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 6 RECAP

HUSKERS WIN IN HISTORIC FASHION

Four minutes into the third quarter and down 27-6 to the Ohio State Buckeyes, the Nebraska Cornhuskers looked as it would suffer its second straight crushing defeat in its new conference.

But the Huskers kept on fighting en route to a 34-27 victory.

Nebraska sophomore quarterback Taylor Martinez had a rough game against Wisconsin a week earlier and things did start well for him in this one. However, he was able to shake things off and amass 293 total yards and three total touchdowns.

“He kept fighting,” Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini said. “He led the team, and I was proud of how we played. That’s why he’s the starting quarterback right now.”

Martinez started the comeback after running for an 18-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 14.

As the Nebraska defense finally shut down the Buckeyes, the Concord, Calif. native threw for two touchdowns and the game was tied at 27-27 with 7:35 remaining.

Ohio St. tried to regain momentum on their next drive, but Joe Bauserman’s pass would be picked off. Four plays and 78 yards later, Rex Burkhead would score his second touchdown of the night to give the Huskers the lead.

Nebraska will take on Minnesota this week, while Ohio State plays No. 16 Illinois.

THIRD TIME IS THE CHARM FOR THE AGGIES

After two straight weeks of blowing just as many three-possession leads at halftime, Texas A&M’s 31-20 lead over Texas Tech did not look safe.

But unlike games against Oklahoma St. and Arkansas, the Aggies held on to win, 45-40.

In a game where the Red Raiders were rowdy—some in more ways than others—the game was all about the offense.

Aggies senior quarterback Ryan Tannehill scored three total touchdowns in the game and became the first player in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) with 3000 passing yards and 1500 receiving yards in a career.

Texas Tech was fueled early by junior running back Eric Stephens, but he went down with a season-ending injury to his left knee in the third quarter. He would finish with 102 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries.

The Red Raiders would still show fight without Stephens thanks to quarterback Seth Doege.

Down 45-33 with 2:55 left, Doege led Texas Tech on a nine-play, 91-yard drive capped off with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Alex Torres to put the Red Raiders only down by five.

But the ensuing onside kick would not go their way and Texas A&M came away with a win.

A relieved Mike Sherman said, “It seems like it’s been forever since we’ve had this feeling.”

WEEK 6 PREDICTIONS
Oklahoma 24, Texas 17
LSU 31, Florida 10
Auburn 45, Arkansas 38

WEEK: 2-1 (.667)
SEASON: 14-6 (.700)

PREDICTIONS FOR WEEK 7
No. 11 Michigan 24, No. 23 Michigan St. 23
No. 21 Texas A&M 38, No. 20 Baylor 35
No. 6 Oklahoma St. 30, No. 22 Texas 13
No. 9 Oregon 42, No. 18 Arizona St. 28