College Football Week Three

Week three of the college football season is history and there were some notable games amongst the top 15 teams. The number of undefeated teams is slowly being diminished as the competition becomes tougher.

#1 USC traveled to #14 Nebraska and trounced the Cornhuskers 49-31. Sure, the differential at the end of the game was only 18 points, but Nebraska needed to score 21 in the fourth quarter to make it that close.

#2 LSU hosted Middle Tennessee State, a team that had put up 42 points against Louisville last week. But that was last week. The LSU Tigers devoured Mid Tenn St. 44-0.

#3 Oklahoma played host to Utah State. They were impressive if not gracious hosts. The Sooners rolled for 617 total yards of which 343 were gained on the ground. Utah State managed just 153 yards total. As you might suspect, the Sooners remain undefeated with a 54-3 victory.

#4 West Virginia traveled to Maryland on Thursday night. Having the stage all to themselves, they were able to showcase running back Steve Slayton. Slaton gained 137 yards and scored 3 TDs. His total of 41 TDs for his career is just one shy of the school record. Freshman Noel Devine only carried the ball five times but gained 136 yards for the Mountaineers who topped the Terps 31-14.

#5 Florida had #22 Tennessee as guests (or was it dinner) at the Swamp. When it was over, the Tim Tebow show had racked up 59 points versus Tennessee’s 20.

#6 Texas traveled to Central Florida where they helped open UCF’s new stadium. They almost provided a housewarming gift. Lucky for the Longhorns they brought Brandon Foster, who returned an interception 33 yards for a TD in the first quarter and then covered the attempted onsides kick in the last minute to seal the victory. Having place kicker Ryan Baily on their side didn’t hurt either. He kicked 5 field goals in the 35-32 squeeker.

#7 Wisconsin had The Citadel for company. The Badgers proved victorious 45-31.

#8 California downed Louisiana Tech 42-12.
#9 Louisville played intrastate Kentucky. The Wildcats obtained a victory over the Cardinals when the clock ran out. The game was back and forth. Kentucky sprinted to a 13-0 lead then gave it back by half time when Louisville jumped ahead 21-19. Despite Brian Brohm going 28 of 43 for 366 yards and 2 TDs, Kentucky proved stubborn. Behind Andre Woodson’s passing, 30of 44, 275 yards and 4 TDs, Kentucky pulled off the upset.

#10 Ohio State defeated Washington State 33-14.

#11 UCLA traveled to Utah but must have forgot to pack their A game. The Bruins had 5 turnovers and committed 10 penalties in the second half as they failed to score a TD for the first time in 4 years. The Utes won a laugher (for them) 44-6.

#12 Penn State hosted Buffalo. It wasn’t as close as the 45-24 final score would indicate. Joe Paterno was able to rest much of his first string in the second half—again.

#13 Rutgers played 1-AA Norfolk State on Homecoming in New Brunswick. RU led only 3-0 at the end of the first quarter but then all hell broke loose. The Scarlet Knights scored 42 points in the second quarter, a school record. It took just 11 plays and 91 seconds to amass 277 yards of offense in tallying the 42 points. Ray Rice carried the ball only 12 times for just 72 yards but had 3TDs. Mike Teel completed just 8 passes in 15 attempts but had 269 yards to Tiquan Underwood (4 catches for 148 yards) and Kenny Britt (4 catches, 121 yards). They sat out the second half when backup QB Jabu Lovelace ran for two 1 yard TDs. Oh, and the Scarlet Knights’ defense shutout Norfolk State. Final score: RU 59 Norfolk State 0.

#14 Nebraska—See #1 USC above.

#15 Georgia Tech hosted #21/#19 Boston College. Unfortunately for GT, BC brought Matt Ryan with them. Ryan completed 30 of 44 passes for 435 yards. It was the third time in his career that Ryan had thrown for 400 or more yards and the second time this season. BC had a 21-0 lead in the fourth quarter before Georgia Tech got on the board.

#16 Arkansas traveled to Alabama. ‘Bama jumped out to a 21-0 lead but gave it all back. With a 31-10 lead late in the third quarter, Arkansas scored 21 points of their own in the fourth quarter to forge ahead. The Razorbacks were up 38-31 when the Tide surged in the closing minutes. A TD and field goal with 8 seconds left produced an Alabama victory 41-38.

#17/#23 South Carolina hosted intrastate rival South Carolina State and defeated them 38-3.

#18/#17 Virginia Tech was at home to Ohio and the Hokies came up with a 28-7 win.

#19/#21 Oregon downed Fresno State 52-21.

#20 Clemson defeated Furman 38-10.

#21/#19 Boston College (see #15 above) They won.

#22/#24 Tennessee (see #5 above) They lost—big.

#23/#25 Georgia rolled over Western Carolina.

#24/#22Hhawaii visited UNLV where the odds were in their favor. Hawaii won 49-14.

#25/#18 Texas A&M trounced Louisiana-Monroe 54-14

In the Big East:

West Virginia 31-14 over Maryland. WVU is now 3-0.

Rutgers rolled over Norfolk State 59-0. Rutgers is 3-0 for the season.

Cincinnati 47-10 over Miami of Ohio. Cincinnati improves to 3-0.

UConn 22-17 over Temple. UConn is at 3-0.

Louisville 34-40 losers to Kentucky. Louisville falls to 2-1.

Pittsburgh fell 13-17 to Michigan State. Pitt falls to 2-1.

Syracuse scored 20 but Illinois racked up 41. Syracuse remains winless at 0-3.

South Florida was idle.