College Football: Week 10 Polls & Schedule

Week 10 and there’s still shuffling going on. From week-to-week only #1 has been a fixture. And this week, they and #2 are resting so there’s no chance of any shakeup there. And there are a number of other teams that have this weekend off in preparation for big games next week so movement up or down could be minimal when the smoke clears late Saturday.

We have one game that matches undefeated teams this week: #3 Florida State hosts #7 Miami (Fla.). Both teams are 7-0 but that has to end. None of the other undefeated teams that are playing seem to be at risk.

The numbers on the right are for the Associated Press, the Coaches’ Poll, the BCS standings and the CBSSports.com 126. NR means that the team was Not Ranked by that particular poll. I’m not sure for the reason that the CBSSports Poll is so different from the others except that it is the result one man’s opinion and not much else. There is a way you can vote as to whether a team is ranked too low or too high.

1/1/1/1 Alabama (8-0) The Crimson Tide will take this weekend off. Next on their schedule is #11 LSU on November 9^th.

2/2/2/2 Oregon (8-0) The Ducks also have this weekend off so don’t expect any movement at the top of the list next week. They next face #6 Stanford on the road 9 PM EST Thursday, November 7^th.

3/3/3/3 Florida State (7-0) The Seminoles will host the #7 Miami (Fla.) Hurricanes (7-0). After two consecutive weeks of come from behind, last second heroics, I don’t think the Canes have enough to stay even close to FSU a team that plays with the pedal to the metal behind Jameis Winston.

4/4/4/4 Ohio State (8-0) The Buckeyes travel to the home of the Purdue Boilermakers (1-6) this weekend. Look for a huge game by Braxton Miller and company as OSU remains undefeated.

5/5/6/7 Baylor (7-0) The Bears have the weekend off as they prep for a home game on Thursday night November 7^th (7:30 EST) with #13 Oklahoma.

6/7/5/8 Stanford (7-1) The Cardinal have the weekend off. They next play #2 Oregon at home on Thursday November 7^th.

7/6/7/6 Miami (Fla.) (7-0) The Hurricanes visit #3 Florida State Seminoles (7-0) and bring a nice gift in the form of an FSU victory. No fourth quarter drama this week for the Canes.

8/11/11/12 Auburn (7-1) The Tigers will play on the road against the Arkansas Razorbacks (3-5). Tigers will east on Arkansas.

9/8/8/9 Clemson (7-1) The Tigers are on the road to play the Virginia Cavaliers (2-6). Tigers win big.

10/10/9/5 Missouri (7-1) These Tigers will host the appropriately named Tennessee Volunteers (4-4). Mizzou takes out its frustrations at having lost in OT to South Carolina on a team that got schooled by Alabama last week. You don’t want to face an angry Tiger.

11/13/12/13 LSU (7-2) The Tigers have this weekend off before facing #1 Alabama on the 9^th. (What are the odds that there would be FOUR teams nicknamed “The Tigers” in a row on this list?)

12/14/13/18 Texas A&M (6-2) The Aggies take on the Miners of UTEP (1-6). Look for a big game from Johnny Manziel and crew.

13/9/19/14 Oklahoma (7-1) The Sooners have the weekend off. They’ll next play on the road against the #5 Baylor Bears Thursday night November 7^th (7:30 EST).

14/16/14/24 South Carolina (6-2) The Gamecocks will host the Mississippi State Bulldogs (4-3). Should be less drama than last week’s OT victory. Especially since Connor Shaw should be starting instead of relieving. Gamecocks win.

15/15/15/10 Texas Tech (7-1) The Red Raiders suffered their first loss 38-30 to Oklahoma at Norman, OK last week. This week they host #18 Oklahoma State. This could be the most entertaining game of the week. It will be close but I think the Cowboys will tame the Red Raiders making it an Oklahoma sweep.

16/18/16/16 Fresno State (7-0) These Bulldogs have been cardiac kids with two OT victories (over Rutgers and San Diego State), one point come-from-behind win (over Boise State), and a hang-on-to-your-hats near collapse (at Hawaii). This week they host the Nevada Wolf Pack (3-5). Should be Bulldogs all the way. Should be.

