ACC—With Florida State driving for the go-ahead score in the final minute of the game, North Carolina State’s Nate Irving recovered a Seminoles’ fumble in the last minute, to lock up a 28-24 Wolfpack win over the Seminoles. NC State dodged a bullet and keeps their ACC title hopes alive. The Wolfpack has exceeded last season’s win count and got its first signature win under fourth-year head coach Tom O’Brien.
Big 12—Baylor defeated Texas for the first time since 1997 in front of a crowd of 100,452. The Bears rallied after being down 19-10 early in the third quarter. Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III passed for two touchdowns and ran for a third in the 30-22 win. He is emerging as a Heisman dark horse. Baylor punter Darryl Epperson averaged 56.8 yards on four punts. The Bears are in first place in the Big 12 South and got their first win in Austin since 1991.
Big East—The Huskies defeated the Mountaineers for the first time ever Friday night. West Virginia came into East Hartford with a superior roster, but Connecticut, led by demoted-to-third-string quarterback Zach Frazer, found a way to win in overtime. The Mountaineers’ Ryan Clarke fumbled 1 yard from the goal line and came away pointless on their overtime possession. The Huskies went on to hit a 27-yard field goal to get the 16-13 win. The game was a story of turnovers. West Virginia fumbled seven times and lost four of to the Huskies. UConn had no turnovers.
Big Ten—Iowa shredded previously-undefeated Michigan State by a score of 37-6. The Iowa defense only allowed the Spartans to rush for 31 yards and picked off Spartans quarterback Kirk Cousins three times. All three interceptions were converted into points. Iowa gave up no turnovers of its own. Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi was 11 for 15 with three touchdowns. The Hawkeyes keep their Big Ten title hopes alive.
C-USA—Tulsa stunned Notre Dame 28-27 in South Bend Saturday. With the Irish leading 27-18 in the third quarter, the Golden Hurricane scored a touchdown and later a field goal with 3:23 left to take a one-point lead. Notre Dame had one more possession to retake the lead, but Tulsa cornerback John Flanders intercepted Notre Dame quarterback Tommy Rees’s touchdown pass at the goal line. A Tulsa team composed of mostly two-star recruits beat a Notre Dame team chock-full of blue chip recruits. The last time a current member of Conference USA defeated the Fighting Irish was Southern Methodist in the 1984 Aloha Bowl. The last time the Golden Hurricane beat a BCS automatic qualifying team was Iowa in 1996.
MAC—With Western Michigan leading late in the fourth quarter by a point, the Northern Illinois Huskies put together a seven-play, 79-yard scoring drive to retake the lead by seven. Chandler Harnish connected with Willie Clark in the end zone, and seconds later Harnish completed a pass to Nathan Palmer for the two-point conversion. With 3:42 remaining, the Broncos had a chance to tie the game up. Western Michigan drove to the Northern Illinois 16 yard line only to be intercepted by Huskies defensive end Jake Coffman. Northern Illinois is perfect in conference play and on a six-game winning streak.
MWC—With San Diego State’s victory over Wyoming on Saturday, the Aztecs have become bowl eligible for the first time since 1998. Quarterback Ryan Lindley passed for three touchdowns and running back Brandon Sullivan rushed for three touchdowns in the 48-38 victory at War Memorial Stadium in Laramie. Wideouts DeMarco Sampson and Vincent Brown each had over 140 yards receiving. Brady Hoke has the SDSU program headed in the right direction.
Pac-10—No. 2 Oregon gave USC its third loss of the season in a 53-32 decision; Oregon's 53 points were the most the school has every scored against USC. Running back LaMichael James ran for 239 yards, wide receiver Jeff Maehl picked up 145 yards, and quarterback Derron Thomas passed for 288 yards. In all, the Ducks scored a yard shy of 600 yards. The Trojans came into the Coliseum as an underdog for the first time since 2001 and lost the biggest game in their bowl-less season. By contrast, the Ducks have further-asserted themselves to play in the BCS Championship Game on January 10th.
SEC—The Florida Gators came off a three-game losing streak in their 34-31 overtime win over Georgia, whose three-game winning streak was snapped with the loss. With a crowd of 84,444 on hand at Municipal Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, the Bulldogs forced overtime when they scored seven with less than five minutes left in the game. During overtime, Georgia’s Aaron Murray was picked off by Will Hill, and the game would have been over if Hill had not stepped out of bounds at the Bulldog’s 4 yard line on the return. Florida punter Chas Henry, filling in for injured Gators kicker Caleb Sturgis, split the uprights on a 37-yard field goal to seal the win for Florida.
Sun Belt—Louisiana-Monroe delivered Sun Belt Conference frontrunner Troy its first conference loss of the 2010 campaign. The last time the Trojans lost a conference game was 2008 to Louisiana-Monroe. The Warhawks defense played lights out, not allowing Troy to score in the last thirty-seven minutes of the game and picking off Corey Robinson twice. The Warhawks outgained the Trojans 428 yards to 285 yards.
WAC—Boise State keeps its hope alive to play in the national title games as it demolished Louisiana Tech 49-20 at Bronco Stadium on Tuesday night. Kellen Moore’s Heisman resume was padded during the games as the Broncos’ signal caller threw for 298 yards, caught a touchdown pass as a receiver, and punted a pooch punt. Running back Doug Martin had a career-high outing, rushing for 150 yards. Tyler Shoemaker also had a career-high 124 yards receiving.
ACC—The Virginia Cavaliers upset No. 12 Georgia Tech 24-21 on Saturday. It was Georgia Tech’s first loss of the season. The Cavalier defense held the Yellow Jackets’ explosive triple-option offense to 296 yards. Cornerbacks Chase Minnifield and Demetrious Nicholson each intercepted the Yellow Jackets’ Tevin Washington in the game. Virginia fans stormed the field after the huge win. Mike London’s team gained a lot of confidence halting Georgian Tech’s best start since 1966.
