 2 with the Bulldogs having a 271-127 yd edge. Frosh QB Maxwell Smith for UK caught his stride in the 2H. He led UK 51/12pl for a 35 yd FG on the first drive then 70/11pl for a TD to pull them within 28-16 with 13:50 left. On their 3rd and last drive of the 3Q, UK went 68/16pl but on 4&7 was SOD at the 8 with 4:46 left and the Bulldogs got 3 FD’s running out the clock.

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

News and Notes Week 8 Part 1

Team have success in their first game with an interim HC which was the case on Thurs night. Arizona scored 6 TD’s on six 1H poss and had a 416-177 yd edge. New HC Kish installed the old Arizona (Double Eagle) Flex D as they led 42-7 at the half and increased it to 48-7 in the 4Q before UCLA scored the game’s final 5 pts. UA finished with a 32-15 FD edge. Four UA and 6 UCLA players’ were susp by the P12 for all or part of the next weeks games after a fight before half.

Purdue was in control almost the entire game vs Illinois. They went 91/13pl for a TD with 3:25 left in the 1Q then went 88/9pl for another TD and after rec’ing a fmbl went 14/4pl for a TD and led 21-0 at the half with a 229-129 yd edge. The 3Q opened with 8 punts before IL got a TD with 8:12 left and added another TD on a 12pl drive with just :54 left but PU rec’d the onside kick.

Kentucky had a depleted backfield including top rusher Clemons who was ruled out for the season. Williams ran for a career high 148 yds vs FCS member Jacksonville St. JSU RB Washaun Ealy is a UGA transfer who led the Bulldogs in rushing last year and had 120 yards on 16 carries. UK led 21-0 and 31-7 en route to their 31-14 lead.

Oklahoma St only had a 27-26 FD edge but in the 2H MO had 2 int’s and lost a fumble at the OSU4 when threatening to make a game of it. Missouri was also SOD at their own 46 in the 2H. Trailing 38-24 MO got to the OSU35 but was tipped and int’d and their next drive they were int’d again and were ret’d to the MO43 with 3:38 left and OSU tacked on a 12 yd TD run 7 plays later for the 21 pt final margin.

USF blew some opportunities vs Cincinnati. At the end of the half, they had a 1&gl at the 2 and were stuffed for no gain with :20 left but they let the clock run down to :02 and took a 20 yd FG. USF still stormed to a 27-17 lead after 3Q’s but UC battled back to lead 30-27. USF got a TD with 1:27 left for a 34-30 lead but UC, led by Zach Collaros, would go 70/7pl and got a 2 yd TD run by Collaros on FD with :12 left. USF got a 20 yd run by Daniels but then when surrounded he did the latteral play and UC recovered.

Buffalo deserved better than the loss to Northern Illinois. The Bulls had a 33-15 FD edge and 572-328 yd edge. BUF settled for a 31 yd FG and missed a 38 yd FG in the 1H. In the 2H they were int’d at the 20, fmbl’d the punt at their 33 setting up a short NI TD drive, were int’d at the NI17 but at the end got the game tying TD with :14 left to make it 31-31 or so it seemed. The xp was wide left and instead of OT, they had a loss.

Tajh Boyd tied a school record with 5 TD passes and Kourtnei Brown had an IR and FR TD’s on the D, the first DL to score a pair of TD’s in a game in 57 years. UNC had a 6-1 TO deficit. The game was tied at 10 when Clemson drove for a TD then 2 poss later Brown got his IR TD to make it 24-10. CU would expand it to 59-24 but UNC got the game’s final 2 TD’s with 7:38 and 2:19 left in the game.

Western Michigan led Eastern Michigan 10-7 but gave up a TD with 7:46 left. WM went 66/7pl. On 4&gl from the 1 with 4:56 left they were SOD and EM got 2 FD’s and on 3&11 their QB ran 14 yds for a FD to clinch it.

Wake Forest jumped out to a 17-3 lead vs Duke but in the 2H Duke would run 38 plays to 6 and held Wake to 1 ttl yard and stormed back a play after Duke settled for a 19 yd FG to lead by 6, 23-17, WF got a 66 yd TD pass from Price with 6:52 left. Duke got to the WF40 but their 4&7 pass was incomplete and on their final drive started at their 28 but were int’d at the 42 on the only play.

TCU had a 515-85 yd edge but New Mexico actually fumbled on their first 2 poss setting up the Frogs for 22 and 24 yd TD drives, staking them to a 14-0 lead, not like the Frogs needed any help. It was 41-0 at the half and 55-0 after TCU blk’d a punt for a TD and the Frogs, after a 24 yd punt with 2:55 left, even added a 33/6pl drive for a TD for the 69-0 win.

NC State DB David Amerson got his school record tying 8th int and is #1 in the NCAA in that category. All the talk for NCSt is about the departed Russell Wilson but Mike Glennon hit 20-36-231 yds and on the season is completing 144-229 for 1717 yds with a 19-6 ratio. NCSt had a 345-249 yd edge in a game that was dominated by punts (comb for 17). At 14-7 NCSt got a 79 yd TD pass but on the next pay UVA got a 60 yd TD pass to pull within 21-14 but the game was decided when Amerson got a 12 yd IR TD with 6:08 left for the 28-14 upset.

Ohio had a 30-18 FD edge vs Akron and 556-249 yd edge. OU was int’d at the UA12, settled for 24 and 27 yd FG’s and only led 13-3 at the half. They went on a 91/14pl drive and settled for a 23 yd FG then a fmbl was ret’d to the OU5 and on 4&4 UA got a 4 yd TD pass to pull within 23-10. OU extended it to 37-13 and AU, in the final 5:00, went 74/9pl and on 4&gl got a 6 yd TD pass with 2:11 left to make the final somewhat respectable at 37-20.

Virginia Tech had a 482-272 yd edge vs Boston College. VT settled for a couple of FG’s in the 1H and actually trailed 7-6 but opened the 2H with 60, 89 and 56 yd TD drives to lead 27-7. BC got a 4&6, 7 yd TD pass with 9:08 left and VT went 74/11pl but settled for a 24 yd FG with 3:43 left on 4&2. BC fumbled on the next play and VT got a FD at the 9 and ran 1 more play before taking a knee.

Oregon was without QB Thomas and RB LaMichael James but still rolled to a 29-0 lead after 1Q and dominated with a 527-231 yd edge with Colorado’s only score coming when UO’s PR went backwards and was tackled for a safety. Not getting as much publicity but equally important was that CU was missing a dozen starters including RB Stewart and WR Richardson who accounted for 60% of their yards from scrimmage on the season. They then lost SS Perkins and KR Godson to inj’s in the 1Q.

LSU was without star CB Mathieu and top rusher Ware but still dominated Auburn. They did only lead 7-3 when AU punted with 6:57 left in the half and LSU would get 42 and 46 yd TD passes, the first by Jefferson and the 2nd by Lee both to Rueben Randall for TD’s to pull away 21-3. LSU extended it 45-3 with AU going on an 86/10pl drive for a garbage TD with 2:22 left.

Miami has now beaten Georgia Tech 3 straight times by a combined score of 92-34. GT came in avg 517 yards offense but was held to 211 although their D held UM to just 262 total yards. With the score 7-0, GT fumbled a punt into the EZ and UM fell on it for a TD. GT went on a 92/20pl drive and got a TD with 1:02 left in the half when UM got an important drive. Knowing GT was going to get the ball out to start the 3Q, UM ret’d the KO to the 46 and would go 46/3pl getting a TD with :25 left in the half to go up 21-7 and retake the momentum.

In the 1H Nevada went on a 78/11pl drive but settled for a 22 yd FG and then went on a 73/9pl drive also settling for a 22 yd FG. With 6:47 left in the game, NV got a TD to go up 37-24. Fresno St went 59/3pl to get a TD with 6:00 left but NV went 80/7pl and got a TD with 2:12 left, this time 45-31 with a 2 pt conv. FSU had a 3rd & 10 and fired incomplete into the EZ but pass interference gave them a FD at the 2 and they got at he TD 2pl later. NV rec’d the onside kick and FSU used both their final time-outs RB Ball took a 3&1 run, broke a tkl, broke a couple of tackles for its 15 yd run down field but was brought down at the 18 and they took a knee. Cody Fajardo threw for 313 yds for the Wolf Pack as NV piled up 581 yds and 29 FD’s.

Boise St’s Chris Petersen took the opposite approach of TCU’s Gary Patterson by not prepping for Air Force’s option during the offseason. BSU only had a 423-408 yd edge and only led by 1 score with 1:00 to play. They were taking on AF’s banged up D and in the 1H did fumble at the AF10 yd line, up 7-0. A key play happened with AF trailing 13-7 when they faked a punt from their own 31 and fmbl’d and BSU scooped it up and ret’d it for a TD for some margin and it was 20-10 at the half. It was 27-20 with 9:47 left when BSU went 69/10pl for a TD with 5:07 left. AF got a TD with 3:31 left to get back within 1 score but BSU rec’d he onside kick and got a 25 yd FG with :42 left to clinch it. Kellen Moore tied Colt McCoy for most career victories by a starting QB (45).

Case Keenum became the FBS’s career leader in total offense but Houston’s win over Marshall was not as easy as the final score. Marshall had 2 long TD drives and the game was tied at 14 before UH scored on 3 straight drives for TD’s to go up 35-14. MU went 77/14pl but on 4&gl at the 1, lost 2 yds on the final play of the half. MU opened the 3Q with a 79 yd drive for a TD to trail 35-21. UH, leading 42-21, got a 20 yd IR TD and then MU went 67/12pl but was int’d again and ret’d 69 yds. UH went 20/4pl for a TD to close it 56-21 and each team brought in backup QB’s after that.

Tulane fired Coach Bob Toledo and Memphis pulled the upset. UM did have a 200-178 yd edge at the half and led 14-10. TU drove for a TD to open the 3Q, 17-14 and was driving again to go up 2 scores when they were int’d and ret’d 79 yds for a TD and UM led 20-17. UM blk’d a punt setting up a TD to go up 26-17 but missed a 46 yd FG and fmbl’d at the UM24 and despite a 459-289 yd TU edge, UM won 33-17.

For the 2nd straight week it was the tale of two halves for Alabama. At half, thanks to a 52 yd FG that just snuck over the crossbar and inside the upright, Tennessee tied it at 6 and Bama only had a 157-114 yd edge. Bama had a 282-41 yd edge in the 2H with UT getting zero FD’s in the 2H. Bama’s first 10 plays of the 3Q either went for a FD or a TD. They not only led, 37-6 but their 2nd last poss was SOD on 4&gl at the 1 when they could have gone up by 38 and UT was SOD at its own 8 with Alabama taking a knee at the end.

Joe Paterno tied Eddie Robinson’s record with his 408th career win on Saturday night. Silas Redd rushed for 164 yards and when Paterno tied Bear Bryant with 323 wins, he also did so vs Northwestern. The QB controversy is over at Penn St as Matt McGloin started and played the entire game hitting 17-26-192 and PSU put up 34 pts. Dan Persa hobbled off the field in the 4Q after injuring his ankle. It was a wild 1H with PSU having a 293-281 yd edge. NU got a 25 yd FG to lead 24-20 with :47 left in the half when PSU on 3&1 got a 42 yd run by Redd to the 12 setting up a TD with :07 left in the half and PSU took the lead, 27-24. PSU got a 63 yd IR to the NU19 early 3Q and Redd’s 19 yd TD run on the next pay gave them a 10 pt lead, 34-24. After the wild offense in the 1H, the next 8 poss were all punts with NU being SOD at their own 12 with 1:54 left on 4&16 and PSU taking a knee.

Florida St won their 2nd consecutive game by the identical 41-16 margin. It took a couple of late scores in the final minute to get here. FSU generally controlled the 1H leading 17-0 missing a 33 yd FG and settling for a short FG when Maryland in the final 2:35 went 75/14pl for a 23 yd FG to pull within 17-3 and close the yardage gap to 256-146. FSU only led 24-10 after 3Q’s but got a 24 yd FG with 10:16 left then a 41 yd TD run by Freeman with 5:57 left to go up 34-10. After a MD punt, FSU went 51/9pl getting a TD with :47 left, 41-10. MD then went 63/3pl getting a TD with :05 left. MD QB Brown rushed for 0 yds on 10 carries after having 286 yds in the previous 2 games and now bkp QB O’Brien led the team to a TD on an 80/6pl drive late 3Q.

ULM/North Texas was much closer than the final score as with a little over 5:00 left in the game, ULM only trailed 24-21 and had the ball but they were sk’d and fmbl’d and ret’d 16 yds for a TD. Five plays later ULM was int’d and 2pl later NT got a 60 yd TD run by Dunbar who became the 25th player in NCAA history to have 3,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving as NT won by 17.

