BCS Broncos!

Hot: BoyC State

With an interception for a touchdown on the first series and up by only three at the half, things were looking grim for the Broncos. There is nothing Fresno would have liked more than to roll into Bronco Stadium and take down the team who upset them when they tried to crash the BCS party several years ago. But then there was the third quarter….28 points….not to mention the fourth…..20 points….and Fresno was left with another painful reminder of just how far their season fell from the big talk it started with. The Broncos, on the other hand, helped Ian Johnson tie Marshall Faulk for the number one position on the WAC all-time TD list, managed not to get any penalties as Kyle Wilson returned a punt for a TD (4th longest in school history), and even convinced grumpy ol’ Pat Hill that they deserve to be in a BCS game. Hopefully the bowl representatives in attendance were convinced too! 

Not: Three’s Company

In a season where many of the top conferences and teams are looking a little sad, it seems like a great time for a team from a lesser conference to break into the BCS bowl party. But only one is likely to. Utah has the bid all wrapped up…and there is some talk about Boise State breaking in for another BCS first. But what about Ball State? They too did all they could this season. They beat all of their opponents and played all kinds of crazy days of the week to get some network love. And, in the end, they left without a chance to prove that they have what it takes to play with the big boys.  

Hot: Quacking under pressure

Oregon State rolled onto their home turf Saturday confident that they would clinch the Pac 10 title and make a trip to the Rose Bowl. Oregon, however, had a much different plan in mind. The Ducks dominated the game from start the finish, scoring the most points EVER allowed by the Beavers. Barring UCLA doing the unthinkable by topping USC next week, the Beavers will not be smelling the roses after all.  

Not: Auburn

The Tigers may have won the Iron Bowl six times in a row, but they were entirely inadequate against this year’s #1 Bama team. The Tigers not only failed to score, but they let Bama get their first win in Tuscaloosa. This game also marked Auburn’s fourth loss to a ranked team this season (out of four tries). 

Hot: Float like a butterfly, sting like a Yellow Jacket?

Heading into the locker room at the half, the Bulldogs certainly seemed sure to come back out and wrap up a yet another win over Georgia Tech. Instead, they came out and watched Rushing Roddy Jones turn up the heat and push the Yellow Jackets ahead. Rather than losing this game, along with several others predicted this season, Tech came out on top to prove that they have a lot more to offer than they’ve been given credit for.  

Not: LoserSU

Once again, LSU managed to look pitiful this week, leaving most people wondering, “How did they ever manage to win seven games?” On fourth down with 22 seconds to go, it seems like LSU had done just enough to escape the mediocre Razorbacks. Instead, Casey Dick found London Crawford and the win in the end zone.  Maybe LSU and Fresno should throw themselves a pity party!

Hot: Utah State murders NMSU

The Aggies upped the other Aggies by 45 points in their senior day match up. Utah State not only won, but totally dominated New Mexico State, holding them to MINUS SEVEN rushing yards! In fact, NMSU’s offense was a total failure. Their only score came on defense when they tackled Curtis Marsh for a safety. What a great way to end the season….for half the game’s Aggies anyway!  

Not: Finding new coaches

In Utah State’s best season in years, the school decided to relieve the coaching staff of their duties. The Aggies may have only won 3 games this season, but they were conference wins. Beyond that, they had several close games and over all looked WAY better this season than they have in the recent past, particularly toward the end of the season. Sometimes it makes sense to fire a coach, but I certainly do not support this move by Utah State. I hope all the displaced coaches find places at schools where they will get more out of all the work they put in.

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!

Pilfering Pete

Hot: Iowa

People may have already been congratulating Penn State on their undefeated season and impending trip to the national championship game, but Iowa was not among them. They proved this weekend that no matter how good a team is, the season is not over until every game is marked off the calendar. Right, Florida? USC? What’s most entertaining is that Daniel Murray, who kicked the game-winning FG with one second to go, was only 1 of 3 on field goal attempts coming into the game. He actually hadn’t made one since the season opener! Nice!

Not: Tennessee

Remember the curse of the “W” and how Wyoming was among those terrible, terrible, TERRIBLE teams? Well, apparently Tennessee is even MORE terrible. As if losing to the Crudy Cowboys wasn’t bad enough, the Vols did it at home on Homecoming. Yes, the lowest-scoring team in college football held the Vols to seven points, their lowest-scoring non-conference game in six years. SUPER ouch! 

Hot: Texas Tech

Yes, they’ve still got it. Like most of the nation, I was pumped up to watch another nail-biting, high-scoring shoot out Saturday night. Instead, I nodded off for a good portion of Tech’s lopsided victory over Oklahoma State. Remember, though, Red Raiders, just like Penn State learned this weekend, the season is not over until every game is finished. Oklahoma is going to be a crazy tough hurdle to overcome.