Big 10—No. 23 Michigan State dominated in-state rival No. 11 Michigan for the fourth straight year. The Spartans’ defense held Heisman-wannabe Denard Robinson to just 42 yards rushing and put up seven sacks. Spartans safety Isaiah Lewis ran back an interception for 39 yards to secure the 28-14 victory. Kirk Cousins passed for 120 yards and had two touchdown passes to Keshawn Martin. Edwin Baker rushed for 167 yards and a touchdown. The ESPN-overhyped Wolverines were no match for a physical Spartan defense. In Michigan, the Wolverines are the Spartans’ “Little Sister”.
Big 12—No. 21 Texas A&M shellacked No. 20 Baylor 55-28. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill passed for 415 yards and a career-high six touchdowns. Wideout Ryan Swope caught four touchdowns—two of which were 68 yards—and had 206 yards receiving. The Aggies put up a season-high 681 yards of offense. Texas A&M’s defense sacked Robert Griffin III five times, and Aggies cornerback Dustin Harris intercepted Griffin, only the second pick the Baylor signal caller has thrown this season. Texas A&M wins the Battle of the Brazos for the third straight season and the 19th time in the last 21 meetings. The rivalry will likely not be played again anytime soon, as the Aggies head to the SEC.
Big East—Connecticut moved to 1-1 in the Big East standings as it defeated South Florida 16-10 in East Hartford. The Huskies did not score a touchdown in the victory. Kicker Dave Teggart kicked three field goals, and cornerback Byron Jones ran a Bulls fumble 10 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. The turnover proved to be the game winning score. UConn forced two interceptions and two fumble and only gave up two fumbles of its own. Connecticut is 7-1 in Big East home openers and 4-1 against South Florida at home.
C-USA—Southern Methodist defeated Central Florida 38-17 on Saturday, reversing the outcome of the 2010 Conference USA Championship Game. Mustangs quarterback J.J. McDermott passed for 358 yards and two scores. Mustangs wide receiver Cole Beasley had ten catches for 134 yards and a score. Running back Zach Line rushed for 82 yards and two scores. In the second quarter, SMU cornerback Richard Crawford ran back a punt 92 yards for a touchdown. The Mustangs cruise to 3-0 in league play and 5-1 overall.
MAC—Eastern Michigan defeated rival Central Michigan on the road 35-28. The Eagles blew a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter, allowing the Chippewas to tie the game at 28 apiece with 1:09 left, but Eagles quarterback Alex Gillett scored on a 30-yard scamper with 37 seconds left in the game to get the 35-28 win. All five of Eastern’s touchdowns came on runs. Running backs Dominque White and Javonti Greene each carried the ball nineteen times. White had 161 yards and a touchdown, while Green had 96 yards and three touchdowns. Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan meet next Saturday; the winner of that game will win the Michigan MAC Trophy.
MWC—Boise State routed Colorado State 63-13 in its first Mountain West conference game. Kellen Moore was 26 for 30, accumulating 338 yards and four passing touchdowns. Running back Doug Martin averaged 10 yards per carry and had 200 yards rushing and three touchdowns. Wide receiver Tyler Shoemaker had nine grabs for 180 yards and two touchdowns. Colorado State’s defense allowed 742 yards of offense by the Broncos, a Boise State school record. Broncos backups saw significant time in the second half of the blowout.
Pac-12—USC won its eighth straight game against its in-state rival California on Saturday night at AT&T Park. The Trojans defense forced five turnovers. Linebacker Dion Bailey had two of the three interceptions. The USC defense held Cal to just 1.3 yards per rush for a total of 35 rushing yards. The Trojans had a 23-0 lead until late in the third quarter. Kyle Negrete averaged 42 yards on his five punts. Freshman kicker Andre Heidari was perfect, going 3 for 3 on both field goals and extra points. Despite criticisms, USC moves to 5-1 and 3-1 in Pac-12 play.
SEC—Alabama made a statement by beating OIe Miss 52-7. The Crimson Tide outgained the Rebels 615 to 141. Mississippi scored a touchdown on their opening drive, but after that, the game belonged to Alabama. The Crimson Tide scored 52 unanswered points and did not turn the ball over a single time in a very lopsided game. The 52 points amounted to Ole Miss’s worst loss since a 1981 49-3 loss to Florida and Bama’s largest accumulation of points in a SEC game since 1990. Trent Richardson averaged 10.8 yards per carry and also had four touchdown runs.
Sun Belt—Louisiana-Monroe got its second straight victory over Troy in a 38-10 win on the road. The Warhawks were down 10-3 in the third quarter before scoring 28 unanswered points. The Warhawks’ defense played lights out, holding a potent Troy offense to just 126 yards (140 passing yards, -14 rushing yards). Linebacker Cameron Blakes and safety Isaiah Newsome each intercepted Troy’s Corey Robinson. UL-Monroe’s offense put up 523 yards. Warhawks quarterback Kolton Browning had 275 passing yards and three touchdown throws. Warhawks wideout Tavarese Maye had 161 receiving yards, which included a 38-yard touchdown catch.
WAC—San Jose State bested Hawaii 28-27 in a sloppy Friday night game at Spartan Stadium that saw twelve turnovers. Both the Warriors and the Spartans had three interceptions and three fumbles. Matt Faulkner connected with sophomore wide receiver Chandler Jones on a 37-yard touchdown strike with just 36 seconds left in the game to get the go-ahead score. Fans stormed the field as the Spartans beat Hawaii at home for the first time since 1997. San Jose State has won three of their last four games after going 1-12 last season. Mike McIntyre is turning things around in San Jose.