Probably one key for Washington vs Stanford’s offense was keeping pace but they blew some opportunities, got behind and then suffered a costly TO before the half which blew the game open. Polk had 46 and 61 yd TD runs and they trailed just 17-14 but UW had a FD at the 10 called back on a hold, settled for a 46 yd FG and it bounced off the upright. Trailing 31-14, they were int’d and ret’d 61 yds for a TD with :56 left in the half to blow it open, 38-14. At the half SU only had a 356-321 yd edge. In the 4Q UW fmbl’d the KO setting up a SU FG and then was int’d and SU got a TD with 1:25 left to close the scoring, 65-21. SU did have a dominating 446 yds rushing and 615 ttl yds offense to UW’s 430.

Notre Dame punted on their first 4 drives vs USC while the Trojans got 2 TD’s, a FG and were SOD at the ND36 but the Irish still managed to pull back within 17-10 when they had a 3rd & gl at the 2 yd line about to tie it. Shades of USF occurred when bkp QB Crist (st’r vs USF) fumbled the snap and USC ret’d it 80 yds for a TD and the Trojans went up 24-10. Down 24-17, ND threw a backward pass and it bounced off the RB’s hands and USC rec’d at the 18 and on 3&6 got a 14 yd TD pass to ice it, 31-17. USC did finish the game at the ND2 and had a 443-267 yd edge.

Jordan Rodgers got his first start for Vanderbilt and while he hit just 10-27 he threw for 186 yards and rushed for 96. Zac Stacy rushed for 198 yards and 3 TD’s. Army lost starting QB Trent Steelman to a leg inj late in the 1H and suffered their 4th str road blowout loss. VU led the game 37-6 before allowing a TD then a 70 yd IR TD which made it 37-21 with 11:52 left. Army used their first time-out with 6:49 left, down 2 scores on 3rd & 5 but VU got a 55 yd TD run by Stacy on the next play to ice it, 44-21 with 6:38 left.

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

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. Alabamaactually 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.

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 6

News and Notes Week 6 Part 1

Boise St showed remarkable dominance vs Fresno St and actually scored 111 straight points vs Fresno St until a PR TD by the Bulldogs on Friday night. In 2010 they beat FSU 51-0 at home and had scored the final 10 points in 2009. Boise led 37-0 when FSU gained 73 yards in the final :20 of the 1H. Boise pulled QB Moore leading 43-0 in the 3Q and was up 50-0 After 3Q. BSU cruised to a 57-7 win with a 464-270 yd edge.

Purdue got their largest margin of victory in a Big Ten game since 2008. MarQueis Gray did return to the lineup for Minnesota and threw for 104 yards and rushed for 20. It was Minnesota’s 2nd straight blowout loss and turnovers fueled it. After a 26 yard punt, PU went 39/7pl for a TD then went 36/11pl for a 53 yd FG. Then, after a fumble went 11/7pl for a TD then got a 37 yd IR TD and led 24-0 after 1Q. PU led 31-3 at the half with a 180-85 yd edge. They extended it to 45-10 before Minny got a TD with 7:55 left.

Tyler Russell replaced an ineffective Chris Relf as MSU trailed 3-0 at the half with UAB having a 181-118 yd edge. After punting to open the 3Q, MSU went 89/7pl for a TD then after a UAB fmbl went 71/4pl (after UAB fmbl) for a TD and after a UAB int, went 72/11pl for a TD with 5:03 left to go up 21-3. UAB’s final drive was SOD at their own 47 with 3:18 left. Russell hit 11-13-166 while Relf hit 6-10-46. UAB QB Perry missed at least 5 open rec’s and in the 1H there were 10 punts and 3 FG att’s with 2 missed for the 2 teams combined. Miss St had just a 416-340 yd edge.

Georgia Tech failed to put Maryland away and the Terps turned to backup QB CJ Brown. Brown hit just 4-17-36 yards but had the game changing play of the day. A few inches may have determined this game as well as GT had 4 different plays which could have gone for TD’s but the connection was missed by inches and/or a drop with wide open rec’s. In the 1H UGA had a commanding 232-89 yd edge but only led 14-3 as they had a TD pass dropped and punted, missed a 34 yd FG and then were int’d in the EZ for a TB from the 18 yd line. GT led 21-3 and was SOD at the MD23 with 12:14 left when the key play happened. Brown faked a pitch and raced 77 yards down the sideline for a TD to get MD back to 21-10 and got 1 more late TD to only lose 21-16.

Zac Dysert hit 24-37-342 yards for Miami, Oh. The RedHawks came in 0-4 but got coach Treadwell his first win despite trailing Army 28-14 in the 2H. MU fumbled at the Army9 but then went 61/6pl for a TD to get within 7 after 3Q’s. Army fumbled and MU went 35/6pl for a TD to tie at 28 and after an Army punt, UM went 98/9pl and got a 20 yd TD pass with 7:05 left for its first lead of the game. Army went 45/13pl but on 4&12 was sk’d for an 8 yd loss with :24 left.

South Carolina’s only weakness at the start of the year has been QB Garcia who had a 4-9 ratio. Conner Shaw did start his second game and after a not so good outing vs East Carolina in his first start, Shaw guided SC to 639 yards and a 32-6 FD edge vs Kentucky. He hit 26-39 and most importantly had 0 int’s. Kentucky had lost their first 2 SEC games by 33 ppg and SC Marcus Lattimore only ran the ball twice in the 1Q but finished with 102 yards (22 att). When they pulled Shaw, 3rd stringer Andrew Clifford and 4th stringer Dylan Thompson both appeared but no Garcia. UK ran just 6 plays in SC territory all on their opening drive and Shaw’s 4 TD passes matched Garcia’s effort for the entire start of the season. UK actually led 3-0 after SC fumbled the opening KO and it was just 7-3 after 1Q but SC had a 290-57 yd edge at the half and led 20-3 in the 54-3 romp.

Rice only had a 350-307 yd edge vs Memphis. Rice was int’d on 2 of their first 4 poss and only led 7-3 after 1Q then were SOD at the UM21 and punted on their next 2. After a 21 yd PR, they went 46/11pl for a 15 yd TD pass with :38 left in the half to lead 14-3 and had a 245-107 yd edge at the half. Rice got a 47 yd IR TD early 3Q and then drove 74/7pl for a TD to lead 28-3. Memphis rec’d a fumble at the Rice20 and got a 30 yd FG and 2 poss later fumbled at the Rice24 with 4:52 left and on their final poss, got to the Rice31 but were int’d at the 11 with :29 left.

Wake Forest led almost start to finish vs Florida St. FSU started Clint Trickett but when Trickett was int’d and ret’d to the 38 setting up a 38/4pl drive for a TD and a WF 16-7 lead with 1:48 left in the half, EJ Manuel came off the bench. Manuel led an 88/6pl drive for a TD to make it 16-14. WF built the lead to 32-17 early 4Q and FSU down 35-24 got a TD with :54 left to pull within 5 (2ptng) but WF rec’d the onside kick. Josh Harris rushed for 136 yards…Western Michigan had a 31-20 FD and 578-381 yd edges. They led Bowling Green 45-14 when BG went 81/11pl getting a garbage TD with 2:30 left.

Much like the 42-0 score would indicate, Temple had a 510-236 yard edge and led 28-0 at the half. Temple missed a 36 yd FG and was SOD at the BSU34 on their first two 3Q poss but then went 57/8pl and 78/3pl for a pair of TD’s and the 42-0 final. RB Bernard Pierce had 121 yards rushing.

Eastern Michigan came into the Toledo game averaging 233 ypg rushing but was held to 89 by Toledo. Both Toledo QB’s Austin Dantin and Terrance Owens had 2 TD’s and 0 int’s each. Toledo led 21-0 but after EM got a TD with 1:22 left in the half, UT blk’d an xp and ret’d it for 2 to lead 23-9. They extended it to 47-9. EM after rec’ing a fumble went 37 yards for a TD with 10:11 left and UT went 70/11 for a TD with 4:40 left.

QB Jon Hays made his first start for Utah and had 3 crucial int’s vs Arizona St. The Sun Devils led 10-7 at the half. Utah faked a punt and would go 79/9pl for a TD to lead 14-10. ASU got a 35 yd FG with 5:00 left 3Q, 14-13. Utah then turned it over 3 times and ASU went 44/5pl, 32/3pl and 61/10pl for TD’s to blow it open, 35-14. Utah was sacked on 4&16 at midfield and punted on their final 2 poss.

West Virginia/Connecticut was a tale of 2H’s. In the 1H Conn had an 11-10 FD edge but missed a 42 yd FG and settled for a 22 yd FG on the last play of the half and actually trailed 10-9. The key play of the game happened mid3Q. Conn, threatening to take the lead, had a FD at the WV13 when QB McEntee was hit and fmbl’d. The ball popped into the air and was ret’d 83 yards to the UC12. WV got a TD 2pl later to go up 17-9. Conn would then got 3 & out on their next 2 poss, get tackled for a safety and got 2 FD’s on their next 4 poss, all punts while WV rolled to a 43-9 lead. UC did get a 48 yd IR TD with 7:54 left to close the scoring and WV won 43-16 with a 541-275 yd edge.

Oklahoma got a 55 yard IR TD, 19 yd FR TD and 56 yd FR TD in their 55-17 win over Texas. The FD’s were even at 22 but the Sooners did have a 453-259 yd edge. Landry Jones hit 31-50-367 yards.Texas has come in the Red River Rivalry game ranked #11 three times and allowed 65 in 2003, 63 in 2000 and 55 in 2011.

Kansas St led 10-3 at the half and opened it to 24-3 with 11:23 left in the game. Missouri would go on 12 and 8pl drives for 2 TD’s to pull within 24-17 with 5:02 left and had some momentum. They opted to kick off deep but KSU went 66/11pl picking up 3 crucial FD’s and ended the game at the Missouri 11 yard line pulling the upset.

All season long Penn St has been better statistically than they were on the scoreboard. Versus Iowa, PSU had a 395-253 yd edge. In fact, Iowa came in leading the Big Ten in passing but PSU held them to 169 yards. PSU settled for a 20 yd FG after an 88/18pl drive then another 20 yard FG after an 81/12pl drive and only led 6-3 at the half. PSU had a 3&5 from the 6 but was int’d in the EZ but got a TD with 8:08 left to lead 13-3 and Iowa’s final 3 poss ended on 2 int’s and a 4th&39 sack.

Oregon St jumped out to a 27-6 halftime lead vs Arizona and held on for their first win of the season. The Beavers did get a blocked punt for a TD in the 1H helping them to that lead but had a 224-141 yd edge. They extended it to 30-6 mid3Q but Arizona chipped away. The Beavers went on a 48/9pl drive and missed a 42 yd FG and Arizona got within 30-27. OSU went for it on 4&gl at the 2 and got a TD with 5:22 left to lead 37-27 and Arizona went 78/7pl but on 4&gl from the 2 were SOD was 3:02 left and the Beavers won by 10.

Rutgers and Pitt each had 271 yards but RU won by 24. Pitt’s opening drive went 74/14pl but they settled for a 29 yd FG. At the half PItt had a 110-92 yd edge as they had a 4-1 TO deficit in the game including two 1H Sunseri int’s. Sunseri was replaced to being the 3Q but backup QB Anderson was int’d on his 2nd poss and ret’d 9 yards to the 18 setting up an RU TD for a 13-3 lead. RU added a 60 yd TD pass and then after a 73 yd KR, a 3 yd TD run and led 27-10 and later off of Sunseri got a 45 yd IR TD with 5:26 left to make it 34-10.

If you compare LSU and Alabama’s games vs Florida, they are fairly even statistically and the scores are almost identical. Alabama’s win is still far more impressive. Alabama last week had to play in The Swamp vs Florida’s #1 QB for the 1H and #2 for the 2H. LSU was in Death Valley and was facing a 3rd string QB in Jacoby Brissett who became the first UF frosh QB in Florida history to take his first snap as a starter. Brissett, who was in a hostile environment, hit 8-14-94. It was just 27-11 after 3Q’s and LSU would punch in a 2 yd TD run with 1:27 left capping a 76/11pl drive for the 41-11 final. LSU had a 453-213 yd edge.

