So Many Nots, So Little Time

There were about 10 more not-worthy teams this week, but not enough hots to balance them out!

Hot: Tiller’s Last Hurrah

Sure, sure. Neither Purdue nor Indiana has exactly a good record, but the Boilermakers pounded the Hoosiers by the biggest margin since 1893! Despite the disappointing season, Korey Sheets captured the school record for rushing touchdowns. And with the win, Purdue can once again proudly display the well-deserved Old Oaken Bucket!

Not: The Blasted Bye Week

Nothing screws up a team’s momentum like a bye week. Just ask Texas Tech! Their performance Saturday looked like, well, like The Citadel versus Florida! The Citadel, who isn’t even doing well in their FCS conference, lost to Florida 19 to 70. Instead of watching a exciting offensive battle, fans were instead given 3 turnovers, 45 rushing yards, barely 21 points, and the most points given up in school history.

Hot: Northwestern

Northwestern now has nine wins and is back in the rankings! This is only the fifth time in school history a Wildcat team has reached nine wins….the last time was when Coach Fitzgerald was a player. Go Cats Go!

Not: BYUTah

What good is a rivalry game if the underdog can’t win? Shame on you, Cougars! The Broncos were counting on you to pave the way for their second trip into the BCS party! It’s pretty hard to come up with a win when your quarterback throws the ball to the other team FIVE times….most of them in one quarter….isn’t it?

Hot: The New Ole Miss

The time of dismissing Ole Miss may have come to an end. Coming into the Florida game, the Rebels had lost 15 games to ranked teams. In just two month, they have beaten Florida and LSU, and barely lost to Alabama. The Rebel defense held LSU to just a little more then 200 yards.  

Not: The Orange Crush

Welcome loss #14 for Notre Dame in 2 seasons! Seems like without Eye Candy Quinn they can’t do much of anything. Sure, this season is better than last, but losing to Syracuse? The Fighting Irish might as well have taken a dive to WASHINGTON (the only completely defeated BCS team)! But with 8 losses this season, The Orange needed something good to happen!

Post-Halloween Thrillers

Hot: Utah State

The Aggies rarely have much to be excited about, but Saturday they solidly trounced Hawaii at home. The Aggies scored in every quarter to come out 16 points ahead of the Warriors. Interestingly, the Warriors had more yards and more first downs, but it wasn’t enough to win.

Not: NMU not being Utah

We cheered and cheered, but the Lobos just couldn’t get it done! New Mexico had the entire fourth quarter to take the lead, or even tie it up for OT. Instead, in true Lobo fashion, they settled for the loss, letting the Utes keep their BCS hopes alive.

Hot: Floridatastic

It isn’t often that Kirk Herbstreit and I see eye to eye, but I think he’s got it right when he says that Florida is the best team in college football…..home loss to Ole Miss or not.  The Gators gladly crushed Georgia Saturday night. From the first play, the trash talk and unportsmanlike conduct was blatant on both sides of the ball, but the Gators didn’t let it distract them. They held the Bulldogs to 3 measly points in the first half and only 7 more in the second. In fact, the Gators handed Georgia their worst loss under Mark Richt. Nicely done Gators.

Not: Quadruple Overtime

Despite three turnovers and four overtimes, Pitt managed to overcome Notre Dame and become bowl eligible for the first time since their Fiesta Bowl loss to Utah in 2004. But having to go through four overtimes to beat Notre Dame is not hot. In fact, this game marked ND’s ninth loss to teams with winning records in nearly 3 seasons. In fact, Notre Dame hasn’t beaten a ”quality” team since the second game in 2006 when they took down a #19 ranked Penn State.  

Hot: West Virginia is back on track

As Rich Rodriguez struggles at Michigan, Bill Stewart has his team back on track and bowl eligible. In fact, WVU is 3-0 in conference play after easily beating a 25-ranked UConn team on Saturday. And, high five for Pat White, who passed the 4000 rushing yards and 5000 passing yards marks.

Not: Fractured Freshmen

Houston wide reciever, Patrick Edwards, entered Tuesday night’s game against Marshall as 28th in terms of receiving yards per game at 86.3 YPG, second among freshmen. Unfortunately, when running for a pass, he ran out of the back of the end zone into a band equipment cart, suffering a compound fracture in his right leg.  Colorado, too, lost an outstanding freshman. Running back, Rodney Stewart, also broke his right leg this week. Stewart’s leg was broken in the second quarter during a horse-collar tackle by Texas A&M linebacker Von Miller.

Hot: Big finishes

What a weekend for fantastic, thrilling, nail-biting, game-winning plays!! Northwestern, looking to have given away the win to Minnesota, intercepted the ball for a touchdown with 12 seonds left. East Carolina intercepted a UCF pass in overtime, setting up a FG for the win. Michigan State managed a 44-yard FG with 7 seconds left to top Wisconsin. Kentucky blocked Mississippi State’s PAT to prevent OT and gain the win. Georgia Tech’s defense forced a fumble on Florida State’s final TD attempt, giving Tech their first win over FSU in ACC play.  And, of course, Texas Tech had an amazing last-second (literally) TD pass for the win.   

