College football fans learned a lot this weekend but more questions rose to the surface. I still can't name a single team I believe will be in the national title game yet, though if I had to make a pick, Alabama would be it. Not buying the Notre Dame story yet but Oregon is still rolling, Kansas St proved they are the real deal and LSU is keeping its title hopes alive. If they can beat Alabama next week, they are right back in mix. Florida manhandled South Carolina, Duke is on top of the coastal division in the ACC, West Virginia has taken a complete 360 turn the last two weeks, Mississippi State is still undefeated and Auburn has lost....again. Lets take a look at all the major results from Saturday.
Kansas State had the arguably the biggest statement of the weekend Saturday when they traveled into Morgantown, West Virginia and had their way with the Mountaineers, 55-14. Its the second big road win for the Wildcats as they defeated Oklahoma earlier this season. These guys are the real deal and QB Collin Klein is an elite player and making a strong argument for capturing the Heisman. Klein threw for 323 yards and 3 TDs while rushing for 41 yards and 4TDs as well. Klein can do it all and he showed the nation once again just how dangerous he can be not only in the passing game, but on the ground as well. Geno Smith struggled and threw his first two interceptions of the year. It appears this high flying offense has stalled. We knew the defense was very suspect and had major issues to fix. This is even more evident now as the offensive woes have doomed the Mountaineers the past two weeks. If Kansas State can knock off Texas Tech next week, which I believe they will, watch out. Texas is the only other ranked team left on the schedule and they play them at home. Could this be the year of the Wildcat?
Oregon continues to cruise past its opponents as they made another victim out of Arizona State, 43-21. It appeared that the Ducks were going to score 100 Thursday night as they had racked up 43 with just under 12 minutes left in the 1st half. However, they would not score again and held off a very late rally from the Sun Devils. An interesting stat from this game was that neither team scored in the 3rd quarter, not everyday that you see that. Something else that caught my eye was thtOregon QB Marcus Mariota thew for a touchdown, rushed for a touchdown and caught a touchdown pass...all in the first half. Impressive to say the least. RB Kenjon Barner was the difference in the game as he rushed for 143 yards and 3TDs including a 71 yard sprint that put the Ducks ahead 7-0 early in the game. The Ducks look great on both sides of the ball but still have some roadblocks to pass if they want to return to the BCS title game. A road trip to #9 USC followed by a visit to California preludes a home match up against #17 Stanford and they conclude with a trip to #7 Oregon State. Its far from over if you are a Duck fan.
Florida put on a show in the Swamp and made a statement not only for the SEC East race and SEC overall but a jump towards BCS title talk as well. Though South Carolina was doomed with turnovers, the Gators controlled the entire game from start to finish. They (SC) lost three crucial fumbles and two of them led directly to Florida touchdowns. For the second straight week, South Carolina's rushing game was smothered as they only accounted for 36 yards of the total offense. The running game is huge for the Gamecocks offensive production and if you can take that away, the past two weeks have shown us..you put yourselves in good position to defend them.On top of 4 turnovers, the Gamecocks were also 3-14 on 3rd down. The offense simply could not get anything going and they were kept out of the end zone against the Gators. South Carolina is now basically out of the SEC title game discussion. They still have plenty to play for and can make a good bowl game but they have to regroup, get healthy again and get back to their game. They haven't been able to control the game or tempo like they were the first few weeks of the year. With the 44-11 win, Florida can now clinch the SEC-East division with a win over rival Georgia this weekend.
Ohio State kept its undefeated record in tack but possibly at the cost of QB Braxton Miller. Miller was injured and rushed to the hospital after taking a big it. He checked out fine and is said to not have a concussion but his condition and status is unclear for this week. He practiced on Monday but it was reported that he was very sore.The Buckeyes had to rely on back up Kenny Guiton to rally the team to a victory late in the game and into overtime to outlast Purdue 29-22. Ohio St, like South Carolina had trouble holding onto the ball and had four turnovers that helped keep the Boilermakers in the ball game. However, it wasn't meant to me and Urban Meyer's group overcame some adversity and got the win to remain perfect on the season and keep their title hopes alive. Ohio State has a favorable last stretch with, in my opinion, their only remaining hurdle being a road trip to #25 Wisconsin and a season finale at home against #22 Michigan.
Clemson's defense again answered the call in the second half and shutdown Virginia Tech, holding them to only 1 TD in the last 30 minutes of play. The defense had a big day that was highlighted by Johnathan Meek's 74-yard pick-6 off Logan Thomas in the second quarter. Thomas also threw another interception to guess who, Mr. Meeks which also had the potential to be a pick-6 for the Tigers.The Hokies also had two costly fumbles. On the offensive side, #19 Clemson only had 295 yards of total offense compared to VT's 406, yet they outscored the Hokies 38-17. For those keeping score, that's three in a row for Clemson over Coach Beamer's team and they've been outscored by a total of 99-30. The Tigers have shut down the Hokies' offense three straight games, though it must be noted VT isn't the same ole VT we have grown used to the past few years in the ACC. Nevertheless, the last time Clemson played them at home they lost by 20 points. The tables have turned now and the Tigers pushed their streak to 11 straight wins in Death Valley. A very impressive feat for the guys in orange. Clemson has a short turn around this week as they travel to Wake Forest Thursday night. They will be without CB Darius Robinson who is out for the season with a fractured ankle and broken bone in his foot. Boyd suffered a stinger in his shoulder but is expected to be fine and ready to play on Thursday night.
You never know what to expect with the ACC. No better example can be given that the fact that Duke is on top of the coastal division as of right now. Yes, DUKE. The FOOTBALL team. Yes, those guys. They just might be playing for an ACC title in December. After knocking off North Carolina 33-30 Saturday, the coastal division is now the Blue Devils' to lose. That game with Clemson next weekend is looking like it could be one of the most intriguing of the weekend. Who would have thought that? Unbelievable what Cutcliffe has done this season with these guys. In other ACC news, FSU took care of business against Miami on the road, 33-20 Saturday night and still control the Atlantic division. Dan Mullen over at #12 Mississippi State is also making a name for himself and a run at SEC coach of the year. His bulldogs are 7-0 after a 45-3 domination of Middle Tennessee State. However, the next three weeks will tell us just how good these guys are. They have to travel to #1 Alabama next week. That is followed by a home showdown with Texas A&M and then they hit the road again to take on #6 LSU. If they can't through this stretch with a 2-1 record or better, it will make things even more interesting in the race to the SEC championship.Three interceptions helped LSU survive against Texas A&M 24-19. Notre Dame stayed undefeated with a narrow 17-14 win over BYU. Alabama overpowered Tennessee 44-13 in Neyland stadium. In the Big 12, Texas outlasted Baylor 56-50 in a shootout. Oklahoma rolled pass Kansas 52-7. In another Texas shootout, Texas Tech got past TCU 56-53. Rugters kept its perfect season intact with a 35-10 rout of Temple. And finally, Oregon State got the job done over Utah 21-7. I bounced back with a strong week going 12-2 on Saturday with my predictions. For the year, I'm now 70-26. Not bad, but still room for improvement.On a more serious note, I'd like to close out this week with a request. Something much bigger than football. Within the past two weeks, 2 Clemson students have passed away due to an automobile accident. And on Monday, a friend of mine from high school suddenly lost her father. For those that believe in prayer I ask that you lift these families up in the coming days and weeks. I can't imagine what any of them are going through but I truly believe everything happens for a reason and its a part of God's plan. I hope and pray they find the strength and understanding to make it through this difficult time.
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