Finally, a week with decent games in every time slot!
-Congrats to Baylor on their 8-0 start, the first in school history. They dominated an Oklahoma squad that, granted, has been disappointing this year. The Oklahoma game was the first in a tough five-game stretch to finish the season for Baylor, with Texas Tech and Texas at home, and Oklahoma State and TCU on the road. The Bears are off to a good start, and I’m hoping Bryce Petty gets some more Heisman buzz.
-Stanford took down Oregon playing a brand of smashmouth, three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust football reminiscent of Bo Schembechler and Woody Hayes. RB Tyler Gaffney ran for 157 yards, and the Cardinal defense held off a late rally by the Ducks to hand Oregon its firstloss of the season.
-Yesterday, Purdue ran their first play in the red zone since SEPTEMBER 28th. Yeah, I have to think their coach is getting fired after the season.
-So I guess there was no letdown for Florida State after their big game last week.
-The last time Minnesota won four consecutive conference games, my 63-year-old parents were graduate students there. I find myself developing a soft spot for these Gophers that grows every week. Even if they don’t win another game- and with Wisconsin and Michigan State remaining on the schedule, they may not- it’s been a great season for the Gophers.
-I think a few weeks ago I may have said something about having overlooked Tennessee’s defense. Apparently there was a reason for that.
-Congratulations to Kansas State coach Bill Snyder, whose team not only beat a ranked Texas Tech team today, they made Snyder just the seventh coach ever to reach 175 wins with the same team.
-Michigan has a lot of problems, but one of the biggest is their inability to pick up blitzes. Compounding the problem is that Devin Gardner isn’t quite polished enough as a passer to make teams worry about giving up big plays if they bring a corner or a safety.
-After beating NC State to go to 7-2, Duke fans were apparently chanting “We want Florida State!” I appreciate their enthusiasm, but…
-I don’t know what to make of Maryland. They have very good games and very bad games and not much in between. This week it was back to very bad, losing 20-3 to Syracuse.
-As a lot of people predicted, the LSU-Bama game was close for a little over a half before the Tide pulled away. LSU committed a couple of costly penalties that contributed to the blowout, but the talent and depth Alabama has, on both sides of the ball, is just ridiculous. (T.J. Yeldon is a beast). LSU lost a lot of talent to the NFL last year and is in a bit of a rebuild, especially on the offensive line (which was clear last night). As long as they have a quarterback prepared to replace Mettenberger, this game should be closer next year.
-It appears the Notre Dame we all love (or love to hate) is back, with Tommy Rees making a number of questionable decisions in a loss to Pitt.
-Congratulations to Central Florida on beating Houston. UCF and Louisville now each have one loss, but since UCF is undefeated in conference play, and beat Louisville, the Knights can win the AAC by winning out. (Their remaining opponents are Temple, Rutgers, South Florida, and SMU).
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