This game was built as the rematch from the 2001 BCS Title Game which Oklahoma won 13-2. Saturday’s result also favored the Sooners 47-17. Florida States QB Christian Ponder was supposed to have a coming out party towards a Heisman type season but the spotlight was stolen by Oklahoma QB Landry Jones. Jones was dynamic completing 30/40 for 380 yards and 4 TDs. Sooners WR Ryan Broyles caught 12 catches for 124 yards 1 TD and RB DeMarco Murray chipped in with 2 rushing TDs. Oklahoma Head Coach Bob Stoops’ offense stayed one step ahead of younger brother and Florida State Defensive Coordinator Mark Stoops. The Sooners scored touchdowns on their first four possessions of the game. Obviously the Sooners wanted to make a statement not only to their fans but the country by proving last week’s struggle with Utah State was a mere aberration. Ponder struggled all day only completing 11 of 28 for 113 yard with 2 INTs. This was no Samford the Noles faced. This victory helped Stoops improve to 14-0 since 1999 against ranked opponents at home. Sooner fans I told you last week to take a deep breath and give this team a chance. As I already stated last week was merely an aberration of the true Sooners.
Penn State @ Alabama
Roll Tide Roll! I never understood why Gameday chose Tuscaloosa nor did I understand the hype surrounding this game. If you saw my predictions on Thursday I felt that Bama would cruise to an easy victory over an overrated Penn State team. That is exactly what happened as the Tide rolled 24-3. I also stated that Alabama would not miss Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson proved me right. All you die-hards in Alabama know Richardson is an amazing back you do not need to hear it from me. Richardson bullied, plowed and manhandled the Penn State defense all night. He had over 100 yards in the first half and finished the game with 22 carries for 144 yards and 1 TD. Greg McElroy was extremely efficient going 16 for 24 with 229 yards and 2 TDs. On the other side of the ball we knew that this would be a tough road test for Freshman Penn State QB Robert Bolden in front of 108,000 at Bryant-Denny Stadium. And it was, the Tide defense harassed Bolden all night as he completed just 13 of 29 for 144 yards and 2 INTs. What’s amazing is this is a Bama defense that returns just two starters from last season. As expected the Tide rolled and the SEC gave another woodshed beating to the Big Ten.
Michigan @ Notre Dame
If the Downtown Athletic Club presented the Heisman Trophy tomorrow the award would surely head north to Ann Arbor and Michigan QB Denard Robinson. In two games the dual threat QB nicknamed Shoelace has produced over 800 yards in total offense. And in the second consecutive week Robinson breaks the Michigan single game QB rushing record. Saturday at Notre Dame Robinson had a day for the ages completing 24/40 passes for 244 yards and 1 TD and also rushed 28 times for 258 yards and 2 TDs. Not to mention he led a 12 play 72 yard winning drive in the final 3 minutes of the game to beat Notre Dame 28-24. Robinson nearly accounted for all of the Wolverines 532 total yards on offense. Notre Dame battled and were led by a gutsy effort by their QB Dayne Crist. Crist was knocked out of the game in the second quarter after experiencing dizziness. Crist finished the game completing 13/25 passes for 277 yards with 1 TD and 2 INts. The Irish briefly took the lead in the fourth quarter after Crist connected with TE Kyle Rudolph for 95 yards. Rudolph finished the game with 8 receptions for 164 yards and 1 TD. Even with a valiant effort by the Irish this day belonged to Denard Robinson and the Wolverines who will surely crack the Top 25 come Monday afternoon.
Miami (FL) @ Ohio State
All I heard leading up to the clash at the Shoe was that even though Jacory Harris committed 17 INTs last year a vast majority of them were after he suffered a thumb injury. Well the Buckeyes Silver Bullet defense exploited the interception happy Harris four times on Saturday. The Buckeyes beat the Hurricanes 36-24 in front 105,000 in Columbus. This was not a game of beauty with several penalties, turnovers and missed tackles. But, the Buckeyes were led by Terrelle Pryor who completed 12 of 27 passes for 233 yards and 1 TD and also rushed 20 times for 113 yards and 1 TD. It was not Pryor’s most impressive outing but he had timely drives and several big passing plays throughout the game. The Buckeyes also had a record tying day by PK Devin Barclay who made 5 field goals on the day. Miami (FL) kept the game close in the first half by returning a kickoff 88 yards and a punt return 79 both for TDs. This is becoming a bad theme for Ohio State Head Coach Jim Tressel , who always expects to excel in the special teams department. Last week the Buckeyes had a blocked field goal by Marshall that led to seven points. Ohio State’s defense was the definition of a rubber band defense. Several times the Hurricanes worked the ball down the field on the Buckeyes until Jacory Harris threw it away. Miami (FL) had no answer for Pryor when he ran. The 6’6 240 pound QB was able to elude the pocket and pick up several first downs in the fourth quarter to help the Buckeyes keep their eyes on a National Championship. GO BUCKS!
Top Performances:
1. Denard Robinson (Michigan): Compiled 502 total yards of offense with 3 TDs vs. Notre Dame
2. Dante Warren (South Dakota): Completed 21/30 for 352 yards 3 TDs and rushed 10 times for 81 yards with 2 TDs vs. Minnesota
3. Landry Jones (Oklahoma): Completed 30/40 for 380 yards 4 TDs vs. Florida State
4. Duke and Wake Forest: Combined for 102 points. 957 total yards of offense with 46 first downs. 14 total touchdowns.
5. Nebraska Defense: The Black shirts produced 5 interceptions 1 fumble recovery and 7 sacks. They only allowed 60 yards rushing vs. Idaho
What was that Performance!?
1. Virginia Tech: After letting the country down by losing to Boise State you turn around and lose to FCS James Madison 21-16 at home in Blacksburg. Congratulations Hokies way to prove that your always overrated in the early season polls.
2. ACC Conference: You want respect across the country but you have a brutal Saturday. Georgia Tech, Florida State, Miami (FL), Virginia Tech all lose. At least Clemson beat Presbyterian.
3. Ohio State Special Teams: Tressel Ball is based around being perfect on Special Teams. On Saturday you give up a kickoff for a TD, a punt return for a TD, a kickoff out of bounds and a missed field goal. I doubt the sweater vest is very happy .
4. Minnesota: This goes to the University! You fire former Head Coach Glenn Mason who won 8 or 9 games every year and got a below average program to a Bowl Game consistently. Then you hire crazy Tim Brewster who suffered his second defeat to an FCS school in three years are you kidding me? I would head to the Big Ten Studios and beg Coach Mason to come back to walk the sidelines again for your dreadful football program.
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