College Football 2011, Week 10 results

Week 10 Results

Upsets. Several of them. Among the Top 10 we had #9 Nebraska falling 28-25 to unranked Northwestern. Then #13 Michigan lost to unranked Iowa, 24-16. Then #20 Arizona State lost to UCLA 29-28. And, finally, #24 West Virginia lost to Louisville 38-35

Although several Top 25 teams lost to higher ranked ranked teams, only one (Alabama) lost its undefeated status as a result—which leaves 5 teams without a loss.

(Polls are AP, Coaches’, the CBSSports120 and the BCS. NR = not ranked)

1/1/2/1 LSU (9-0) The Tigers edged the #2 Crimson Tide of Alabama (8-1) in overtime, 9-6, or three field goals to two. Alabama missed four field goals and was intercepted on the goal line during the course of the game. LSU netted just 239 yards in offense on 58 plays and the Tide had just 295 yards on 60 snaps.

2/2/3/2 Alabama (8-1) The Crimson Tide lost their undefeated season to #1 LSU Tigers (9-0)—in overtime—9-6. See above for more.

3/4/1/3 Oklahoma State (9-0) The Cowboys remain undefeated as they outlasted the #17 Kansas State Wildcats (7-2) in a scoring frenzy, 52-45. Brandon Weeden tossed four TDs (five if you count the INT returned 60 yards by Allen Chapman). Weeden completed 36 of 46 for 502 yards and those four TDs (and two intercveptions). Collin Klein completed 22 of 36 for 231 yards, a TD and one INT. Klein also rused 29 times for 144 yards and three TDs for the Wildcats.

4/3/6/4 Stanford (9-0) The Cardinal preserved their unblemished record with a beat-down of the Oregon State Beavers (2-7) 38-13. Andrew Luck was 20 of 30 for 206 yards and three TDs for the Cardinal who extended their nation’s best winning streak to 17.

5/5/4/5 Boise State (8-0) The Broncos routed the UNLV Rebels (2-6) 48-21. Kellen Moore completed just 18 of 31 pass attempts for 219 yards but connected twice with Tyler Shoemaker and twice more with Matt Miller for TDs. He also hit Gabe Linehan for a fifth score. As a starter, Moore is now 42-2.

6/6/11/8 Oregon (8-1) The Ducks doubled up on the Washington State Huskies (3-6) 34-17. LaMichael James rushed 25 times for 156 yards and a TD for the Ducks. Darron Thomas completed 13 of 25 for 169 yards and a TD. Keith Price was 24 of 35 for 143 yards and two TDs for WSU but also tossed two INTs.

7/7/5/6 Oklahoma (8-1) The Sooners defeated the Texas A&M Aggies (5-4) 41-25. The Sooners lost their All-American receiver Ryan Broyles with a torn ACL. Ryan Tannehill completed 32 of 63 attempts for 379 and two TDs for the Aggies, but he also was intercepted three times. Blake Bell scored two TDs on the ground and Landry Jones tossed for two TDs for the Sooners.

8/8/16/7 Arkansas (8-1) The Razorbacks drubbed the #10 South Carolina Gamecocks (7-2) 44-28, despite missing a couple of early scoring opportunities. Dennis Johnson 98 yard kick return for Arkansas and the Gamecocks’ Devin Taylor had a 48 yard interception return. Tyler Wilson (20 of 37 for 299 yards) connected with Jarius Wright for two TDs for the Razorbacks in the first half. South Carolina hurt themselves with three lost fumbles and an interception.

9/9/13/10 Nebraska (7-2) The Cornhuskers fell to the Wildcats of Northwestern (4-5) 28-25. Dan Persa and the ‘Cats’ defense had the Wildcats up 7-3 at the half. Still, he was injured and on the sidelines when Northwestern’s second-string quarterback, Kain Colter, ran for two touchdowns and passed for another to match the Cornhuskers’ scoring in the second half.

10/10/7/9 South Carolina (7-2) The Gamecocks fell to the #8 Razorbacks of Arkansas (8-1) 44-28. See above for more.

11/12/10/11 Clemson (8-1) The Tigers were idle this week.

12/11/12/12 Virginia Tech (8-1) The Hokies were idle this week.