Houston’s defense looked porous on Thursday night vs UTEP but vs East Carolina they had 9 sacks and had 4 int’s. Case Keenum became the #2 all-time career leading passer passing Graham Harrell at TT and he hit 30-37 for 304 yards with his last pass being a 27 yard TD with 14:34 left in the game to make it 49-3. EC did have 20 FD’s but was int’d at the UH21, EC43, UH33 and UH33. They also went on a 15 play drive to the UH19 but punted after sacks, were SOD after a 10pl drive at midfield and had a drive to the UH34 also end on a punt. UH went 80/10pl and got a TD with 1:19 left for the 56-3 final.

You had to expect a high scoring game with Southern Miss and Navy and the two teams combined for 1,153 yards. Navy actually had 144-0 yard edge at the start but trailed 7-0 as they went on a 68/13pl drive settling for a 29 yd FG which was blk’d and ret’d 79 yards for a TD then went 76/13pl but was SOD on 4&gl at the 1. SM’s offense was almost unstoppable and had TD drives of 99, 75, 77 and 58 yards in the 1H and led 35-7 with a 327-213 yard edge. The teams basically traded TD’s in the 2H on almost every poss with SM leading by 28 or 21 points and Navy, trailing 63-35, was SOD at the SM2 with 1:59 left.

Some key plays kept Miami, Fl in the game vs Virginia Tech and VT blew a big lead and actually needed a TD with :56 left for the win. VT took their first 2 drives right down the field for TD’s to lead 14-0 and their 3rd drive was headed for the same but they fumbled at the Miami27. UM on 3&18 threw a pass down the sideline which looked incomplete. Somehow the replays gave them a 41 yard pass for a FD overthrowing the call and they got a TD a few plays later. VT still led 21-7 at the half. In the 2H, UM got their 2nd big play, a 3&4 pass where DB Whitley went for the ball and missed and Benjamin took it 77 yards for a TD. VT still led 24-14 and 31-21. UM on 3&12 early 4Q was sk’d and was forced to punt but QB Harris was standing over the DE and Collins threw the ball back at him and got a 15 yd penalty keeping the drive alive and UM got a TD. UM faced a 2nd & 30 and handed off to Miller who took it 30 yards for a TD and stunningly they led 35-31 with 2:51 left but VT went 77/8pl and Logan Thomas had a 19 yd TD run with :56 left for the win. Thomas hit 23-25-310 yards and 3 TD’s passing and 2 rushing.

Central Michigan QB Ryan Radcliff had a great 1H hitting 15-17 for 196 yards. CM settled for a 22 yd FG after an 82 yd drive and trailed 21-17 at the half despite a 253-223 yd edge. Radcliff was 1-10 with 3 int’s in the 3Q and NCSt took control 35-17. It was 38-17 when CM got a 77 yd TD run by Cotton with 8:18 left then recovered the onside kick. They got 3 FD’s to the NCSt11 but was int’d in the EZ with 5:38 left and NCSt got 3 FD’s and ran out the clock.

Notre Dame scored their most points since Lou Holtz’s final home game when they beat Rutgers 62-0. It was the most combined points ever for a game at ND Stadium. ND scored on all six 1H poss and led 42-16 at the half as the Falcons were not match physically for the Irish. ND even inserted mobile Andrew Hendrix who hit all 4 of his passes and rushed 6 times for 111 yards. The 2 teams combined for 1,125 yards. Air Force26 had a FD called back on a clip and went 3 &out after dropping a FD pass on 3&7. The Irish led 59-19 when AF went 74 and 67 yards for a pair of garbage TD’s on their final 2 drives, the latter with :33 left.

ULM botched some redzone opportunities and some big plays led to the Arkansas St win. ULM fmbl’d at the ASU22, settled for two 25 yd FG’s after having a 1st & gl each time. Leading 13-7, the War Hawks were int’d with 1:43 left in the half and ASU turned it into a 30 yd FG to pull within 13-10. ULM opened the 3Q being int’d at the ASU13. Two big plays then changed the game. ASU blocked a punt and ret’d it for a TD to go up 17-13 with 4:01 left in the 3Q. ULM went on a 12pl drive but was not only int’d at the 5 but ret’d 51 yards. On the next play, ASU got a 44 yd TD pass to lead 24-13. ULM had the ball, down 24-19 at the ASU27 but was SOD with :18 left.

Tennessee was held to -9 yards rushing vs Florida but Georgia did even better holding them to -20 yards rushing. In the 1H, each team had some long drives result in FG’s and it was 6-6. UGA took control at the start of the 3Q scoring TD’s on their first 2 poss to lead 20-6. UGA had an amazing poss where they went 12pl and had a FD at the UT23. After 3 holds and a 15 yd PF, they punted on 4&50! UT took over with 6:11 left and QB Bray was injured. Backup QB Simms converted on 4&2 and then on 4&16 for FD’s and got a TD with 2:45 left to pull within 8. UGA rec’d the onside kick.

Nebraska had the biggest comeback in Cornhusker history with Ohio St not scoring after Braxton Miller left the game with injury. Taylor Martinez was coming off a horrible game vs Wisconsin where his 3 int’s turned the game around but hit 16-22-191 yards. Still, OSU led 27-6 in the 2H with NU only taking the lead after a Bauserman int with 6:29 left and getting a 17 yd TD run by Burkhead with 5:10 left. NU finished with a 25-16 FD edge. After Miller went out of the game NU had a 15-3 FD edge and managed the comeback with Bauserman hitting 1-10-13.

FIU punted with 7:46 left in the game vs Akron. At this point, FIU had a 77-38 play edge and 490-175 yard edge but FIU missed a 23 yd FG, settled for 37 and 21 yd FG’s and was int’d in the EZ and fumbled at midfield in the 1H and they only led 27-17. UA gained 102 yards on 17 plays on their final 2 drives which ended on a fumble at the FIU18 and an incomplete pass from the FIU27. Thirty-one of the yards came on a 4&16 conversion on the final drive.

It was a tale of 2H’s in the Northwestern/Michigan game. In the 1H NU had a 297-257 yd edge and led 24-14, even dropping a TD pass at the end of the 1H and settling for a 20 yd FG. Denard Robinson had 3 crucial 1H int’s being picked off at the 4 yard line 3 times. In the 2H UM battled back to take its first lead with 2:58 left in the 3Q and then NU turned it over on consecutive drives. NU, trailing 35-24, went for it on 4&5 at the UM37 and QB Persa had his helmet ripped off by a DL but no pen was called and the play was blown dead because his helmet was off. Fitzgerald got hit with a 15 yard PF for protesting the call and UM went 39/9pl for a TD with 2:19 left to clinch it, 42-24.

Tulane’s offense got going with 471 yards vs Syracuse. In fact, at the half TU had a 312-229 yd edge but trailed 31-24. SU had a 5 yd TD drive after a 95 yd KR and a 32 yd drive for a TD after a fumble. WR Xavier Rush had 60 and 58 yd TD’s for Tulane. TU missed a 45 yd FG with 9:00 left but the 58 yd TD pass to rush tied it at 34 with 2:53 left. SU fired incomplete on 3&4 but roughing the QB gave them a FD and they would continue to get 3 more FD’s and got a 21 yd FG on the last play for the win despite TU having a 471-356 yd edge.

UCF absolutely dominated Marshall and it’s shocking that they only won by 10. In the 1H UCF had 13-1 FD and 246-47 yd edges. They had a pair of long TD drives but also had a 63/6pl drive end on a fumble at the MU11 and had a 10pl drive end on a 22 yard FG where they mishandled the snap. Marshall’s only TD came when UCF fumbled and MU ret’d it 12 yards for a TD with 3:07 left in the 3Q. UCF had 2 chances at a TD at the end but on 3&2 from the MU11 were int’d at the 4 with 5:04 left and UCF’s final drive went 48/7pl with the last play of the game getting to the MU4. UCF finished with 21-6 FD and 387-130 yard edges.

Clemson was cruising along vs Boston College with a 26-7 lead when Tajh Boyd inj’d his hip on the first drive of the 3Q and he did not return. Cole Stoudt hit 6-10-37 yards in his place. CU still managed a 47 yard FG with :39 left in the 3Q to lead 29-14 and then drove 58/6pl and on 4&1 got a 36 yd TD run by Ellington with 11:24 left, 36-14. BC was SOD at the CU31 and SOD at their own 33 on their final 2 drives. CU had actually not scored a TD vs Boston College since 2008. Another injury of note was RB Montel Harris for BC did not play after having rushed for 100 yards the week before in his only game of the season so far. CU finished with a 500-258 yd edge.

Louisville OC Mike Sanford did not travel with the team so QB coach Watson called the plays. NC got their 8th straight win over a non-conf opponent and Giovanni Bernard became the first Tar Heel to rush for at least 100 yards in 4 straight games since Ethan Horton in 1984. UL actually controlled the 1H with a 188-59 yd edge but the Cardinals missed a 40 yd FG after a 75/15pl drive, were SOD at the NC43, int’d at the NC19 and missed a 36 yd FG. In the 2H, UL punted on their first 5 poss. NC took the points off the board on a 23 yd FG when UL jumped offsides and got a TD and later went 66/5pl for a TD to lead 14-0 with 12:19 left. NC was SOD on 4&1 at the UL39 with 2:35 left and UL went 61/10pl and got an 18 yd TD pass with :41 left. NC rec’d the onside kick.

Illinois is off their best start since 1951 and had 3 scoring plays of 66+ yards to erase an early 10-0 deficit. Indy ret’d the opening KO 98 yards for a TD and Illinois trailed 10-0 when they got a 77 yard TD pass on 3&11 with 4:22 left in the 1Q then got a 66 yd FR TD and later a 67 yd TD pass to Jenkins to lead 27-13 at the half with a 280-119 yd edge. It was 34-13 when Indy got a TD with 5:29 left capping an 85/11pl drive but IL took over at its 11 and went 89/11pl and got a 1 yd TD run with 1:20 left. Indy got to the IL15 but their final pass was incomplete.

Texas A&M did what they usually do which is jump out to a big lead, this time it was 31-20 at the half and A&M had a 301-225 yd edge. This time A&M got a break in the 3Q. They led 31-23 when they blk’d a 50 yd FG and ret’d it 63 yards for a TD to make it 38-23. A&M got a TD with 11:59 left and were up comfortably 45-30. TT got a 31 yd FG that bounced off the upright and went through to make it 45-33 with 9:34 left but TT on 4&2 fired incomplete with 4:00 left at their own 33. A hold on A&M forced a 4&17 and they punted with just 2:55 left and TT would go 91/11pl getting a 20 yd TD pass with :31 left.

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 4

News and Notes Week 5 Part 1

Toledo was without starting RB Adonis Thomas but Morgan Williams rushed for 130 yards. TOL drove 10/3pl for a TD after a fumbled punt and 2 pt conv to go up 8-3. After an int the Rockets went 41/5pl for a TD, 15-3. They were up 22-13 at the half and despite being outFD’d 17-12 and outgained 318-305, they rolled to three 2H TD drives in a 36-13 win.

Michigan had their most lopsided win since beating Indiana 58-0 in 2000. MarQueis Gray, the QB for Minnesota DNP and true frosh Max Shortell (1st start) hit 11-22-104 and had -16 yards rushing on 4 carries. In the 1H Mich had a 384-69 yd edge and the Gophers’ first snap in Mich terr didn’t happen until there was less than 1:00 left in the 3Q. Mich won The Little Brown Jug leading 38-0 at the half scoring on all six 1H poss.

Penn St let Indiana hang around blowing some scoring opportunities and IU had the ball down by 6 at the end. PSU finished with a 464-256 yd edge and once again Matt McGloin moved the team the best with Rob Bolden hitting 6-14-67 and McGloin 10-22-204. PSU had a TD called back on a hold on 2&gl from the 15 and then had a pass tipped and int’d near the goal line. PSU later would go on a 66/12pl drive but from the 5 yd line settled for a 22 yd FG and despite a 242-105 yd edge at the half, the game was tied at 3. PSU settled for a 27 yd FG then went on a 12pl drive and fmbl’d at the IU2. PSU got a 74 yd TD pass from McGloin to Moye for some breathing room, 13-3 after 3Q’s and drove 64/13pl and settled for a 32 yd FG, 16-3. IU converted on 4th down on a 77/14pl drive for a TD with 3:51 left and got the ball back with 2:06 left getting to the PSU40 with :02 left but their pass fell incomplete.

Kansas shockingly jumped out to a 20-0 lead vs Texas Tech with 191 yards and 3 TD’s on their first 15 plays. Texas Tech survived that punch in the stomach and rolled to a 45-27 lead after 3Q’s and finished with a 530-478 yd edge. KU got a TD with 3:30 left to close it to 45-34 but TT rec’d the onside kick and got to the KU11 with 2 FD’s taking a knee.

