2011 NCAA FOOTBALL WEEK 8 RECAP

COUGS CRUISE AS CASE GETS CONGRATS

Case Keenum scans the field for an open receiver against Marshall.
(Photo by Thomas Campbell/US Presswire)

With a 30-yard pass to Justin Johnson, Houston Cougars quarterback Case Keenum became the most prolific player in total offense in NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision history.

Keenum, a sixth-year senior, blew past former Hawai’i standout Timmy Chang’s former record of 16,910 yards. He would finish the day with 17,173 career total offensive yards.

“It’s awesome, it’s incredible,” Keenum said. “It’s very special, to be in a place like this, in front of a home crowd, and to be able to do that. Nobody else has been able to do that. It means a lot to me.”

Keenum finished the day with 376 yards and six touchdowns on 24-for-28 passing.

As far as the game itself, Houston demolished the Marshall Thundering Herd 63-28 to stay undefeated and to keep its hopes of making a BCS bowl alive.

With no tough opponents on tap for the next three weeks, the Cougars could be 10-0 before showdowns with SMU, Tulsa and the Conference USA championship game. However, Houston is not jumping the gun quite yet.

“We’re doing a really good job of taking it a week at a time,” Keenum said. “We know that each week is the biggest game of the season. And that, in turn, makes the next week after that the biggest game of the season. That’s just kind of how we look at it.”

WRITER’S NOTE: Keenum threw for nine TD’s against Rice this week, so I might give him some more love in next week’s recap or in the near future.

LSU, ALABAMA INCH CLOSER TO SEC SHOWDOWN

LSU wide receiver Rueben Randle scored on two receiving
touchdowns against Auburn. (Photo by Gerard Herbert/AP)

Auburn and Tennessee were the last two roadblocks that stood of the possible game of the year, and LSU and Alabama ran over them like road kill.

With both teams having one last chance to prepare for their Nov. 5 tilt, all eyes were glued at the LSU/Auburn and Alabama/Tennessee games to see if both would deliver.

In Baton Rouge, LSU was not fazed one bit by Auburn last week after three players were suspended for a failed drug test.

The Tigers won 45-10 while gaining 174 rushing yards without Spencer Ware—their leading rusher—and even returned an interception for a touchdown without Tyrann Mathieu and Tharold Simon.

A clear sign that things did not go Auburn’s way was when LSU scored three touchdowns within the span of 90 seconds to put the game well out of reach.

Alabama running back Trent Richardson (3) continues to build
his case for the Heisman. (Photo by Trent Penny/The Anniston Star) 

While in Tuscaloosa, Alabama did have a little trouble early with Tennessee, but was able to win 37-6 to continue its perfect start.

The Crimson Tide struggled just like LSU a week earlier to put the Volunteers away, but they also used a dominant second half performance to prevail.

Alabama’s defense only allowed 155 total yards and six first downs—none after halftime.

Heisman hopeful Trent Richardson only had 77 yards on 17 carries, but he scored twice to give him an eye-popping 18 touchdowns this season.

The game on Nov. 5 should be a treat to see, even if we do have to wait another week for it.

OKLAHOMA FALLS SHORT TO TEXAS TECH

Sometimes even the littlest of things can get in the way of victory.

For the Oklahoma Sooners, a missed chip shot off the upright and a failed onside kick were the possible differences between a win and the real outcome—a 41-38 loss to the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

A distraught Michael Hunnicutt (18) after missing a field
goal against Texas Tech. (Photo by Sue Ogrocki/AP Photo)

First, props should be in order to Texas Tech for the upset and coming out firing after two close losses to Texas A&M and Kansas State.

The Red Raiders shocked the Sooners with a 24-7 lead at halftime. That lead would swell to 31-7 after Seth Doege connected with Alex Torres on an 11-yard pass, but Oklahoma started to make their push.

The Sooners would score 17 unanswered to cut the lead to a touchdown. However, Doege continued to make things tough after his 14-yard strike to Tramain Swindall gave the Red Raiders a 41-24 lead with 7:38 remaining.