13/13/9/15 Michigan (7-2) The Wolverines were upset by the Hawkeyes of Iowa (6-3) 24-16. The Hawkeyes’ defense stood fast in the closing seconds stopping the Wolverines on four fourth-and-goal plays from the three yard line in the final 16 seconds. Marcus Coker ran 29 times for 132 yards and a pair of touchdowns and James Vandenberg completed 14 of 21 pass attempts for 171 yards and a TD.

14/14/8/13 Houston (9-0) The Cougars routed the UAB Blazers (1-8) 56-13. Case Keenum had another record setting performance as he passed Timmy Chang’s career passing yards record. Keenum finished the game with 17,212 yards passing. Keenum was 39 of 44 for 4-7 yards and two TDs. He also ran for two TDs. D.J. Hayden returned an interception 54 yards for a TD and second string QB Cotton Turner (4 of 7 for 81 yards) connected with Daniel Spencer for the final score of the night. Houston ran 83 plays for 654 net yards and amassed 34 first downs.

15/16/23/17 Michigan State (7-2) The Spartans game back in the fourth quarter to edge the Minnesota Golden Gophers (2-7) 31-24. MarQueis Gray tossed three TDs to Da’Jon McKnight for the Gophers. Kirk Cousins tossed for two TDs and Le’Veon Bell ran for two scores for the Spartans.

16/15/15/16 Penn State (8-1) The Nittany Lions were idle this weekend.

17/19/14/14 Kansas State (7-2) The Wildcats lost to the #3 Cowboys of Oklahoma State (9-0) in a slugfest 52-45. See above for more.

18/20/20/18 Georgia (7-2) The Bulldogs thumped the Aggies of New Mexico State (2-6) 63-16. The Bulldogs put 42 points up in the second quarter. Aaron Murray connected on five TD passes during those 15 minutes. On the day, he completed 18 of 23 attempted passes for 238 yards for Georgia. His replacement in the second half, Hutson Mason, was 8 of 10 for 131 yards and a TD.

19/17/NR/20 Wisconsin (7-2) The Badgers routed the Purdue Boilermakers (4-5) 62-17. Russell Wilson completed 15 of 20 attempts for 205 yards and two TDs (he also had 10 carries for 76 yards) while Montee Ball rushed 20 times for 223 yards and three TDs.

20/18/22/19 Arizona State (6-3) The Sun Devils were upset by the Bruins of UCLA (5-4) 29-28 when their last second, 46-yard field goal attempt came up short. The Bruins’ Derrick Coleman scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 1-yard run with 49 seconds to play.

21/NR/19/NR Southern California (7-2) The Trojans trounced the Colorado Buffaloes (1-9) 42-17. Matt Barkley tossed 6 TD passes during a 25 of 39, 318-yard performance on Friday night.

22/23/24/23 Georgia Tech (7-2) The Yellow Jackets were idle this weekend.

23/22/NR/NR Cincinnati (7-1) The Bearcats edged the Pittsburgh Panthers (4-5) 26-23. Zach Collaros threw for 214 yards and ran for two touchdowns. Isaiah Pead rushed for 118 yards and Tony Miliano kicked four field goals for Cincinnati


24/21/NR/24 West Virginia (6-3) The Mountaineers lost to the Louisville Cardinals (5-4) 38-35. A Chris Philpott 39 yard field goal broke a 21 all tie and put Louisville ahead for good late in the third period and a blocked field goal returned for a TD by the Cardinals’ Andrew Johnson in the fourth quarter extended the lead 31-21 lead. The teams traded TDs during the remainder of the game. Freshman quarterback Teddy Bridgewater completed 21 of 27 passes for 246 yards and a TD. WVa’s Geno Smith completed 31 of 44 for 410 yards and two TDs.

25/NR/25/22 Auburn (6-3) The Tigers were idle this week.

NR/24/17/25 Southern Mississippi (8-1) The Golden Eagles soared against the East Carolina Pirates (4-5) 48-28. Jamie Collins had a 97 yard interception return, Tracy Lampley 60 yard punt return, Emmanuel Johnson 15 yard blocked punt return, and Deron Wilson 79 yard interception return for the Eagles.

NR/25/18/21 Texas (6-2) The Longhorns put 28 points on the board—in the second quarter—against the Texas Tech Red Raiders (5-4) on their way to a 52-20 victory. Freshman Joe Bergeron ran for 191 yards and three TDs on 29 carries and Foswhitt Whittaker added 83 yards and two TDs on 10 carries as the Longhorns had 439 yards on the ground.