In the 1H Cincinnati had a 3-0 TO deficit and only led 6-0. In the 2H MU missed a 34 yd FG and UC got a 72 yd pass setting up a TD. Later they drove 80/12pl for a TD to lead 20-0 and then when a snap went over MU’s P’s head, UC fell on it for a TD to make it 27-0. UC was int’d in the EZ twice in the game and had a 398-264 yd edge.

For the 2nd straight week Syracuse’s game came down to a replay at the end. In the 2nd OT SU fumbled. The replay appeared to show the RB was down but another showed the ball came out so it was inconclusive and SU’s fumble which was ruled rec’d by Rutgers, ended the game. RU had missed a chance to win the game in regulation missing a 44 yd FG. At the half, RU had 13-2 FD and 187-88 yd edges yet trailed 7-3 as SU had a 65 yd FR TD. RU had a 23-13 FD edge but only a 302-295 yd edge.

Tennessee had 541-264 yd and 27-10 FD edges. They led 17-7 after 1Q and 31-7 at the half. UT extended it to 41-7 with 11:32 left with BUF getting a 30 yd FG with 8:38 left and then rec’d an onside kick but they were SOD on 4&4 at the UT18 with 6:42 left. UT faked a punt for a FD, got 2 FD’s and ran out the clock.

A 3rd straight road game and having to face the option is not the ideal scenario for any defense and Army rolled to a 423-199 yd edge vs Tulane with a 21-10 FD edge. Raymond Maples rushed for a career high 144 yards. TU jumped out to a 6-0 lead after Orleans Darkwa had a 66 yard run on the 2nd play of the game but TU did not score again and after having 165 yards at the half they finished with just 199.

Montel Harris returned to BC’s lineup and rushed for 108 yards becoming the school’s all-time leading rusher topping Derrick Knight (2003). Still, WF finished with a 392-336 yd edge and never trailed. They scored a TD on their opening poss and led 17-9 at the half. Harris fumbled at the WF10 trailing 26-9 and BC was int’d at the 2 with 4:59 left in the 3Q. BC got a TD with 13:05 left and settled for a 32 yd FG with 6:00 left to pull within 24-19. WF got a 22 yd FG with 2:59 left and BC on 4&4 at the WF45 was SOD with 1:43 left.

Georgia dominated Mississippi St more than the final score as they had 20-13 FD and 315-213 yd edges. Isaiah Crowell topped 100 yards rushing for the 3rd time in 3 SEC games. MSU’s only score came on a 72 yd IR TD with 9:10 left in the 4Q as UGA was looking to add to a 24-3 lead. UGA was int’d at the MSU20 but still led 21-3 at the half. UGA had a bad snap on a 22 yd FG and was tkl’d for a 12 yd loss, settled for a 27 yd FG, was int’d at the MSU29 and missed a 47 yd FG in their 14 pt win.

Michigan St entered the game vs Ohio St #1 in the country in total D (172 ypg) and finished with a 321-178 yd edge. In fact, OSU’s only score came with :10 left in the game with Joe Bauserman at QB. Braxton Miller hit 5-10-56. MSU ended a 7 game losing skid to the Buckeyes. The Spartans scored a TD on their 2nd poss on a 65/6pl drive for a 7-0 lead which they never relinquished. OSU was int’d at the MSU6 but MSU had a 170-87 yd edge at the half. MSU had a 3rd & gl at the 6 and was int’d in the EZ early 4Q but with the score 10-0 OSU punted with 8:52 left, punted on 4&13 from its own 4 with 5:31 left, was SOD on 4&10 at the MSU43 with 3:06 left then took over with 1:51 left and went 62/6pl for a TD with :10 left in the 10-7 final.

Virginia blew numerous opportunities in the 1H. They had 496-296 yd and 27-12 FD edges for the game but they let Idaho stay in the game and almost lost. In the 1H UVA went on consecutive drives of 67 and 73 yds for TD’s to lead 14-0. UVA was int’d at the UI20, fmbl’d at the UI43 and fmbl’d at their own 26 and despite a 277-147 yd edge, only led 14-6 at the half. At the end of the half, UVA’s QB Rocco took off on a run and was tkl’d at the 10 but they ran out of time. UVA had a 41 yd FG blk’d, missed a 36 yd FG and IU blk’d a punt for a TD with 3:11 left and the 2 pt conv tied it. In OT each team scored a TD but UI went for 2 and their pass was incomplete.

QB Teddy Bridgewater made his first start for Louisville and had a couple of key int’s in the 2H. In the 1H Bridgewater hit a 41 yd TD pass with :33 left in the half to give UL a 13-7 lead and the Cards had a 167-130 yd edge. Marshall went on an 85/13pl drive but had a 19 yd FG blk’d. UL went on a 9pl drive and missed a 47 yd FG. Marshall went on a 62/7pl drive settling for a 24 yd FG and only trailed 13-10. UL was int’d at their own 30 with 4:32 left and MU went 30/5pl for a TD with 1:49 left for the lead. UL got to the MU45 but Bridgewater was int’d at the 37 and MU got 1 FD and took a knee for the upset.

The talk all week was how Robert Griffin had thrown more TD passes than incompletions. Well, he had 5 TD passes and 8 incompletions vs Kansas St and his first int of the year. KSU trailed 35-26 in the 4Q but he threw an int on the 2nd last drive of the game and his 4th & 2 pass fell incomplete at the end and KSU got the home win, 36-35 to move to 4-0. Baylor actually came in ranked #15 in the country.

West Virginia was off a loss and their O-line opened up some big holes. Dustin Garrison rushed for 233 yards at the half and 291 for the game. WV finished with 643-217 yd and 30-14 FD edges. WV led 38-10 at the half and scored TD’s on their first 3 poss of the 2H to lead 55-10 in the rout.

Auburn had 358-289 yd and 22-13 FD edges vs South Carolina who was playing with double revenge. Stephen Garcia tossed a couple more int’s hitting just 9-23 passes. AU took over with 5:27 left trailing 13-9 and went 57/12pl. They got a 9 yd TD pass to Philip Lutzenkirchen with 1:38 left and then SC got to the AU30 and thought they had :01 left but ran out of time.

Northwestern got Dan Persa back in the lineup and appeared headed for an upset of Illinois. They led 28-10 midway thru the 3Q. Persa hit 10-14-123 but threw for 4 TD’s. Illinois went 74 and 58 yards for TD’s to get back within 28-23 and Persa was injured. Illinois took the lead 31-28 but fumbled at their own 36 and Northwestern got a TD with 1:15 left to appear to pull out the win. IL went 69/7pl and with just :13 left Scheelhaase’s 1 yd TD run gave IL the come from behind win.

FIU had a 568-384 yd edge vs Duke. It was tied at 17 at the half when FIU got a FG and a TD to lead 27-17 with 13:30 left. Duke got a TD with 11:56 left to pull within 3 then Panthers QB Carroll on 2&8 had the ball slip out of his hands and Duke rec’d at the 9. Duke got a 9 yd TD run by Thompson with 6:52 left on the next play to take a 31-27 lead. FIU got to the Duke12 but on 4&10 fired incomplete in the EZ with 2:29 left.

Troy was playing with legitimate revenge after UAB used a Hail Mary pass to beat them the year before but this time Troy needed a late TD to pull out the win. Troy did have a 521-356 yd edge. UAB was playing without starting QB Ellis and Jonathan Perry hit 19-39-196 yds. UAB got a 91 yd PR setting up a 5pl 1 yard TD run in the 1H but Troy led 14-13 at the half. Troy missed a 43 yd FG and UAB got a 41 yd FG to lead 16-14 then UAB got a 52 yd IR TD to lead 23-14. Troy fumbled at the UAB30, punted and was int’d at the UAB30 on their next 3 poss. They got a FG with 5:18 left then got an int on a screen pass ret’d to the 12. On 3&11 pass interfer gave them a FD to the 2 and they got the go-ahead TD with 4:07 left to lead 24-23. UAB was SOD on 4&2 at the Troy48.

Louisiana Tech/Hawaii was blown open in the middle of the 3Q as UH got 2 defensive TD’s in a :04 span. Leading 20-13, UH went 65/10pl getting a TD with 9:29 left in the 3Q to lead 27-13. LT got to midfield but was int’d and ret’d 49 yards for a TD. LT then fmbl’d the KO and UH ret’d it 12 yards for a TD and it was 41-13. UH finished with a 494-368 yd edge.

It was Turnovers=Turnaround for Utah which came in +9 in TO’s but were -4 in TO’s. Washington led 17-7 when Utah QB Jordan Wynn came out with injury. Backup QB Hays’ first pass was int’d and UW went 52/4pl for a TD. The Huskies led 31-7 and on 4&21 just ran the ball for 3 yards with 2:29 left. Utah would go 62/10pl and got a garbage TD with :07.

Texas dominated leading 34-0 at the half and gave up two 4Q TD’s. The Longhorns have now won 2 straight on the road vs teams that beat them in Austin last year. It was billed as one of the biggest HG’s in recent memory for Iowa St but Texas dominated and Iowa St had 86 and 63 yd drives for TD’s in the 4Q to make the stats a bit misleading as they show UT only had a 400-380 yd edge and ISU had a 26-19 FD edge. TO’s were a factor but the bottom line is UT got its revenge.

Ohio did have a commanding 391-217 yd edge vs Kent St and 22-14 FD edge. They survived a blk’d FG and a blk’d punt in the 1H and KSU’s only TD came on a 21 yd drive for a TD after recovering a fumble. OU led 10-7 at the half but had a 220-80 yd edge. OU extended it to 17-7. KSU got a 31 yd FG with 5:42 left to pull within 7 and OU punted 34 yds to the 1 with 2:00 left and KSU was SOD at their own 8.

Bethune-Cookman actually outplayed Miami, Fl early and the game was a lot closer than the 45-14 final. BC had 24-15 FD and 422-335 yd edges. BC went 71/12pl but fmbl’d at the UM2 then went 52/9pl for a TD. BC also had a 59/11pl drive end in a missed 38 yd FG. UM had some quick scores like a 56/1pl TD pass in the 2Q and had a 34 yd drive for a TD after kick/catch intef on a PR. UM with 2:00 left got a 59 yd IR TD to lead 45-14 and BC ended the game at the UM6.

WKU nearly ended the nation’s longest home losing streak which was was 18. They did lead 14-10 but Arkansas St rallied for a 19-14 lead with 11:12 left. WKU got a 42 yd TD pass with 10:03 left to go up 22-19 and ASU missed the game tying FG from 44 yards with 5:51 left. WKU got 2 FD’s and then went for the win on 4&1 at the ASU32 and were SOD with 2:39 left. ASU went 66/9pl and got a TD with :36 left and escaped.

Western Michigan was up 14-0 in the 2Q and UC did not cross midfield until 6:00 remained in the 2Q on a 60 yd run. WM led 17-7 at the half. WM fumbled on consec poss and Conn took its first lead with 12:40 left on a TD. The score was 17-17 after 3Q’s. The two teams combined for 35 points in the 4Q. WM retook the lead, 31-24 with 5:53 left but UC on 4&5 got a 26 yd TD pass to tie. WM got a 41 yd TD pass where the WR grabbed the ball over the DB’s head for a TD with 1:35 left and UC threw a deep pass but fmbl’d at the WM13 with :45 left.

TCU’s 22 game home streak was snapped and SMU actually led throughout the game blowing a 16 point 4Q lead but won it in OT. SMU had a 461-454 yd edge. TCU dropped out of the AP Top 25 for the first time in 46 weeks.

Trent Richardson took another positive step towards the Heisman with 181 yards rushing (incl 2 TD’s) and another 27 yards receiving. Alabama has outscored Florida 101-29 in their 3 meetings. UF actually got a 65 yd TD pass on their first offensive play and the game was tied at 10 after 1Q but Bama led 24-10 at the half. UF QB Brantley was inj’d in the final seconds of the 1H and missed the 2H but Bama finished with 21-9 FD and 366-222 yd edges in the 38-10 win.

Washington St had a 455-336 yd edge vs Colorado and 28-20 FD edge. The Cougars were int’d at the CU28, SOD at the CU44 and trailed 13-10 at the half despite a 220-122 yd edge. CU led 20-17 when they got the apparent game clinching TD with 5:11 left, 27-17 but WSU got a TD 7pl later with 2:35 left with all 3 timeouts left, they kicked off deep and forced a punt with 2:03 left and got a 63 yd TD pass with 1:10 left for the lead. CU got a 24 yd pass but Richardson fumbled at the end at the WSU38.