Not: Michigan

Not only did Michigan lose to a pitiful Purdue this weekend, they also managed to make it impossible to become bowl eligible this season. The last time the Wolverines were THIS bad was more than three decades ago.  AND Michigan will have its first losing season in FOUR decades. In fact, the last time Purdue managed a win against Michigan was 8 years ago in 2000. 

Hot: Boise State is looking great

The Broncos looked excellent against New Mexico State on Saturday. The Aggies, on the other hand, did not have much to celebrate in this homecoming game. In fact, on 39 rushing attempts, the Aggies only managed 37 yards….less than one yard on average! Boise State still had a lot of penalties, but did limit it to two during punt returns, which is a major improvement.

Not: State of Washington

Once again, the State of Washington was poorly represented in Pac 10 play this weekend. Neither team scored at all. Washington’s performance is arguably the least embarrassing, considering they had to travel to USC. Washinston State, however, let Stanford score 58 points in their biggest win in 59 years.

W for Weaklings

Hot: Vinny Peretta; Ian Johnson; Jeremy Childs, Jeremy Avery

Despite their 11 penalties and two turnovers, the Broncos did some excellent work Friday against San Jose State. Vinny Peretta made an AMAZING catch, dragging his toe on the grass as he caught Kellen’s Moore’s pass on the way out of bounds. Ian Johnson captured the school record for touchdowns, 51, and is 7 away from the most in WAC history….behind LT and Marshall Faulk. Jeremy Childs blocked a punt, setting up excellent field position, and Jeremy Avery showed just how quick and powerful he is. Kudos, boys!

Not: Trailing Tennessee

As the commentators pointed out incessantly, “you only get so many chances”…..and Tennessee failed to make the most of any of them. The Volunteers had the talent and the opportunities they needed to get the upset Saturday, but instead they flailed around painfully for the majority of the match up. Daniel Lincoln missed a field goal near the end of the first half. On the next possesion, two penalties backed the Vols up from 14 yards to go to 34, setting up another miss by Lincoln. All together, the Vols offense only managed to NOT go three-and-out 4 times.

Hot: Making a Penn STATEment 

The Nittany Lions (which is a type of mountain lion, if you wondered) managed to get their first Big 10 victory in the Horseshoe Saturday night. The majority of the game was a (dare I say boring?) defensive battle, but Penn State’s offense turned up the heat in the fourth quarter, scoring a TD and a FG. The defense intercepted a would-be-game-winning TD attempt by the Buckeyes to ensure the win. Joepa and crew look to continue undefeated for the remainder of the season.   

Not: Roughing the Passer

The Cowboys’ defense was primed and ready to go against Texas Saturday. Deep in Cowboy territory, their defense got in Colt McCoy’s face, causing him to throw a costly interception. Oh NO! A flag — roughing the passer. (Didn’t see that coming did you?) Rather than gaining possession and preventing a score, the penalty set up a TD run that arguably cost them the win.     

Hot: 50s and 60s

In Farenheit, this may not be hot, but on a college football scoreboard it certainly is! This week several teams scored big and embarrassed their opponents: Florida, Oklahoma, Georgia, Texas Tech, TCU, Mizzou, Rutgers (yes….Rutgers!), Kent State, and Oregon.

Not: W

No, not the president…..it seems that schools starting with W are having a tough go of it this season: Wisconsin is 1-4 in Big 10 play; Washington is 0-7; Wake Forest has lost 3 of its last 4; Western Kentucky is 2-6; Wyoming is 2-6; and Washington State is 1-7. West Virginia (5-2) and Western Michigan (6-2) are the exceptions to the W rule.  

Hot: Nicks Carolina

Things didn’t look good in the first quarter, with UNC down by 10, but explosive second and fourth quarters soundly put BC in its place. Hats off to Hakeem Nicks who gained 127 yards in the second quarter! Nice! And don’t forget the defense: they intercepted 3 BC passes along the way!

Not: Terrible Tuitama

Arizona’a defense couldn’t have done anything more to get a win against USC, unless they went out on offense too. The Wildcats’ D held USC to only 17 points, the lowest ever under Pete Carroll, but QB Tuitama was completely inept in the second half. And with last week’s breakout performer, Keola Antolin, injured in the second quarter, the rest of the offense was unable to make up for Tuitama’s struggles. In all, he completed only 14 passes out of 30 attempts.

