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College Football Notebook: Week 13
by Mike Neri
Stuck in Folsom Field: Folsom Field in Colorado must have felt more
like Folsom prison for the Buffaloes and their fans. Before kickoff, CU players
moved toward midfield and the teams began jawing and pushing and shoving. No
punches were thrown, but it sure caught Nebraska HC Bill Callahan's attention.
"In all the years I've coached football, I've never seen anything like it,"
he said. "To our credit, we didn't react. We kept our composure." The Huskers
defense allowed only 212 yards. The Buffs came into the game leading the conference
in penalties and will stay there after committing 10 more for 105 yards. Colorado
coach Gary Barnett was at a loss to explain a total meltdown. "I did not see
this coming in any way," he said.
Buffalo Reprieve: But there was a ray of sunshine for Barnett and the
Buffaloes Saturday. Iowa State stumbled against Kansas, so Colorado advances
to the Big 12 title game Saturday. Now the bad news: Their “reward” is they
get to play Texas. Again. Texas rolled over Colorado, 42-17, last month.
NCAA Championship Game Will Be Decided This Week: Only two games remain
for No. 1 USC and No. 2 Texas. The Trojans play rival UCLA to finish another
unbeaten regular season, while the Longhorns play Colorado in the Big 12 title
games. If they win, the title game is set in stone. If one or both stumble,
well, tune in to next week's column to sort out the mess, and the worst nightmare
for the BCS staff.
Defensive Duel in Florida: Florida State got toasted by the Gator defense,
losing 34-7. The Seminoles (7-4) may have reached a new low under longtime coach
Bobby Bowden, losing three in a row for the first time since 1983. Florida State
still has a chance to turn the season around, though. It can win the inaugural
Atlantic Coast Conference championship game next week in Jacksonville and advance
to the Orange Bowl.
Texas Remains Unbeaten: The Texas offense ran into a fierce A&M team
Saturday and had to fight tooth and nail. A wake up call for Texas? Or are there
weaknesses that a team like USC can expose? Vince Young finished with 11 carries
for 19 yards. It was Young's second-lowest output of the season. Young's 162
yards passing were also his second-lowest of the season. Young was sacked three
times, fumbled twice (losing one) and had an interception. A&M did a good job
of getting penetration against UT's vaunted offensive line and disrupting the
Longhorns' bread-and-butter zone-read running play. A&M was able to run the
ball well, averaging 5.4 yards per carry. You can bet Pete Carroll will be watching
the game films closely.
SEC Title Game Takes Shape: LSU had to win to clinch the SEC West and
did in a 19-17 win over Arkansas. Now they face No. 13 Georgia in the conference
championship game in Atlanta, the second time in three years those two teams
have met to decide the SEC. The Tigers (10-1, 7-1 SEC) win with defense and
registered their second safety in as many games after forcing Arkansas to punt
from its own end zone late in the first half.
Army/Navy: Navy is 11-4 against the spread the last 15 years in this
battle.
USC Notes: Coming into last week's game the USC Trojans were averaging
50 points, and Fresno State was averaging 42 points. The final: USC 50, Fresno
42. “These guys are beat down, they need a break," Pete Carroll said. "You can
see it in the receivers and defensive backs. They're worn out, so this is really
a good time for a break for us.” Bring on UCLA!
With its nail-biting, 50-42 victory over 16th-ranked Fresno State behind, top-ranked
USC has two weeks to mull the prospect of slowing down another potent attack
when it plays No. 11 UCLA Saturday at the Coliseum. USC, which leads the nation
in turnover margin at plus-1.91, intercepted four passes for the second week
in a row. But a week after holding California to its lowest point total under
Coach Jeff Tedford in a 35-10 victory, the Trojans gave up 42, the most they
have given up under Carroll. The previous high was 34, in a 41-34 victory at
Arizona in 2001 and a 34-31 triple-overtime loss at Cal in 2003.
MAC Title Game: Northern Illinois is back in the MAC title game, in
large part to RB Garrett Wolfe, who has battled injuries this season, but returned
the last game. And he was electric. Wolfe ran for 277 yards and five touchdowns
to help Northern Illinois secure its first spot in the Mid-American Conference
championship game with a 42-7 victory over Western Michigan. The Huskies finished
with 526 yards of total offense. "They just came out and smashed us in the mouth,"
Western Michigan receiver Greg Jennings said. By the way, if you're an NFL draft-nut,
WR Greg Jennings will be taken in the NFL draft.
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