Week 7 of the College Football Season was a week of upsets
and near upsets. Critical losses by teams and of VIP players marked the week as
one of turning points. Top Ten teams Stanford and Georgia lost and Clemson and
Texas A&M had close calls. The rest of the teams weren’t immune from
upsetitis either. #18 Michigan and #19 Northwestern went down to unranked opponents.
As a result, this week’s rankings will see a lot of shuffling going on.
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.
1/1/1/1 Alabama (6-0) The Crimson Tide got off to a slow
start going scoreless in the first quarter (for the first time all season) but
so did the Kentucky Wildcats (1-5). The difference is the Tide then began to click
as they went on to rout the Wildcats 48-7. AJ McCarron was 21 of 35 passing for
359 yards but just one TD as the Tide scored from the ground. T.J. Yeldon had
16 carries for 124 yards and two TDs and Kenyan Drake had 14 carries for 106
yards and two TDs.
2/2/3/2 Oregon (6-0) The Ducks played the # 16 Washington
Huskies (4-2) in an early game that allowed everyone to see what they are
about. And that would be plenty as they manhandled a good Huskie team 45-24. Marcus
Mariota showed why he should be on a lot of Heisman ballots with a 24 of 31 day
for 366 yards and three TD passes AND 13 rushes for 88 yards and one rushing
TD. Byron Marshall rushed for 106 yards and two TDs and Bralon Addison had 8
catches for 157 yards and two TDs for the Ducks. Bishop Sankey carried the ball
28 times for the Huskies gaining 167 yards and scoring two TDs on runs of 60
and 25 yards but it wasn’t nearly enough.
3/4/4/5 Clemson (6-0) The Tigers came from behind with a
14-0 fourth quarter to beat the Boston College Eagles (3-3) 24-14. Tajh Boyd scored
the go ahead TD and then Vic Beasley scooped up a BC fumble and returned it 13
yards to seal the deal for the Tigers. Although the Eagles gave up twice as
many first downs and net offensive yards, the defense bent but didn’t break for
much of the game. Boyd was 30 of 44 for 334 yards but just one TD through the
air. Clemson may have been looking ahead to this weekend’s game against #6
Florida State.
4/3/6/4 Ohio State (6-0) The Buckeyes had the weekend off.
5/5/2/3 Stanford (5-1) The Cardinal fell to the Utah Utes (4-2)
27-21. The Utes took a 21-14 lead into the halftime locker room and then held
on for the win. Travis Wilson completed 23 of 34 pass attempts for 234 yards
and two TDs and James Poole had 22 carries for 111 yards and 7 catches for 75
yards for the Utes. Tyler Gaffney carried the ball 16 times for 108 yards and a
TD while Ty Montgomery returned a kickoff 100 yards for a TD. Montgomery also had
8 catches for 131 yards in the losing cause. Stanford will be dropping in the
polls this week. The question is, how far.
6/6/5/6 Florida State (5-0) The Seminoles had the weekend
off.
7/7/7/7 Georgia (4-2) The Bulldogs were upset by the #25 Missouri
Tigers (6-0) 41-26. The Tigers may have won the battle but lost the war as
starting QB James Franklin suffered a separated shoulder late in the game.
Georgia has suffered from injuries itself but Aaron Murray has been masterful
in keeping things going. Yesterday the hole was just too deep. Even so, Murray
went 25 of 45 for 290 yards and three TDs. The niftiest play of the day belonged to the Tigers.
After Franklin left the game, Maty Mauk came in as QB. On the Georgia 40 yard
line, he tossed an overhand lateral to Bud Sasser on the right sidelines. He,
in turn, tossed the first pass of his career to L'Damian Washington in the end
zone for a TD. It was Washington’s second TD catch of the day. Michael Sam
returned an Aaron Murray fumble 21 yards for a TD.
8/8/10/8 Louisville (6-0) The Cardinals beat the Scarlet
Knights of Rutgers (4-2) 24-10 on Thursday night with a strong defensive
performance. Playing in front of dozens of NFL scouts and on a national stage,
Teddy Bridgewater wasn’t terribly impressive. Sure, he completed 21 of 31
passes for 310 yards and two touchdowns but he fumbled and was intercepted late
in the game to keep Rutgers alive. It was the defense that stepped up. They
snatched four interceptions from RU’s Gary Nova and sacked him eight times.
9/9/12/12 Texas A&M (5-1) The Aggies squeeked by the Ole
Miss Rebels (3-3) 41-38 on a last second 33-yard field goal by Josh Lambo. The
Aggies also survived a scare when Johnny Manziel rolled on the turf in apparent
pain and clutching his knee early in the game. No worries, Manziel came back to
throw for 346 yards on 31 completions out of 39 attempts and score two rushing TDs
while rushing 18 times for 113 yards. Bo Wallace went 22 of 36 for 301 yards
and three TDs for the Rebels
10/11/9/11 LSU (6-1) The Tigers beat the #17 Florida Gators
(4-2) 17-6 behind a strong defensive performance that held Florida to just two
field goals and the running of Jeremy Hill (19 carries for 121 yards).
11/13/11/9 UCLA (5-0) The Bruins beat the California Golden
Bears (1-5) 37-10 in the late night, west coast contest that saw Brett Hundley
go 31 of 41 for 410 yards and three TDs. UCLA Will be moving on up the charts
this week…if anyone was able to watch them in action.
12/10/8/10 Oklahoma (5-1) The Sooners were finally beaten by
the Texas Longhorns (4-2) and in convincing fashion 36-20. The Red River
Rivalry. Texas’ Case McCoy (I mistakenly said his older brother, Colt, would
start but he’s in the NFL now.) tossed two TD passes for the Longhorns. He also
tossed and INT that was returned 54 yards by Geneo Grissom for a late Oklahoma
score. The Longhorns’ defense also got an INT that Chris Whaley returned 31
yards for a TD and had Daje Johnson return a punt 85 yards for a TD. Texas held
Oklahoma to just 263 yards net offense and 13 first downs while limiting the Sooners
to 2 of 13 on third down conversions.
