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Numbers and events from last week's action...By Tom Scott
STATS WORTH REMEMBERING
THE RUSHING ANGLE: Rush Doublers (teams
who rushed for double the amount of ground yards than their opponent) were 26-4
ATS last week, while Double Digit Dog Rushers (teams who were underdogs of + 10
or more and gained more ground yards than their opponent) were 4-0 to the money.
Each week, we will update these numbers to keep you posted on the best system in
football. You will find that they win almost every week. The problem, of course,
is figuring out these plays BEFORE the game.
FROM THE STAT PAGE: Oregon won easily over Houston but concern was raised
about the Duck defense. Houie ran for 315 yards against the Webfoots but lost
because the Cougars allowed 339 rushing yards. Speaking of rushing yards,
Nebraska had 413 of them against Nevada en route to a 52-10 win for our Big
Engine Game. Led by Marlon Lucky, who carried 30 times for 233 yards and three
touchdowns, the Huskers had the Nevada defenders gasping for air by the middle
of the third quarter. Arizona State outgained San Jose State 520-115 in an
overwhelming 45-3 win. With star TB Davis out (see Medic), the Yonus of carrying
the Spartan offense fell to QB Adam Trafalis who managed just five completions
for 39 yards to go with two interceptions. Colorado QB Cody Hawkins made his
first career start a memorable one. The son of coach Dan went 18 of 31 for 201
yards and two TD's while suffering just one interception. Hawkins in now 60-0 as
a starter since sixth grade. Kansas State was outgained by 139 yards in its
narrow 24-23 win over Illinois State. The Wildcats managed just 44 yards rushing
and 207 yards total against the I-AA Redbirds. Bad days are ahead for Colorado
unless the Buffaloes can figure out a way to move the football. Dan Hawkins, the
offensive genius that piloted Boise State to record numbers, could not have been
happy with the 216 yards of total offense in the 19- 10 loss to Montana State.
Colorado State showed a surprisingly tough defense against Weber State. The Rams
allowed just 86 total yards and held the Wildcats to a negative 38 yards
rushing. Central Florida scored on an 80-yard Kevin Smith run on the first play
of the game and led the rest of the way in its 25-23 upset of NC State. The
margin of victory was provided by a sack of Wolfpack QB Daniel Evans in the end
zone for a safety. Note that NC State coach Tom O'Brien pulled Evans, who
started every game for the Pack last season, just before the half and replaced
him with Harrison Beck, a transfer from Nebraska. Beck responded with 17
completions in 28 attempts for 207 yards and two touchdowns earning him the
start in this week's Boston College game. BYU held Arizona's new spread offense
to 92 total yards and three first downs through the first three quarters of its
20-7 win. The Cougars notched their 11th consecutive win by holding Arizona's
star QB, Willie Tuitama, to just 77 yards passing over that span. The Mormon's
one-two punch of QB Max Hall (288 yards, two TD's no picks) and RB Harvey Unga
(194 yards rushing and receiving) was too much for the Wildcat defense. Boston
College rallied from a 14-0 deficit to beat Wake Forest behind 408 passing yards
and five touchdown throws from All-ACC QB Matt Ryan. Ryan's first pass of the
day was returned 21 yards for a 7-0 Wake Forest lead with just 14 seconds gone
in the game. Wake had only two yards rushing for the day against the stifling BC
defense.
UCLA piled up 624 yards of offense against the defenseless Stanford
Cardinal in a 45-17 romp at the Farm. Wyoming our Little Engine Game, played
Virginia with three new starters on both the offensive line and the defensive
line, but it didn't faze the Cowboys. They piled up 471 yards against a
supposedly strong Virginia defense while holding the Cavaliers to just 110
yards, five first downs and seven net rushing yards in a 23-3 upset win. Duke
led Connecticut 14-11 at the break before giving up 34 unanswered points in the
second to notch its 21st consecutive loss, the longest losing streak in Division
I-A. Utah gained just 61 total yards after losing QB Brian Johnson to a shoulder
injury with 4:46 left in the second quarter. Washington ran for 302 yards in its
42-12 win over Syracuse. More impressive was the eight ground yards the Huskies
allowed to the Orange, a 23-year low for Syracuse. True freshman QB Jake Locker
sparkled in his debut for UW. The kid led his team to five consecutive touchdown
drives of 80, 80, 70, 70 and 80 yards while compiling 83 yards rushing and 142
passing through three quarters of play.
PHONY PHINALS
It wasn't
exactly a phony final but LSU turned all six of Mississippi State QB Michael
Henig's interceptions into scores in its 45-0 blanking of the Bulldogs. Miami
Florida got the win and cover over Marshall but the Hurricanes needed a lot of
help from the Herd to get that done. Miami turned three Marshall interceptions
into touchdowns and recovered a fumble in the end zone for its fourth
six-pointer. Baylor missed two chip-shot field goals and lost a sure touchdown
on an unforced fumble while bowing to TCU 27-0. The fumble was by WR Justin
Akers who was heading into the end zone unimpeded when he inexplicably dropped
the football at the Horned Frog eight. Auburn scored two touchdowns in the final
121 seconds in its 23-13 win over Kansas State. The second score came when AU's
Antonio Coleman picked up a Josh Freeman fumble and rumbled 40 yards to pay
dirt. Memphis covered the spread (by a half tick) against Mississippi but the
Tigers should have won the game easily. Ole Miss got a 99-yard interception
return for a score, a recovery of a blocked punt for another, and got two field
goals following Memphis turnovers in Tiger territory. Memphis drove inside the
Rebel ten three times in the first half and got no points. The Tigers limited
Ole Miss to just 66 total yards in the second half while beating the Rebs 21-3
on the scoreboard.
KEY PLAYS
In a 58-second span of the third quarter
Houston and Oregon combined for 21 points. One play after Dennis Dixon hit
Jaison Williams with a six-yard TD pass to put Oregon up 34- 20, Houston's
Anthony Aldridge rumbled 86 yards with a screen pass to close the gap to seven.
However, on the next play from scrimmage, Dixon scored on an 80-yard option
keeper to run the margin back to 14. Colorado got a 43-yard punt return with
2:08 left in the game to set up a game-tying 22-yard field goal against Colorado
State. In overtime, Terrence Wheatley intercepted a Caleb Hanie pass to put the
Buffaloes in position for the game-winning field goal.
DO THE MATH
This came from the Tulsa World's write-up of the Hurricane's game with LA
Monroe - "(Paul) Smith threw perfect strikes to AJ Whitmore and Trae Johnson for
touchdowns. Those TD passes turned a 17-14 deficit into
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