17/19/19/11 UCLA (5-2) The Bruins look to put consecutive losses to Stanford and Oregon behind them as the host the Colorado Buffaloes (3-4). The home crowd should be pleased at the end of the day.

18/12/18/17 Oklahoma State (6-1) The Cowboys head to Texas to face the #15 Red Raiders of Texas Tech (7-1). Pick the Cowboys in a close contest.

19/22/22/25 UCF (6-1) The Knights have the weekend off. Next up will be a home game against Houston on November 9^th.

20/17/20/20 Louisville (7-1) The Cardinals have this weekend off, too. Their next game will be on the road against the as of now winless UConn Huskies on Friday, November 8^th.

21/20/17/19 Northern Illinois (8-0) The Huskies will be on the road to face the Minutemen of UMass (1-7). The Huskies should enjoy their stop in Amherst, Mass.

22/23/25/21 Wisconsin (5-2) The Badgers will hit the road to play the Iowa Hawkeyes (5-3). Iowa could make it interesting, but the Badgers will prevail.

23/21/21/23 Michigan (6-1) The Wolverines are on the (short) road to face the #24 Michigan State Spartans (7-1). This rivalry is always hard fought and usually close. Under those conditions I’ll go with the home team. The Spartans slay the Wolverines but it’s close.

24/24/24/NR Michigan State (7-1) The Spartans host the #23 Wolverines of Michigan (6-1). The Spartans win by a slim margin.

25/NR/NR/NR Arizona State (5-2) The Sun Devils go trick-or-treating late (10:30 EDT) Thursday night visiting the home of the Washington State Cougars (4-4). They come away with a treat as their defense picks apart the Cougar offense.

NR/25/NR/NR Notre Dame (6-2) The Irish host the Midshipmen of Navy (4-3). If Notre Dame can hold onto the ball (no turnovers!) they should win by double digits. If they throw interceptions/fumble the ball away, this could be a close game. I’d go with the Irish.

NR/NR/23/15 Virginia Tech (6-2) The Hokies head north to face the Boston College Eagles (3-4). It should be a VaTech win, but that’s what I said last week when they faced Duke.

NR/NR/NR/22 Oregon State (6-2) The Beavers host the Southern Cal Trojans (5-3) on Friday night (9:00 EDT). I’d go with the Beavers in this one. USC is stumbling its way through the season and will trip in Corvalis.

Week 14

After a couple of days of aches and pains due in part to the very changeable weather we were having, the knees are behaving very well today. I've been able to walk up and down stairs with only a little reminder of my surgery.

Everyone keeps telling me that if I continue to do my exercises, either at home or at the therapists, I should see major improvement between six and eight months. And, after a year, I should need to be reminded that I had surgery. That would put it around the middle of January (six months) at the earliest.

Believe me when I say that I will be doing my exercises on a regular basis.

College Football: Week 9 Results

Week 9 was full of the usual. There were upsets and overtime games, surprisingly close contests and routs. The losses by ranked teams may lead to more shuffling in this week’s rankings. One team that’s not going anywhere is Alabama.

The numbers on the right are for the Associated Press, the Coaches’ Poll, the (old/pre-official) BCS standings and the CBSSports.com 126. NR means that the team was Not Ranked by that particular poll.

1/1/1/1 Alabama (8-0) The Crimson Tide over powered the Tennessee Volunteers (4-4) 45-10. T.J. Yeldon scored three touchdowns rushing, AJ McCarron tossed two TD passes and Landon Collins returned an INT 89 yards for a TD as the Crimson Tide dominated from start to finish.

2/2/2/2 Oregon (8-0) The Ducks wore down the #12 UCLA Bruins (5-2) 42-14. It was an evenly played game with a score of 14-14 at the half. After the half, however, it wasn’t nearly as close as the Ducks just kept on coming on both offense and defense. Brett Hundley was held to just 13 completions on 19 attempts for a mere 64 yards, two INTs and one passing TD and 15 carries for 72 yards and one rushing TD for the Bruins. Byron Marshall rushed 19 times for the Ducks gaining 133 yards and scoring three TDs. The Ducks ran 53 running plays gaining 325 yards as they pounded the ball all night long Marcus Mariota also completed 21 of 28 passes for 230 yards. UCLA had 52 rushes for 219 yards but just the 64 yards passing.

