College Football: Week 11 Results

Week 11 produced a couple of notable loses by ranked teams (#2 Oregon, #10 LSU, #12 Oklahoma, #24 Notre Dame and #25 Texas Tech) so there will be changes in this week’s rankings.  

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 (9-0) The Crimson Tide made it look easy—in the second half—as they tamed the #10 LSU Tigers (7-3) 38-17. AJ McCarron tossed three TD passes and T.J. Yeldon ran for 133 yards and two TDs as the Tide remains dominant.

2/2/3/2 Oregon (8-1) the Ducks fell behind early and failed to come back as they fell from the ranks of the unbeatens at the hands of the #6 Stanford Cardinal (8-1) 26-20. Tyler Gaffney carried the ball 45 times for 157 yards and a touchdown and Jordan Williamson connected on four field goals for the Cardinal who jumped out to a 26-0 lead and had to hold on in the fourth quarter as Marcus Mariota (20 0f 34 for 250 yards and two TDs) and Co. staged a comeback that came up short. Rodney Hardrick returned a blocked field goal 65 yards for the third Ducks’ touchdown.

3/3/2/3 Florida State (9-0) The Seminoles overwhelmed the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (4-6) 59-3. Jameis Winston completed just 17 of 28 passes for only 159 yards and two touchdowns—and one INT, but it hardly mattered that he had an “off” day. The Seminoles got three rushing TDs and TDs from a 56 yard interception return (Nate Andrews), a 23 yard fumble return (Jalen Ramsey) and a 97 yard kick return (Levonte Whitfield) following Wake’s only score.

4/4/4/4 Ohio State (9-0) The Buckeyes had the weekend off.

5/5/6/5 Baylor (8-0) The Bears beat the #12 Oklahoma Sooners (7-2) 41-12 Thursday night. Baylor proved it’s more than a high scoring, offensive team as their defense performed amazingly. Bryce Petty rushed for two TDs and threw for three as the Bears exploded for 21 unanswered points in the second quarter of a 5-3 game to take a 24-5 lead into the locker room and never looked back.

6/6/5/6 Stanford (8-1) The Cardinal beat the #3 Oregon Ducks (8-1) 26-20. See above for more.

7/10/9/9 Auburn (9-1) The Tigers destroyed the Tennessee Volunteers (4-6) 55-23. Nick Marshall rushed for 214 yards on 14 carries scoring two TDs and Tre Mason rushed for 117 yards and scored three TDs as the Tigers ran, ran, and ran again.

8/7/7/7 Clemson (8-1) The Tigers will be idle this weekend.

9/9/8/8 Missouri (9-1) The Tigers routed the Kentucky Wildcats (2-7) 48-17. Maty Mauk tossed five TDs and Henry Josey scored three times (twice rushing) for Missouri.

10/12/13/12 LSU (7-3) The Tigers stood toe-to-toe with the #1 Alabama Crimson Tide (9-0) before they went down 38-17.

11/13/15/13 Texas A&M (8-2) The Aggies beat the Mississippi State Bulldogs (4-5) 51-41. Johnny Manziel went 30 of 39 for 446 yards and five TDs—but proved he’s human as he also tossed three INTS—as the Aggies and Bulldogs went back and forth. Dak Prescott rushed for 154 yards and tossed two TD passes, and De’Runnya Wilson and LaDarius Perkins scored twice each for the Bulldogs

12/8/10/10 Oklahoma (7-2) The Sooners got beat badly by the #5 Baylor Bears (8-0) 41-12 Thursday night. See above for more.

13/15/12/16 South Carolina (7-2) The Gamecocks were idle this weekend.

14/14/11/14 Miami (Fla.) (7-2) The Hurricanes fell to the Hokies of Virginia Tech (7-3) 42-24. Trey Edmunds rushed for just 74 yards on 14 carries but he scored four touchdowns for the Hokies and Logan Thomas threw for 366 yards and two TDs. The Hokies also held Miami to just 28 yards on the ground on 24 carries.