As Shiny as a Rusty Penny

Hot: OSU beats Mizzou….and rhymes too

Even though their mascot looks more like a garden gnome than a cowboy, Oklahoma State proved Saturday that they aren’t the only OSU who is upset-worthy. The Cowboy defense picked three of Mizzou’s glorified Chase Daniel’s passes….the third on Mizzou’s final drive toward a win. Now the Cowboys are 6-0. Six and oh, six and oh, six and O-S-U!!! 

Not: Boise State….ESPN too

You know I love BSU more than…well pretty much everything…and I think Kellen Moore is great, but the majority of their performance against Southern Miss was pathetic. Bronco defense, you are excused from this reprimand. As usual, you came through when you needed to and kept BSU from even getting close to the BIG L, despite the rest of the offense’s poor performance. Oh…take the running backs, Austin Pettis, and Jeremy Childs with you. ESPN reporters, you can sit in the seats the defense just vacated. No, Kellen Moore actually did NOT shine in this game. There was more than one fumbled snap, a throw that was intercepted when the ball should have been thrown away, and pretty much all of his passes were low. LUCKILY Jeremy Childs is ridiculously fantastic and could make the catches, but Moore was far from accurate. Moore can’t take all the blame, though. The O line failed to make holes on many occasions, a big hold negated an exciting touchdown run, and the majority of the second half was made up of the ever-exciting 3 and out. Y’all better take your defense out for a nice dinner and thank them for keeping the perfect season alive!

Hot: Cotton Bowl

You couldn’t ask for a more exciting game. It was no BSU/OU Fiesta Bowl, but it WAS thrilling nonetheless. In the end Texas won, but both teams were hot in this game. There were only 3 total yards and 3 first downs difference between the two teams, despite the Longhorns possessing the ball for nearly a quarter longer than the Sooners. Bravo teams for backing up the Big 12′s credibility.

Not: Rotten Bowl

Okay….it’s not really a bowl….more like an arm pit….but this was too good to pass up:

 

Hot: Gatorade not Tiger Tang

Sure was fun being in the top five, eh Tigers? There’s not really much to say about this game. Florida showed up and never relented. The Gators worked tirelessly to prove to their fans, LSU, and the nation that the Ole Miss game was a fluke…..and they did. And in doing so, they handed LSU their biggest loss in 6 years. There’s not much GATOR than that!  

Not: TWO channels and still no coverage

While the thrilling Notre Dame/UNC game was shown on both ABC AND ESPN, viewers in our area saw neither. WE got to see the oh-so-boring USC/ASU game (turns out Coach Erikson isn’t getting along any better in Phoenix than he did in Moscow) and the even-more-boring-if-that’s-possible Ohio State/Purdue game (Idaho might actually be able to beat Purdue). Thanks a LOT schedulers!

Hot: Holy TOLEDO!

They may not be 1-AA like App State, but losing to Toledo is WAY worse on the LAME-O-Meter. That said, the fact that Toledo put their second W on the board this season against Mr. Cocky Pants Rodriguez is HOT indeed. Even better, Michigan had a chance to take it into overtime with what should have been a nice easy field goal. Instead, they suffered another home loss at the hands of an “inferior” opponent. Nice work, Rockets.

Not: Cuffs and Carts

While UCLA reciever, Terrence Austin, was being strapped to a board and taken from the field for a seriously cringe-worthy head injury, law enforcement and the second paramedic unit were busy elsewhere. Yes, instead of being concerned for the wellfare of this young man, some fans decided to use the break in play to start a fight. A fight that ended with one fan falling over the wall onto the field behind the UCLA bench. Like Austin, this fan was also carted away from the field and at least one other left in handcuffs. Pretty lame.

Maybe YOU Should be BSU too!

Hot: Fresno Proving Me RIGHT!

Another overtime game against an inferior team….only this time the Bulldogs proved that, despite my prejudice against them, I have been right all along. Fresno State was always OVER RATED!! It gets more embarrassing for Fresno when the facts are revealed: this was a home game; Hawaii has never beaten a rank team on the road; the Bulldogs turned the ball over six times; they also missed 3 field goals; Hawaii’s only win this season (until now) was against Weber State. I DO love to be right!! 

Not: The “Mighty” Ducks

Oregon was amazing on Saturday…..for like 5 minutes anyway. After that, they couldn’t have scored if the Trojans gave them the ball on the one yard line with 8 downs and benched the D line. They are THAT bad. What is Mike Bellotti thinking? Why put Masoli in at QB when he proved his inadequacy against Boise State? Despite playing nearly the same amount of time in that game, Masoli managed a measly 27 yards compared with Thomas’s 210 and 3 touchdowns. The only logical explanation is that Coach Bellotti put money on the Trojans and wanted to ensure he was gonna get paid! Holla!

Hot: Wednesday’s Winners

Go Orange! Go Big Blue! Fight! Fight! BSU! There’s really not much more to say than that. There were a few mistakes, but overall the Broncos looked great in all areas against Louisiana Tech on ESPN Wednesday night.  The Broncos continue their home turf (blue as it is) success, having only lost 1 game at home in the last five years.