NR/NR/21/NR Texas A&M (5-4) The Aggies got beat up by the #7 Oklahoma Sooners (8-1) 41-25. See above for more.

Travel and Birthday Party!

Terry and I drove into New Jersey yesterday for a surprise birthday party for my sister. She will be turning one of those with a "0" on the end on the 13th of the month. According to her two daughters, Ruthann isn't overly (overtly?) concerned about this happening. After all, it's just a number.

There were about two dozen of us there and she seemed a little surprised that we would make such a big deal out of the whole thing. She was especially surprised, I think, that Terry and I would drive all the way in from PA (about 250 miles) to celebrate with her.

We'll be making a similar trip back in two weeks to help her oldest daughter, Kristen, celebrate her marriage to a real nice guy named Richard. They will tie the knot in a civil ceremony on the 11th but we'll all party on the 19th.

******

Terry and I were trying to remember the last time I traveled across the Delaware River and the best we could figure was that it was for Christmas 2010. That's the Christmas when it snowed so hard that Rick and Sandy, in from Portland, Oregon for just three days, ended up staying almost a week because the airports were all shut down. (That might explain why they won't be coming to Christmas this year!)

Terry's been to New Jersey several times since then either to meet with some of her stitching friends or to use her Mom's house as a way station for Newark International Airport so she could fly out west. Together we attempted to attend a wedding in New Jersey in September, but the floods from hurricanes and tropical storms foiled our travel plans.

******

No floods this time, but we did stay in a hotel in Parsippany that is still renovating its first floor because of those September floods. We also saw, along the way in on I-80 and back home along Routes 97 and 6 (we wanted a different view) plenty of signs of damage from those floods and the recent snow storm that dropped between one and two feet of white stuff. In fact, we had to wait for the power to come on at the BP gas station in Montague, NJ so we could fill the Jeeps tank on our way home. There were lots of electrical and tree crews out and about in Sussex County, NJ and in the Poconos trying to clean up and restore power nearly a week after the storm struck.

At least this time we had two beautiful days to make the long drive to and fro.

A new toy at the Aerie

UPS delivered a new toy to the Aerie yesterday afternoon: a Schwinn 250 Recumbent Bike.

I enjoyed using the recumbent bike down at Elite Physical Therapy and my knees felt much more limber after each use, that I started shopping around online for a good exercise bike. I found the Schwinn 240 model at Dick's Sporting Goods Store and looked at the reviews. They were all excellent (except for those that folks that had trouble reading the directions for set-up) so, when I saw that there was a newer 250 model (basically the same as the 240 except for the number of features that can be programmed into the monitor), I told Terry to see if the store in Williamsport had one in stock. I could have ordered it over the internet, but at that time there was a very large shipping fee that I didn't want to pay. (Dick's currently is offering free shipping on orders of $49 or more--with exclusions, of course.)

The Williamsport store did not have one in stock but could place an order and have it shipped directly to our home at no charge. So that's what we did.

It arrived November 1 via UPS as I said above. Terry and I spent about an hour getting the parts out of the box and assembling the bike. I have to say it was very easy to do with her reading the directions as I bolted everything together. Amazingly, there was no shortage of nuts, bolts or washers, and we had no pieces left over. The four tools you need to put it together--an Allen wrench, a crescent wrench, a socket wrench, and a Phillips head screwdriver--were all included in the parts package. The hardest task was getting all the pieces out of the plastic wrap in which they were sealed!

We set it up in the basement in front of the TV so we can watch a show while pedaling along. The thing is quiet enough that you hardly notice the background "whoosh" as you exercise. It also has speakers and a jack for your MP3 player if you'd rather listen to some tunes.





This morning I explored the various functions on the monitor and set up an exercise program for myself. (I should have read all the directions first because the result was one very difficult climb! I'll have to gear things back a tad if I expect to last more than 10 minutes at a time.)

Nice thing about the recumbent nature of the bike is that you can't let gravity do your work for you. Your legs and not your weight need to push the pedals. At the higher resistance levels, this can give you one heck of a workout. (I even got my pulse rate UP to 72! For those not following along: my resting pulse is usually around 50 beats per minute.) At lower resistance, you get to limber up your knee joints very nicely.

Who knows? By the time spring rolls around again, we may be ready to toss our real bikes in the back of the truck or Jeep and hit the miles and miles of bike paths around here.