15/11/14/11 Oklahoma State (8-1) The Cowboys jumped all over the Kansas Jayhawks (2-7) 42-6. Clint Chelf threw for 265 yards and three TDs, Desmond Roland and Tracy Moore scored twice each, and Justin Gilbert returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for the Cowboys.

16/18/19/19 UCLA (7-2) The Bruins beat the Arizona Wildcats (6-3) 31-26. Myles Jack rushed for 120 yards including a 66-yard TD run and Brett Hundley tossed two TD passes for the Bruins. Ka’Deem Carey rushed for 149 yards and one TD, while B.J. Denker connected with Nate Phillips for two TDs for the Wildcats.

17/17/16/17 Fresno State (9-0) The Bulldogs continued their winning ways, beating the Wyoming Cowboys (4-5) 48-10. Derek Carr completed 33 of 46 attempts for 360 yards and four TDs as the Bulldogs gave the Cowboys a 10 point head start before going on to put 48 unanswered points on the board.

18/19/17/15 Michigan State (8-1) The Spartans had the weekend off.

19/21/21/21 UCF (7-1) The Knights struggled to down the Houston Cougars (7-2) 19-14 in what was expected to be an offensive show but ended up as a defensive battle. Storm Johnson rushed for 127 yards on 28 carries, William Stanback scored two TDs on the ground and Shawn Moffitt kicked two first half field goals for the Knights.

20/16/20/24 Louisville (8-1) The Cardinals had an easy time beating the Connecticut Huskies (0-8) 31-10 on Friday night. Then, who hasn’t had an easy time beating the Huskies this year. Teddy Bridgewater tossed just one TD pass—and one INT but Louisville also got TDs on a blocked punt returned 7 yards by Charles Gaines and a 17 yard interception return by Terell Floyd.

21/22/24/18 Wisconsin (7-2) The Badgers beat the Cougars of BYU (6-3) 27-17. James White rushed for 147 yards and two TDs and scored a third on a short pass from Joel Stave for the Badgers

22/20/18/20 Northern Illinois (9-0) The Huskies were idle this weekend.

23/24/22/22 Arizona State (7-2) The Sun Devils were down by 12 in the fourth quarter before coming back to edge the Utah Utes (4-5) 20-19. Marion Grice rushed for 136 yards and Taylor Kelly rushed for two TDs and threw for a third for the Sun Devils.

24/25/23/25 Notre Dame (7-3) The Irish got beat by the Pitt Panthers (5-4) 28-21. Tommy Rees threw for 318 yards and two TDs only to be matched by Tom Savage’s 243 yards and two TDs—both the Devin Street. It came down to two short TD runs by James Conner for Pitt vs one by TJ Jones for the Irish. That and the three turnovers the Irish committed.

25/23/25/23 Texas Tech (7-3) The Red Raiders got mauled by the Kansas State Wildcats (5-4) 49-26. John Hubert rushed for 157 yards and one TD and Daniel Sams and Jake Waters scored twice each for the Wildcats who also got a TD when Ty Zimmerman returned an interception 43 yards for a score.

College Football: Week 11 Polls & Schedule

Week 11 will be one to determine conference titles. Starting Thursday night we have TWO games that pit ranked teams against each other.  #2 Oregon (8-0, 5-0) vs #6 Stanford (7-1, 5-1) could decide the PAC-12 North title holder. #5 Baylor (7-0, 4-0) hosts #12 Oklahoma (7-1, 4-1) are both chasing unranked Texas (6-2, 5-0) in the Big 12, but the top two will play for the title. (At 7-1, 4-1 #15 Oklahoma State is also in the mix.) Then, on Saturday we have #1 Alabama against #10 LSU. And the AAC may see its title decided: Friday evening we have #20 Louisville (7-1, 3-1)--and they should be a lock to defeat the UConn Huskies who have yet to win a game--and then on Saturday we have #19 UCF (6-1, 3-0) hosting Houston (7-1, 4-0) the winner to be the AAC leader or, at the least, co-leader.Could be an interesting weekend.

