Let me start off this weekend by saying how glad I am that the powers-that-be decided to act like adults and get the LSU–Florida game rescheduled. I realize that having the game cancelled was inconvenient and that the solution is somewhat unfair to each team, but you know what else is inconvenient and unfair? The fact that hundreds of people in Haiti died because of the same hurricane that cancelled the game. Yes, it sucks that Florida loses a home game. And yes, it’s certainly less than ideal for LSU to have to play Florida rather than a cupcake when they play Texas A&M the next Thursday. But let’s keep this in perspective.
Things We Learned in College Week Seven
Sad news in football yesterday, as former Auburn defensive end Quentin Groves died in his sleep at the much-too-young age of 32. No official cause of death has been reported. Groves was a second-round draft pick in 2008 and played seven seasons in the NFL with five different teams. Our thoughts and prayers here at LWOS are with his loved ones.
Thoughts and prayers also with the LSU community after the loss of their mascot, Mike VI, to cancer earlier this week. You can read my whole story about Mike here.
And now, on to this weekend’s games…
Duke and Louisville got the weekend started with a thriller on Friday night. Down by three and about to force a Louisville punt, Duke got called for roughing the kicker. The Cardinals got new life and scored to go ahead by 10, but if you had told me Duke-Louisville would even be competitive, I would have assumed you were talking about basketball.
NC State–Clemson was another game I expected to be a blowout. Instead, the Wolfpack had a chance to win with a last-second field goal attempt, which failed. Clemson went on to win in overtime, but did anybody expect to be less than a 10-point game? I know I didn’t.
The good news for Virginia Tech was that they held Syracuse‘s leading receiver Amba-Etta Tawo to five receptions for 54 yards. The bad news? Brisly Estime and Ervin Philips each had over 130 receiving yards and a touchdown as the Orange upset them 31-17.
Upset in the SEC
Another entry in the “Who saw THAT coming?” column: Vanderbilt 17, Georgia 16. Georgia has been bizarrely hot-and-cold this year. They beat a ranked UNC team in the opener, barely beat Nicholls State and Missouri, got spanked by Ole Miss, barely lost to Tennessee, beat South Carolina by 14, and now they’ve lost to Vandy.
Not starting? Not a problem for Oklahoma receiver Dede Westbrook, who didn’t start but definitely played. Westbrook caught nine balls for 184 yards and, for the second week in a row, three touchdowns. Oklahoma beat Kansas State 38-17.
Alabama Rolls Tennessee
More last-minute magic for Tennessee? Um, no.
ESPN’s Alex Scarborough had a great stat on Twitter yesterday. Alabama QB Jalen Hurts rushed for three touchdowns against Tennessee. A.J. McCarron had three rushing touchdowns in his whole three years under center for the Tide.
Alabama has 11 defensive and special-teams touchdowns through seven games. I know there have been some cupcake games in there, but that is ridiculous.
Throwing in a Windy Night
Judging from Twitter, and the stats, wind was a factor in the Oregon State–Utah match-up. Beavers QB Darrel Garretson completed just one of his first 12 pass attempts. Utah’s Troy Williams was just 4 of 13 for the entire game. (Utah won, 19-14).
Looking ahead to next week, Thursday night’s Virginia Tech-Miami match-up should be good, with both teams coming off of conference losses. NC State-Louisville has potential to be interesting as well. If you’re lucky enough to get CBS Sports Network, Memphis-Navy is a game I’d love to be able to watch. The best game of the week is definitely Texas A&M at Alabama; I have to think that if anyone takes down the Tide this year it will be the Aggies.
Until next weekend, readers!
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