3/3/3/5 Florida State (7-0) The Seminoles rolled over the NC State Wolfpack (3-4) 49-17. Jameis Winston tossed three TDs in the first quarter when the Seminoles posted 35 points. Shadrach Thornton rushed 23 times for 173 yards and two TDs including one 72-yard score for the Wolfpack.

4/4/4/3 Ohio State (8-0) The Buckeyes routed the Nittany Lions of Penn State (4-3) 63-14. Braxton Miller ran for two TDs (11 carries for 68 yards) and threw for three (18-24 for 252 yards), Carlos Hyde had 16 carries for 147 yards, and Kenny Guiton ran for two TDs on just three carries in leading the Buckeyes to victory.

5/7/5/11 Missouri (7-1) The Tigers fell to the #20 South Carolina Gamecocks (6-2) in double overtime 27-24. Connor Shaw came into the game in the third quarter and “only” completed 20 of 29 passes for 201 yards and three TDs as the Gamecocks needed 17 points in the fourth quarter to tie game. His 15-yard TD pass on fourth down in the first OT kept this alive for South Carolina.

6/5/7/9 Baylor (7-0) The Bears routed the Kansas Jayhawks (2-4) 59-14. The Jayhawks DID manage to hold the Bears to a below average scoring day. Bryce Petty threw for 430 yards and three touchdowns in fewer than three quarters and Lache Seastrunk ran for 109 yards and a score in the same amount of time. It was 38-0 at the half. Seastrunk’s replacement, Shock Linwood, had nine carries for 106 yards including two scores (7 and 68 yards) in the second half.

7/6/8/12 Miami (7-0) The Hurricanes came from behind—again—to edge the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (4-4) 24-2 . Miami needed a TD in the final minute to do it, but they remain undefeated. Duke Johnson carried the ball 30 times for 168 yards and two TDs including the winning score. Tanner Price completed 25 of 45 pass attempts for 302 yards and two TDs for the Demon Deacons.

8/8/6/13 Stanford (7-1) The Cardinal beat the Oregon State Beavers (6-2) 20-12 behind the strong running of Tyler Gaffney (22 carries for 145 yards and three TDs) and a bend-but-don’t-break defense that allowed the Beavers just 17 rushing yards. The Cardinal had just 88 yards passing themselves in a defensive game that seems uncharacteristic for both these teams.

9/10/9/4 Clemson (7-1) The Tigers beat the Maryland Terrapins (5-3) 40-27. Roderick McDowell rushed 30 times for 161 yards and two TDs, Tajh Boyd completed 28 of 41 for 304 yards and a TD and scored another TD rushing, and Sammie Watkins had a school record 14 receptions for 163 yards for the Tigers. Caleb Rowe completed 19 of 45 for 282 yards and three TDs for the Terrapins.

10/9/10/15 Texas Tech (7-1) The Red Raiders fell to the #17 Oklahoma Sooners (7-1) 38-30. Blake Bell completed 14 of 22 passes for 249 yards and two TDs and Jalen Saunders had 6 catches for 153 yards and two TDs (including a 76-yarder) for the Sooners. Davis Webb connected on 33 of 53 for 385 yards and two TDs but also tossed two INTs.

11/17/12/NR Auburn (7-1) The Tigers routed the FAU Owls (2-6) 45-10. The Tigers lost their starting QB Nick Marshall to a shoulder injury, but it didn’t slow them down as replacement Jeremy Johnson tossed two TDs to Sammie Coates. It was 38-7 at the half.

12/11/11/6 UCLA (5-2) The Bruins were worn down by the #2 Oregon Ducks (8-0) 42-14. See above for more.

13/13T/13/7 LSU (7-2) The Tigers knocked off the FCS Furman Paladins (3-5) 48-16. It was surprisingly close at the half with LSU ahead 20-16. Not so in the second half dominated by LSU 28-0. Odell Beckham had six receptions for 204 yards and two TDs of 37 and 63 yards. Jeremy Hill scored twice on 14 rushes for 143 yards. Terrance Magee had 7 carries for 108 yards and two TDs. Zach Mettenberger completed 16 of 24 pass attempts for 328 yards and three TDs but also had two INTs including one returned by Reggie Thomas 74 yards for Furman’s first score.

