2011 NCAA FOOTBALL WEEK 9 RECAP

WISCONSIN LOSES BY ANOTHER HAIL MARY

Devin Smith's (15) game-winning catch gave Ohio State a
33-29 win over Wisconsin. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)

For the second week in a row, the Wisconsin Badgers were doomed by a last-minute Hail Mary pass on the road.

This time, it was the Ohio State duo of Braxton Miller and Devin Smith that did the Badgers in en route to a 33-29 win for the Buckeyes.

“(This is) real tough,” Wisconsin senior Nick Toon said. “We’ve handed them the game two weeks in a row at the end of the game. You can’t do that.”

Thanks to both losses, the Badgers—who were No. 6 in the initial BCS standings two weeks ago—are now 2 ½ games behind Penn State in the Big Ten Leaders division.

Despite the loss, Russell Wilson once again turned in a good game to keep his Heisman hopes alive. The senior quarterback threw for 253 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Two of those passing touchdowns came in the fourth quarter to bring Wisconsin back from a 26-14 deficit.

However, it would be his last pass that would fall harmlessly onto the Ohio Stadium turf that would give the Buckeyes a tough, gritty win much like their season this year.

“This is what Ohio State’s all about,” Ohio State head coach Luke Fickell said. “We don’t ever look at ourselves as underdogs. This is a huge win, a signature win. This is for this team, this is for this program. This is what we expect.”

CASE’S NINE-PACK OF TD’S SETS ANOTHER CAREER RECORD

Case Keenum now has 3219 passing yards and
32 touchdowns this season. (Photo by AP)

This Case Keenum kid is really trying to rewrite all of the records isn’t he?

One week after setting the career record for total offense, the Houston quarterback threw nine touchdowns in its 73-34 drubbing of in-city rival Rice.

“It was a blast,” Keenum said. “That was probably the most fun I’ve ever had playing football.”

The sixth-year senior surely had a field day against the Owls, throwing for 534 yards on 24-of-37 passing. Keenum is now 267 passing yards away from another record—Timmy Chang’s Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) record of 17,072 passing yards.

“Those are video-game numbers, something we couldn’t get stopped,” Rice senior linebacker Justin Allen said.

Keenum’s favorite target in the game was senior Patrick Edwards, who had a huge night catching the ball. He caught seven passes for 318 yards and five touchdowns.

The Cougars go to 8-0 and move up to No. 13 in the BCS.

JOEPA BREAKS COACH ROB’S RECORD

As had been the case for most of the season, Penn State’s 10-7 win over Illinois was a gritty one. However, this one was much special.

With the win, longtime Nittany Lions coach Joe Paterno recorded his Division I-leading 409^th victory as head coach—passing a mark held by Grambling State coaching legend Eddie Robinson.

“It really is something I’ve [been] very proud of, to be associated with Eddie Robinson,” Paterno said. “Something like this means a lot to me, an awful lot. But there’s a lot of other people I’ve got to thank.”

Snowy conditions made things difficult and both teams were held scoreless at halftime.

Finally with 3:32 left in the third quarter Nathan Scheelhaase hit Spencer Harris from 10 yards out to break the deadlock.

In regular Nittany Lion fashion though, Penn State grinded its way back into the game.

After Anthony Fera’s 30-yard field goal with seven minutes left in the game, Silas Redd would score the game-winning touchdown to put the Nittany Lions ahead.

The Fighting Illini had one more shot to tie the game, but Derek Dimke had his 42-yard field goal try hit the upright giving Penn State the win.

“I guess it’s just something this team has inside of them, needing to make a play, needing to get the job done, to do what it takes to get another win,” Penn State junior quarterback Matt McGloin said.

Paterno was honored with a plaque after the game for his latest achievement.

Joe Paterno (right) was given a plaque commemorating his Division I
record setting victory. (Photo by Justin K. Allen/Getty Images)

“Eddie Robinson and Jake Gaither of Florida A&M were the two guys who opened the doors for African American men when there was no place for them to play,” Paterno said. “For me, coming from Brooklyn, being the grandson of an immigrant, it means a lot.”

The Nittany Lions now sit at 8-1 this season and hold an inside track to the inaugural Big Ten Championship game on Dec. 3 in Indianapolis.

CARDINAL NEED THREE OT’s TO WIN THIRD STRAIGHT IN COLISEUM

Much like their previous two trips to Los Angeles, the Stanford Cardinal recorded a memorable win against the USC Trojans. This one just needed three overtimes to seal the deal.

“I might need a couple of minutes to digest it, but it’s definitely up there,” Stanford junior quarterback Andrew Luck said. “More than anything, I’m just happy to get a win.”

Despite seeing its streak of 25-point blowouts end at 10, Stanford won three straight against the Trojans at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the first time since the mid-1930s according to College Football Reference.

USC gave the Cardinal a tough match all throughout the game, even taking a 20-10 lead 4:30 seconds into the third quarter. Stanford would then regain the lead nine minutes later, heading into the fourth quarter with a 24-20 lead.

As both teams were tied at 27 with 3:08 left, Luck threw a near-costly interception that sophomore cornerback Nickell Robley took back for a score. However, the Heisman hopeful shook off that setback and put together a 10-play, 76-yard drive to force a 34-34 tie capped off by a Stepfan Taylor two-yard plunge.

“He [Luck] was so mad at himself,” Stanford head coach David Shaw said.  “He wasn’t going to let that play lose the game for us.”

The Trojans had one last chance to win it in regulation, but Robert Woods could not get to the sidelines in time (despite USC having two timeouts left) setting up overtime.

Stanford players celebrate as Matt Barkley (7) disappointingly
looks on. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht/Daily News)

With both teams matching touchdowns in both overtimes, Taylor’s five-yard run put the Cardinal ahead 56-48 with USC having chance to respond in the third overtime. It would never come, as a Curtis McNeal fumble was picked up by Stanford to end the game.

“No excuse, I just fumbled,” McNeal said.

Stanford has Oregon State, before a showdown with Oregon on Nov. 12 that could determine the Pac-12 North.

MY WEEK 3 BCS RANKINGS

LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma St., Stanford, Boise St., Oklahoma, Oregon, Arkansas, Nebraska, South Carolina

WEEK 9 PREDICTIONS

Michigan St. 31, Nebraska 27
Oklahoma 35, Kansas St. 25
Stanford 45, USC 21

WEEK: 2-1 (.667)
SEASON: 22-8 (.733)

PREDICTIONS FOR WEEK 10

No. 7 Arkansas 27, No. 9 South Carolina 20
No. 3 Oklahoma St. 34, No. 14 Kansas St. 30
No. 1 LSU 27, No. 2 Alabama 24

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