Memphis could have easily beaten Middle Tenn. They led 17-0 early 2Q and it was 17-10 at the half. Memphis was SOD on 4&2 at the MT32 in the 2H but got a 23 yd TD pass with 1:33 left to tie it at 31. MT was backed up to their 6 after the KO. They ran for zero yds and Memphis called time-out with 1:22 left. MT got a 7 yd gain and MT called time-out with :48 left. MT got a 14 yd run to their 27 and opted to go for it and got 17 and 23 yd passes on the next 2pl. After a spike they got a 32 yd TD pass with :11 left for the win.

A key play in the FAU/Louisiana game happened late 1H. FAU had led 17-7 mid2Q but up 17-14, opted to go for it on 4&1 at their own 39 and were SOD. UL took a gift 38/5pl drive for a TD to take the lead, 21-17. UL went up 34-20 on a 46 yd FG with 7:43 left but FAU got a TD with 5:41 left then went 40/5pl for a TD with 1:48 left to tie it. UL went 65/10pl and got a 26 yd FG on the final play to pull out the 37-34 win.

Southern Miss was even more dominant than the 48-24 score but surprisingly they trailed 24-20 mid3Q. SM had a 654-229 yd edge and 33-15 FD edge for the game. Rice scored when SM fmbl’d the KO and Rice ret’d it 17 yds for a TD, 14-13. SM got a 75 yd FR TD in the 2Q and led 20-17 at the half. SM went on a 76/10pl drive and on 4&1 at the Rice4 they fumbled and Rice ret’d it 96 yds for a TD and stunningly led 24-20. SM was int’d on their next drive but scored TD’s on drives of 44, 75 and 63 yds on their next 3 poss to lead 41-24. Rice had a 4&gl at the 6 but they were SOD with 10:20 left and 2 poss later SM went 94/7pl and got a 23 yd TD pass with 3:13 left.

Texas A&M had another dominating 1H leading 35-17 with a 404-271 yd edge. Once again they had another poor 2H and Arkansas would rally for the win. The Hogs got a TD with 1:41 left to take their first lead of the game, 42-38 and A&M on 4&2 from their own 39 was SOD. Tyler Wilson threw for a school record 510 yards. A&M Christine Michael ran for 230 yards and 3 TD’s and A&M which is joining the SEC fell to 0-6 vs the SEC since 1996. WR Wright broke the school receiving record at 204 yards by half and finished with 281 on 13 catches. A&M had 628-581 yd and 30-28 FD edges.

Jordan Jefferson’s susp was lifted and he was called on for a 4th & gl at the 1 QB sneak and a TD early vs Kentucky. Morgan Newton missed on his first 9 throws hitting 2-11 passes in the 1H and was sacked 3 times. LSU had a 201-45 yard edge at the half and took a 35-0 lead with 10:39 left in the game. Kentucky would go 70/12pl getting a TD with 4:22 left and did end the game at the LSU28. The game started at 11:21 am and everyone knows LSU is not as ferocious during the day at Tiger Stadium.

Matt Barkley passed for a school record 468 yards and 4 TD’s. Arizona compiled a 37-26 FD edge and USC had a 582-554 yd edge but this one appeared put away for USC as they led 34-12 in the 3Q. It was 48-34 when USC went for it on 4&1 at the UA37 with 1:51 left. UA stopped them and went 53/5pl with 1:00 left on a 4 yd TD pass.

Boise St was playing with revenge vs Nevada after the Pack had ended their perfect season the previous year. BSU’s D was the key factor as BSU finished with a 329-182 yd edge and a 22-12 FD edge. Cody Fajardo had been splitting snaps with Tyler Lantrip was recovering from a shoulder injury and DNP. BSU only led 20-0 at half but had a 187-54 yd edge. Nevada did not cross their own 38 yd line until 8:23 was left in the 3Q and it happened on a 31 yd KR and NV at that point led 30-0. NV got a 21 yd FG with 14:48 left to make it 30-3. BSU was SOD on 4&2 at the NV29 with 1:39 left and NV got a FD then a 53 yd TD pass with :46 left to only lose by 20.

NC State had a banged up D missing 6 starters and Georgia Tech surprisingly only had a 413-387 yd edge but did score on their first 3 poss to lead 21-0 but it was just 21-14 late 3Q. GT got a TD with 12:29 left then got a 34 yd IR TD and NCSt was SOD on 4&1 at its own 38. GT got a 38 yd TD pass on the next play to make it 42-14. Trailing 45-21 NCSt got a TD with :34 left on a 13 yd pass. GT backup QB Days fmbl’d and NCSt ret’d it 33 yards for a TD with :20 left.

Air Force led 21-3 at the half and it was just 21-10 after 3Q’s. Each team got an early 4Q TD. With just 2:04 left in the game Navy completed a 73/16pl drive incl a key 4th down conversion and got a 37 yd FG. They then rec’d an onside kick and then went 59/7pl for a TD & the 2 pt conv forced OT with :19 left. In OT QB Proctor scored a TD and said something to an AF player and was called for a 15 yd pen which moved them back on the xp and the xp was blocked and AF after their TD kicked a regular xp and won it.

Eastern Michigan had some poor punts of 19, 22 and 20 yards, which kept Akron in the game. EM went 50/9 and 84/9pl for TD’s, 14-0 but only led 17-10 at the half. EM rushed for 328 yards on 56 carries only passing 9 times. EM led 31-16 when UA converted on 4&2 and then got a TD 2pl later with 3:18 left, 31-23. EM only got off a 20 yd punt and UA got to the EM30 down by a TD and 2 pt conv but on 4&14 fired incomplete with 1:01 left.

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 4

News and Notes Week 4 Part 1

Iowa used the hurry up offense to make a big comeback vs Pitt the previous week overcoming a 17 pt 4Q deficit. They stayed in the hurry up vs ULM. UI scored TD’s on their first 2 drives and ULM went on a 57/14pl drive in between but settled for a 43 yd FG. Later ULM was SOD at the UI20 on a 4&4 dropped pass with 4:10 left in the half trailing 21-3 and UI marched 80/8pl getting a TD with 2:07 left in the half. That gave them a 28-3 lead with a 294-134 yd edge. ULM scored TD’s on their opening two 3Q drives to make it 35-17 but UI scored a TD and a 32 yd FG on their next 2 drives to ice it.

Michigan St bounced back off the Notre Dame loss taking advantage of 4 CM turnovers. They led 7-0 after 1Q when CM was int’d on their next 3 poss. The 2nd of the int’s, MSU ret’d directly for a 37 yd TD and they converted on the other two into a TD and a FG to lead 24-0. At the half MSU was up 31-0 and did have a 256-47 yd edge. CM had beaten MSU 29-27 on a last second FG when they last met in 2009. This time MSU finished with a 481-112 yd edge and ended the game at the CM26 taking a knee in the 45-7 win.

Penn St lost LB Michael Mauti to a knee injury in the 1Q and FOR the year. CB D’Anton Lynn went off strapped to a backboard as trainers looked at his neck and upper back after a 3Q hit. Rob Bolden started the game but PSU led just 3-0 when McGloin replaced him with 10:46 left in the 2Q. McGloin led drives of 63/5pl for a TD, 64/6 to a 1st & gl at the 5 but Zordich fmbl’d into the EZ for a TB and PSU went 31/5pl (after int) for a TD to lead 17-0 at the half. They had a 222-119 yd edge. McGloin’s TD pass on his first series was PSU’s first TD pass all season. Bolden ret’d for 2 series incl a 71 yd TD pass (his first TD pass since Oct ‘10). PSU led 31-0 and 34-3. EM took over with 8:26 left and went 72/16pl and surprisingly on 4&gl from the 5 opted for a 22 yd FG.

Memphis suffered another demoralizing defeat with the stadium half empty for Homecoming. They were mauled by SMU 42-0. UM got into the RZ once which was late 1H when they got to the 10 yd line but their 4th down pass fell incomplete. Taylor Reed started and hit 17-32-153. SMU scored TD’s on their first 2 poss, fmbl’d at the UM37 then actually punted twice before going 47 (after 33 yd PR) and 44 yards for TD’s to lead 28-0. They also got to the 20 and were int’d in the EZ and had a 302-117 yd edge at the half. SMU did only lead 28-0 after fumbling at the UM5 in the 3Q but went 88/15pl and got a 3&14 TD pass with 7:51 left then after a fmbl went 13/3pl for another TD to lead 42-0 with 6:10 left.

Denard Robinson rushed for a season high 200 yds vs SDSt but did hit just 8-17-93 yds passing. SDSt actually had a 20-18 FD edge and UM only a 413-376 yd edge. SDSt had won their first 3 games for the first time since 1981 but were matched up vs their former HC who knew them inside and out. UM led 21-0 at the half. In the 1H, SDSt fumbled at the UM39, was SOD on 4&3 at the UM29, had a FD to the UM18 called back on a hold and ended up punting. UM was int’d on their first two 3Q poss and missed a 40 yd FG then fmbl’d at their own 38 setting up the Aztec’s only TD, 21-7 after 3Q’s. SDSt was SOD on 4&2 at the UM43 and UM went 57/4pl for a TD with 6:29 left. The Aztecs fumbled at the UM33 and on 4&10 from the UM13 had the pass dropped at the 1 at the end.

Bernard Pierce set a school record with 5 rushing TD’s as Temple, which gave Penn St a good fight the previous week, absolutely throttled Maryland leading 31-0 at the half and 38-0 before MD got a TD with 4:31 left to avoid a shutout. MD wore more questionable uniforms of yellow, black and red and QB O’Brien was sk’d for the first 3 times on the year. TU drove 74, 78, 7 (after punt blk), 93 and 66 yards for 4 TD’s and a FG on their five 1H drives while MD punted on their first 4 poss and were SOD at the TU10 on their last. MD got an 80/8pl drive for a TD with 4:31 left to avoid the shutout and TU even finished with a 1st & gl at the 2 taking a knee.

Mohamed Sanu set a Rutgers school record with 16 rec’s but for just 176 yards. Tyler Tettleton threw for 339 yards for Ohio while Rutgers only had a 410-404 yd edge they turned three 1H TO’s into TD’s for a 21-7 lead. Ohio fumbled at their own 29 setting up a 5 pl drive for a TD and OU drove 26 yds for a TD after an int. OU fmbl’d at the RU37 with 5:43 left in the half trailing 14-7 and after RU got 1 FD & punted, OU not only fumbled the punt, but RU fell on it in the EZ for a TD and a 21-7 lead with 2:30 left in the half. OU pulled within 28-20 and had the ball at their 46 but fmbl’d again setting up a RU FG and RU then went 80/13pl with a substitution infraction on 4&1 giving RU a FD at the OU11 and they got an 11 yd TD pass on the next play to put it away 38-20 with 5:00 left. OU went 88/12pl getting a TD with 1:39 left.

Teams off losses have been pummelling their FCS opponents and Boston College did just that to Massachusetts, even though they only finished with a 389-313 yd edge. Kellen Pagel is the UMass QB and he is ex-NFL QB Mike Pagel’s son. On his first pass on the first play of the game he was int’d and BC drove 47 yds for a TD. BC was up 17-0 when UM got a 100 yd KR TD to get within 17-7 but at the half BC had a 213-103 yd edge and led 24-7. BC got an 18 yd FR TD to go up 38-10 with 1:17 left in the 3Q and UM went 76/13pl. On 3&gl from the 1, Pagel was int’d and LB Pierre-Louis ret’d it 96 yds for a TD to make it 45-10 with 12:28 left. UMass gained 93 of their yards after that on their final 3 drives incl a 69/6pl garbage TD.

Ball St dominated as in the 1H they had a 333-101 yd edge. It was 7-0 when Army drove 48/12pl and missed a 32 yd FG. BS then went 80/6pl, 7/11pl, 17/6pl (after int) for TD’s and went 56/11pl settling for a 21 yd FG on the final play of the half to lead 31-0. It was 45-7 after 3Q’s and Army drove 80/10pl for a TD with 12:49 left and each team would get a TD in the final 3:00.

Toledo lost RB Adonis Thomas in the 1Q and was missing 4 starters on defense. UT appeared in control early leading 10-0 after 1Q but Syr took a 30-27 lead on a score and a missed xp which somehow was called good by the Big East officiating crew and was not overturned via replay with 2:22 left. UT’s opening drive was 75/22pl and they settled for a 20 yd FG and later UT was SOD at the Syr 31. The game was tied at 13 and 20 and UT got a TD with 10:54 left to take a 27-23 lead. Syr punted but then took over with 6:51 left and went 71/10pl for a TD and the lead. UT, after a PF face mask, had a 1st & gl at the 9 threatening for the win but settled for the tying FG and OT and was int’d in OT while SU got a FG. The BE issued a formal statement 2 hours after the game admitting the officials erred on the xp call.