College Football 2011, Preweek 10

Week 10 Polls and Match-ups

While there are quite a few idle teams this week, there are a couple of Very Big Games this week. Start off with the Biggest: #1 LSU at #2 Alabama. No matter how hard they try, someone’s going to lose in this game. Then there’s #17 Kansas State at #3 Oklahoma State. And #8 Arkansas hosts #10 South Carolina. It’ll be an interesting weekend. Only one thing's for sure, next week there won't be six undefeated teams.

(Polls are AP, Coaches’, the CBSSports120 and the BCS. NR = not ranked)

1/1/2/1 LSU (8-0) The Tigers take it on the road to face the #2 Crimson Tide of Alabama (8-0).

2/2/3/2 Alabama (8-0) The Crimson Tide will host the undefeated #1 LSU Tigers (8-0).

3/4/1/3 Oklahoma State (8-0) The Cowboys will host the #17 Kansas State Wildcats (7-1).

4/3/6/4 Stanford (8-0) The Cardinal will be up the coast playing the Oregon State Beavers (2-6).

5/5/4/5 Boise State (7-0) The Broncos will be going to Vegas to play the UNLV Rebels (2-5).

6/6/11/8 Oregon (7-1) The Ducks will be on the road playing the Washington State Huskies (3-5).

7/7/5/6 Oklahoma (7-1) The Sooners square off at home against the Texas A&M Aggies (5-3).

8/8/16/7 Arkansas (7-1) The Razorbacks will host the #10 South Carolina Gamecocks (7-1).

9/9/13/10 Nebraska (7-1) The Cornhuskers will host the Wildcats of Northwestern (3-5).

10/10/7/9 South Carolina (7-1) The Gamecocks will be on the road facing the #8 Razorbacks of Arkansas (7-1).

11/12/10/11 Clemson (8-1) The Tigers are idle this week.

12/11/12/12 Virginia Tech (8-1) The Hokies are idle this week.

13/13/9/15 Michigan (7-1) The Wolverines are on the road facing the Hawkeyes of Iowa (5-3).

14/14/8/13 Houston (8-0) The Cougars will play on the road against the UAB Blazers (1-7).

15/16/23/17 Michigan State (6-2) The Spartans play at the home of the Minnesota Golden Gophers (2-6).

16/15/15/16 Penn State (8-1) The Nittany Lions will be idle this weekend.

17/19/14/14 Kansas State (7-1) The Wildcats will be on the road against the #3 Cowboys of Oklahoma State (8-0).

18/20/20/18 Georgia (6-2) The Bulldogs will host the Aggies of New Mexico State (2-5).

19/17/NR/20 Wisconsin (6-2) The Badgers host the Purdue Boilermakers (4-4).

20/18/22/19 Arizona State (6-2) The Sun Devils are playing at the Bruins of UCLA (4-4).

21/NR/19/NR Southern California (6-2) The Trojans play Friday night on the road against the Colorado Buffaloes (1-8).

22/23/24/23 Georgia Tech (7-2) The Yellow Jackets are idle this weekend.

23/22/NR/NR Cincinnati (6-1) The Bearcats play at the home of the Pittsburgh Panthers (4-4).

24/21/NR/24 West Virginia (6-2) The Mountaineers will host the Louisville Cardinals (4-4).

25/NR/25/22 Auburn (6-3) The Tigers will be idle this week.

NR/24/17/25 Southern Mississippi (7-1) The Golden Eagles will play at East Carolina against the Pirates (4-4).

NR/25/18/21 Texas (5-2) The Longhorns host the Texas Tech Red Raiders (5-3).

NR/NR/21/NR Texas A&M (5-3) The Aggies are on the road against the #7 Oklahoma Sooners (7-1).

Good Day Sunshine!

After a disappointingly cloudy and drab Monday (although there was no precipitation, thank goodness!) today looks like it will be a beautifully sunny day. Current temperatures are in the mid 30s but that will change as the sun gets over the hill. The mid to upper 50s are a distinct possibility.

Folks to the east and northeast who are still without power will surely be pleased to see some warming and sunshine on the way. I know the work crews that are out and about trying to restore power are glad to be doing so under clear and sunny skies.

College Football 2011, Week 9 results

Week 9 Results

Two of the undefeated teams fell this week: #6 Clemson and #10 Kansas State. And then there were six.