Not: Schools talking to Coach Pete

Rumor has it that several schools are trying to persuade Chris Peterson to leave Boise State. To those schools, I have this to say: “You can’t have him. So there!” Scary, right? Seriously, though, Coach Pete already committed to “Beat Coach Pete” so he pretty much has to stay at BSU forever! http://rec.boisestate.edu/beatpete/index.cfm

Hot: Pat Hill’s pants….which are on fire

According to the commentators in yet another pathetic Fresno State loss, Pat Hill cited the reason for Fresno’s tough non-conference scheduling as that they can’t get anyone else to play them. Yeah right, Pat! Let’s review: Fresno does or does not have a good track record against schools at or below their level? DOES NOT is the correct answer. So tell me, Pat, why exactly would those teams have a reason to be scared to play you? Shame on you for lying.  

Not: WVU’s overtime loss

Just when things were back on track, West Virginia loses to Cincinnati in overtime and Michigan beats Minnesota! For much of the game, the Mountaineers never even looked to have a chance at winning. They were down 20 to 7 at the start of the fourth quarter. From there it was Fiesta Bowl-level craziness to take the game into overtime. WVU scored a safety, a TD complete with a 2-point conversion, recovered an on-sides kick, and made a 52-yard FG to tie up the game! PHEW! Going into overtime, it seemed like WVU was destined to win, but they could only manage a FG on their possession. From there, the offense could only watch helplessly as the Mountaineer defense roughed the passer and failed to stop the Bearcats’ TD attempt.  

Hot: George Iloka….and the rest of the team too!

Bronco fans were definitely non-plussed with the plethora of mistakes in Saturday’s game. However, on paper, the Broncos are wicked hot (unless you look at the penalties…)! FOUR players passed for TDs: Coughlan, Perretta, Moore, Bissel.  The offense accrued 563 yards. The defense forced SIX turnovers. FIVE different players scored: Pettis, Powers, Childs, Johnson, Perretta. But my favorite player of the game was George Iloka who snagged two interceptions!

Not: Football fan fatalities

This is most definitely the most unimpressive thing in college football right now. Apparently, a heated argument about the Alabama/LSU game led to the fatal shooting of two fans. Read the limited details here:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3693334

Hot: Ball State

Quietly, but steadily, Ball State continues to win and climb in the polls. The undefeated Cardinals are now sitting at 14 in the BCS poll. Ball State, currently 9-0, is having its best season in more than forty years. And Wednesday night, they had a chance to show the nation why. The Cardinals easily breezed past MAC opponent Northern Illinois, beating them 45 to 14 when all was said and done.

Not: Not getting to watch Utah versus TCU

When two ranked potential BCS busters play, shouldn’t that be televised? On a channel people get? Rather than watching an exciting TCU/Utah game that could have had major implications for other BCS hopefuls, we had to sit through the Maryland/Virginia Tech game instead, just to see the score scroll by on the bottom of the screen! A wag of the finger to you, programming decision makers!

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

The Penalty Nazi: No Celebrating for You; One Year.

Hot: Pirate Power

Two games into the season and ECU is proving that their bowl game victory over BSU was no fluke! There were golf claps all around for the Pirates when they took down VT last weekend, but no one really thought they could top WVU.  Boy were we wrong! The pirates not only won, they destroyed the Mountaineers. Everytime WVU’s defense had a man wrapped up, he magically gained another 10-12 yards before dropping to the field. Looking at the rest of their line up, the Pirates may just run their way into a national championship game!

Not: 100K to Play

Idaho payed Idaho State $100,000+ to get them on their schedule this season. Couldn’t Idaho really spend those dollars on something more valuable? My mom and dad summarized it best…..Dad: “They could have used that money on new jock straps or something.” Mom: “That, or some balls to put in them.” Ouch! Wicked burn from a senior citizen, Vandals! But hey, you gotta get some W’s on record, right?

Hot: Do you want RICE with that?

Rice fans have been waiting a LOOONG time for something to get excited about….and this season may be it! After handing it to June Jones in his debut last week, Rice executed again to get a victory over Memphis on Saturday. It wasn’t the steamroller win of last week, but a last-minute interception, returned for a TD, gave them the 2-0 streak to start the season. The interception wasn’t the only thrilling moment of the game. Just prior, the Owls successfully attempted a 2-point conversion to tie things up at 35. It may have required a little luck, but a win is a win in the end! And this one was a real HOOT for Owl fans!

