Sunday, October 09, 2005

College Football Round-Up, Week Six

Happiness back in Happy Valley
The crowd Saturday night was amazing as Penn State beat Ohio State 17-10 to move to 6-0. The crowd was very loud and boisterous providing the kind of atmosphere that hasn’t been there in years. The Nittany Lions now control the Big 10 and fans are talking national championship possibilities for the first time since 1999.

Seminoles on the Prowl
Florida State is quietly getting better each week and not very many people are talking about them. This is a team that if they go undefeated they would have beaten Virginia Tech and won the conference championship game in the toughest conference in America. That should be enough to cause some real BCS controversy, should there be more than three undefeated teams. It looks like we could be heading for another split national championship.

Lloyd Carr a Goner
How does Michigan coach Lloyd Carr keep his job after the Wolverines dropped to 3-3 and 1-2 in conference play? He doesn’t! It will take a miracle for Carr to keep his job and I’m talking more than a win over Ohio State. Michigan is off to their worst start in 15 years.

Huskers/Red Raiders Provide Sparks
It was the best finish to a college football game this weekend! Even better than Cal/UCLA, which was exciting enough to take the top spot on any given weekend, but comes in a distant second this weekend. Texas Tech Quarterback Cody Hodges was intercepted by Nebraska nose tackle Le Kevin Smith who fumbled the ball trying to return the interception. Smith’s fumble was recovered by Tech for a Raider first down. With the clock winding down, Nebraska held on first, second, and third down, which set up a fourth down touchdown pass from Hodges to Joel Filani with 12 seconds left in a 34-31 Red Raider victory. Texas Tech is 5-0, their best start since 1998.

Here is Tech coach Mike Leach comments on the Nebraska interception that set up their game winning touchdown. ``I don't even remember that,'' a straight-faced Leach said a few minutes after the game. ``Oh, yeah, that was a good deal.''

Best Offensive performance: Northwestern 51 points on Wisconsin.
Worst Offensive Performance: Kansas 3 points against Kansas State.

Best Defensive Performance: Oregon held Arizona State to 17 points.
Worst Defensive Performance: Texas A&M gave up 41 points to Colorado.