Good Sunday to everyone! Hope you’ve had a great weekend!
We had a big weekend here. My 5 year old son Mike lost his first tooth yesterday! He was either fruit snacks at the time, and apparently swallowed his tooth. My son Jake had his first basketball practice. We made it to Wenninghoff farm and picked out new pumpkins. Finally we started a new session of swimming lessons earlier today for all three kids.
Jam packed. As always. Our weekends are always busy.
Anyway, I wasn’t able to watch all the games yesterday, but I caught enough. Lots of close games, and lots of upsets. But in Nebraska, the biggest news was…Nebraska won. For a second time. For a weekend, all was well in Husker Land.
Lets get started.
Nebraska 45, Bethune-Cookman 9. This game’s outcome was never in question, but the Wildcats never quit. They scored their TD on the final play of the game, and then lobbied to kick the extra point. Since it didn’t matter, they were denied, but cheers for the intensity. Nebraska pulled all their starters after the first half.
The Stats:
- Adrian Martinez: 15-22 passing, 213 yards, two TD’s, one INT.
- Noah Vedral: 2-9 passing, 29 yards, one INT; seven carries, 13 rush yards, one TD.
- Devine Ozigbo: 11 carries, 110 yards, two TD’s.
- Stanley Morgan Jr; seven catches, 82 yards, two TD’s.
- Steffon Francois, WR, Bethune-Cookman; 3 catches, 105 yards.
In My Opinion:
- Nebraska looked like Nebraska, blowing away an overmatched opponent.
- However, lets keep in mind what showed up rather painfully in this game. The starters looked fabulous; however, the second teamers didn’t exactly set the world on fire. The defense was okay, but only okay in the second half. The offense was painful to watch; Vedral didn’t look ready and/or didn’t look like he’d be supplanting Andrew Bunch on the depth chart. Wyatt Mazour looked good at I-Back, but that was about it as far as the backups.
- The defense needs to be one hundred percent and on top of its game to have any chance against Ohio State next week.
Going Forward: Nebraska doubled their win total for the year. That was a needed win for the Huskers. Nebraska is heading into much more difficult waters next week against Ohio State. Course, if they happen to knock off the Buckeyes….
Result: WIN. All four of us had Nebraska.
The Rest of the Picks:
Boston College 27, Miami 14. Well, so much for the vaunted Miami defense. I caught glimpses of this game through the night while working, and Bugeater commented during the game “Canes look disjointed.” Miami has a QB problem; Malik Rosier didn’t look any better against Boston College, and if N’Kosi Perry isn’t the better option, then they don’t have a QB to play. With a offense that requires good QB intelligence and game management, that’s a HUGE problem. BC didn’t do a ton better than Miami, especially in the second half, when all they could manage was 10 points in the third Quarter, but AJ Dillon carried the rock 34 times for 149 yards and a TD to power Boston College to the win. Result: LOSS. All four of us had Miami.
Syracuse 51, North Carolina State 41. The Wolfpack spotted Syracuse 21 points after going up 7 – 3 to start the game. That essentially cost them the game, since they outscored the Orange 34-17 the rest of the game. This was a game highlighting the QB’s and WR’s. North Carolina State’s Ryan Finely went 26 – 44 for 473 yards, three TD’s, and one INT. His favorite target was Kelvin Harmon, who recorded 11 catches for 247 yards and two TD’s. Eric Dungey was just a tad better, going 27 – 38 for 411 yards and three TD’s; his favorite target was Sean Riley, who had 10 receptions for 164 yards. Syracuse is now bowl eligible for the first time in five years. Result: LOSS. BigRedinBlueCountry joined me in taking NC State; Bugeater and Imjustamonkey took Syracuse.
West Virginia 58, Baylor 14. West Virginia jumped out to a 41-0 lead at halftime and never looked back. Baylor actually won the time of possession battle, but only managed 287 total yards. The Bears four turnovers did not help them either. Result: WIN. All of us had West Virginia…but Imjustamonkey didn’t get his picks in early enough for this game. So he took a loss.
Oklahoma State 38, Texas 35. Just like North Carolina State, Texas got stuck in a hole early and couldn’t quite climb out. Oklahoma State was up 31-14 at halftime, and while Texas climbed back to make it a game, the Longhorn defense couldn’t keep Oklahoma State out of the endzone late in the fourth quarter. Result: LOSS. All four of us took Texas.