13/14/14/13 Miami (Fla.) (5-0) The Hurricanes had the
weekend off.
14/12/13/18 South Carolina (5-1) The Gamecocks played on the
road and routed the Arkansas Razorbacks (3-4) 52-7. Connor Shaw ran for one TD
and threw for three more before giving over the helm to Dylan Thompson who also
tossed a TD pass. Mike Davis rushed for 128 yards and a TD on 19 carries for
the Gamecocks. Arkansas had just 30 yards passing and managed just 7 first
downs. South Carolina also dominated the clock, holding the ball for 43:25
compared to Arkansas’ 16:35.
15/15/15/14 Baylor (5-0) The Bears had to come from behind—the
first time they’ve trailed anyone this year—to beat the Kansas State Wildcats
(2-4) 35-25. K-State held Baylor to just half its scoring average over the
first four games. K-State held the ball for 39:24 compared to Baylor’s 20:36. K-State
had 23 first downs to Baylor’s 15. K-State ran 80 plays to Baylor’s 59. BUT,
Baylor doesn’t care about time of possession or any of the rest—and why should
they, when the Bears’ Bryce Petty can connect with receivers like Tevin Reese
(TDs of 93 and 54 yards) and Antwan Goodley (one TD of 72 yards) and hand off
to Glasco Martin (one TD from 21 yards out). The longest Baylor drive was the
first of the game and resulted in a 1-yard TD run by Bryce Petty. Daniel Sams didn’t
throw a TD pass for K-State but he did rush 30 times for 199 yards and three
TDs.
16/19/17/15 Washington (4-1) The Huskies host the #2 Oregon
Ducks (5-0). Ducks over the Huskies.
17/17/19/19 Florida (4-2) The Gators fell to the #10 LSU
Tigers (6-1) 17-6. See above for more.
18/16/16/16 Michigan (5-1) The Wolverines were upset by the
Penn State Nittany Lions (4-2) 43-40 in a game that went to four (4) overtime
periods. With Michigan ahead by 7 and Penn State without a time out and only
second remaining, 18 year-old Christian Hackenberg led the Nittany Lions on an incredible
comeback drive with completions to Allen Robinson that put the ball on the
Michigan one. From their Hackenberg dove in over right tackle for the tie. The OT sessions were nail biting too. Missed
(by both Sides) and blocked field goals (Michigan by PSU), lost fumbles (PSU) going
for it on fourth down instead of kicking (PSU)….they had it all. Hackenberg
ended the night 23 of 44 for 305 yards and three TD passes AND that QB sneak
for a TD as time was running out. And the kid’s only a freshman? Devin Gardner
was 15 of 28 for 240 yards and three TD passes and rushed 24 times for 121
yards for Michigan but he also tossed two INTs.
19/18/21/17 Northwestern (4-2) The Wildcats went on the road
to face the Wisconsin Badgers (4-2) and probably wish they hadn’t. The Badgers
schooled the Wildcats 35-6. Melvin Gordon rushed for 172 yards on 22 carries
including a 71-yard TD run for the Badgers and Joel Stave tossed three TD
passes while going 17 of 28 for 241 yards.
20/21/18/23 Texas Tech (6-0) The Red Raiders beat the Iowa
State Cyclones (1-4) 42-35. Freshman Davis Webb started in the place of injured
Baker Mayfield for the Red Raiders. All the kid did was throw for 415 yards and
three TDs while completing 35 of 56 attempts. DeAndre Washington (13 carries
for 88 yards), SaDale Foster (9 for 87), Kenny Williams (17-80) provided ground
support and each scored a TD for the Raiders. Jarvis West returned a kickoff 95
yards for the Cyclones.
21/22/23/21 Fresno State (5-0) The Bulldogs had this weekend
off.
22/20/24/24 Oklahoma State (4-1) The Cowboys had the weekend
off.
23/23/22/25 Northern Illinois (6-0) The Huskies managed to
hold off the Akron Zips (1-6) 27-20. The Huskies were just 1 of 15 on third
down conversions. This one was all Jordan Lynch for NIU. He completed just 16
of 35 for 220 yards but two were for TDs. He also led the Huskies in rushing
with 83 yards and one TD. Jawon Chisholm rushed for two TDs for the Zips whose
10 penalties for 91 yards certainly hurt their chances for an upset.
24/25/25/NR Virginia Tech (6-1) The Hokies had to fight off
a determined Pitt Panther team (3-3) but emerged victorious 19-9 in a defensive
battle. The Hokies held Pitt to just 210 yards net offense while recording
eight sacks. Pitt officially had just 23 yards rushing thanks to those sacks.
Cody Journell’s four field goals (23, 37, 42 and 47 yards) proved the
difference as Pitt also proved tenacious on defense.
25/NR/20/NR Missouri (6-0) The Tigers headed east to play
the #7 Georgia Bulldogs (4-2) and came away with the upset 41-26. See above for
more.
NR/24/NR/NR Nebraska (5-1) The Cornhuskers were on the road
to play the Purdue Boilermakers (1-5). The Huskers won 44-7. Ameer Abdullah
rushed 20 times for 126 yards and a TD for the Huskers who had 251 yards on the
ground.
NR/NR/NR/20 Arizona State (4-2) The Sun Devils trounced the
Colorado Buffaloes (2-3) 54-13. Taylor Kelly completed 9 of 19 pass attempts for
233 yards and two TDs while running for a third to lead the Sun Devils.
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