Week 10 Recap

#1 Michigan 34, Ball State 26
Michigan actually pretty much executed their gameplan: run the ball and stop the other team from doing so. Mike Hart ran for 154 and a TD, and Brandon Minor added 108 and a score on the ground. On the flipside, the Michigan D held Ball State to 84 rushing yards. Now the bad news: Chad Henne looked average, going 17/25 passing, but for only 155 yards and a 1/1 TD/INT. And BSU QB Nate Davis put up 250 yards through the air, so it cements that Michigan is beatable if a QB is good enough. The question is if Troy Smith is good enough anymore, at least after...

#2 Ohio State 17, Illinois 10
Not a situation where you have to look beyond the score -- this was just a shit offensive performance by the Buckeyes. Antonio Pittman only had 58 and a score on the ground, while Troy Smith had his worst game of the year, only going 13/23 for 108 and a pick. The OSU offense suddenly looks a lot more stoppable. Uh oh.

#12 Louisville 44, #3 West Virginia 34
Turnovers were the order of the day here, as the Mountaineers outgained UL 575-491, but fumbled it over 3 times. Plus two of Louisville's TDs were on special teams and defense. Normally, I'd say that this shows Louisville would get killed against the OSU/Michigan winner, but both of those teams also looked vulnerable. So basically, Rutgers will beat Louisville, West Virginia will beat Rutgers, and then who the hell knows.

#4 Texas 36, Oklahoma State 10
Oof. OSU was on a hot streak, but obviously got shot down to earth here. The Texas defense also regressed (well, progressed) to their mean, holding the Cowboys to only 219 yards. So, Texas reminds everyone of their conference dominance, while OK State, hey, you gave it a go. You've done better than expected this year!

#5 Florida 25, Vanderbilt 19
Ack. The good for Chris Leak: 18/25, 237 yards, 2 rushing TD. The bad: 1 passing TD, 3 INT. Vandy QB Chris Nickson, meanwhile, had a statline more expected of Chris Leak: 27/44, 298, 2/1 TD/INT. And he's only a redshirt freshmen, people. A performance like this has me quite down on Florida for the moment, but then again, Vanderbilt's a lot better than expected, and may finally make a bowl next year.

#7 USC 42, Stanford 0
An efficient destruction. Stanford is so awful.

#8 Cal 38, UCLA 24
UCLA...probably should've won this one. QB Patrick Cowan threw for 329, but in the killer, had 0 TDs and 2 picks. RB Chris Markey had a huge day too, with 136 and a score on the ground. On the Cal side, Marshawn Lynch ran for 81 and a TD, but QB Nate Longshore was a one-man team, going 20/24 for 266 and 3 TD. A performance like that for Longshore gives some optimism, but with a defensive performance that bad, they're definitely vulnerable.

#9 LSU 28, #10 Tennessee 24
And only that close because of JaMarcus Russell's 3 picks. Say what you will about the running back by committee, but it was good for 259 yards, 6 short of Tennessee's 265 total. Put that on top of Russell's 247 yards and 3 TD through the air, and you have a good old-fashioned whoopin'.

#11 Notre Dame 45, North Carolina 26
Brady Quinn had a great day, but here's the biggest indictment of Notre Dame's defense I can possibly give:
Joe Dailey: 14/22, 213 yards, 3 TD

#13 Arkansas 26, South Carolina 20
That Gamecocks QB situation is in flux, and for a Spurrier team, uh oh. On the Arkansas side, holy crap. Mitch Mustain threw one pass for one pick, then Casey Dick came in and threw for a respectable 228, 1 TD, and 1 INT. Darren McFadden though, holy f. 219 yards and 2 TD. As much as I'm tempted to say "Good thing the Razorbacks didn't come down from those big wins against Southeastern Missouri State and Ole Miss", but this was a legit good performance by Arkansas.

#14 Boise State 45, Fresno State 21
FRESNO STATE FINALLY GOT AN INTERCEPTION! I could try and dissect this, but basically, Fresno is quite shit.

Maryland 13, #15 Clemson 12
So...uh...what? How? The stats show that Maryland got outplayed everywhere but, you know, the score. Which is the story of their year, actually. With Miami, BC, and Wake to finish the year though, hopefully the Terps will be put in their rightful place.

#16 Oklahoma 17, #17 Texas A&M 16
TAMU's fortunes are tied into QB Stephen McGee, and his line? 8/18, 63, INT. Of course, OU's Paul Thompson may have been worse: 3/12 for 39, but with a rushing TD. Oklahoma looks to be fine, with the defense playing well and RB Allen Patrick (173, TD) filling in amicably for Adrian Peterson. A better QB would be nice, but if they can beat A&M, they should have no problem from here on out.

#18 Wisconsin 13, Penn State 3
Wow, the Badgers held PSU to only 79 rushing yards. And won mostly on RB Pat Hill's 148 yards on the ground. I said it before and I'll say it again: mini-Michigan, even if this is probably the biggest win UW has had. Oh and Anthony Morelli sucks.