Nearly one minute later, Landry Jones found Jaz Reynolds on a 55-yard pass to cut the lead to 10. They would force Texas Tech to go three-and-out to get the ball back.

After the Sooners’ drive stalled, Michael Hunnicut attempted a 28-yard field goal, but it would hit the upright.

Oklahoma finally got the touchdown it needed when Jones found James Hanna to cut the deficit to 41-38, but the team could not recover the onside kick as Texas Tech snapped the Sooners’ 39-game winning streak at home. TCU was the last team to beat Oklahoma in Norman.

“I told the players that anyone who we’ll play the rest of the year will whoop us if we don’t play better than we did today,” Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops said. “They just flat out beat us.”

Oklahoma will try to pick itself up against Kansas State this week.

PRAYERS ARE ANSWERED IN EAST LANSING!

The Hail Mary pass can be one of the more exciting plays in football—if not the most exciting one.

It all began in 1975, when Roger Staubach found Drew Pearson in the NFC Divisional Playoffs to win a game over the Minnesota Vikings en route to Super Bowl X.

If you are looking for the college football equivalent, look no further than Doug Flutie to Gerard Phelan to beat the Miami Hurricanes.

Michigan State Spartan players Kirk Cousins and Keith Nichol can now place themselves on that list after a thrilling 37-31 win over the Wisconsin Badgers.

“We knew we had a chance,” Cousins said. “There’s always a chance.”

Michigan State's Keith Nichol (7) fights his way into the end
zone against Wisconsin. (Photo by AP)

The Spartans trailed behind 14-0 before mounting a 23-point second quarter to take the lead.

Michigan State would then have a 31-17 lead with just under 11 minutes left to play, until Wisconsin quarterback Russell Wilson would add two touchdowns—one rushing and one passing, respectively—to tie up the game with 1:26 left.

But Cousins would be magnificent on the final drive by going 6-for-8 passing on the 78-yard touchdown drive to seal the victory.

“It’s a play that everybody practices,” Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio said. “You never know when it’s going to come to fruition.”

Since the Big Ten now has two divisions and both teams are in opposite ones (Michigan St. is in the Legends, Wisconsin is in the leaders), it is possible that this matchup can happen again in Indianapolis on Dec. 3 for the conference title.

MY WEEK 2 BCS RANKINGS

LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma St., Clemson, Boise St., Stanford, Oregon, Kansas St., Arkansas, Oklahoma

WEEK 8 PREDICTIONS
LSU 30, Auburn 20
Michigan St. 28, Wisconsin 21
Stanford 38, Washington 24

WEEK: 3-0 (1.000)
SEASON: 20-7 (.741)

PREDICTIONS FOR WEEK 9
No. 11 Michigan St. 31, No. 14 Nebraska 27
No. 9 Oklahoma 35, No. 8 Kansas St. 25
No. 6 Stanford 45, USC 21

2011 NCAA FOOTBALL WEEK 5 RECAP

NAVY FORCES OVERTIME BUT LOSES DUE TO CELEBRATION RULE, BLOCKED KICK

Air Force quarterback Tim Jefferson scored the
game-winning touchdown against Navy, but
what happened before was the main story.
(Photo by Luis M. Alvarez/AP Photo)

The Navy Midshipmen were on a roll after coming back from 18 points down in the fourth quarter and a 28-17 with just over two minutes in regulation to force overtime in its game against the Air Force Falcons.

Navy senior quarterback Kriss Proctor scored his third rushing touchdown of the day in the first overtime and things seemed normal until Proctor seemed to taunt Air Force player Nick DeJulio and Jon Davis afterwards.

The referees had no choice but to penalize the Midshipmen for an unsportsmanlike conduct call moving the extra point attempt from the 3-yard line to the 18.

Navy kicker Jon Teague tried to get the extra point attempt through, but Falcons linebacker Alex Means blocked the try. Five plays later, Falcons quarterback Tim Jefferson punched it in from a yard out and Parker Harrington made the extra point giving Air Force a 35-34 win.

However, the focus remained on Navy’s celebration penalty.

“The Navy player got in the face of an Air Force player right after the play,” referee Mike Defee stated on why the penalty was called.