Northwestern 31, Wisconsin 17. Wisconsin entered the game with a new QB, as starter Alex Hornibrook was held out due to a concussion. Neither team was able to crack 400 total yards, and both had three turnovers, but Northwestern was more effective and held the ball 6 minutes longer than Wisconsin. That was the ball game. Result: WIN! And BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! I get my “I TOLD YOU SO!” moment of the weekend, as everyone else took Wisconsin.
Michigan State 23, Purdue 13. That ended rather abruptly. The Purdue team that beat Ohio State was no where to be found on Saturday, with Michigan State grinding out 38:13 of possession time and 426 total yards. The Spartan defense blew up the Purdue offense, something Ohio State was unable to do, causing three turnovers and limiting them to 339 yards. Result: LOSS. And I thought I was so cool for taking Purdue in this one; all of us took the Boilermakers.
Penn State 30, Iowa 24. Normally, if your defense gets a safety on the day, its going to be a pretty good day. If your defense gets TWO safeties on the day, you’re all but guaranteed a win, right? I mean, twice you get two points and the ball. Iowa couldn’t turn that largesse into a win on Saturday. Nate Stanley threw two INT’s on the day, and the running game never got going; Iowa’s offense accumulated 350 total yards. Penn State didn’t look good; this was the Trace McSorley show, as he led the team in rushing while piloting the offense. The game turned at the end of a 72 yard drive late in the game. Iowa drove to the Penn State 3; then on first and goal, they tried to get tricky, and Penn State intercepted in the end zone. Iowa ran out of time after the Penn State possession. Result: LOSS. Somehow, BigRedinBlueCountry knew Penn State was going to win this one; everyone else had Iowa.
Arizona State 38, USC 35. Ouch. That one hurt Clay Helton. In a relatively even game, special teams ended up being the difference. Arizona State WR N’Keal Harry took a punt late in the third quarter, and ran it back 92 yards for a TD. Result: WIN. Bugeater and I had Arizona State; the other two took USC.
Washington State 41, Stanford 38. Stanford jumped out to a 28-14 lead, and while Washington State hit a field goal at the end of the half, they were down 11 at half time. Washington State rallied in the second half, but still came down to a tie after Stanford hit a 25 yard TD pass with 1:25 left. Washington State pushed the ball 50 yards in 1:06 and kicked a field goal to take the final lead of the day. Result: WIN. Bugeater was the only one to take Stanford; the rest of us took Washington State.
Georgia 36, Florida 17. In retrospect, expecting the Florida offense to perform well against the Bulldog defense was a bit optimistic. The Gators showed up in spurts, while Georgia’s offense methodically wore down Florida’s defense, finally accumulating 429 offensive yards. The Georgia defense forced three turnovers on the day, and Florida couldn’t offset those losses to keep the offense on track. Result: LOSS. Sigh. I was the only person to take Florida. Everyone else had Georgia.
Kentucky 15, Missouri 14. Kentucky lost the game until 5:18 left in the game. Then, the Kentucky offense woke up, scoring two TD’s in the last five minutes to win the game. Kentucky’s defense held the high powered Missouri offense to 249 total yards. But Missouri held the Wildcats out of the endzone until the end of the game, and this time it was QB Terry Wilson instead of RB Bennie Snell Jr who triggered the comeback. Result: WIN. All four of us had Kentucky.
Mississippi State 28, Texas A&M 13. The two teams took a 14-13 Mississippi State lead into the fourth quarter. Once there, QB Nick Fitzgerald of Mississippi State went to work. Two Fitzgerald TD runs put the game out of reach for Texas A&M. Result: LOSS. Imjustamonkey managed to pick Mississippi State; everyone else had Texas A&M.
For the week, we all went 6-6. It was a little odd, especially since we all had different games that we chose incorrectly. For the season, our positions didn’t change at all. Imjustamonkey trails at 64-51. I’m in third at 66 – 49. Bugeater is in second at 68-47, BigRedinBlueCountry remains in the lead at 69 – 46. This week, Bugeater gets to choose the games.
Watch for a new post on Wednesday or Thursday. Stay tuned!