Ever since Frank Beamer took over as head coach at Virginia Tech University in 1987, the Hokies have excelled in two areas: defense and special teams. And thanks in large part to their defense and special teams (as well as sophomore quarterback’s Tyrod Taylor’s athletic ability), VA Tech won the ACC Conference by crushing Boston College 30-12 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on Saturday.
The Hokie defense forced four turnovers, returned a fumble recovery for a touchdown, and essentially dominated Eagles’ freshman QB Dominique Davis for four quarters. While Davis looks like a nice young talent, VA Tech’s defense made him look every bit like the freshman he is.
Speaking of young talent, how good did Taylor look? His passing numbers weren’t too impressive (he threw for just 84 yards on 11 of 19 passing), but he rushed 11 times for 30 yards and added two touchdowns. He also kept drives alive with his legs throughout the game and his one mistake was a batted ball that was eventually picked off. Freshman running back Darren Evans was an absolutle beast, too, rushing for 114 yards on 31 carries.
While the Hokies were impressive, what a dud of a championship game this was. Of course, the entire ACC Conference was a dud this year so I guess it’s only fitting that the title game was, too.
Alex Henery set a Nebraska school record by nailing a 57-yard field goal with less than two minutes remaining in the Huskers’ 40-31 win over Colorado on Friday:
That’s absolutely incredible. He’s only sophomore.
So much for Oklahoma State pulling off the biggest upset of Week 11. No. 2 Texas Tech had zero issues with the Cowboys, rolling to a 56-20 win in Lubbock on Saturday night.
Many pundits thought that OK State would hang with the Red Raiders, but the exact opposite transpired. The Cowboys did take a 7-0 lead after recovering a fumble on Tech’s first possession of the game, but Graham Harrell (40 of 50 for 456 yards, 6 TDs) and Michael Crabtree (8 rec., 89 yards, 3 TDs) took over the rest of the way. Speaking of Crabtree, I don’t think there’s any doubt that he’s going to be an elite receiver at the next level. He’s big, he’s physical, he can run and he has phenomenal hands. He won’t be bust in the NFL – he’s going to be special. And watching Harrell run Tech’s offense is like watching an artist paint a freaking masterpiece.
Not that any team does, but OK State had absolutely no idea how to defend Tech’s explosive passing attack. If they blitzed, the Raiders picked it up and Harrell shredded the Cowboys up the middle and down the seams. If State stayed back in coverage, Harrell took what the defense gave him and still found open receivers. And down on the goal line, the Cowboys stood zero chance against Crabtree or the Raiders’ spread attack.
I’m not surprised that Tech won and won convincingly, but I am surprised at how easy it was. OK State is a good football team and an improving program, but as soon as they got up 7-0, it’s almost like they put it on cruise control the rest of the way. Tech made them look like a Pop Warner team.
I want to see Tech play for a national championship. People can talk about how they don’t play defense, but they just held a powerful Cowboys’ offense to only 20 points. They’re exciting to watch and they play with an attitude. They’re the most exciting team in college football and I’m not so sure that even a top defensive team like USC or Alabama could slow them down.
The final seconds hadn’t even run off the clock in the Tigers’ 21-17 defeat at the hands of Georgia Tech, and already Clemson athletic director Terry Don Phillips could be seen screaming at his coaches down on the sidelines.
Phillips was the one who fired helped Tommy Bowden make his decision to resign earlier this week and replaced him with Dabo Swinney. The move looked like it would pay off when Clemson took a 17-14 lead deep into the fourth quarter, but a late GA Tech touchdown sent Tiger fans home with yet another defeat.
The scene on the sidelines at the end of the game paints an ugly picture for Clemson’s current situation. There’s no doubt Bowden had to be replaced (his own brother said so after it happened), but Phillips and the rest of the big wigs in the program need to realize that change won’t happen overnight.
Although he got way to cute with his play calling on Saturday, Swinney did a nice job rallying the troops in the wake of Bowden’s firing. Given what was said by a couple of the players in the media this week, it appears that the locker room had been divided. But given the circumstances, Swinney kept things in order and deserves a chance to turn the Tigers’ misfortunes around this season.
Or at the very least, deserves the respect of not being lashed at on national television by an AD who should be nowhere near the sidelines at the end of a game. (Although to be fair, nobody knows at this point why Phillips was yelling at his coaches. Maybe he was upset that the concession stand ran out of Diet Coke?)
Week 4 in college football kicked off with a bang as Louisville pulled off a small upset, beating Kansas State 38-29 at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium Wednesday night.
Cardinals’ quarterback Hunter Cantwell had the game of his collegiate career, completing 22 of 33 passes for 274 yards and two touchdowns. He got into a nice rhythm several times during the game and was able to pick apart K-State in the short, to mid-range passing game.
While Cantwell was impressive, UL freshman running back Victor Anderson stole the show, rushing for 176 yards and three touchdowns on only 18 carries. He had touchdown runs of 29, 56 and 27 yards, and flashed incredible speed and athleticism on every score. And while Anderson was incredibly impressive, it’s only fair to note that Cardinals’ senior back Brock Bolen pounded his way for 104 yards on 23 carries. Bolen was essentially the backbone of UL’s offense Wednesday night.
While Cantwell and Anderson shinned for Louisville, Cougars’ quarterback Josh Freeman threw two interceptions, the first of which the Cardinals turned into a touchdown and took a 14-7 lead. Freeman did manage to throw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns, but the lack of a running game allowed UL’s front seven to focus on crashing the pocket and forced the Cougars to rely on the pass. Falling behind by two touchdowns didn’t help Freeman and the K-State offense, either.
The USC Trojans proved Saturday night why they’re the top ranked program in college football, embarrassing the Ohio State Buckeyes 35-3 at the Coliseum. USC quarterback Mark Sanchez passed for 172 yards and four touchdowns as the Trojan offense amassed 348 yards of total offense.
