This weekend’s college football schedule was pretty light, but there was no shortage of action.
There weren’t any earth-shattering upsets, which is why the top half of the new polls are mostly intact heading into next weekend, which will see several big games (Oklahoma-Texas Tech, Penn State-Michigan State, Cincinnati-Pittsburgh, Central Michigan-Ball State).
I’ll leave the recap of Florida’s latest demolition to our resident Gator, but I will cover several of the other notable headlines from the last few days.
ACC Slipperiness Continues
Seriously, does anyone want to win the ACC?
Going into this weekend, Wake Forest and Florida State were tied atop the Atlantic Division with 4-2 records, with Maryland at 3-2. In the Coastal Division, Virginia Tech and North Carolina were at 4-2, with Miami at 3-2. Considering how slippery first place and top-20 rankings have been with ACC teams this season, what happened this weekend was just business as usual.
On Thursday night, Miami beat Virginia Tech 16-14 to knock the Hokies off the top of the Coastal Division standings and give North Carolina a chance to claim the advantage (they beat Miami 28-24 earlier this season) with a victory at Maryland.
However, the Tar Heels were blanked in the second half, and a late Maryland field goal sent UNC to a 17-15 loss.
At the same time, Wake Forest was going down to North Carolina State 21-17. That set up Florida State to be in full control of their destiny heading into next week’s game at Maryland, and all they had to do was beat Boston College at home.
Unfortunately, three Christian Ponder interceptions, ineptness on the ground, and an inability to slow down B.C.’s running game spelled doom in a 27-17 defeat.
Now, Maryland is alone in first in the Atlantic at 4-2, and if they beat Wake and FSU, they win the division. And in the Coastal, Miami is in first at 4-2, and all they have to do is win at Georgia Tech and N.C. State.
Six ACC teams already have seven wins, two have six, and two more have five. Excellent showing for sales of headache medicines parity and excitement’s sake, but come on…
Vandy Finally Gets Bowl Eligible
After starting the year with five straight wins, Vanderbilt had lost four straight heading into last night’s game at Kentucky. But after holding on for a 31-24 win, the Commodores finally have that elusive sixth victory, and with, their first bowl berth since 1982.
They’re not assured of postseason participation yet, but a .500 conference record is guaranteed. A win at home against archrival Tennessee next Saturday would no doubt seal the deal, with at least seven wins and a 5-3 SEC record.
The Music City Bowl would love to have its hometown school, but if Vandy can beat the Vols and win their regular-season finale against Wake Forest, they could be in line for a New Year’s Day bowl.
LSU Wakes Up Just in Time
It could be that LSU just wanted to toy with Troy for three quarters and make them think they had a chance to go into Baton Rouge and come out with a win. Or maybe it was seeing the stadium empty
Whatever the case, the Tigers were down 31-3 (that’s right, 31-3) to the mighty Trojans deep in the third quarter before scoring 37 unanswered points in the final 16-plus minutes to win 40-31.
Troy was rolling until LSU mounted a drive late in the third quarter, converting two third downs and a fourth down to get their first touchdown of the night. Even then, the Trojans were up by three touchdowns, but LSU’s defense started to play like LSU’s defense should, and the Tigers got it going on offense. It also didn’t hurt that they got favorable field position (LSU 40, 50, Troy 13) on three of their four fourth-quarter touchdown drives.
The Pasters Get Pasted
Throughout this season, Tulsa’s been putting a whoopin’ on many a foe. But last night at Houston, they got the belt put to them in a 70-30 drubbing by Case Keenum and the Cougars. Keenum threw for 402 yards and six touchdowns, and he now has 3,794 yards and 35 touchdowns on the season.
Maybe Tulsa was still feeling a little down after seeing their unbeaten season ended at Arkansas two weeks ago, but the Golden Hurricane now need to win their last two games and hope Houston loses one of their last two to win Conference USA‘s West Division.
There’s now a three-way tie for first in the West, with Tulsa (8-2), Rice (7-3), and Houston (6-4) all at 5-1. All three have quarterbacks with 3,000+ yards and 30+ touchdowns, and if UTEP‘s Trevor Vittatoe (2,599 yards, 27 TD) does well over his last two games, the C-USA West could be home to four QBs with at least 3,000 yards and 30 touchdowns.
And Elsewhere…
This may not happen again for another century or so, but Northwestern has as many as wins as Michigan does losses (8) after the Wildcats won 21-14 in Ann Arbor yesterday.
Auburn made quite the noble effort in their 17-13 loss to Georgia, but a losing season is in the cards unless the Tigers can upset Alabama in the Iron Bowl in two weeks. Does Tommy Tuberville need that to happen to keep his job?
Utah is a win away from a BCS bowl, Oregon State is two wins away from the Rose Bowl, Cincinnati is two wins away from a Big East title and either the Orange Bowl or Sugar Bowl, and someone’s likely going to be obligated to take a three-loss (or more) ACC team. USC in the Holiday Bowl? Boise State in the Humanitarian Bowl? Just might happen.
