Saturday in Review, 10/11/08

Well, what a way to start the day. Time to type up everyone's favorite feature (everyone is a theoretical term here): The Saturday in Review! Let's get started...

#1 Oklahoma-35, #5 Texas-45
Well, the Red River Shootout was everything we'd hoped it'd be. High scoring, good quarterbacking, etc., etc. I'll tell you what, though, neither one of these teams exactly revolutionized the defensive world. It was an excellent game for Colt McCoy and Sam Bradford, and for their respective receivers.

On another, unrelated, note (hey, it's what I do): Does anyone know how much pressure Colt McCoy's name puts on himself? He's got the ultimate football name, and he's in Texas! One cannot be named "Colt" and be from Texas, and be a baseball or basketball or (heaven forbid!) hockey player! If he turned out to be bad at football, he'd have to leave the country because of all the irate Longhorn fans!

In a third, final, and also unrelated note, in the 1950's, a lady named Olivette met a young man named Wayne on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin. They fell in love and married, their first child was a girl named Debra who, in 1979, met a young man named Greg. They married and had their first kid: who is the weirdly sentimental individual typing this. So, since I owe my existence in part to UT, good job, 'Horns. Good job.

#17 Oklahoma State-28, #3 Missouri-23
OK, for starters: Apologies to Oklahoma State, who I thought would be a pushover for Mizzou on their way to a big showdown next week against Texas. This game showed that a great QB (pronounced "Chase Daniel") can have a hideous game if he's faced with a good defense. OSU befuddled and confused Missouri's main offensive weapon for 4 quarters, and they looked great doing it. Heck, I'm starting to believe OSU's claim that they can make it to the Big 12 championship game. Look for their games against Texas and OU to be the deciding factor in what has become a 4-way race in the Big 12 South.
As for Mizzou, there's not much I can say. They've got their work cut out for them next week against a Longhorns squad that's riding high. Now that we've hit the meat of the Big 12 season, it's time to see if the Big 12 will become like the SEC, beat up on itself, and leave USC and Penn State to fight it out for the title game. (<-That last sentence is actually a nightmare I have on occasion)
#4 LSU-21, #11 Florida-51
So, where to start here? The Bayou Bengals looked horrific against the Gators, who usually don't lose 2 straight in the Swamp. Still, pummeling the Tigers that badly is a real feather in the cap for the Gators who, should they go undefeated the rest of the way, might play themselves back into the title picture.
As for LSU, I wouldn't look for them to get back into the SEC picture, much less the National Championship, unless they convincingly crush everyone else on their schedule AND get some help from their SEC brethren AND get some help from the opponents of Top 10 teams (among whom the Tigers WILL NOT be listed tomorrow)

#6 Penn State-48, Wisconsin-7
Joe Pa's team is looking great. Good quarterbacking, good defense, good receiving. Good everything, dang it. This game was boring (unless you're a PSU fan, in which case why the heck are you here?) so let's move along...

Nebraska-31, #7 Texas Tech-37
The Huskers came close to getting a victory over a good Texas Tech team, but fall short in overtime. This is evidence of two things. One can be summarized in a single word about Texas Tech's ranking: O-ver-ra-ted! *clap clap clapclapclap* This is the second conference team they've played, and both of them are worse than the average Big 12 school. Texas Tech has a stretch of 4 games, starting on October 25, against ranked Big 12 teams. I wouldn't be surprised if they lost all 4, and I wouldn't look for them to win more than 1 of those games (Kansas is the likeliest win, but I'm keeping my mouth shut when it comes to Big 12 upsets...).
Nebraska, as stated previously, isn't yet back to the days of salad and glory. Give them two years, though, and they'll be back atop the Big 12 North.

Arizona State-0, #8 USC-28
A massacre in LA, as the Sun Devils continue to disappoint. USC will, sadly, climb in the polls this week in all likelihood. I say "sadly" because college football is the only sport in the universe where one can lose a game in the first 2 weeks of the season and it's better than losing a game in, say, the last week of the season.

I'm not a big fan of pro football (aaaaand readership plummets back to 0) but at least a loss in the NFL is the same in week 1 or week 16. The same thing should be true in college football. I'm just sayin' kids. Southern Cal has looked very good in the games that they've won, however, and it is hard to argue with their offensive output.

New Mexico-3, #9 BYU-21
Utah is a boring state.

Tennessee-14, #10 Georgia-26
Phil Fulmer is going to get fired. With a season like this at a University like Tennessee, it's inevitable. If I were him, I'd just start having fun. Kick field goals on 2nd down. Run up the middle on 4th and 22. Take a shot every time the fans boo you. Wait, scratch that last one, I don't want to kill the guy, and alcohol poisoning can do that.
Georgia wasn't overly impressive in beating a team that isn't as good as them, but they did perform well after getting slapped by Alabama. So, good job Dawgs. I guess.

