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College Football Notebook
by Mike Neri
Observations on this past weekend in college football.
Irish/Trojans Showdown: USC is 7-3 ATS the last 10 years against Notre
Dame, including a 41-10 rout last year as a 24-point favorite. Notre Dame’s
sophomore running back Darius Walker leads the team with 528 yards on 116 carries.
ND ranks 39th nationally in rushing offense. This is the 25th game in Notre
Dame history against a No. 1 team. Notre Dame is 8-15-1 all time versus No.
1 teams, but is 6-5 in its last 11.
Badger Blues: Wisconsin had one of the top defenses in the country last
season, until late in the year when they completely fell apart. We all wondered
which defense would show up this season, and while it’s early October, I think
we know. Wisconsin gave up 42 points in the opener to Bowling Green, then got
shredded Saturday giving up 674 yards to Northwestern! Wisconsin does have a
potent offense this season with QB John Stocco and a new offensive coordinator.
Stocco was 24-of-31 for 326 yards and four touchdowns with two interceptions.
However, the problem is a Wisconsin defense that was allowing 260 pass yards
per game coming in, then allowed 313 rushing and 361 passing to Northwestern!
The Badgers are now 4-2 “over” the total.
Rising Seminoles: Very quietly, almost, Florida State is coming alive.
They were expected to have a tough defense, which they do, but the concern was
a freshman at quarterback. However, the last two games QB Drew Weatherford was
17-of-26 against Syracuse and 20-of-31 for 351 yards, 3 TDs and no picks Saturday
in a 41-24 win over Wake. Don’t laugh that it was Wake: It was 20-17 going into
the fourth quarter, and they needed the freshman QB to play well late, which
he did. Still, the schedule is challenging for the unbeaten Seminoles, even
though they’ve already topped rival Miami. Florida State plays at Virginia Saturday,
and still has a home game with NC State, and road games at Clemson and Florida.
Big 10 Showdown: Michigan and Penn State clash this weekend, and both
might be tired out after Big 10 showdowns Saturday. Penn State is 1-6 against
the spread the last 7 meetings with the Wolverines.
Hook Em Horns: Texas impressed Saturday in a 45-12 rout of rival Oklahoma,
burying the ghost that Bob Stoops had their number. They’ve already won at Ohio
State and trashed Oklahoma. Texas hosts Colorado and Texas Tech the next two
weeks, which will be their biggest tests before the finale at Texas A&M. Texas
beat all three last season, convincingly.
Alabama at Ole Miss: The unbeaten Crimson Tide is 8-4 ATS the last 12
meetings. Team of Destiny? What about Texas Tech (5-0)? The Red Raiders
are unique, with a gimmick passing attack that is deadly and tough to defend,
and little defense of their own. They passed (no pun intended) another test
Saturday with a thrilling 34-31 comeback win at Nebraska. They completed two
fourth down plays on the final drive, the last one a fourth-and-2 from the Husker
10 for the winning TD with 12 seconds left. Oddly, Texas Tech was 1-for-10 on
third down, yet 3-for-3 on fourth down! October 22 they take on No. 2 Texas
– on the road. If you’re looking ahead, Texas beat them last year 51-21 with
351 rushing yards. Texas has the better defense, of course, though the Red Raiders
had 403 passing yards in last year’s meeting.
Unbeaten Hokies: Frank Beamer has another talented defensive dynamo
at Virginia tech (6-0). If they have any thoughts of a rematch with USC, V-Tech
still has to get by Boston College, Miami and Virginia. They get BC and Miami
at home, then have to travel to Virginia. A year ago, Virginia Tech opened the
season with eventual champion USC. They had a 10-7 halftime lead before the
Trojans got going and won 24-13. USC had the edge in total yards 373-294, the
second fewest yards they would get all season. Currently, unbeaten V-Tech is
beating opponents by a 39-9 average!
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