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 host the #10 LSU Tigers (7-2).

2/2/3/2 Oregon (8-0) the Ducks head south to face the #6 Stanford Cardinal (7-1).

3/3/2/3 Florida State (8-0) The Seminoles head north to play the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (4-5).

4/4/4/4 Ohio State (9-0) The Buckeyes will have the weekend off.

5/5/6/5 Baylor (7-0) The Bears host the #12 Oklahoma Sooners (7-1) Thursday night.

6/6/5/6 Stanford (7-1) The Cardinal host the #2 Oregon Ducks (8-0).

7/10/9/9 Auburn (8-1) The Tigers are on the road to play the Tennessee Volunteers (4-5).

8/7/7/7 Clemson (8-1) The Tigers will be idle this weekend.

9/9/8/8 Missouri (8-1) The Tigers are on the road to play the Kentucky Wildcats (2-6).

10/12/13/12 LSU (7-2) The Tigers head east to play the #1 Alabama Crimson Tide (8-0).

11/13/15/13 Texas A&M (7-2) The Aggies host the Mississippi State Bulldogs (4-4).

12/8/10/10 Oklahoma (7-1) The Sooners are on the road to play the #5 Baylor Bears (7-0) Thursday night.

13/15/12/16 South Carolina (7-2) The Gamecocks are idle this weekend.

14/14/11/14 Miami (Fla.) (7-1) The Hurricanes host the Hokies of Virginia Tech (6-3).

15/11/14/11 Oklahoma State (7-1) The Cowboys host the Kansas Jayhawks (2-6).

16/18/19/19 UCLA (6-2) The Bruins are on the road to play the Arizona Wildcats (6-2).

17/17/16/17 Fresno State (8-0) The Bulldogs head on the road to play the Wyoming Cowboys (4-4).

18/19/17/15 Michigan State (8-1) The Spartans have the weekend off.

19/21/21/21 UCF (6-1) The Knights host the Houston Cougars (7-1).

20/16/20/24 Louisville (7-1) The Cardinals head north to play the Connecticut Huskies (0-7) on Friday night.

21/22/24/18 Wisconsin (6-2) The Badgers will host the Cougars of BYU (6-2).

22/20/18/20 Northern Illinois (9-0) The Huskies are idle this weekend.

23/24/22/22 Arizona State (6-2) The Sun Devils will head north to face the Utah Utes (4-4).

24/25/23/25 Notre Dame (7-2) The Irish are on the road to face the Pitt Panthers (4-4).

25/23/25/23 Texas Tech (7-2) The Red Raiders host the Kansas State Wildcats (4-4).

Mid-week Report: Travel and Not

Terry is currently in Fairfield, CA and American Canyon, CA visiting with her sister, Lucille, and niece, Laura, and Laura's baby son, Matthew. THis after she had been in Anaheim visiting with our daughter Jessica--and picking up the Jeep after the Road Trip had been interrupted by Mom's sudden demise.

Tomorrow she heads east with plans to be home Sunday or Monday. Four days across country is not surprising. It's easier going east to west since you gain hours with each times zone. And it's even easier with a second driver. I've been telling her to go easy and keep an eye on the weather.

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Meanwhile, I'm taking the opportunity to do some yard work before winter sets in. This afternoon, I pushed the lawn mower about cutting the grass for the final time and chopped up and bagged the leaves at the same time. I still have a flat section to do but it hasn't got as many leaves so I shouldn't have to stop to empty the bag too often. With rain forecast for Thursday morning, I may have to put that off until Friday.

In lieu of mowing the lawn I'll be spending time in the garage, basement and--maybe--the attic--trying to organize some of the clutter before it gets completely out of hand. And before we have to start taking in some of Mom's stuff to pile it upon Jess' stuff and the few boxes of Rick's stuff that we have stored away for them. (All that is atop the boxes and boxes of our stuff.)

Luckily the Rutgers Alumni Club of Central PA is having a clothing drive this weekend. We took a half dozen bags of clothes from Mom's house and I've added a bag or two of my clothes.