Georgia dominated Mississippi more than the final as they had 25-8 FD and 475-183 yd edges. UGA was int’d at the Mississippi 41 but still led 17-0 when QB Rebs Mackey lined up at WR and threw a 38 yd TD pass on a reverse. With just 1:26 left in the half, UGA was up comfortably, 24-7 when UM ran a reverse on the PR and went 81 yds for a TD to make it 24-13. In the 3Q UGA missed a 48, 48 and 35 yd FG’s and Blair Walsh had 15 misses on 73 career FG’s and had 3 misses here. UM was SOD on 4&10 at their own 33 and Walsh finally hit a 43 yd FG with 4:16 left for the 27-13 final margin.

N Carolina appeared in control early with the opening drive going 63/8pl. RB Giovanni Bernard rushed for 155 yards incl 52 on the opening drive, 7-0. GT settled for 2 FG’s and missed 1 to make it 7-3 after 1Q. GT was up 10-7 when NC was int’d at the GT21. GT took over with 5:16 left in the half and got a TD with :11 left to make it 17-7. At the half GT did have a 271-93 yd edge. It was 28-21 when GT punted for the first time with 12:03 left. NC was int’d but got it back and Bernard’s 55 yd D run tied it with 7:22 left. GT went 61/4pl for a TD with 5:20 left, forced a punt with 3:07 left but punted with 1:35 left. NC got to their 41 but ran out of time.

The Irish had a 398-268 yd edge but only led at the half 7-6 because of a 79 yd Gray TD run. ND was int’d at the Pitt5 and missed a 39 yd FG on the 1H. They had a 258-143 yd edge. Pitt had its opening 3Q poss kept alive by roughing the P and they got a TD for a 12-7 lead. the next 4 poss were punts. They Irish took over with 11:28 left and went 85/11pl getting a TD and 2 pt conv with 6:48 left. Pitt got to the ND40 but on 4&25 fired incomplete with 2:24 left.

It was unusual to see that Miami and BG combined for 60 points yet BG only had a 310-308 yd edge. BG got an 18 yd TD drive after a fumble and UM got a 6 yd IR TD in the 1H. BG blk’d a punt and rec’d at the 1 setting up a TD and led 20-17 at the half. BG opened it to 20-17 when UM got a TD with 11:03 left but BG fumbled the KO at their own 3 and faced a 2nd & 9 when Anthon Samuel set a school record with a 96 yd TD run. The TD was also a stadium record to put it away. UM’s last shot ended on an int in the EZ with 2:20 left.

Florida St was off their big game vs Oklahoma which they had looked forward to for 9 months and also was starting backup QB Clint Trickett who looked pretty good. Trickett hit 24-38-336 yds in his first start. He led FSU 67/8pl for a 32 yd FG. Clemson went 80/7pl for a TD then roughing the P gave them a FD and they went 77/8pl for a TD. They were up 21-10 at the half with a 227-168 yd edge. FSU got a 25 yd IR TD on the 4th play of the 3Q to get back in it 21-17. After a punt CU went 70/12pl for a TD, 28-17 but FSU went 80/7pl to make it 28-23. CU got a 62 yd TD pass, 35-23 (13:06 4Q). FSU went 78/4pl for a TD, 35-30 (7:21). CU was SOD on 4&1 at the FSU24 (2:49). FSU got to the 37 but on 4&9 Trickett was sk’d with 1:37 left.

Akron finally got a win but it was vs lowly VMI who came in 0-3 in FCS play. VMI is shifting from the option to a pass offense and just in the 2nd year of that transition. UA rolled up 29-12 FD and 534-239 yd edges. UA did lead just 13-7 when running into the K gave them a FD and they continued on a for a FG to make it 16-7. At the half AU had a 359-105 yd edge.

Air Force piled up a school record 792 yards. The Falcons were coming off a bye week and a home loss so despite having Navy on deck, they put up some big points but they did give up a TD with :51 left and only won by 39 which was less than what they were favored by. AF had 37-17 FD and 595-188 yd edges. AF led 35-10 at the half and scored TD’s on their first 4 poss of the 4Q before punting with 5:57 left.

Wisconsin kept Russell Wilson in the game 3 drives into the 4Q when he got a TD to make it 52-3 with 12:28 left. South Dakota got a 44 yd IR to the UW22 with 7:37 left and their 4 yd TD pass with 6:44 left made it 52-10 but UW33 got 2 FD’s then on 2&12 Lewis ripped off a 41 yd TD run with 2:06 left. UW did have 612-173 yd and 25-9 FD edges.

Oregon St fell to 0-3 for the first time since 1996. OSU did have an 85 yd PR TD just before the half to get back in this one. It was the 2nd longest PR in school history. OSU finished with 375-357 yd and 22-17 FD edges. They went on an 82/17pl drive to open but settled for a 25 yd FG. UCLA went 80/3pl for a TD then after an int went 46/7pl for a TD and after a fumble went 4 yards for a TD and led 21-3 with :32 left in the half UCLA punted and OSU got an 85 yd PR TD. At the half UCLA had a 209-138 yd edge and led 21-10. OSU pulled back to 21-19 but missed the 2 pt conv on the final play of the 3Q. UCLA got a TD with 6:15 left but the xp was blk’d leaving OSU within 8. They were SOD on 4&8 at the LA22 with 2:12 left and UCLA got 2 FD’s and ran out the clock..

Tulane did not force Duke to punt until the 4Q and Duke finished with a 484-318 yd edge despite the fact TU drove 77/8 and 96/11 for TD’s in the final 10:37 while Duke gained just 29 yards in that span after leading 48-13.

Trent Richardson rushed for 126 yds and added 85 yds in rec plus had 24 KR yds. Alabama had a 210-89 yd edge at the half but only led 17-7 but Maze got an 83 yd PR TD, Richardson took a screen pass 61 yds for a TD and Bama rolled to a 38-14 lead after 3Q’s before playing conservative in the 4Q.

Braxton Miller got his first start for Ohio St and the passing numbers were not overwhelming as he hit just 5-13-83 yds after the Buckeyes not completing a pass to a WR the previous week, Miller hit a 32 yd pass to WR Devon Smith in the 2Q. Miller rushed for 83 yds on 17 carries. While it shows OSU only had a 336-314 yd edge and 20 point win, OSU did lead 37-10 when Colorado took over with 8:35 left and put together a 91/13pl drive incl 3&10 and 4&10 conversions and they got a garbage TD with 3:31 left. After recovering the onside kick OSU ended the game on the CU1.

Houston rolled to a 56-0 rout of Georgia St. They had a 732-241 yd edge and at the end were at the GSU1 taking a knee in the final 2 plays.

The UAB/E Carolina game was very interesting. EC turned it over 7 times but still managed a 28-23 win. UAB also had 3 TO’s incl an int in the EZ in the 2Q. EC led 14-10 at the half when they gave up a 35 yd IR TD. The Pirates still appeared poised to take control as they drove 62/6pl and 80/6pl for TD’s, 28-17. UAB QB Ellis was ? coming in and was taken off on a backboard and backup QB Perry fumbled. EC took over at the 50 and drove 50/7pl but going in for the TD with 13:29 left, Dobson fumbled into the EZ for a TB. Perry led UAB 80/6pl incl a 51 yd pass and the TD made it 28-23 with 10:58 left. EC35 was driving for the clinching score and was at the UAB15 on 2&5 when they were int’d at the 9. UAB9 took over with 7:02 left at their own 9 and went 73/17pl. Looking for the game winning TD on 4&8 from the 18, they fired incomplete in the EZ with 2:22 left and EC got 1 FD and ran out the clock. EC did have a 542-400 yd edge.

Louisiana Tech had a costly int in the 4Q or would have upset Miss St. MSU had 10 pts via spec tms as they got their first PR TD since 2007. It was a 72 yd punt that Bumphis ret’d 82 yds for a TD in the 1Q. LT led 10-7 but MSU rallied to lead 17-10 at the half. MSU took a gamble in the 3Q going for it on 4&1 at their own 34 and was SOD and LT got a TD 6pl later to tie it but then LT fumbled a punt on their own 25 setting up a MSU FG and trailed 20-17. With 8:42 left, LT got a 28 yd FG to tie. They took over at their 20 with 6:50 left and got 3 FD’s to the MSU20. On 3&5 from the 20, Isham floated a pass in the corner of the EZ which was int’d for a TB and the game went to OT. Isham tossed another int on the 2nd play of OT and MSU on 2&2 got a 17 yd TD pass to Perkins to pull out the win. LT had a 359-340 yd edge.

Western Michigan settled for too many FG’s in the 1H. WM in the 1H had a 227-200 yd edge but missed a 44 yd FG, went on an 18pl drive and missed a wide open rec on 1st & gl settling for a 26 yd FG, missed another FG, this one from 49 yds and went on a 13pl drive and settled for a 24 yd FG. At the half they only led 13-10. Illinois battled back to lead 20-13 but WM tied it with 13:58 left. UI got a 21 yd FG with 8:14 left for the lead. WM punted with 5:59 left and IU did a good job getting 3 FD’s before being SOD with 1:05 left and WM having no time-outs left. WM got 2 FD’s but too many of the plays were in bounds and they ran out of time at the IU41.

Troy won its 6th straight vs Middle Tenn despite being outgained 582-479 and not taking their first lead until 1:11 was left in the 3Q. They named the field at Veterans Memorial Stadium Larry Blakeney Field. MTSU led 28-24 when they settled for a 42 yd FG and missed it. Troy got a 75 yd TD pass on the next play and they forced 2 MTSU punts while scoring a TD and Troy led 38-28. MTSU got a TD with 3:18 left then forced a punt and got it back with 2:53 left and got to the Troy 35 but on 4&5 were int’d at the 17.

Kansas St QB Colin Klein was very impressive hitting 12-18-133 while rushing for 93 incl a crucial 26 yd run on 2&29 pinned at their own 3. K-St led 14-3 at the half and missed a 46 yd FG to open the 3Q. They still led 21-10 but UM got some big plays like a 59 yd TD run by Miller and a 34 yd TD pass to Benjamin and took a 24-21 lead. KSU answered with an 80/8pl drive for a TD. Each team punted but KSU only got off a 20 yd punt with 3:52 left and UM was able to get down to the 2 yd line. On 4&gl from the 1 Harris took off to the left and was clearly down and it didn’t even look like the ball ever crossed the goal line but he was awarded a TD. Replays marked the ball at the 1.5 yd line and KSU held on for the upset.

Southern Miss and Virginia appeared on their way to a shootout as it was 21-13 in the 2Q. UVA was int’d at the 10 and SM missed a 41 yd FG. At half SM had a 243-183 yd edge and 21-13 lead with the key play being a 4&15 faked punt from their own 8 when the P doing his rugby style punt saw open field and took off running. They went 87/14pl for the TD. UVA went on a 17pl drive to open the 3Q and settled for a 21 yd FG. SM led 27-16 when UVA got a TD with 5:18 left and the 2pt conversion pulled them within 3. SM converted on 3&9 and then on 3&23 got a 41 yd pass to the 18. They settled for a 27 yd FG with 1:31 left and only led by 6. UVA got to the 50 but on 4&4 dropped a pass.

Bud Foster has a bit of work to do on his 2:00 defense but Virg Tech was pretty dominant vs Marshall. They led 23-3 settling for a 41 yd FG with 1:10 left in the half but after holding Marshall to just 83 yds, gave up 71/3pl in the final 1:00 incl a 29 yd TD pass and only led 23-10 at the half. VT missed a 37 yd FG in the 3Q and then had a FD at the MU33 and got an 18 yd run by Wilson down to the 15 but he fumbled with 5:28 left. Once again the last minute defense allowed 52/9pl before MU was SOD at the VT29 with 1:58 left. MU had 123 yds in the 2 last minute drives and 128 the rest of the game as VT rolled up 444.

Buffalo played Connecticut much closer than the 17-3 final. In fact, it was basically an even game. BU had a 319-293 yd edge and 16-13 FD edge. CT had an early 49 yd FG blk’d but BU had 3 trips inside the 20 result in 3 pts. They missed a 30 yd FG early 2Q. BU went 57/13pl and had a 1st & gl at the 7 but settled for a 28 yd FG and led 3-0. CT got a 47 yd FG with just 2:34 left in the half to tie it and appeared content to go to the locker room that way. They got it back on their 17 with 1:13 left. They got a 15 yd screen pass then a 64 yd pass to Williams got them to the 4 where they got a TD 2pl later and shockingly led 10-3. BU went on an 80/11pl drive but on 3&gl from the 5 was int’d at the 2. The next 5 poss were punts. CT had a 3&7 at midfield when they got a 49 yd TD pass with 4:52 left to seal the game. BU punted with 3:26 left and was SOD on 4&9 at its own 33 with 1:46 left.