In addition, there were several upsets ranging from minor (#9 Michigan State lost to #13 Nebraska and #10 Kansas State falling to #11 Oklahoma) to major (#6 Clemson losing to unranked Georgia Tech, #12 Wisconsin losing to unranked Ohio State—well, maybe not major major, but still pretty big—and #16 Texas A&M falling to unranked Missouri. There will be plenty of reshuffling when the polls come out later.

(Polls are AP, Coaches’, the CBSSports120 and the BCS. NR = not ranked)

1/1/2/1 LSU (8-0) The Tigers were idle this week.

2/2/3/2 Alabama (8-0) The Crimson Tide were idle this week.
(#1 and #2 WILL meet November 5th.)

3/4/1/3 Oklahoma State (8-0) The Cowboys played host to the Baylor Bears (4-3) and feasted upon Bear stew. The final score was 59-24 but it was only that close because Baylor scored three TDs and 21 points in the fourth quarter (compared to the Cowboys’ 10 points) when the second and third stringers were making an appearance. Joseph Randle had a career high 152 yards rushing and scored four TDs. And, for once, the defense came through, too, as Brodrick Brown recovered two fumbles, and Daytawion Lowe and Justin Gilbert had interceptions as the Cowboys forced five turnovers

4/3/5/6 Stanford (8-0) The Cardinal and the #20 Trojans of USC (6-2) must have really enjoyed playing each other. They kept going and going and going. Three OTs, in fact. And the Cardinal came away with a come from behind 56-48 victory when the Trojans’ Curtis McNeal's fumbled into the end zone to bring the game to a halt. Andrew Luck passed for 325 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score but he also threw a rare interception that Nickell Robey returned 33 yards for a TD and put the Trojans ahead 34-27 with 3:08 left in regulation. Luck then led the Cardinal down the field for a Stepfan Taylor 16 yard TD run with 38 seconds left to tie. Taylor would also score the TD in the third overtime period that put the Cardinal ahead.

5/5/4/4 Boise State (7-0) The Broncos were idle this weekend.

6/6/6/5 Clemson (8-1) The Tigers suffered their first loss of the year at the hands of the Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech (7-2) by a score of 31-17. Tevin Washington ran the ball 27 times for 176 yards and scored once for the Yellow Jackets. Teammate Orwin Smith ran just s times for 37 yards but crossed the goal line twice. Tajh Boyd completed 23 of 40 passes for 295 yards but had just one TD and two costly interceptions. The Tigers also lost two fumbles during the game.

7/7/10/7 Oregon (7-1) The Ducks hosted the Cougars of Washington State (3-5) and came away with a 43-28 victory. While all eyes were on starting quarterback Darron Thomas, returning after missing last week’s game with a leg injury, and LaMichael James, returning to action after missing the last two games with a dislocated elbow, it was true freshman running back De'Anthony Thomas who provided the show. With the Ducks leading by a paltry 15-10 at the half, Darron Thomas—who had completed 8 of 13 for 153 yards and a TD but also two interceptions--was replaced by Bryan Bennett at QB. Bennett was just 4 of 7 for 88 yards but that included a De'Anthony Thomas 45 yard TD. De’Anthony Thomas also returned a kick 93 yards for a TD for the Ducks.

8/8/17/10 Arkansas (7-1) The Razorbacks trailed the Commodores of Vanderbilt (4-4) 21-14 at the half and 28-20 after three quarters, but they rallied early in the fourth quarter to tie it up with a successful 2-point conversion after the Commodores’ Zac Stacy fumbled, and the Razorbacks’ Jerry Franklin picked it up and ran it 94 yards for a touchdown. The Hogs went on to win 31-28 when a potential tying 27-yard field goal by Vandy’s Carey Spear went wide right with 8 seconds left.

9/10/19/11 Michigan State (6-2) The Spartans visited the #13 Nebraska Cornhuskers (7-1). For the third consecutive week the Spartans faced a ranked opponent but this time on the road and they lost 24-3. Rex Burkhead of Nebraska rushed 35 times for 130 yards and three touchdowns.

10/12/8/9 Kansas State (7-1) The Wildcats suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of the #11 Sooners of Oklahoma (7-1) 58-17. More specifically to the arm of Landry Jones who threw for a school-record 505 yards and five touchdowns and to the hands of wide receiver Ryan Broyles who caught 14 passes for 171 yards and a score. Unfortunately for the Sooners, they had to do it without their leading rusher Dominique Whaley, who fracture his left ankle on the first play of the game.

