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College Football Notebook: Week 8
by Mike Neri
Play Some Defense for the Gipper! If you’re a totals player, you have
to like Notre Dame under new coach Charlie Weis. They have a devastating spread
offense under Weis and a terrible defense, a great formula for “overs.” Notre
Dame is 5-2 “over” the total this season. Saturday’s game with BYU went over
the total halfway through the third quarter! It’s always nice to count winning
tickets in the third quarter.
Bring on USC! The final numbers found Texas Tech with more yardage than
Texas, 468-444. However, that doesn’t come close to telling the Longhorns dominance
in a 52-17 rout of previously unbeaten Texas Tech. QB Vince Young is a 235-pound
speedster, the most dangerous running quarterback in the country. And the Texas
defense is ready for a challenge like USC, so let’s stop with festivities and
get the national championship game on.
Clemson at Georgia Tech: The underdog is an astounding 25-6 against the
spread the last 31 meetings!
QB Switcheroo in Tallahassee? Bobby Bowden said that he was ready to
replace quarterback Drew Weatherford with fellow redshirt freshman Xavier Lee
against Virginia two weeks ago before Weatherford took the Seminoles on a four-play,
47-yard drive that enabled the Seminoles to cut a 26-10 deficit to 26-18 early
in the fourth quarter.
Big 10 Offensive Machine: Northwestern turned heads Saturday with a remarkable
rout on the road of Michigan State. QB Brett Basanez threw for 331 yards and
two touchdowns and ran for two more scores to lead Northwestern to its third
straight win, a 49-14 over No. 22 Michigan State. Northwestern had 533 total
yards and is 5-2 “over” the total. However, the defense is still terrible, ranked
116th in the nation last week. And they have been the Cardiac Kids this season,
losing to Penn State by 5, beating Wisconsin by 3, topping Purdue by 5 and Northern
Illinois by 1 point. They also lost 52-21 at Arizona State. This offense is
impressive, but can they keep pace in the competitive Big 10 with no defense?
Georgia/Florida SEC Showdown: Think the Bulldogs missed QB D.J. Shockley
Saturday in their 23-20 squeaker over Arkansas? Arkansas had the edge in yards
332-217. Remember, that’s the same Razorbacks squad that gave up 70 to USC.
Little-used QB Joe Tereshinski took over for Shockley, who has a knee injury
and probably won’t be available to face Florida. The undefeated Bulldogs have
beaten the Gators only twice in the last 15 meetings.
World Series on the Gridiron? With the World Series starting Saturday,
it appeared a couple of football teams got in the spirit with baseball-like
scores. Alabama beat Tennessee 6-3 while North Carolina upset Virginia 7-5.
It’s still not clear if closers were credited with saves in the ninth.
Colorado at Kansas State: The Buffaloes are 7-3 ATS the last 10 meetings
in this Big 12 clash.
Bend But Don’t Break: Iowa has a sensational home record and rolled up
430 yards against Michigan Saturday. However, the Wolverines came up with the
old “bend but don’t break defense” in their OT upset win. Iowa QB Drew Tate
went 27-of-39 for 288 yards, while RB Albert Young gained 153 yards, which is
a very good day for an offense, but still came up short. The Hawkeyes had not
lost at Kinnick Stadium since falling to Iowa State in 2002, ending a 22-game
win streak.
Ohio State at Minnesota: Saturday it will be Ohio State’s defense against
Minnesota’s home field carpet and speed. The Buckeyes are 10-4-1 ATS the last
15 meetings. 4 teams have a single Big 10 loss, and Ohio State is one of them,
so Minnesota will play the role of spoiler.
Big 12 North Race: It appears to be a two team race for the Big 12 North
between Colorado and Missouri. The Tigers have won three straight and had a
huge win over Nebraska Saturday. QB Brad Smith set a school record with 480
yards in total offense, ran for three scores and threw for another in a 41-24
victory over Nebraska. Smith had 246 yards rushing on 28 carries and was 21-for-36
for 234 yards. An overtime win over Iowa State and the win over the Huskers
gives them a huge boost. However, Missouri plays three Big 12 North road battles
in the final four games. Also note that after the victory, Missouri fans tore
down both goal posts. Teams off emotional wins where fans storm the field often
have a letdown the next game.
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