Sanchez certainly quelled any doubts that he couldn’t win on a big stage. He looked incredibly comfortable picking apart a very good OSU defense and was effective spreading the ball around. It also helped that Joe McKnight (12 carries, 106 yards) shredded the Buckeyes for over eight yards a carry.
Without Beanie Wells, the Buckeyes could do nothing offensively. Jim Tressel’s strategy to rotate quarterbacks Todd Boeckman and Terrelle Pryor backfired, as the Trojans’ defense remained unfazed by both signal callers. (Although the freshman Pryor did flash some of his outstanding potential.)
USC was able to contain the run for the most part and was relentless crashing the pocket. Their overall speed on defense completely overwhelmed the Buckeyes and forced Boeckman into two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown by standout linebacker Rey Maualuga.
Even though the score suggests otherwise, OSU’s defense didn’t play that bad; they just wore down in the second half after being left on the field entirely too long. Of course, the missed tackles didn’t help. The Buckeyes also committed 10 penalties, which often cost them vital field position.
You’d like to say that had Wells played, the outcome would have been much different. One would think he would have broken a run or two and kept USC’s defense honest instead of blanketing the pass as much as they did. So much for my prediction that Ohio State would keep this game close. USC made the Buckeyes look like a Pop Warner team.
It was over when… Chris Turner hit Darrius Heyward-Bey for a 27-yard TD pass to give the Terps a 28-6 lead in the third.
Gameball goes to… Turner, whose efficient afternoon included 156 passing yards and two TD throws.
Stat of the game… 0. After Maryland QBs combined for five picks over the first two games, Turner threw none against the Bears.
The media has been quick to note that the 12:00 PM ET kickoff (which is 9:00 AM PT) was a clear disadvantage for California, but they were just outplayed as Maryland did whatever it wanted on the ground in the second half. The Cal offense did its part in totaling 461 yards, but whenever the defense needed to get a stop, it just couldn’t get one. While looking at the overall numbers, it’s hard to fathom how Maryland won this game, but the win was impressive nonetheless.
After beating two ranked opponents in back to back weeks, No. 14 East Carolina struggled with Tulane before rallying late in the fourth to eek out a 28-24 victory on Saturday at the Superdome.
It was over when… Patrick Pinkney threw a 24-yard TD with 1:41 left in the fourth quarter to save the Pirates from a crashing. Gameball goes to… Pinkney, who was 22 of 32 for 260 yards and two touchdown throws. Stat of the game… 3-0: The Pirates are 3-0 for only the third time in the past 30 years.
There was bound to be a let down for East Carolina after beating Virginia Tech and West Virginia and Saturday was it. It’s nice to see that they pulled out the victory because college football needs programs like ECU to keep things interesting. The Pirates are the story of the 2008 college football season, so lets hope their magical run continues a little longer.
Perhaps the hardest hit in the Notre Dame-Michigan game was suffered by Irish head coach Charlie Weis, who tore his ACL and MCL when defensive end John Ryan crashed into him on the sidelines during the game. Weis was taken to the locker room on a stretcher, but he returned to coach the entire second half while sporting a pair of crutches.
Fast Facts
• For the second straight year and the second time in the poll-era, Michigan and Notre Dame played when both were unranked.
• Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen tossed two touchdown passes. Clausen has thrown multiple touchdowns in four of his last five games dating back to last season.
• Rich Rodriguez became the first Michigan coach to start 1-2 or worse since Bump Elliot started 1-2 in 1959.
• Michigan lost four fumbles in the game, one shy of the team record.
Apparently a win over Michigan was enough for Weis to forget about the torn ligaments in his knee because not only did he stay on the sidelines after the incident, but he also conducted a full post game press conference, too. That’s pretty impressive considering how bad the injury looked on replay.
As for the game, the Wolverines were (and are) a complete mess but that shouldn’t take away from how big of a win this was for Weis and Notre Dame. Weis is trying to get his program’s identity back and this was a step in the right direction. The Irish outplayed UM in ever facet of the game and will look to use this as a spring board for the rest of the season.
The South Carolina Game Cocks were a goal line fumble away from tying No. 2 Georgia and possibly pulling off a huge upset at Williams-Brice Stadium Saturday.
Trailing 14-7 early in the fourth quarter, SC drove to the UGA 1-yard line, but Game Cocks’ running back Mike Davis fumbled trying to leap over the goal line and the Bulldogs recovered for a touchback. Georgia eventually hung on for a 14-7 victory.
It was over when… Georgia’s Reshad Jones picked off Chris Smelley’s pass at the Dawgs’ three-yard line with less than a minute remaining. Gameball goes to… Knowshon Moreno: His four-yard TD in the third quarter gave Georgia the lead and figures to be one of the most important Dawgs’ TDs of 2008. Stat of the game… 112: The Dawgs didn’t help their cause by losing 112 yards on 11 penalties.
This game really could have gone either way and while some will note that the No. 2 team in the nation should be able to beat an unranked opponent by more than a touchdown, this was a prime example of how tough it is to win in the SEC. Good teams have to win ugly sometimes and that’s exactly what Georgia did.
South Carolina’s defense deserves a ton of credit for limiting UGA’s potent offense to only 14 points. And while turnovers eventually did them in, the Game Cocks had an opportunity to win at the end and that’s all they could ask for.
Ever since Frank Beamer took over as head coach at Virginia Tech University in 1987, the Hokies have excelled in two areas: defense and special teams. And thanks in large part to their defense and special teams (as well as sophomore quarterback’s Tyrod Taylor’s athletic ability), VA Tech won the ACC Conference by crushing Boston College 30-12 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on Saturday.