New Mexico St was without their starting QB Manley but his bkp proved pretty capable as Matt Christian hit 17-28-238. He also rushed 13-58. San Jose St RB Rutley rushed for 209 yards, the first Spartans to top 200 yds rushing 7 year and SJS ended a 13 game losing streak. After a fumble, NMSt drove 45/5pl for a TD with 4:12 left in the half and actually led 10-7 but SJS tied it at the half. SJS got a 64 yd TD pass to open the 3Q then onside kicked and NMS rec’d and went 53 yds for a TD to tie. NMS got a 78 yd TD run to lead 24-17 with 8:35 left in the 3Q but the Spartans went 75/14pl for a TD (3:19 3Q), 53/6pl for a TD (31-24 13:59), 55/5pl for a 31 yd FG, 34-24 and were SOD at the NMSt33 with 1:47 left. The Aggies gained 47 garbage yds at the end getting to the Spartan 20 down by 10.

For the 3rd straight year Oklahoma St came back from a half time deficit. Brandon Weeden threw for a school record 438 yds and 2 scores. A&M appeared in complete control scoring on 4 of their 1H poss while OSU had 3 punts. OSU scored TD’s on their first 3 poss of the 3Q while A&M punted, fumbled at the OSU44, was int’d at their own 23, int’d at their own 34, and punted on their first 5 poss. They trailed 30-20 when they drove 80/15pl for a TD with 2:20 left. They forced a punt with 1:47 left but turned it over again on an int on 2nd & 9. On the last play of the game OSU with :05 left opted for Blackmon to race 39 yds into the EZ for a safety which skewed the rushing stats a little as they lost 55 yds on the final 4pl and made the final 30-29.

Nevada unfortunately could not hold on to a 28-13 lead mid3Q. Texas Tech on 4&4 with :36 left got a 4 yd TD pass to pull out the 1 pt win. Doege looked stymie as he took the snap on the final score, back peddled to the 17, scanned for an open rec, and found Eric Ward for the TD. Nev alternated QB’s Cody Fajardo and Tyler Lantrip but Fajardo’s 139 yds rushing were a spark. TT was without top WR Moore for most of the game (inj’d ankle 1Q). The key to the game was that Nev went on an 83/12pl, 63/11pl and 78/12pl drives that resulted in 3 FG’s of 31, 25 and 21 yds. Not only did they settle for those FG’s, the missed the 13 yarder and lost by a point.

All week Tulsa QB GJ Kinne was doubtful to play and while he did play, he hit just 14-24-123 yards. TU did not cross midfield in the first 38:30 of the game. Boise had a 307-90 yd edge at the half leading 27-0 and scored a TD to open the 3Q to lead 34-0. Kellen Moore’s day was done and the backups played the rest where TU got 3 TD’s after that including a 59/8pl drive for a garbage TD with 3:19 left making the game appear closer than it really was.

Baylor punted on their first poss vs Rice but scored TD’s on the next 5 poss. They did have 2 short fields with a 28 yd PR setting up a 43 yd TD and a fumbled KR setting up a 21 yd TD drive. It was 35-17 when RJ3 fumbled at the end of a 26 yd run at the Rice 4 with :36 left. Baylor had a 381-211 yd edge at the half and 673-416 yd edge for the game.

Tim Flanders scored his 5th TD of the game in OT as Sam Houston St got past New Mexico. SHSt was favored in the game winning by 3. NM actually got a 98 yd KR TD to open but SHSt finished with a 547-528 yd edge. It was tied at 21 at half. Flanders’ 53 yd TD run with 7:33 left put SHSt up 42-28 but NM got a pair of TD’s (5:56, :27) to force OT. NM settled for a FG and SHSt got the Flanders’ 4 yd TD run in what would be NM HC Locksley’s final game for the Lobos.

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 3

News and Notes Week 3 Part 1

It was a strange game between Iowa St and Connecticut on Friday night. After the first 9 poss of the game, Conn had a 131-(-7) yd edge. ISU QB Steele Jantz’s first 4 passes resulted in 0-4 with 3 int, but the problem with UC was that they didn’t take advantage of the opportunities. They were int’d at the ISU40 and then K Teggart who had hit 13 straight FG’s, missed a 41 yarder and with 12:58 left in the 2Q, missed a 43 yarder. ISU got a key play when on 3&19, a jump ball, which was caught by Reynolds for a 48 yd pass and ISU would continue on for a TD. QB Jantz was inj’d at the end of the half and looked doubtful to return but played the entire 2H. UC led 10-7 at the half, but ISU ran a double reverse pass for a 40 yd TD to make it 14-10. UC went ahead with 12:51 left, 20-17 but ISU answered with a TD with 9:08 left. UC punted with 6:57 left, was SOD on 4&2 at the ISU38 with 1:48 left then from the ISU44 their Hail Mary was knocked down on the last play.

Boise St’s Kellen Moore must be considered one of the Heisman frontrunners. He had an impressive Friday night outing at Toledo, the same team that took Ohio St to the wire the previous week. Moore hit 32-42-455 yds as BSU rolled up 32 FD’s in their 40-15 win. Both teams blew opportunities late with UT fmbl’g at the BSU9, BSU going on a 62/12pl drive and being SOD at the UT29 but BSU passed yet another test and will be a double digit favorite in the rest of their games.

Purdue was coming off a loss to Rice where Rice blocked a FG at the end of the game and PU took out their frustration on SE Missouri. PU actually fmbl’d on its 2nd poss and settled for a 19 yard FG on its 3rd but their next 5 poss all went for TD’s and Robert Marve saw his first action since coming back from an ACL and QB’d 2 series with the team scoring on both poss as he hit 7-8-91. PU had a 38-0 lead at the half with a 396-57 yd edge. In the 2H PU only had 3 series but they were 68/8, 83/11 and 80/8pl all with TerBush back at QB all resulting in TD’s in the 59-0 win.

Auburn had its 17 game win streak snapped and they also had a 14 game win streak in the series vs Clemson snapped. AU actually led 21-7 with 8:54 left 2Q but CU scored 2 TD’s incl one with 1:11 left to tie it at 21. CU scored a TD on a 65 yd pass on their first drive of the 3Q and never trailed again. At the end of the game, CU got a 38 yd FG with 11:48 left to lead 38-24. It appeared AU was ready for another one of its patented comebacks and got to the CU8 but they were int’d at the 5 with 9:34 left and CU went on an amazing 73/18pl drive running out the clock and taking a knee at the AU18.

Georgia Tech was playing with revenge for the previous year’s loss to Kansas in which they came in ranked and finished with a losing season. Their game was competitive at the half as GT only led 24-17 with a 337-246 yd edge but it turned into a record-breaking day for GT. They opened the game with a school record 95 yd TD run by Orwin Smith to make it 7-0. They opened the 3Q on the first play with a 63 yd TD run by Peeples and would score TD’s on their first 6 poss of the 2H to blow it open, 66-17 with 5:13 left before Kansas moved 63 yds for a TD. GT set a school record for rushing yards with 604 (previous high 558 vs VMI in 1975) and total yards with 768 (previous high 706 vs The Citadel, 1948).

Penn St had 308-197 yd and 18-13 FD edges vs Temple but missed a 45 yd FG, had a 49 yd FG blk’d and then had a 36 yd FG bounce off the goal post. PSU led 14-10 and TU did get the ball down the field with a pers foul to the PSU34 and on 4&10 was sacked and fmbl’d and PSU just fell on it at the 41 with 1:01 left and ran out the clock.

Pitt appeared to have this game locked up leading 27-10 with 12:00 left but Iowa made a miracle comeback. Pitt actually led by as much as 24-3 with 3:11 left in the 3Q. UI finished with a 475-422 yd edge. UI would go 73/7pl, 64/7pl (after Pitt was SOD on 4&3 at UI36) and 64/7pl for the last for a TD with 2:51 left to take the lead and Pitt’s final poss ended on an int at the UI43.

Bowling Green did finish with 28-18 FD and 514-396 yd edges, but gained 212 yards on their final 3 poss when they trailed 28-14. BG had a 6-1 TO deficit. Trailing 28-14 BG was int’d at the WY47 but WY was SOD at the BG36. BG was SOD at the WY8 with 8:11 left. BG went 67/8pl scoring a TD with 4:16 left and WY punted with 1:18 left and BG had no time-outs. They went 89/10pl getting a 10 yd TD pass with :03 left but WY blk’d the xp and held on for the upset.

W Michigan had lost 5 straight to C Michigan and HC Cubit said it was like an elephant in the room, they needed to beat CM. They simply dominated. They led 24-0 at the half and opened it up to 41-7 in the 4Q. CM gained 173 yds on their final 3 poss making it a misleading final statistically as WM gained just 16 yards in that span. Those 3 drives incl a TD when trailing 41-7 in the 44-14 rout.

ULM played even better than the final score vs TCU as they led 17-14 mid-2Q. TCU got a TD with 5:16 left 1H to lead 21-17 and ULM missed a 43 yd FG on the final play of the half. TCU used 2 key plays at the start of the 3Q to break it open. They got a 94 yd KR TD to open the 3Q then after a fmbl, drove 28 yds for a TD and led 35-17. TCU’s final score came when ULM was SOD on 4&12 at the 50 with 3:40 left. TCU added a 28 yd FG with :28 left. TCU only had a 23-19 FD edge.

Duke vs Boston College was an interesting game. BC led 19-7 with a TD with 1:21 left in the half but Duke went 63/4pl getting a 21 yd TD pass with :30 left to get back in it, 19-14. The 2H was dominated by Duke. Duke went 73/10pl but was int’d at the BC6. Duke went 46/9pl but missed a 33 yd FG, they went 70/14pl for a TD and missed the 2 pt conv then went 51/10pl and they were SOD on 4&5 at the BC30 with 4:15 left, up by 1. BC had earlier missed an xp and took over at their 21 with 2:24 left. They had a FD at the Duke14. On 3&1 they ran into the line for no gain and lined up for the chipshot game winning FG from 23 yards out and it bounced off the upright with :43 left and Duke pulled the upset.

It was a story of 2H’s in the W Virginia/Maryland game. After 1 series in the 3Q where WV opened going 78/7pl for a TD, WV had a 380-176 yd edge and led 34-10. MD then went 71/11pl but was SOD on 4&gl at the 6, went 61/5pl for a TD, 44/7pl (after int) for a TD with 1:20 left in the 3Q then 66/12pl for a TD to pull within 34-31. WV had 2 FD’s in that span. WV then went 65/14pl settling for a 21 yd FG with 4:42 left in the game to go up by 6. MD got to the WV35 but on 3&8 were int’d at the 13 and WV held on. WV had a 480-477 yd edge in the shootout with both teams using no huddle offenses.

Missouri St played a decent game vs Oregon. In fact at the half MSU had an amazing 23:28 to 6:32 TOP edge. UO had 4 scoring drives total 267 yards but ate up just 2:52 on the clock. MSU was SOD at the 7 at the end of a 9pl drive and only trailed 353-217 in yards at the half but the Ducks scored TD’s on their first 3 poss of the 3Q to break it open to 56-7.

FIU ret’d a fmbl 51 yds for a TD and won despite losing TY Hilton to a hamstring injury in the 1Q. UCF led 7-0 and was going in for another score in the final seconds of the half. They got to the FIU28 when on 2&16 with :16 left Godfrey was sk’d and fmbl’d and FIU ret’d it 51 yds for a TD. Early 3Q UCF fmbl’d a punt at its own 8 and FIU rec’d. Offsides set up FIU at the 4 and they got a TD run and totaled 4 yds offense for 2 TD’s and a 14-7 lead. They did go 85/9pl for a 27 yd FG, 17-7. Late in the game UCF settled for a 31 yd FG with 1:52 left but FIU rec’d the onside kick and won despite being outgained 300-238.

Arkansas St had been avg 481 ypg but VT, after allowing a 51 yd pass on ASU’s first play which set up a TD 2pl later and put ASU up 7-0, allowed just 210 yards the rest of the game while VT finished with 427. Logan Thomas hit 21-33-292. VT missed a 40 yd FG and in the 2H was int’d and ret’d to the ASU42, int’d at the ASU4 and SOD at the ASU27 on their final 3 poss.

Tulane was actually a 13 pt underdog to UAB but TU dominated. They had 28-10 FD and a 540-193 yd edges. UAB even got a 92 yd KR TD to only be down 28-7 at half with TU having a 305-122 yd edge. TU got 39 and 55 yd IR TD’s the latter when they were safely up 42-10 and TU even ended the game taking over with 7:40 left driving 73/8pl and were at the UAB8 at the end.