Proctor offered his explanation and maintained that he did no wrong.

“I got up and I was trying to run to our sideline,” Proctor said. “Some guy got in my way and I just told him to move explicitly and he called it. It’s unfortunate that the refs made a call like that, but it’s football.”

On Sept. 6, 2008, nearly the same exact situation came up in a game between Washington and BYU, when Jake Locker scored to bring the Huskies to an extra point of tying the game, but he was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for throwing the ball up in the air.

As a result, Washington also had to attempt a PAT from the 18, and the Cougars blocked it giving them a 28-27 win.

A&M GETS A SAMPLE OF SEC PLAY…AND BLOWS ANOTHER SECOND HALF LEAD

Texas A&M head coach Mike Sherman looks on
as the Aggies suffer their second straight second
half collapse. (Photo by John F. Rhodes/AP Photo)

This time, Texas A&M could not catch a break from its soon-to-be new conference.

In the game before, the Aggies blew a 17-point halftime lead to Oklahoma State. This game, an 18-point halftime lead was not safe as Arkansas defeated Texas A&M 42-38 in Arlington, Texas.

For Arkansas, it was a career day junior quarterback Tyler Wilson as he threw for a school record 510 yards. His favorite target of the day was Jarius Wright, who also had a school record of 281 receiving yards on 13 catches.

The duo picked apart the Aggies’ defense as the Razorbacks give Texas A&M its second heartbreaker in as many weeks.

Down 35-17 at halftime, Arkansas only needed 19 minutes to tie the game up when Wright recovered as fumble and Wilson converted the two-pointer to make it 35-35.

Texas A&M would make a field goal, but Broderick Green’s score from three yards out gave the ‘Hogs a 42-38 lead with just 1:41 left.

The Aggies will hope to keep a lead for the whole game against Texas Tech this week.

PRIMETIME DUDS

Last Saturday, two games between ranked opponents (Wisconsin/Nebraska on ABC and Alabama/Florida on CBS) came on as marquee games of Week 5. While both showed some promise early, Wisconsin and Alabama quickly gained stream and blew out their unfortunate opponents. So here’s a look at both games.

Badgers give Huskers an inhospitable welcome to the Big Ten: Wisconsin rolled out the red carpet of the Big Ten for Nebraska last week and then proceeded to thump the Cornhuskers 48-17. Badgers senior quarterback Russell Wilson continues to impress and show why he is a Heisman candidate after throwing for 255 yards and two touchdowns and 14-for-20 passing. Wilson even added a rushing touchdown as Wisconsin overcame its slow start. The Huskers led 14-7 just 20 minutes into the game but could not keep up after committing three turnovers and allowing Montee Ball to score four touchdowns on the ground. Nebraska’s Big Ten home opener is against Ohio St. this week.

Nebraska had a hard time containing Montee Ball (center) last Saturday.
Ball ran for 151 yards and four touchdowns in Wisconsin's 48-17 win.
(Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/US Presswire)

Tide washes away Gators: Just like in Madison, the scene in Gainesville turned from competitive to a blowout as Alabama crushed Florida, 38-10. With a 10-10 tie at the end of the first quarter, the Crimson Tide quickly did work on the Gators, who lost John Brantley in the second quarter. Junior Trent Richardson ran for 181 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries, while Alabama’s defense kept Florida’s running game in check. Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps were held to four rushing yards each and neither had an impact. As for Brantley, he is listed as out this week as Florida takes on LSU in Baton Rouge.

WEEK 5 PREDICTIONS

Texas A&M 20, Arkansas 17
Clemson 31, Virginia Tech 29
Alabama 28, Florida 21
Wisconsin 17, Nebraska 10

WEEK: 3-1 (.750)
SEASON: 12-5 (.706)

PREDICTIONS FOR WEEK 6

No. 3 Oklahoma 24, No. 11 Texas 17 (in Dallas)
No. 1 LSU 31, No. 17 Florida 10
No. 15 Auburn 45, No. 10 Arkansas 38

2011 NCAA FOOTBALL WEEK 2 RECAP

Hello football fans! Sorry for not updating over the past few days (internet problems), but if you thought Week 1 of the 2011 NCAA football was exciting, then Week 2 added to the electricity. Here are some of the biggest stories from this week.

