This is how Bill Cosby gets ready for an exciting Tuesday MAC football game between his alma mater Temple Owls and the Ohio Bobcats. (Or Ohio Chicken Lings?)
Ohio University was 15 minutes away from pulling off a massive upset but the Bobcats couldn’t hold on and fell to No. 3 Ohio State 26-14. The Buckeyes played without Heisman candidate Chris “Beanie” Wells, who was resting a leg injury. Wells could be ready to play next week at USC.
It was over when… Ray Small returned a punt 69 yards to lift the Buckeyes lead to 26-14 late in the fourth quarter. Gameball goes to… Ohio: Cinderella almost found a slipper in the Shoe. The Bobcats gave the Buckeyes a very big scare. Stat of the game… 9-17: Ohio converted nine of 17 third downs against Ohio State. OSU D will have to improve that stat vs. USC.
Not having Wells certainly didn’t help the Buckeyes, but his absence wasn’t the main reason the game was so close. Ohio State still rushed for 162 total yards, but the Bobcats just flat out came to play. Ohio produced a couple of big plays, including a sack and fumble recovery of OSU quarterback Todd Boeckman in the end zone that gave them a 14-6 lead in the third quarter, as well as moved the ball effectively on the ground against the Buckeyes’ usually stingy defense. But in the end the OSU defense stepped up and Small’s punt return allowed the Buckeyes to avoid a huge embarrassment.
Time to check out the big games, top matchups and potential upsets as college football heads into Week 2.
Top 25 Action:
None. Nobody in the top 25 plays each other this weekend, which must have the television networks really, really excited.
Keep your eye on: Ohio (0-1) at No. 3 Ohio State (1-0)
The Buckeyes should have no problem with instate rival Ohio this weekend, but it’ll be interesting to see if head coach Jim Tressel plays injured running back and Heisman hopeful Chris Wells. With a trip to Southern Cal on the docket, there’s no reason to play Wells this week against a cupcake like Ohio. (Although I’ll be the first to note that the MAC deserves more attention than what it gets. See the “Upset Watch” section for proof.) A running back-by-committee of David Herron, Maurice Wells and Brandon Saine should be more than enough for OSU to roll the Bobcats, so there should be no reason for “Beanie” to even dress.
Upset Watch: No. 8 West Virginia (1-0) at East Carolina (0-1)
While it’s true that I wouldn’t even have mentioned this game had it not been for the Pirates knocking off VA Tech last week, East Carolina has proven that it can hang with top programs. ECU will be looking for its third straight win over a ranked opponent, although West Virginia has won seven straight over the Pirates coming into this contest. Oddsmakers clearly feel that ECU can hang with the Mountaineers given that WVU is only an 8-point favorite.
Central Michigan (1-0) at No. 2 Georgia (1-0)
Yes, outside of the MAC last year the Chippewas got smacked by Kansas (52-7) and Purdue (45-22). But as Bowling Green proved by beating PITT last week, the MAC has some talented teams and CMU is currently the class of the conference. They have a Hesiman candidate at quarterback in Dan LeFevour and a playmaker at running back in Ontario Sneed. There’s no doubt Georgia has better and deeper talent and it’s tough for any team to win between the hedges (let alone a MAC team), but could UGA overlook little ol’ CMU with a trip to South Carolina on the schedule next week? Obviously oddsmakers don’t think so as they’ve made the Dawgs a 24-point favorite.
Other notable games:
Miami (FL) at No. 5 Florida – Saturday, Sept 6, 8:00pm ET
No. 15 BYU at Washington – Saturday, Sept 6, 3:00pm ET
Mississippi at No. 20 Wake Forest – Saturday, Sept 6, 3:300pm ET