Not: Oregon State — AGAIN

Like many of their Pac 10 peers before them, Oregon State took a dive in Happy Valley.  After their heart-breaking loss against Stanford last week, the Beavers certainly weren’t hoping for the spectacular trouncing they recieved against the Nittany Lions. Perhaps the Penn State players tapped into the fiery spirit Joepa showed the media when they inquired about his need to retire. Whatever their motivation, they are on a 2-0 roll to start the season……the Beavers, however, fall on the other end of the spectrum.   

Hot: Vandy-tastic

Vandy hasn’t had a winning season since 1982, and hasn’t even been off to a two-win start since 1989….so it is with MUCH ado that Vandy earned the big W over the Gamecocks on Thursday night. What could be better? Well, proving that last season’s win over South Carolina was NOT a fluke after all. As Jared Hawkins put it, “We’re not a blowoff team. We’re going to hit you in the mouth.” Holla. Go Vandy, Go!

Not: Ohio State

Beanie Shmeanie. One players does not turn a #3-ranked team into a might-as-well-have-been-a-loss victor over a sad team like Ohio. Were it not for their FIVE turnovers, Ohio certainly would have picked off the mighty Buckeyes. What’s done is done, though. Brush it off and prepare to celebrate next weekend! USC won’t put up much of a fight! (No…I’m not laughing right now….okay…I am…a lot.)

Hot: Utah

Once Urban Meyer skipped merrily away to Florida after Utah first busted the BCS party, it seemed certain that the Utes were out of the picture for good. But last week it was the Utes who skipped merrily, away from the Big House with a victory over Michigan…a win that afforded them their first ranking in four years. The Utes may still have been somewhat hung over from the high of that victory because they looked a little pathetic in the first half of their game against UNLV. From there, though, the Utes scored 35 unanswered points to get the win and prove they deserve the respect they earned in last week’s game.

Not: Florida’s Win to End Miami Streak

Don’t be fooled by the lopsided score. The majority of Florida’s play against Miami was less than thrilling. In fact, Tebow looked like he couldn’t throw a pass on-target if Urban Meyer paid him! On their first possession, the Gators easily drove 40 yards, after a truly sad Miami punt, to put it in the end zone, but things cooled WAY down after that. Luckily, the Gators were able to heat things back up in the fourth quarter, managing to put an end to a Miami’s six-game winning streak in the match up.

Hot: Iowa Football, NOT its Fans

Maine and FIU are surely not in the upper escelon of the football class structure, but Iowa did their best to make sure they didn’t forget it! Combined, the two only scored 3 points to the 88 points Iowa put up. The only other thing to say about this game is SHAME on you Iowa fans! How dare you boo your back-up quarterback in a blowout??? Not classy. You need to go sit in the corner and think about just how fickle you’ve become. And maybe write out an apology note begging the team to forgive you and take you back.     

Not: Pac 10 Officiating

Throughout their contest on Saturday night, BYU and Washington traded score for score. Midway through the 4th, all were tied at 21. BYU put together a successful drive, finding the end zone, going up 28 – 21, and giving the ball back to the Huskies with 3 minutes left. In response, Jake Locker scrambled his way down the field and finally into the end zone to give his team a chance to tie things up and take the battle into overtime. After scoring, Locker tossed the ball over his shoulder and rushed to jumping, ecstatic teammates to celebrate……uh oh…..out came the dreaded yellow hanky…..Celebration penalty against Washington. Ultimately, this penalty, which backed up the PAT 15 yards, cost the team and the fans the chance at an exciting overtime competition. Those officials need to go take a time out with the Iowa fans…. 

Hot: Giving your Best

The worst loss in Washington State’s history (124 years in all) is Cal’s gain! In his first start, Cal’s Jahvid Best ran for 200 yards, 30 more than the Cougars totaled. Even better (Best…better…get it?), he did it in 14 carries! Best started the game off right with an 80 yard run for a touchdown and continued to embarrass the Pac 10′s worst team for the remainder of the game.

Not: Colorado

After a thrilling in-state rivalary win over Colorado State last weekend, Colorado nearly toppled to the oh-so-sad Eastern Washington Eagles of the Big Sky conference. The Eagles had a solid lead up to the fourth quarter….Who is the dummy who decided games should be 1 hour anyway? If quarters were only 10 minutes, the Eagles would have had high fives and butt slaps all around after the game. Instead, the Buffaloes managed two TDs and a FG to take the lead. But it wasn’t until the last play of the game that they could be certain of victory. The Eagles had a chance to tie things up with a TD pass. Sadly, Colorado intercepted it with 3 seconds left.  This debacle could spell good news for the Mountaineers who face Colorado next.