Top 10 Rewind:
#1 Ohio State
The Buckeyes left Indiana battered, beaten and absolutely abused in OSU’s 44-3 smack down of the Hoosiers on Saturday. Every week it seems that QB Troy Smith gets better and more accurate than the previous week. Smith threw four touchdown passes to add to his already staggering total of 17. WR Ted Ginn Jr. caught five passes for 69 yards and a touchdown and also threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Rory Nicol in the third quarter. And if that isn’t enough to deal with as a defense, you also have to contend with WR Anthony Gonzalez (4 rec., 69 yards and one TD) and RB Antonio Pittman (16 carries, 107 yards). Yikes.
Next Game: vs. Minnesota, Oct. 28.
#2 Michigan
Boy, the Wolverines have seemed turned conservative without WR Mario Manningham. In Michigan’s 20-6 win over Iowa on Saturday, it took a late touchdown run by RB Mike Hart in the closing minutes to seal a deal. It was a similar situation last week when U of M held on to win despite a late Penn State charge to. With the defense playing as well at it has this season, conservative play isn’t a terrible way to win. However, with Ohio State looming, the Wolverines might want that explosive attack that they showed earlier this season in wins over Notre Dame and Wisconsin.
Next Game: vs. Northwestern, Oct. 28.
#3 USC
Two off weeks this season and the ability to get tough opponents at home for the Trojans? Talk about comfort.
Next Game: at Oregon State.
#4 West Virginia
With their 37-11 victory over Connecticut, the Mountaineers now have a 14 game winning streak on their hands. The Huskies contained QB Pat White for a quarter before the sophomore broke several long runs – including a 45-yard touchdown sprint. Once again, pick your poison between White and RB Steve Slaton (19 carries for 128 yards and a TD). Much like Texas did last year with Vince Young, the Mountaineers have perfected the shotgun option with White and Slaton. WV has an off week and then the Cardinals.
Next Game: at Louisville, Nov. 2.
#5 Texas
What a crazy game between the Long Horns and Cornhuskers in Nebraska on Saturday. It took a Ryan Bailey 22 yard field goal with less than 10 seconds in the game to give Texas a 22-20 victory over Nebraska. But it took a fumble by the Cornhuskers to even give the Long Horns a shot at the end. After the two programs swapped leads several times throughout the game, Texas’ stud-safety Aaron Ross caused a fumble of Terence Nunn. The turnover gave the Long Horns the ball at Nebraska’s 45-yard line with just under two minutes left to play. Freshman QB Colt McCoy (25 of 40 for 222 yards and two scores) completed three straight passes to get Texas down to the Cornhuskers 22 yard line. After a few rushes to get into better range for Bailey, the place kicker trotted onto out for the game winning field goal.
Next Game: at Texas Tech, Oct. 28.
#6 Louisville
The Cardinals didn’t do anything too special in their 28-13 win over Syracuse – except rushing for 223 yards to the SU’s 19. The best performance on the day was from RB Kolby Smith, who carried the ball 16 times for 165 yards and two scores. Smith basically wore down SU’s defense the entire game and put the final nail in the coffin with a 31-yard touchdown run with just under two minutes left to play in the contest. Much like West Virginia, we’ll see what kind of mettle Louisville has when it squares off against the Mountaineers in two weeks.
Next Game: vs. West Virginia, Nov. 2.
#7 Tennessee
If Alabama didn’t show how tough of a team it was against Florida earlier this season, the Crimson Tide surely showed their mettle against Tennessee. The Volunteers needed a late drive in the fourth quarter to upend ‘Bama 16-13. QB Erik Ainge, who has had an excellent ’06 campaign so far, threw three interceptions on Saturday. However, the difference in the game was that the Tide could only turn those three gimmies by Ainge into three points. And actually, his last INT was at the end of the first half. Maybe Ainge wouldn’t have had to put the game solely on his shoulders if UT had anything resembling a run game either (the Vols managed just 59 total yards on the ground). UT better not look past its trip to South Carolina next week before having to face LSU and Arkansas.
Next Game: at South Carolina.
#8 Auburn
The Tigers breezed past Tulane 38-13 on a strong effort from QB Brandon Cox and RB Ben Tate. With starter Kenny Irons nursing a bad ankle, Tate carried the rushing load for Auburn in gaining 156 yards on 26 carries. Cox threw for 212 yards and three touchdowns, while the Tiger defense caused three turnovers. This win was nice for Auburn after coming off the big win over Florida.
Next Game: at Mississippi, Oct. 28.
#9 Florida
Off day for the Gators, and the way Georgia is playing this season, Florida will have another off week when they travel to Jacksonville next weekend to play in the annual “Cocktail Party.”
Next Game: vs. Georgia in Jacksonville, Oct. 28.
#10 Notre Dame
Texas-Nebraska was the craziest game of the day until Notre Dame beat UCLA 20-17 on a last minute bomb from QB Brady Quinn to WR Jeff Samardzija. Trailing 17-13 from their own 20-yard line with only 62 seconds left in the game, the Irish marched 35 yards to the Bruins 45 as seconds clicked off the game clock. But on first and 10, Brady dropped back and hit Samardzija, who made a cut under safety Dennis Keyes at the 20 and then managed to keep his balance on his way to the end zone. Great three and out effort by ND’s defense to even give Brady a chance in the first place – and once again, the Irish survive another miracle in ’06.
Next Game: at Navy, Oct. 28.
Most impressed with: Clemson keeps on rolling don’t they – unbelievable day by RB James Davis who mounted 216 yards on 21 carries and two touchdowns in the Tigers 31-7 win over Georgia Tech. I really thought the Yellow Jackets would prove to be a little bit more of a challenge to Clemson coming into this ACC battle, but obviously the Tigers are the cream of the crop. Clemson mounted 321 rushing yards in this contest…wow.
Least impressed with: Georgia is terrible. Everybody else has used Mississippi State like a whipping post this year except UGA. Georgia actually makes it a game against State in barely scrapping out a 27-24 win over the Bulldogs.
Upset of the day: Washington State should have had a big upset against USC a few weeks ago, but instead saves it for a 34-23 win over #18 Oregon. The Ducks scored 20 points in the fourth quarter alone in this contest and still lost.
Improbable feat of the day: Michigan State had an unbelievable comeback over Northwestern Saturday. The Spartans overcome a 35-point deficit to beat the Wildcats 41-38. The Spartans (like most Saturdays) were ready to fold up shop mid-way through the third quarter. But MSU forced some key turnovers and QB Drew Stanton made some incredible plays to beat the Wildcats on their home field (and not to mention on homecoming weekend too). It is now currently the biggest come-from-behind win in NCAA history.
Looking forward:
The best game on the schedule should be even more hyped up than it will be. But with Georgia falling apart the past couple of weeks, the annual “Cocktail Party” between the Bull Dogs and Florida will be less attractive this year. This contest is the best of the worst, but least it features two SEC teams that normally play at a high level against each other.