North Carolina had not won an ACC opener since winning at Wake Forest in 2000 and Virginia had a 468-401 yd edge. UVA actually had a 228-173 yd edge in the 1H but trailed 14-3 as they missed a 45 yd FG, settled for a 38 yd FG, were SOD at the NC36 and fmbl’d at the NC37. The Tar Heels opened it to 28-10 and they fmbl’d at the UVA5 with 13:05 left. UVA got a TD with 5:09 left to pull within 11 and then got to the NC36 and were int’d at the 14 with 2:53 to go.

Dan Persa missed another game for Northwestern. Kain Colter hit 12-23-89 and Army dominated with 24-14 FD and 40:19 to 19:41 TOP edges. Army went on 18 and 10pl drives for a TD and a missed 47 yd FG. NW went 51/11pl to tie it with 5:23 left in the half but missed a 26 yd FG on the final play of the half. Army, up 14-7 went on a 14pl drive but missed a 25 yd FG and NW got a 62 yd TD pass with 6:03 left but Army went 75/9pl for a TD with 2:49 left and NW was SOD at the Army33 on their last drive.

San Jose St opted to sit Matt Faulkner and started Dasmen Stewart and Nevada was more impressive than the score would indicate with Stewart in the lineup. At the half NV had a 270-52 yd edge but only led 14-7 because they fmbl’d at their own 34 and SJS got a 2pl TD “drive” and at the end of the half NV was SOD on 4&gl at the 1 with :44 left. It was 17-7 when Faulkner came off the bench. His 4 drives ended on a fmbl at the NV38, a 10pl drive with a missed 37 yd FG, 72/9pl drive for a TD to pull SJS within 17-14 with 7:59 left and then a 69/13pl drive to the 15 where he was int’d in the EZ.

Alabama was even more dominant than the final as at the half they had a 282-25 yd edge but settled for 37 and 26 yd FG’s and missed a 36 yd FG and only led 20-0. Trent Richardson rushed for 167 yds on 11 carries and Eddie Lacy for 161 on 9 as Bama rolled up a 586-169 yd edge. NT did have 2 chances to avoid the shutout but had a 42 yd FG blk’d at the start of the 3Q and went for it on 4&gl from the 3 with 3:28 left and fired incomplete.

Indiana St was led by Washington transfer Ronnie Fouch who hit 14-24-227 yds and their RB Shakir Bell rushed for 221. Bobby Rainey tied a school record for WKU with his 8th straight 100 yd game but they came up short on 4th down numerous times. The first they were SOD on 4&1 at the ISU16 (3:33 1Q). Late in the half, trailing 14-3 they were at the ISU24 when they were not only int’d but ret’d 65 yds with :02 left and ISU got a 43 yd FG to lead 17-3. WKU fmbl’d on their first and third poss of the 3Q and ISU led 34-3. WKU was SOD at the ISU20 and 36 on two 4Q poss and their final drive had a 4&4 at midfield and gained 12 yards but fmbl’d at the end.

USC got a big win over Syracuse, at one point leading 38-10 in the 4Q. Up 38-17, USC took over at their 17 with 5:32 left and worked it down to a 1st & gl at the 5 where they ran out the clock. Matt Barkley hit 26-39-324 yds.

While Marshall turned it over six times vs Ohio, the Bobcats were pretty much dominant. The Bobcats settled for 20 and 21 yard FG’s in the 1H and led 34-7 and opened it up to 44-7 early in the 4Q. Marshall gained 92 of their yards on their final 2 drives as OU reeled off 559 yards.

Kansas St rolled to a 34-0 halftime lead vs Kent St. The Cats did have a 45 yd IR TD but also had drives of 95/6pl and 98/17pl. The closest the Flashes got to scoring was taking over at their 21 late 3Q and drove 76/19pl and had a 1st & gl at the 3 but were SOD after a pen at the 9 with 5:53 left.

Buffalo led 7-0 after 1Q but Ball St led 21-7 at the half. Buffalo battled back but did have an extra point blocked and also had a 2 pt conversion fail. Buffalo got a TD with 6:28 left to lead 25-21 when BSU went on a 75/18pl drive. The drive included improbable conversions on 4&13 and 4&7 and their TD with :22 left allowed BSU to escape with a 28-25 win.

Nebraska started 3 walk-ons on the O-line for the first time since 1998 due to injuries. NU scored at least 40 pts in each of the first 3 games for the first time since their 1995 National Title season. While they were not dominant, they still went from a 20-7 halftime lead to a 44-17 lead. They got a TD then UW fmbl’d the KO and they added another TD :09 later to go up 34-17 then added a 29 yd FG and an 86/9pl TD drive and with just 12:18 left were up by 27. UW got a pair of TD’s on a 32 yd drive (after 64 yd KR) and 53 yd drive but then NU rec’d the onside kick and got went up 51-31 with 4:50 left. UW got a 52/1pl TD pass with 4:27 left. NU rec’d the onside kick and got to the UW21 but was SOD. UW got 1 FD & was int’d on a deep pass at the NU23.

Even though Northern Illinois HC Dave Doeren had been an asst on the Wisc staff the previous 5 years, they were outgained by the Badgers 621-237 and outFD’d 34-11. They actually made a game of it in the 1H tying it at 7 with 1:59 left in the 1Q with UW missing a 50 yd FG. UW went 51, 97 and 77 yards on their next 3 drives for TD’s to lead 28-7 and NI missed a 42 yd FG with :02 left in the 1H. At the half UW only had a 298-178 yd edge but went 77 and 79 yd for TD’s to open the 3Q and didn’t punt until the last play of the 3Q up 42-7. UW was int’d at the 12 and then added a TD with 3:34 left in the 49-7 win.

Teddy Bridgewater had been unimpressive so far for Louisville at QB but was forced into the lineup when Will Stein was inj’d. Kentucky did take their first drive 58/7pl settling for a 20 yd FG then fmbl’d at the UL23. Stein hit a 38 yd TD pass to give UL a 7-3 lead. Bridgewater’s first series was a 49/6pl drive with his 25 yd TD pass putting UL up 14-3. UK got an 80/9pl TD drive to pull within 14-10 at the half. Bridgewater led a 69/12pl drive for a 20 yd FG to open the 3Q and later a 46/7pl drive for a 25 yd TD pass for a 24-10 lead with 11:15 left. UK went 77/17pl getting a TD with 4:56 left to pull within 7. After a K/C interference pen UK started at the UL48 with 2:27 left. They had a FD at the 22 but on 4&6 fired incomplete with :51 left.

Navy’s option almost got the upset of South Carolina. Navy had leads of 7-0, 14-7 and 21-17. SC took the lead with 12:45 left on a 79/16pl drive. Navy’s last drive converted on 4&15 but on 4&7 they were int’d at the SC45 with 13:33 left and SC got 1 FD & took a knee. Spurrier rode Marcus Lattimore 37 times for a career high 246 yards.

The Irish were outgained for the first time all season as Mich St had a 358-275 yd edge but they won 31-13. In reality ND was in control throughout most of the game leading 21-10 at the half and opened it up to 28-10 in the 3Q. MSU’s first 3 3Q poss resulted in 3 punts. The Spartans would get 142 yds in the 4Q. ND did get 2 big plays with an 89 yd KR TD and then with ND leading 28-13, MSU had a 1st & gl at the 3 but was int’d and ret’d 82 yds to the 12 setting up a ND 33 yd FG with 3:11 left. MSU gained 35 yds in the final 3:11.

Chris Rainey had a huge game for Florida with 233 total yards including an 82 yd TD rec and also blocked a punt. Surprisingly Tenn had a 23-17 FD edge and UF only had a 347-279 yd edge but the Gators did lead this one 30-7. UT missed a 37 yd FG on the first poss then had a punt blk’d on the 2nd setting up a UF FG. UF led 16-7 at the half but only with a 167-134 yd edge. UT was int’d on the first play of the 3Q and UF converted on 4&1 for a TD capping a 42 yd drive then UF got an 83 yd TD pass by Rainey to lead 30-7. UT settled for a 20 yd FG to pull within 30-16 with 13:13 left and made it 33-23 with a TD with 4:46 left but their final drive ended on an int at the UF17.

Colorado St opened with an 80/9pl drive for a TD and led 7-0. It was 7-0 when Colorado took over with 7:55 left 1H and went 75/9pl for a TD. CU took over with 2:16 left in the half and converted on 3&18 with a crucial run then on 3&10, got a 24 yd TD pass with :12 left in the half to make it 14-7. The game was 21-14 when CU took over with 11:25 left and they went 85/16pl and got a 2 yd Hansen TD run with 1:15 left. CSU was SOD on 4&4 from the CU42 when they were sacked for a 9 yd loss.

MISLEADING FINALS

Washington St led 17-14 at the half with a 260-221 yd edge. WSU appeared in complete control of the game as they got a 76 yd TD pass in the 3Q to lead 24-14 and then forced the Aztecs to go 3 & out. The game turned on a roughing the P penalty, which gave the Aztecs a FD and 3pl later SDSt got a TD to pull within 24-21. SDSt didn’t take the lead until 10:31 was left on a TD to go up 28-24 and then WSU was at the Aztec25 when Lobbestael had the ball slip out of his hands on a sack which SDSt rec’d at the 36. After a WSU offsides, Hillman ran 59 yds for a TD and stunningly it was 35-24. WSU was int’d at the SDSt13 and with 3:59 left was int’d and ret’d all the way to their 20. On 3&11 the Aztecs got a 21 yd TD pass and it looked like an easy win but that was misleading.

Turnovers were clearly the key in the BYU/Utah game. On the 3rd play of the game, a bad snap went over Cougar QB Heaps’ head and he tried to pick it up and throw it incomplete but the ball slipped out of his hands and Utah fell on it for a TD. BYU fmbl’d on their next drive at midfield. BYU’s next drive went 74/8pl. They had a 1st & gl at the 6 but Di Luigi fmbl’d at the 3. BYU went 37/6pl and settled for a 45 yd FG and at this point had a 130-48 yd edge but trailed 7-3. BYU went 66/4pl for a TD in the 2Q to lead 10-7. Utah would get a 30 yd TD pass with :32 left in the half to lead 14-10 but BYU had a 227-187 yd edge. The Cougars would have 7 TO’s in the game. Four times on 3&long Utah had a pass interference give them a FD and that happened at the start of the 3Q. Three plays later Utah got a TD on a 59 yd pass, 21-10. After a 29 yd PR Utah had a 19 yd “drive” for a 39 yd FG to go up 24-10. BYU fmbl’d the KO on their own 3 setting up another Utah TD. Two poss later BYU was sk’d & fmbl’d on their 6. Utah got a 20 yd FG. BYU was SOD after a 60/12pl drive at the Utah 18 and a beleaguered BYU D gave up a 62 yd TD run. After a 20 yd IR set up Utah at the BYU35, White ripped off another 35 yd TD run and naturally Utah’s last score came with BYU at the Utah36 when they were sk’d & fmbl’d and it was ret’d 57 yds for a TD. Each team had 20 FD’s.

TAKING IT OUT ON FCS FOES

Georgia opened the season 0-2 but had a 470-112 yd edge vs Coastal Carolina and a 23-7 FD edge. UGA went to bkp QB Mason on the 2nd drive of the 3Q leading 38-0. The Bulldogs blasted CC 59-0. UGA’s streak of 64 straight home sellouts ended with 91,946 just 800 below capacity but there were thousands of empty seats. Their last non-sellout was in 2000 in Jim Donnan’s last HG.

The stats were impressive for USF as they had a 39-10 FD edge vs Florida A&M and a 745-181 yd edge. The game was actually 28-14 with FAMU getting one 7 yd drive after a TO but USF had a 537-112 yd edge at the half in the dominating win.

LETDOWN LOOKAHEAD

Michigan was in a clear letdown spot after their dramatic come-from-behind win vs Notre Dame and it showed. E Michigan’s first 5 poss were all in UM terr but they fmbl’d at the UM35, were SOD on 4&gl from the 1, settled for a 21 yd FG and were int’d at the 3. They punted on their 5th poss but from the UM46. UM did not unleash Denard Robinson until they trailed 3-0 and got the int at the 3. Robinson then got 55 and 17 yd runs on the next series to key a 97/7pl drive for a TD to make it 7-3. EM missed a 50 yd FG on the final play of the half and it was 14-3 with UM only having a 215-185 yd edge. In the 2H UM went 83/13pl, 75/11pl and 84/13pl for 2 TD’s and a 4&1, 21 yd FG to win 31-3.