11/9/7/8 Oklahoma (7-1) The Sooners beat the #10 Wildcats of Kansas State (7-1) 58-17. See above for more.

12/11/20/15 Wisconsin (6-2) The Badgers dropped their second game of the year. This one was a heart breaker as Braxton Miller threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Devin Smith with 20 seconds left to the Buckeyes of Ohio State (5-3) a 33-29 victory. Miller, a freshman, ran for 99 yards on 19 carries and scored twice, in addition to completing 7 of 12 passes for 89 yards and the winning score.

13/13/18/14 Nebraska (7-1) The Cornhuskers beat the #9 Michigan State Spartans (6-2) 24-3. See above for more.

14/14/12/13 South Carolina (7-1) The Gamecocks beat the Volunteers of Tennessee (3-5) 14-3. Connor Shaw threw for one TD and ran for the other. Filling in for injured Marcus Lattimore who is gone for the season, Brandon Wilds ran for 137 yards for the Gamecocks.

15/15/11/12 Virginia Tech (8-1) The Hokies edged the Duke Blue Devils (3-5) 14-10 Saturday. Each team was intercepted twice and the Blue Devils lost the ball once on a fumble. Sloppy game all around.

16/16/15/16 Texas A&M (5-3) The Aggies fell to the Missouri Tigers (4-4) in overtime despite—once again—having a double digit lead at half time. The Aggies lead 28-17 at the midway point but saw the game tied at 31 all at the end of regulation. Ryan Tannehill completed 35 of 53 passes for 317 yards and three TDs for the Aggies. James Franklin was 16 of 24 for 198 yards and two TDs for the Tigers but also ran for 97 yards and a pair of scores. Teammate Henry Josey rushed 20 times for 162 yards and a TD.

17/17/13/18 Michigan (7-1) The Wolverines trounced the Boilermakers of Purdue (4-4) 36-14. Purdue started the scoring on a 48-yard TD pass from Caleb TerBush to Gary Bush and they finished it with a 19-yard TD pass from Robert Marve to O.J. Ross but in between it was all Michigan. Fitzgerald Toussaint rushed 20 times for a career-best 170 yards and two TDs as Michigan sandwiched 36 unanswered points between the Boilermakers scores.

18/18/9/17 Houston (9-0) The Cougars hosted the Owls of Rice (2-6) on Thursday night. Rice scored 34 points but that was not even half of what the Cougars put on the board. In fact, it didn’t even match what Houston scored in the first half—or the second. 73-34 was the final. Tyron Carrier returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for Houston’s first score. It was his seventh kickoff returned for a TD and tied the NCAA record held by C.J. Spiller.

Then things got wonky. Chris Boswell of the Owls hit a 51-yard field goal. A fumble on a squib kick set up a 1-yard Rice TD. Case Keenum threw an interception. A fumbled was returned 12 yards for a score by Cameron Nwosu of the Owls. Suddenly the Owls led 17-7.

Then the rain slackened (Yeah, it was raining in Houston. I said it was wonky.) and Case Keenum got unlimbered. Yes, Tyler Smith (who scored on the 1-yard run) would also score on a 67 yard pass from Nick Fanuzzi and again on a 97 yard run from scrimmage, but that would be all she wrote for Rice. A short story compared to the novel Case Keenum would author.

When the Cougars and Keenum were finished, he would have 24 completions in 37 attempts, 534 yards passing, and nine (9!) touchdowns. Five of those TD passes went to Patrick Edwards who had 7 receptions for 318 yards. That’s 45.4 yards per catch! His TDs were on catches of 57, 64, 37, 22, and 47 yards.

Oh yeah. Keenum didn’t play the final 8 minutes.

19/22/25 Texas Tech (5-3) The Red Raiders got blown away by the Cyclones of Iowa State (4-4) 41-7. Red-shirt freshman Jared Barnett made his first start for the Cyclones. He rushed for 92 yards and a TD on 19 carries and completed 14 of 26 passes for 144 yards and another TD. The Cyclones racked up 368 yards on the ground as , in addition to Barnett’s 92 yards, James White rushed 31 times for 138 yards and a TD and Duran Hollis had 4 rushes for 101 including a 71 yard TD romp.

20/NR/14/NR Southern California (6-2) The Trojans lost 56-48 in triple OT to the #4 Cardinal of Stanford (8-0). See above for more.