14/15/16/10 Texas A&M (6-2) the Aggies trounced the Commodores of Vanderbilt (4-4) 56-24. Shoulder injury? What shoulder injury? The Aggies jumped out to 28-0 advantage and never looked back even though Vandy closed to 28-17 at the half. Johnny Manziel completed 25 of 35 passes for 305 yards and four TDs. A&M won despite turning the ball over five times (one INT and four lost fumbles). Vandy turned it over three times on INTs.

15/18/17/19 Fresno State (7-0) The Bulldogs remained undefeated beating the Aztecs of San Diego State (3-4) 35-28 in overtime. Derek Carr wasn’t sharp in the first half going just 15 of 30 for 98 yards and no TDs. That changed in the second half and during the OT period. After the break he completed 20 of 27 for 200 yards and two TDs. Adam Muema had 111 yards and two TDs on 27 carries for the Aztecs. Ejiro Ederaine returned a fumble 78 yards for a Bulldog TD

16/19/15/18 Virginia Tech (6-2) The Hokies fell to the Duke Blue Devils (6-2) 13-10. The Hokies never lead in the game despite outgaining Duke 387 yards (173 rushing and 214 passing) to 198 yards (91 rushing and 107 passing). The Hokies also had the ball for 39:27 compared to Duke’s 20:33. Each team had four interceptions which contributed to the low score.

17/12/14/17 Oklahoma (7-1) The Sooners knocked the Red Raiders of Texas Tech (7-1) from the ranks of the undefeated 38-30. Close game which turned on turn overs. See above fro more.

18/16/21/6 Louisville (7-1) The Cardinals romped over the Bulls of South Florida (2-5) 34-3. Teddy Bridgewater went 25 of 29 for 344 yards and three TDs and Charles Gaines returned an interception 70 yards for another Cardinals’ TD as Louisville dominated on both sides of the ball.

19/13/19/23 Oklahoma State (6-1) The Cowboys ran over the Iowa State Cyclones (1-6) 58-27. It was surprisingly close 28-20 at the half but the persistent running by Oklahoma State finally took its toll. Desmond Roland carried the ball 26 times for 219 yards and four TDs as the Cowboys gained 342 yards on 47 rushing plays.

20/20/20/14 South Carolina (6-2) The Gamecocks came from well behind to defeat the #5 Missouri Tigers (7-1) in double overtime 27-24. See above for more.

21/25/23/NR UCF (6-1) The Knights routed the UConn Huskies (0-7) 62-17. Blake Bortles completed 20 of 24 passes for 286 yards and four touchdowns and ran for a fifth for the Knights who posted 45 points in the first half and coasted to an easy victory.

22/24/NR/24 Wisconsin (5-2) The Badgers had this weekend off.

23/22/18/22 Northern Illinois (8-0) The Huskies remained among the unbeaten as they routed the Eastern Michigan Eagles (1-7) 59-20. These Huskies took a 38-3 lead into the locker room at the half and coasted the rest of the way. Jordan Lynch completed 16 of 20 passes for 223 yards and four TDs and ran for one and caught a pass for a fifth score. He finished the day rushing 18 times for 99 yards and the one catch for 17 yards giving him 338 all-purpose yards.

24/23/22/20 Michigan (6-1) The Wolverines had this week off.

25/21/24/25 Nebraska (5-2) The Cornhuskers were upset by the Minnesota Gophers (6-2) 34-23Philip Nelson rushed for two TDs and threw for a third to lead the Gophers to the win. Ameer Abdullah rushed for 165 yards for the Huskers in the loss.

NR/NR/25/NR Oregon State (6-2) The Beavers lost to the Stanford Cardinal (7-1) 20-12 in a surprising defensive struggle. See above for more.

NR/NR/NR/21 Washington (5-3) The Huskies routed the Golden Bears of California (1-7) 41-17. And it wasn’t that close as Cal “won” the fourth quarter 10-3. Bishop Sankey rushed 27 times for 241 yards and two TDs and Keith Price completed 20 of 32 pass attempts for 376 yards and two TDs to Jaydon Mickens while running for another TD for the Huskies.