CARDIAC CATS STRIKE AGAIN

On their road to the national championship last season, the Auburn Tigers had more than their fair share of close victories coming down to the last minute.  After two games in 2011, they are continuing the trend.

Auburn defeated the Mississippi State Bulldogs, 41-34, thanks to a brilliant goal line stand in its second nail biter of the season.

For senior Bulldog quarterback Chris Relf, this was second straight year he came close against Auburn, only to come up empty in the end.

Last year, Relf tried to convert a pass on fourth down to keep the drive alive for a game-tying field goal, but the pass was dropped. This year, he tried to run the ball in for the game-tying touchdown but he was stopped at the one-yard line by Auburn sophomore defensive back Ryan Smith.

“We didn’t come up with the big inch,” Relf said. “I should have made the play.”

Relf and the Bulldogs have a short week to put this loss behind them as they play LSU Thursday night, while Auburn travels to Clemson on Saturday.

TIDE ROLLS OVER PENN STATE

In the only matchup between ranked teams in Week 2, Alabama clearly showed why it is a serious national championship contender with a 27-11 win over Penn State.

In nearly a duplicate of last year’s Alabama/Penn State game, the Crimson Tide dominated on defense and the running game.

Junior running back Trent Richardson ran for 111 yards and two touchdowns, while Alabama looks like it has its next great running back in Eddie Lacy. Lacy did not score but he ran for 85 yards.

Defensively, the Tide allowed 251 yards and forced Penn State to turn over the ball three times.

 “We certainly deserved a whooping today,” Nittany Lions head coach Joe Paterno said. “I think we’ve just got a lot of work ahead of us.”

MICHIGAN SHINES BRIGHTEST UNDER THE LIGHTS

Down 24-7 at the start the fourth quarter, Michigan looked dead in the water after fumbling near the goal line.

Then, Denard Robinson happened and took over the whole fourth quarter as Michigan won over Notre Dame, 35-31.

In the first night game in Michigan Stadium’s history, this installment of the Michigan/Notre Dame rivalry was everything many expected it would be—and more.

Notre Dame jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and looked great on defense, forcing the Wolverines to few yards and an interception to end the quarter. The same momentum would carry for two more quarters as Irish quarterback Tommy Rees outperformed Robinson at that point.

However, it all changed when Robinson ran in Stephen Hopkins’ fumble for a touchdown six seconds into the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to 10.

Michigan’s defense forced the Irish to go three-and-out on the following drive and Robinson hit Jeremy Gallon for a passing touchdown as Michigan then trailed, 24-21, with 10:47 remaining.

There would be no more scoring until Robinson took over the Wolverines’ next to last drive and found Vincent Smith with 1:12 left to finally take the lead.

The Irish would not go away, however, and regained the lead when Rees found Theo Reddick with 30 seconds left.

Down 31-28, Robinson had one last chance to deliver a win to Michigan. After an incomplete pass, Robinson found Gallon as he ran for a 64-yard completion to the Irish 16-yard line, setting up one last play for Michigan to win the game.

Robinson then sealed the deal when he found Roy Roundtree in the end zone as the Wolverines won the game.

Robinson finished the night accounting for 446 yards and five touchdowns, despite throwing for three interceptions and completing only 11 of 24 passes.

His counterpart, Rees, threw for 315 yards and three touchdowns in the loss.

Notre Dame will look to avoid a 0-3 start against No. 15 Michigan State.

WEEK 2 PREDICTIONS

Alabama 28, Penn State 10 (Alabama won…nearly got the score right!)
South Carolina 31, Georgia 17 (South Carolina won)
Notre Dame 24, Michigan 20 (Michigan won)

WEEK: 2-1 (.667)
SEASON: 3-3 (.500)

PREDICTIONS FOR WEEK 3

No. 3 LSU 27, No. 25 Mississippi St. 24 (Thurs.)
No. 1 Oklahoma 35, No. 5 Florida State 31 (Sat.)
Miami 27, No. 17 Ohio St. 24 (Sat.)