Not: South Florida

The Bulls’ offense did a whole bunch of nothing in the first half of their game against Pitt. They did manage to block a punt and run it back for a score so that they were only down by 10 instead of 17 at the half. Before that score, the Bulls missed a field goal and failed to convert on a fake field goal attempt. The offense did manage to score in the second half, but not enough to overcome the Panthers. See you later, top 10.

Hot: Baller State

Ball State has made it into the Top 25 for the first time EVER! There’s something magical about being BSU…isn’t there? The Cardinals are now 6-0, and held Toledo scoreless Saturday….unlike Fresno who could barely beat them in double OT. Go FootBALL State!

Not: Freezermakers

Yeah, Purdue, you stink. Your boilers are broken. They’re making nothing but ice (and not the shiny diamond kind). It hurts me to say it. I really does. But so is life.  It’s like a box of chocolates, you know? And that’s all I have to say about that.

Hot: It will happen SOONER or later

The Sooners are only 10 points away from being the first program to reach 30,000 points scored. Unfortunately for them, Boise State plans to score that many (30k) next week. Blast those Broncos! Always trying to steal Oklahoma’s glory!  

Not: Virginia Wins

Remember when Maryland embarrassed Cal? That sure was exciting, wasn’t it? Their peformance against Virginia this weekend was just a smidge below that level. They failed to score at all and let the up-to-this-point-rather-terrible Terrapins walk all over them. They moved the ball fairly well, getting more then 300 yards of offense, but could never cash in. Better luck next week, not-so-merry land.

Bronco Fever Strikes AGAIN!

Hot: Duck Soup

Everyone….and I mean EVERYONE said that BSU did not have a shot at winning this game. As soon as they did, I knew the Broncos would win. They’ve always done better with a chip on their shoulders! They want you to doubt them; they love it! As much as the win was well-earned, had Oregon’s THIRD STRING QB gotten a concussion a little earlier, the Broncos might not be doing the happy dance this week!

Not: Fresno’s Ranking

How exactly does a team from the WAC who beat what turns out to be an incredibly inadequate Rutgers team, lost to Wisconsin at home, and barely beat TOLEDO in DOUBLE overtime get to stay in the rankings? Seriously voters! there are undefeated teams waiting in the wings! Give up the dream! This year, like every other year, is NOT the bulldogs year to shine. Make room for someone else! 

Hot: NC State wins a legitimate game!

Just when the purple Pirates had everyone convinced that they were invincible, sad little NC State put a stop to their undefeated season. In what should have been a blowout (no offense State fans), the Wolfpack, led by amazing freshman QB Russell Wilson, dusted off their A game and showed the country that they can play ball too. Three cheers for the Wolfpack!

Not: West Virginia

Don’t get me wrong here….I have a fondness for the Mountaineers and truly wanted this to be their season, but like Fresno, it’s just not. Try as they might, they just can’t seem to get it together this season. Were it not for Pat White, they might have gone 3 and out on every possession. And there’s no Pat White on the defensive side of the ball.

Hot: B, B, BYU

Other than the close/controversial win at Washington, BYU has scored at least 40 points in each of their wins (@ Northern Iowa, UCLA, Wyoming). They’ve also held UCLA and Wyoming to the big Zilcho in their last two games. The Cougars are looking pretty unstoppable at the moment. Will Utah have enough to top them in their matchup in November?

Not: Tar Heels lose thier Achilles 

Just when Carolina had a legitimate chance at a thrilling season, their QB and leader, TJ Yates broke his ankle and will be out for the next six weeks. Along with his broken ankle came the disappointing loss against Virginia Tech and a gloomy outlook on the rest of the season. Does anyone know a good Tar Healer who can get things back on track?

Hot: USC vs. Florida: National Championship

My prediction is in. The Trojans and the Gators will face off in THE game of bowl season. USC looks to be freakishly good this season. Even Tebow’s crew looks a little small in the Trojans’ shadow. But are they really that good? Or is their competition just that bad? And is Florida really on a different level? Or has their competition been, well, worth competing against? Whichever turns out to be the case, these teams are off to great starts and will be exciting to watch in January! 

Not: Pillow Fights….or are they?

Saturday’s most-pivotal matchup HAD to be the Bottom 10′s pillow fight: Idaho versus Utah State. Two WAC bottom-feeders waiting and ready for a chance to win a conference game! Idaho may have beaten the mighty Idaho State Bengals, but they were no match for the Aggies! Utah State managed a whopping 42 points to the Vandals’ sad 17. Maybe things are looking up, eh Aggies? Going to topple the giant (BYU) next week?

HOTerable mentions: Northwestern, Missouri, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Texas, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Minnesota, Penn State, TCU