Games I saw (some of):
(7) Penn State 12-20 (3) Ohio State
I had the Nittany Lions to cover a 4-point spread but they just couldn't generate any offense here. Credit the Buckeye D-line, a really impressive showing for a defense that hasn't really had to do much yet this season. And kudos to WR Marvin Harrison Jr, its not like he was unstoppable but every time the Buckeyes needed a play, he got it done. Good showing for the Buckeyes, outside of a sloppy Notre Dame game, they haven't really had much competition yet but this was a good win against a good conference opponent. Penn State can feel proud that they didn't get clobbered, they were in this game for the most part and this is probably the best L on anyone's record right now, so still a pretty good showing for the Nittany Lions and they do still have a chance to make some noise.
(16) Duke 20-38 (4) Florida State
The Dukies put up a good show in the 1st half but when it was time for the Seminoles to take over, they did. They started a little slow but the Seminoles endured Duke's best efforts and made the plays they needed to easily take this game. I'd say this is a good W for the Seminoles, they fought a tough team and came out on top. Not a bad L for Duke, indeed, this is still the best season they've had in eons and this was a game effort on the road to a tough conference foe (and I still kinda like Duke's QB, we'll see if he can fine some draft day love).
Virginia 31-27 (10) North Carolina
I thought the refs favored the Cavs all the way through this game, it was subtle, but there were holding and such penalties on the Tar Heels that they weren't calling both ways. Just felt like the refs were making UNC work a little harder and the Tar Heels just couldn't rise to it. That said, UVA is really pretty bad this season and UNC still had this game in their grasp but a devastating pick-6 changed everything for them and they just couldn't dig their way out. Tough L for the Tar Heels but I'm not sure they deserved it; the Cavs got lucky--I'll say it: they got lucky!
(17) Tennessee 20-34 (11) Alabama
Tale of two halves: UT dominated the Tide in the 1st half, making plays confidently on both sides of the ball while the Tide felt like they were playing in mud. I was a little surprised but I figured that Bama would come out strong after halftime. They did! They whomped the shit out of Tennessee in the 2nd half, murdered 'em, stomped 'em, beat them up and down and made it clear who the better team was. Good reversal for the Tide but where was that dominance in the 1st half? And where has it been all year? The problem I see with Bama this year is their thoroughly mediocre QB play but in the 2nd half I thought Milroe was kinda great--way better than it even felt like he could be! So is Saban ready to let Milroe cook? Has the stubborn Bama coaching staff been the problem with Milroe? Or did Milroe just find something here? I dunno, but it does suggest that Bama has a little more in the tank and could still make some noise this season. We'll see but I had pretty much already given up on Bama getting big W's this year and now I'm hesitant to write them off. Tough L for UT, they looked good for 30 minutes (and not so good for 30 minutes) but this was a pretty good performance from them, we'll see if they build on the good parts or get subsumed by the bad parts.
(14) Utah 34-32 (18) Southern Cal
Fun game! Back and forth action all through the 2nd half. I kinda thought USC was the better team but Utah made plays when they needed to and they hit the big FG as the clock expired, so they get the big W on the road. Southern Cal looks like a team built to dominate but they're clearly not there yet, they're truthfully still a rebuilding team (a la LSU) and the success they've had so far is--I don't want to say "illusory"--I'll say "suggestive" of what they could be rather than what they actually are. This team is still a work in progress and though they are capable of big W's in big games, they haven't really done it yet and in the last 4 weeks they were up and down at Colorado, got stomped by Notre Dame, struggled with a kinda terrible Arizona team and blinked against a tough Utah side. I don't think they're done, though, they still have UCLA, Oregon and Washington--I bet they win at least 2 of those. As for Utah, they just keep rolling along, they're a good team, I think they're getting better and if they can find W's against Oregon and Washington, they're gonna be in line for a plumb playoff spot (right?). The Pac is the fun conference this year, still plenty of good games left out there.
