College Football Wrap Up: Week 9

Week 9 has come and gone and boy was it a great one! A terrific week of college football chocked full with many surprises, upsets and nail biters.  With the BCS season starting to heat up, so is the excitement. Here is a look at some of the best across the nation from week 9.

• One of the games that I was highly anticipating this week was #12 USC taking on #8 Oregon. I was surprised that USC’s offense looked as bad as it did throughout the game, especially from their Blue Chip QB Matt Barkley who threw for two touchdowns but only added a measly 187 yards in the air. The Trojans usually guaranteed rushing attack was not enough to lift them past the stellar play of the Ducks QB Jeremiah Masoli who had a great game both rushing and passing with 164 yards and 222 yards respectively combined with a great performance by RB LaMichael James who added 183 yards on the ground. Oregon totaled 613 yards of offense put up against the Trojans, which is the most since 1997, and the Ducks win 47-20.
• Defending BCS Champions #1 Florida proved that their offense can still bang with the best in the SEC playing Georgia this weekend. Heisman frontrunner QB Tim Tebow accounted for four total touchdowns with two of them coming by way of the Gators passing attack while the other two came on the ground, helping push the Gators by the Bulldogs for the 17^th time in school history 41-17. With the only worry on their upcoming schedule being Florida State,  it is becoming very likely that the Gators will have the chance to repeat their championship run.
• The now ranked #2 Texas Longhorns moved pass Alabama in this week’s BCS rankings due to an electrifying performance from the Longhorn offense and a terrible overall effort from #19 Oklahoma State, who was supposed to be the toughest team to face the Longhorns this season. Heisman Candidate QB Colt McCoy led his team to an easy victory completing 16/21 of his passes for 171yards and one touchdown, while the Longhorn defense took advantage of the five turnovers that they caused from Oklahoma State with a final score of 41-14.
• #23 Virginia Tech saw their stock drop this past week with a close loss to North Carolina. The Hokies offense just didn’t look like it’s normal self on Thursday, with Tyrod Taylor raising questions about his consistency and ultimately letting the Tarheels kick a field goal as time expired to take the win 20-17.
• #24 Oklahoma faced Kansas State on Saturday and did a great job early on with their explosive offense gaining a 21-0 lead in the first quarter, Injured QB Sam Bradford watched from the sidelines as his back up Landry Jones completed 26 out of 37 for 294 yards and four touchdowns as the Sooners sailed to victory 42-30.
• # 20 Cal had their hands full in a competitive matchup against an unranked Arizona State squad. Cal’s  Jahvid Best accounted for 97 yards rushing and added seven catches for 61 yards and a touchdown to help penetrate the Sun Devils intense defense leading to a Cal victory 23-21.
• #22 Notre Dame brought their passing attack to Washington State on Saturday with Irish Heisman candidate QB Jimmy Clausen passing for 22-27 with 268 yards and two touchdowns.  Coupled with a strong showing from their defense, Notre Dame won 40-14. After a 3-9 season in 2007, and barely breaking .500 at 7-6 last year, Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weiss has done a tremendous job with the Fighting Irish, returning one of the country’s powerhouses back to prominence in the BCS.
• # 4 Iowa had one of my favorite games over the weekend playing Indiana in one of their toughest games so far this year. The Hawkeyes were down the whole game and went into the 4^th quarter with only 14 points and down by ten. Then, in what is probably one of the best quarters of football in a long time, the Hawkeyes exploded for 28 fourth quarter points to ensure their victory 42-24. Iowa QB Ricky Stanzi overcame a despicable 4 interceptions in the third quarter alone to connect on back to back 92 and 66 yard touchdown passes, reaffirming Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz’s assertions about Stanzi’s mental toughness and Iowa’s right to be considered a contender for the BCS.
• # 3 Alabama had this week off to prepare for a great matchup with Saban’s reunion at # 9 LSU, who just got done demolishing a lackluster Tulane team 42-0 and are looking ready to carry that momentum against Alabama this week
• #10 Georgia Tech is leading the ACC race and they are also at the top of the nation in rushing yardage, gaining 404 yards on the ground against a stout Vanderbilt team. Jonathan Dwyer had a season best 164 yards rushing with three touchdowns leading the Yellow Jackets to the win 56-31.
• #17 Miami had a load of competition facing a very tough Wake Forest squad in an important conference game. QB  Riley Skinner kept the Demon Deacons in the game with his 28-42, 341 yards passing and two touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough to stop the effort from the ACC’s best QB Jacory Harris as he went 22-43 with 330 yards and three touchdowns including a last minute touchdown to Travis Benjamin to give the Hurricanes the victory 28-27 in the final minute of regulation.
• #16 Ohio State crippled New Mexico State 45-0 showing that the Buckeyes defense is out to prove something , while Terrelle Pryor accounted for over two hundred offensive yards and two touchdowns.

This year’s Heisman race is living up to the “race” moniker, as this year it seems to be just a bit closer in competition than in previous years. There is some debate this week as the votes have Florida QB Tim Tebow on top with Alabama Running back Mark Ingram trailing close behind , leaving a very talented Irish QB Jimmy Clausen coming in third for Heisman consideration.

The action should be great this coming week as well. Pay special attention to #23 Virginia Tech as they play East Carolina on Thursday night, as they attempt to prove they should still be in contention in the ACC. #16 Ohio State and #11 Penn State should be a game of the season, along with the much anticipated Alabama vs LSU matchup on Saturday. #24 Oklahoma will have to prove itself without Bradford against a competent Nebraska side, and #10 Oregon has a Pac-10 rivalry game against Stanford which the Ducks had best not overlook. Keep coming back to The Father Life each week for the College Football Wrap Up.

Bobby Wren

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.