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College Football Notebook: Week 10
by Mike Neri
Big 10 Thriller: It's been the year of thrilling finishes in college
football. Hats off to Northwestern Saturday for adding to that list. Down 27-14,
the Wildcats scored a TD, then recovered and onside kick and drove for another
TD in the final minute for a wild 28-27 comeback win over Iowa. Ross Lane caught
a 9-yard TD pass from QB Brett Basanez with 42 seconds remaining. Iowa blew
a 24-7 halftime lead. Northwestern (6-3) is sitting pretty for a bowl invite.
And who says you need defense to win? Iowa gained 492 yards against a defense
that was allowing 494.8 on average and ranked 117th in the nation!
ACC Surprise: Unless you think Alabama is for real (they're not), Miami's
upset at Virginia Tech pretty much cements the national title game. The fifth-ranked
Hurricanes put the clamps on Marcus Vick, forcing him into six turnovers. Miami
and Virginia Tech now have only one defeat in the ACC, so that’s the battle
for the Hokies now, not the national title. Mack Brown and Vince Young thank
you.
Bring on the Buffaloes! Speaking of the national title picture, suddenly
Gary Barnett's Buffaloes are the team to watch. No, they can't win the title,
but this is a very good offense with a terrific quarterback in Joel Klatt. Colorado
just whipped Missouri, 41-12. They appear to be on a collision course for the
Big 12 title game with Texas. The same Texas everyone expects to be playing
USC for the title. Colorado is itching to play the spoiler, if possible, and
avenge a 42-17 October 15 loss at Texas.
Defense Does Win: All right, so defense is important. That was on display
Saturday as well in the Big 10 during a showdown between 8-1 teams Wisconsin
and Penn State. Both had strong offenses, but only Penn State had a great defense.
Bettors pushed the Nittany Lions from 10 to a 13-point favorite. The Lions dominated
defensively and won. Penn State will be one of the more motivated team in the
country in November, finally having a bust-out season after several bad years.
Golden Bears Gone Wild! Cal host No. 1 USC this weekend. It will be
the first meeting on this field between the two teams since Cal upset USC 34-31
in overtime two years ago. That's also the last time the Trojans lost a game!
The underdog is 11-4 ATS the last 15 meetings.
Big 10 Battle: Michigan State travels to Minnesota Saturday. The underdog
is 7-1 ATS the last 8 meetings.
Passing Efficiency Duel: You might have overlooked the Western/Eastern
Michigan MAC battle on Saturday, but the first half featured an incredible duel
of pinpoint quarterbacks. Early in the second quarter, QBs Matt Bohnet and Tim
Hiller had combined for 283 yards, 5 TDs, no interceptions, on a mind-boggling
27-of-29 passing! Hiller finished 24-of-30 for 256 yards, 4 TDs, no picks in
the 44-36 win
Navy at Notre Dame: It will be Navy's ground game against Notre Dame's
spread passing attack. Notre Dame will win, as usual, but the Middies are 11-4
against the spread the last 15 years.
Relief in Dawg Land: Georgia sat this weekend out, and they Bulldogs
got good news as QB D.J. Shockley is recovering well and is on pace to start
this weekend against Auburn. Shockley experimented with a brace, which he'll
wear on his left knee for the rest of the season. The offense was flat without
him in the loss to Florida, their only defeat.
Pac 10 Bottom Feeders: Not much is at stake in this upcoming dog. However,
notice that the favorite is 7-0 against the spread the last 7 years!
Mizzou Laying Another Egg: Every year big things are expected from Missouri
and coach Gary Pinkell. But they continue to disappoint against good competition
(and even some bad competition). Missouri off a 42-12 loss to Colorado as quarterback
Brad Smith laid another egg against a quality opponent: 160 pass yards, 16 rushes
on 13 carries. “Maybe they felt too much pressure. Maybe I did it," Missouri
Pinkel said after the loss. Missouri continues to have bad defenses under Pinkel,
and notice they are 6-2-1 over the total.
But We Have More Med Students! Stanford has to travel up the coast to
face Oregon State again. The Cardinal is just 3-9 ATS the last dozen meetings.
A Team on the Way Up: The defensive weaknesses that plagued UCLA all
year finally caught up, as Arizona thrashed the Bruins 52-14. Arizona, which
lost 19 of its last 21 Pac-10 home games, rushed for 320 yards. Willie Tuitama,
an 18-year-old freshman in his second college start, threw for two early touchdowns
and Arizona rolled for 519 yards. He's an exciting young QB and Mike Stoops
is a gifted young coach. Perhaps the Wildcats are on the way up in the Pac 10,
especially after winning at Oregon State last week as a +10 dog.
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