Minnesota 12-10 (24) Iowa
Okay, I turned this game on with just a few minutes to go and I saw "the play" (below). The controversy of this week is when Iowa ran back a punt return with under 2 minutes left for the potential game-winning TD. But after further review, the refs decide that the returner called a fair catch--deemed an "invalid fair catch" (what does that even mean?)--and overturned the TD. Total bull shit! Watch the live video, no one ever at any point thinks he called a fair catch and even the initial review was to make sure he hadn't gone out of bounds. Listen to the "expert" rules guy, the returned gives the "getaway signal"--not a fair catch signal!--and that somehow negates the whole play. Iowa got robbed, robbed bad! At home! WTF? I thought this was bull shit when I saw it live and I still think it's bull shit 2 days later. Terrible call, refs should be ashamed of themselves. That said, there was no reason for Iowa to be losing late in the game to Minnesota, Iowa is better than that and they should've handled their business (1st rule of sports: never let the game get close enough to get ripped away by the refs).
Top 25
Handled their business
(2) Michigan, (3) Ohio State, (4) Florida State, (8) Texas, (9) Oregon, (11) Alabama, (13) Mississippi, (14) Utah, (19) Louisiana State, (20) Missouri, (22) Air Force, (25) UCLA
Won but did not impress
(5) Washington
Wow, they struggled hard to scramble late to eke out a W at home against a not-very-good Arizona State side. Don't know what happened here but the Huskies better make sure it doesn't happen again.
(6) Oklahoma
I figured a so-so Central Florida squad at home was just what the Sooners needed to empty out the play book, fling the ball around and pile up some points...but...uh...no, they struggled all game long and were very lucky to steal a W. Not a good performance, this was an easy one and they almost let it slip away.
(23) Tulane
I don't know Tulane that well but I was expecting they would handle an uninspiring North Texas side and they did not. They had to come back to secure the W and that's just not a good look against a team they should easily demolish.
Bad beat
(7) Penn State
Just couldn't move the ball on that Buckeye front and though they mostly handled WR Marvin Harrison Jr, when push came to shove the Buckeyes got the plays they needed and the Nittany Lions didn't get the stops they needed. The upside is that this is probably the best L of the season so far (right?) and they didn't get stomped but this was obviously the best team the Lions have played this year.
(16) Duke
They kept it competitive in the 1st half but when the time came, the Seminoles stepped up and the Blue Devils had no answer. Not a bad L.
(17) Tennessee
Whoa, tale of two halves! The Vols should feel pretty good about their 1st half dominance, even if they're still bandaging up their 2nd half defeat. It was gonna be a tough one and it was.
Not so good
(10) North Carolina
I thought the Tar Heels got jobbed by the refs routinely throughout tis game but it was their own mistakes that doomed tham and that's unacceptable in a home conference match (especially against a kinda terrible Cavs team).
(18) Southern Cal
One of those games where you knew the team that had the ball last was gonna win it. Well, the Trojans scored their final TD too early and couldn't hold off the Utes. They needed this W, though, and they didn't get it.
(24) Iowa
Yeah, they got ripped off, but the game shouldn't have been that close. The Hawkeyes needed to step up against an inferior Gopher side and they dropped the ball (well, sorta).
Next week's intriguing matches
(6) Oklahoma @ Kansas (Kansas had some top 20 time this season but they've dropped a couple in a row and have been completely forgotten but with OU coming off a lackluster showing to Central Florida (a trap game?), I'd say this trip to Kansas is suddenly interesting again; let's see if KU can get their groove back)
(1) Georgia @ Florida (yeah, I think UGA is going to mop the floor with the Gators but there is at least a hint of upset potential here; flip side is we might see UGA's first really complete game of the season)
(8) Oregon @ (13) Utah (the marquis match, both of these squads are playing well and need the W)
(20) Duke @ (18) Louisville (Coach K taking on Denny Crum...oh wait, this is....football? Okay, well, could be fun)
(21) Tennessee @ Kentucky (UT needs their groove back and Lexington is where they've always found it in the past; the Wildcats had some top 20 time this season but they've looked pretty horrible lately, do they find enough magic to punch a hated conference foe in the face or do the Vols pull it together and lay the smackdown? We'll see)
(3) Ohio State @ Wisconsin (very little chance of an upset here but this is a traditional rivalry and the Buckeyes are coming off their toughest match of the season, could be some slippage; don't be shocked if this turns out to be a fun game)
Colorado @ (23) UCLA (are there any wheels left on the Colorado bandwagon? Can they get it up one more time for a Bruin side that has perhaps overachieved this season? This is gonna be a fun one: either one team gets humiliated or its a barn burner, no matter the outcome, this should be a fun one)
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