Purdue-3, #12 Ohio State-16
It's funny how Ohio State is still hanging around near the Top 10, isn't it? How, if they beat Penn State and Michigan State, they don't have too much of an issue with getting through and winning the Big 10 again. How they might just sneak into the national title picture. I'm aware it's all theory, but 2 weeks from now this could become a vomit-inducing reality. So, just a heads up, watch for the Buckeyes.
Oh, and Purdue sucks. Sorry.

#13 Vanderbilt-14, Mississippi State-17
Me [in epic movie moment, slow-mo camera shot]: Vandy! Noooooooo!
OK, seriously. Feel good story of the SEC gets cut short not by the villainous usual SEC suspects, but by the dadgum Mississippi State Bulldogs?! That's just dang silly. Mark May on ESPN summed it up well: Vandy had a trap game. And the trap just sprang (sprung? Heck, I don't know. Nor do I care.) on the 'Dores.
Congrats to MSU, but a sad shake of the head at what could have been for the now fallen Vanderbilt Commodores.

#14 Utah-40, Wyoming-7
Bonus coverage of a Utah game! See below!
Utah is a boring state. So is Wyoming.

#15 Boise State-24, Southern Miss-7
Not a compellingly interesting game, nor a surprising result. The only thing that stands out here to me is that all of the scoring took place during the 2nd quarter. This runs counter to logic, which would say that something else should have happened in the other 45 minutes of football. At least if you had some weird emergency and could only watch the 2nd quarter of this game, then you didn't miss anything. Or if you're like me (and most football fans) then you didn't get this game, and don't really care about the outcome. Note to Boise State: We love what you did in the '07 Fiesta Bowl! But you're still in Idaho, and your field is still ugly.

Colorado-14, #16 Kansas-30
I maintain that Kansas is an overrated school, and I will not back down from this declaration until they beat a team with a winning record. Next week on the road against an angry Oklahoma squad in Norman will be a good opportunity. Colorado is already looking forward to next season. Too bad it won't be any better than this one.

Arkansas-25, #20 Auburn-22
Tommy Tuberville is going to get fired. (Sorry if this sounds like the UT/UGA review) It's gonna happen, and there's nothing Auburn can do about it. If he's not fired, the Auburn fans will seize him and kill him. I'm sure there's already been an effigy or two made, and ol' Tommy's gonna be gone next season. If anything this is just desserts for firing their offensive coordinator on Wednesday. A great job by the Razorbacks to take advantage of the confusion at Auburn and seize victory.
Oh, and a great job by the blogger who sarcastically called this one in his post about Franklin's firing... (nudge, nudge, see below)

Clemson-7, #21 Wake Forest-12
I'm not sure who the feel good story of the year is. I can tell you who the worst story of the year is: The Clemson Tigers. I'm not sure that there's ever been a school that started the year in the Top 10 and had slipped to a 3 loss team by the second week of October. Even the awful Michigan squad from last year didn't lost its 3rd game until November...
As for Wake, it was an ugly win against a team that they outclassed pretty heavily, but it's hard to argue with results.

Notre Dame-24, #22 North Carolina-29
I'm honestly surprised my computer didn't ask me why I put a number in front of UNC. Carolina fans are hailing this as a great victory. Had this come against a national title caliber Notre Dame team, I'd agree. But this win came against an Irish squad that's coming off a 3 win season. Still, it was a good win, and UNC pulled it off despite having some awful officiating decisions go against them. The referee crew was from the Big East, however, and that explains it. Their officials are as bad as their teams. Heh heh heh...

#23 Michigan State-37, Northwestern-20
I'm kinda sad that Northwestern lost. Not in the "dang it that stinks" sense. More in the "had they gone undefeated how would the BCS explain them being in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl" (Its actual name, I swear.)

#25 Ball State-24, Western Kentucky-7
Some folks might say beating a team that just moved up to 1-A by 17 isn't a major statement for Ball State in its first game in the Top 25. Well guess what? I am one of those people. Let's move on!

Everyone else: The big "upset" out of the Top 25 was Michigan getting beaten at home by Toledo. Where's the Rich Rodriguez fan club now? Oh, there they are. The guys with the bags over their heads...In unnecessary ACC news, UVa has won 2 straight games. They host the now Top 20 Tar Heels this coming week, so if you're a Cavs fan, I wouldn't look for this to continue...From that same game, it looks like ECU went from the little engine that could to the BCS Buster that couldn't. Opening the season with back to back big wins is great, but losing 3 straight to NC State, Houston, and UVa is a quick way to get yourself forgotten...The Big East is bad. This just seemed like an appropriate place to put that...A quick hat tip to the two winless teams in D-IA: Washington and North Texas...Miami barely beat UCF. O! How the mighty have fallen!...Florida International has 3 straight wins now. Ain't that cool?