I might even find time to watch some football this weekend.

Week 15

Yesterday was the 15th week after surgery and all is going well.

With all the running around this week, my exercise routine has gone down the tubes. It doesn't seem to have affected my knees too much, however. Perhaps going up and down the stairs at Mom's house, all the standing and sitting during the wake and mass (I don't/won't/can't do any kneeling) has replaced some of the exercises. Whatever, things are feeling pretty good. The knees are doing well. In fact, the only real pain I've experienced came from standing too long, and that was back pain at the belt line.

Football Is on Hold Because....

....life happens. Or, sometimes, death.

Terry's Mom passed away suddenly on the night of Monday, October 28th.

Mom called Terry to say she wasn't feeling well. She said she had the shakes, felt nauseous, and was unsteady on her feet. Terry, who was somewhere between Frisco, Texas and Anaheim, California, told her to go to the doctor. "He's on vacation." "So go to the ER," said Terry.

Luckily cousin Nancy and cousin Pat (a visiting care nurse here in PA) were in New Jersey and they went over to see Mom. They called 911 and had Mom taken over to Rahway Hospital. There, they started a battery of tests and gave her loads of fluids via IV saying she was dehydrated. Mom is never dehydrated. Between coffee, OJ, milk and water she regularly meets her minimum daily requirements. Even with all the fluids, she wasn't urinating--a sign that her kidneys may have been failing. For several hours Mom joked with and complained to the doctors and nurses. She talked with Nancy and Pat who in turn kept Terry and her sister, Lucille, in the loop via cell phone.

They moved Mom upstairs around sundown. Later that night they were starting to intubate her when they called a Code Blue. Exactly what happened--blood clot or a heart attack--we may never know. She died quickly and without pain in the company of two very competent, smart, friends and relatives. Just the way she wanted.

Tuesday, Terry continued on to Anaheim where she stopped to give Jess all the stuff she hauled on her way out. She booked a flight back to New Jersey and then dropped the Jeep at a dealers to get the oil changed and a maintenance light taken care of and arranged for them to keep the vehicle until she returned. She arrived in Newark on Thursday.

Lucille, who had booked a flight out of San Francisco as soon as Nancy had called her to say Mom was in the hospital, arrived Tuesday afternoon.

Early Tuesday morning I arranged for a cat sitter. Then, after my pool session of therapy, I hopped into the Tundra and drove into NJ.

Lucille and I, and later, Terry arranged Mom's funeral. Meanwhile Mom's grandkids started arriving from Oregon, Wisconsin and California.

Then there was the wake, the funeral and the cleaning up of Mom's house. Friday night was the wake. Saturday was the funeral mass. Sunday, with four out of five grandchildren in attendance, we did lots of sorting and cleaning of Mom's stuff. With all that was going on and what with the shuttle service back and forth to the airport, I didn't even watch one football game this week.

Slowly everyone dispersed late Sunday and Monday until by Monday evening, I was the only one left. Terry was back in Anaheim and Lucille north of San Francisco/Bay Area with Laura and Adam. Brian and Vicki were back in Milwaukee. Rick and Sandy were in Portland, OR. Today, with a packed Tundra, I boogied home. For the time being.

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Mom did make things a bit easier for us. She not only had a will, she had a couple of annuities clearly labeled for her girls, a savings account labeled "For My Funeral." Her safety box contained all the papers we needed and before she went into the hospital she told Nancy where the key was located so there was no searching involved. Mom also wrote her own obit and, with just a little bit of editing, that's what we put in the paper.

******

Terry will be back home Sunday or Monday. The week after that Terry, Lucille and I will be back in Linden to do some more packing and cleanup of the old homestead and--hopefully--engage a real estate agent to sell the house and transfer the car title to Grandson Brian who did all the long distance driving on the 10 year-old Chevy Malibu with only 25K miles. (If there ever was a chance to list a car as "owned by a little old lady who only drove it on Sundays" this is it.)

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.