21/19/16/19 Penn State (8-1) The Nittany Lions edged past the Fighting Illini (6-3) 10-7 on a snowy, blustery afternoon in Happy Valley. It was Coach Joe Paterno’s 409th victory making him the winningest coach in Division One football. Silas Redd scored the winning TD with 1:08 to go on a 3-yard run. Moments earlier, an Illini defender was whistled for pass interference in the end zone—on fourth down. Neither team mustered much on the offensive side of the ball, Illinois had just 286 net yards on 74 plays and Penn State a mere 209 on 69 plays. Of those 209 yards, Silas Redd had 137 of them on 30 rushes. The last 3 yards proved to be the decisive ones.

22/21/23/23 Georgia (6-2) The Bulldogs came from behind in the fourth quarter to edge the Gators of Florida (4-4) 24-20. The Gators scored on a fourth and 19 from the Georgia 31 yard line in the first and had a 99 yard kick return for another TD in the second but it wasn’t enough. Georgia scored on a 20-yard TD pass Michael Bennett from Aaron Murray on a fourth and 5 play and again on a 14-yard TD pass Murray to Tavaress King on a fourth and 6. Murray completed the day just 15 of 34 for 169 yards, the two TDs, one interception and three sacks. He added 42 yards on 9 carries. The Gators’ John Brantley was 12 of 34 for 245 yards and one TD although he got sacked 6 times. Jeff Demps had a 99 yard kick return for a TD. The Gators also had a 63 yard kick return that set up a field goal and a 72 yard reception by Jeff Demps (his only catch) on the first play from scrimmage. However, they managed just 36 yards on offense in the second half.

23/20/24/21 Arizona State (6-2) The Sun Devils trounced the Colorado Buffaloes (1-8) 48-14. Brock Osweiler completed 18 of 28 passes for 307 yards and two TDs and Cameron Marshall carried the ball 15 times for 114 yards and three TDs to lead the Sun Devils. Josh Moten returned a fumble 16 yards for one of the two Colorado scores.

24/23/NR/NR Cincinnati (6-1) The Bearcats were idle this week.

25/24/NR/25 West Virginia (6-2) The Mountaineers overcame a 31-20 halftime deficit to defeat the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers (5-3)41-31. Rutgers’ true freshman Gary Nova tossed two TDs and Jawan Jamison scored twice on the ground to help put the Scarlet Knights up at the half. But The West Virginia defense came out strong in the second half and shut out Rutgers while the Mountaineers’ offense put 20 points on the board. Geno Smith threw for two TDs and ran for a third after the break. Shawne Alston had 14 carries for 110 yards including a 52 yard run in the first quarter for the Mountaineers. Teammate Tavon Austin had an 80-yard TD run also in the first quarter. Jawan Jamison carried the ball 19 times for 96 yards for the Knights.

NR/25/21/NR Southern Mississippi (7-1) The Golden Eagles beat the Miners of UTEP (4-4) 31-13. Austin Davis had three TD passes and Jamal Woodyard rushed 16 times for 134 yards including a 68 yard TD run for the Golden Eagles.

NR/NR/22/22 Texas (5-2) The Longhorns routed the Kansas Jayhawks (2-6) 43-0. The Kansas defense is perhaps the worst in the country. Saturday, however, even their offense was pretty bad. While Texas was amassing 590 net yards on 93 plays, Kansas managed to run just 36 plays for 46 yards. Read that last sentence again. FORTY SIX yards on 36 plays. If you fell down 36 times you could get more than 46 yards without even taking a step. Part of that is due to the four sacks for minus 21 yards suffered by Jordan Webb. Then again, he only completed 7 of 16 passes for 48 yards. On the Texas side of the ball, Joe Bergeron rushed 13 times for 136 yards and Malcolm Brown 28 times for 119 yards. Each of them had two touchdowns. David Ash completed 14 of 18 for 145 yards and scored a TD on the ground.

NR/NR/NR/24 Auburn (6-3) The Tigers and the Mississippi Rebels (2-6) were tied 17 all at the half. After the break things weren’t quite so even as the Tigers pulled away for a 41-23 win. It was the Rebels eleventh consecutive loss in league play. Auburn’s Sophomore Clint Moseley completed 12 of 15 for 160 yards, but, more importantly, four of those 12 completions went for TDs. His teammate, Michael Dyer, rushed 27 times for 177 yards. For the Rebels, Brandon Bolden rushed 13 for 114 yards and two TDs.