Wow is all I have to say, week 10 is in the books and it was full of big plays and big wins for teams across the Top 25. Let’s get down and look at last week’s action.
- Thursday started the week off with a bang with a competitive game pitting #21 Virginia Tech against an unranked ECU squad, it was a slow start for both teams but the game ball goes to Hokies RB Ryan Williams who had 26 carries for 179 yards to get them the victory 16-3.
- We then saw an interesting game between #6 Boise State and Louisiana Tech in which we saw glimpses of some weak spots in the Broncos. Boise State dangerously let Louisiana keep themselves alive until the fourth quarter, we will see how the season plays out in Idaho, but I have my doubts regarding their big play ability.
- In one of the better games of the weekend, we saw was a hardnosed #10 Iowa team take on a surprising Northwestern team. The undefeated Hawkeyes lost their starting QB Ricky Stanzi in the beginning of the second quarter on Saturday leading to an instant interception thrown by Iowa Freshman QB James Vandenburg, helping Northwestern grind out a victory 17-10. Although Vandenberg was a somewhat heralded QB out of high school, he has some big shoes to fill this weekend as it looks like he will start against a tough Ohio State team on Saturday.
- Another great game this past weekend featured #16 Ohio State taking on #11 Penn State. Two high profile teams with two high profile QB’s always makes for a highly anticipated match, and this one was no different. Terrelle Pryor started the game out for the Buckeyes with a twelve yard scamper for a touchdown, which ultimately set the pace for Ohio State to overpower the rival Nittany Lions. Pryor showed a steady performance throughout the game including a fifty yard bomb in the third quarter to help them get the upset win 24-7. Penn State QB Darryl Clark passed for a season low 125 yards and barely completed 40% of his passes for the loss.
- #1 Florida didn’t miss a beat without Brandon Spikes this week against Vanderbuilt. Heisman QB Tim Tebow led the Gators to a win 27-3 continuing their unbeaten streak to 19 straight.
- The week’s most hyped matchup also happened to come from the SEC with #2 Alabama trying to stay undefeated against now ranked #8 LSU. Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban always has high expectations when facing his former LSU team. It was a game of chess between two great teams, but it was the defense for Alabama that was able to keep the Tigers in their cage. The Crimson Tide pulled out a very important win 24-15, leading to a chance at the SEC title against #1 Florida.
- In the ACC this week, #14 Miami and star QB Jacory Harris took on Virginia in a conference matchup. Miami displayed a balanced passing and rushing attack and smoothly took this one 52-17.
- UCF had to live out a nightmare on Saturday against #3 Texas with the Longhorns offense having a record breaking day. Texas QB Colt McCoy went 33-42 with 470 yards and two touchdowns while roommate wide receiver Jordan Shipley had a mind boggling 273 yards on 11 receptions with one TD, steamrolling UCF with a victory 35-3.
- #5 Cincinnati had outlasted an unranked Connecticut team in a shootout that came to surprise the Bearcats with an impressive running attack. UConn RB Jordan Todman rushed for 162 yards and 4 touchdowns on 26 carries, but it wasn’t enough to hold off backup QB Zach Collaros from amassing a total of 555 all purpose yards. Collaros racked up 480 yards going 29-37 with a TD and added an additional 75 yards and two more touchdowns leading to a hard fought Bearcat win 47-45.
- With Iowa out of the picture and Cincinnati’s squeaker, #4 TCU jumped in this week’s rankings due to an offensive blowout against San Diego St 55-12. The Horned Frogs tallied up a whopping 551 yards of total offense with QB Andy Dalton accounting for 4 Td’s. They will be facing Utah next week in a conference showdown.
- # 7 Georgia Tech still leads the ACC with their awesome rushing attack taking on Wake Forest this past weekend. The Yellow Jackets looked a bit sluggish in the first half, but it was Jonathan Dwyer’s 23 carries for 189 yards and a touchdown that was the difference in this one. Another close game 30-27.
- After dismantling USC the week before, #13 Oregon seemed unstoppable. Introduce tough rival Stanford and their high octane offense. Cardinal QB Andrew Luck accounted for two touchdowns, but the Ducks were quacking to different tune with their star junior QB Jeremiah Masoli passing for a season high 334 yards and 3 touchdowns while RB Lemichael James rushed for 125 yards and touchdown and caught 4 passes for 89 yards. In the end, it was Stanford had too many threats for the Ducks. RB Toby Gerhart had 38 carries for 223 yards and three touchdowns and WR Chris Owusu caught 4 passes for 111 yards and a TD as well as returned 5 kickoffs an average of almost 40 yards a return which set up great field position throughout the game and Stanford wins 51-42.
- Unranked FSU and QB Christian Ponder faced another disappointing setback against a tough Clemson team this week with Kyle Parker showing fans why he is the clear choice for the starting role. Ponder suffered a separated throwing shoulder toward the end of the game, giving way to much anticipated recruit EJ Manuel to take the snaps for the remainder of the season. Clemson wins 40-24.
- #22 Notre Dame had a grudge match against Navy this year to avenge their loss in South Bend two years ago, but somehow the grudge didn’t work out as planned. For the second consecutive time at Notre Dame, Navy pulled out a win. Unlike the 2007 win though, the Midshipmen treated this one like business as usual, sacking Jimmy Clausen with only 60 seconds to go to go up by 9. Even though they gave up a touchdown 36 seconds later, on a 31 yard pass to Golden Tate, Navy held on to win 23-21.
In the Heisman Race, we have some new additions with Clemson RB CJ Spiller getting some attention at the top, however I do not see him as a better player than Alabama’s Mark Ingram or Florida’ s Tim Tebow. Jimmy Clausen’s bad game against Navy brought his stock down just a bit, although I believe Charlie Weis is to blame in that one. This year also seems to be more injury prone than previous years as I am seeing an increasing amount of concussions and other injuries as well. Seeing Jahvid Best from Cal laying stiff in the endzone after an impressive touchdown, leaves the grim reminder that even the most talented of football players are never far away from a potential ripple in their season.
Bobby Wren is a contributing sports enthusiast living out of El Paso, TX. He is currently involved in business and enjoys cooking for his family in his spare time. Bobby has been married for four years and has two wonderful children.