Weekly Report from the Aerie

It's been a quiet week with Terry off on her Grand Tour. Since Wednesday, the weather has been...well changeable. If you didn't like what was happening, all you had to do was drive five miles or wait 15 minutes. It was spitting rain, snow and sleet between periods of sun--sometimes while the rain was falling--and grand blue skies. Friday afternoon that spelled a beautiful rainbow that lasted for all of five minutes before the clouds got in front of the sun. Daytime temps have been in the low 40s and it has dropped to around 30 over night. And the nights are definitely longer each and every day. Autumn has certainly arrived.

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Terry's SAGA Convention in Frisco, TX has ended and she headed west today. Went 300 miles and she's STILL in Texas. She plans on being in Anaheim, CA on Tuesday to visit with Jessica for a couple of days. (And empty the Jeep!)

After that, she's heading up the coast to visit her sister Lucille and niece Laura. There might be some guys involved there too, but the only one I remember is Laura's baby Matthew. ;-)

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Thursday I drove down to my buddy Joe's place to return a jacket Terry had repaired for him. I brought my S&W M&P .40 with me and we ran through a box of ammo. I'm still searching for the "right" ammo for that pistol. I've not shot it a great deal, but the Winchester 165 gr JHP seems to be better than the 180 gr I bought when I first got the gun. Still shoots a little low, but at least I could get it on the paper this time.

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Friday was PT at Elite. I've got just two more session paid for by the insurance company (unless they give the okay for more) so it looks like I'll be "graduating" to self torture. I have the option of paying a small fee to use their facilities under the guidance of a tech. For just $60 a month I'd have two land sessions a week. For $90 I can go in the pool twice a week. And for $75 I can have one-and-one. I'm thinking about it for both the use of the machines and also the socialization.

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Saturday and Sunday have been wall to wall football. If that means I missed the end of WS Game 2 well, so be it. I don't need to spend time looking at the pitcher's nose hairs before every pitch. Or listening to an announcer tell me what's happening when I can see it right in front of me. (Things are different in football, basketball and hockey. So many people are involved in every play and the action is so quick that you need some one to tell you what's happening. Heck, even the announcers have spotters in those sports to tell them WHO is involved. Think a baseball announcer NEEDS a spotter?)

Thoughts on the Giants-Vikings Game

1. Can’t anyone here play this game? Injuries have plagued both offenses and it showed last night. During the third quarter, Jon Gruden pointed out the obvious: “We’re watching two terrible football teams tonight.”   It was a debacle of magnificent proportions.
2.  The Vikings’ best plays were kickoff and punt returns. One of the latter went for the only score they got against the G-Men who can’t seem to cover kicks reliably. (See below for one time they DID cover well.)
   3.       Unfortunately, a Viking punt return miscue also led to a Giant touchdown when the return man slipped and fell without being touched and the ball squirted loose. The Giants recovered that fumble and a short time later scored.
   4.       Could be that Coach Schiano of Tampa was right about cutting Josh Freeman loose. He certainly didn’t himself or the Vikings any good last night. Then again, he only had one week to prepare with his new team. Was he really their best option last night?
   5.       The best part of watching on ESPN was the halftime tribute Chris Berman paid to two men who passed away last week: Bud Adams and Bum Phillips. Adams was the owner of the Houston Oilers and Tennessee Titans. Phillips was the long-time coach of the Oilers and took them to two AFC Championship Game in 1978 and 1979. (They lost both games to the Pittsburgh Steelers who went on to win the Super Bowl.) Phillips also served as head coach of the New Orleans Saints from 1981 through 1985. Berman quoted Phillips (a colorful character in his day) as having said something to the effect: “You may not win or succeed but you aren’t a failure until you start blaming someone else.”
   6.       Oh yeah, Eli Manning didn’t throw an interception. (Not for lack of trying. He hit a couple of defenders right in the hands. One defender had the ball hit him in the hands and then the chest on a throw out into the left flat. That could have easily been returned for a pick-six as there was nothing but grass between him and the goal line. This was the same guy who slipped and fumbled the punt return. But, that’s why they play on defense.) And the Giants won 23-7. Coincidence? There’s no such thing as coincidence.
   My TV service cut out near the end of the third quarter. Thank God! I took it for a sign and went to bed