Wake Forest 21, #20 Boston College 14
Ironically, BC probably should've won this one, outgainined Wake 468-296. Matt Ryan was pretty much the entire BC offense, throwing for 402 and a 1/2 TD/INT ratio, although Wake QB Riley Skinner's was the same. God, I give up on the ACC.

#21 Virginia Tech 17, Miami 10
Abysmal offensive performance by both teams (although VT RB Branden Ore had 2 TDs on only 79 yards), and that's really all worth mentioning.

#22 Georgia Tech 31, NC State 23
NCSU had no offensive touchdowns, and most of their offense was 270 Dan Evans passing yards that went nowhere. Also, it's amazing what throwing it to Calvin Johnson can do, as he had 168 yards and caught 2 of Reggie Ball's 4 TDs. GT's probably the de facto ACC favorite until they lose at UNC or something dumb, while NC State seems to be back in the depths they were before the QB change.

#23 Oregon 34, Washington 14
Washington only gained 176 yards, but after some of Oregon's recent performances, I think that speaks more about what dire straits the U-Dub offense is in without Isaiah Stanback.

Nebraska 34, #24 Missouri 20
Pretty much even except for Nebraska's 40-yard rushing edge. And the Tigers sucked on third down. Still two above-average teams, Nebraska's just now the one with Big 12 North supremacy.

#25 BYU 24, Colorado State 3
One-sided. BYU's still the clear class of MWC, though that season-ending game at Utah looms.

Air Force 43, Army 7
Oof. Not this one-sided, but Army turnovers and AFA defensive touchdowns kept this from being a game.

Akron 35, Bowling Green 28
Wow, the Zips just opened up one, racking up 470 yards and winning despite 3 turnovers. BGSU QB Anthony Turner was a one-man team, passing for 192 with a score and rushing for 105 and 3 TD, but, well, that one-man team couldn't beat Temple.

Mississippi State 24, Alabama 16
=-o. A shockingly even game, by which I mean both offenses kind of suck. But good for the Bulldogs.

Arizona 27, Washington State 17
I would say that Arizona throwing for a 78 yard TD the third play of the game was a major factor in such a statistically even game, but Wazzou answered with a 91-yard score a few drives later. Wazzou probably should've won this one statistically, but Arizona held the edge in the rushing game, and RB Chris Henry's 2 TDs made the difference.

Oregon State 44, Arizona State 10
The implosion of Rudy Carpenter continues, as this week's ASU QB line: 9/27, 124, 2 INT. Somewhere, scratch that, in Lincoln, Nebraska, Sam Keller laughs.

Texas Tech 55, Baylor 21
New Baylor QB Blake Szymanski had a decent showing, throwing for 190 and a 1/1 TD/INT, while rushing for 2 scores. However, the Baylor D got whatever the football equivalent of being punched in the uterus is. Texas Tech running back, yes, Texas Tech has running backs, Shannon Woods ran for 125 and 3 TD on only 10 carries. And of course, QB Graham Harrell: 35/52, 483, 4 TD, INT.

Buffalo 41, Kent State 14
!!!

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Central Michigan 42, Temple 26
Just need to type it out to make sure that Temple isn't on a winning streak, because then the world would end.

Kentucky 24, Georgia 20
Oh God that Georgia offense just makes me actually feel pain. QB Matthew Stafford was pretty much the Bulldogs' offense, and when he throws 3 picks, well.

Hawaii 63, Utah State 10
Colt Brennan threw for 6 TDs, so I figured that was worth a mention. Although he's probably done it at least once before this year that I've missed.

Houston 27, Tulsa 10
Oof, absolutely one-sided. And Tulsa's a pretty damn good team. Houston's loss to USM is understandable, but Louisiana-Lafayette? The hell? It's not this year's TCU-SMU, but it's close.

Minnesota 63, Indiana 26
Both teams put up 500+ yards, so it's not like the Hoosiers were completely dominated. Indiana QB Kellen Lewis may be this year's most frustratingly inconsistent player, throwing for 321 and 3 TDs, but also handing over 2 interceptions. Though really, to be 6-6 would be cake for a team that figured to have another of many rebuilding years. Minnesota still kind of sucks.

Northwestern 21, Iowa 7
Kirk Ferentz was an all-Yankee Conference LB for UConn in the 70s. C'mon, Kirk. You know you wanna come back home.

Kansas 41, Iowa State 10
I have no analysis, I just felt like pointing out that Iowa State really really sucks. The hell?

South Florida 22, Pittsburgh 12
THE TYLER PALKO BLUES IMPLOSION! There's a band named the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, you see. That was a funny reference. Anyway, decide which line is worse: Pitt QB Tyler Palko's 11/23, 159, 1/3 TD/INT ratio, or RB LaRod Stephens-Howling having only 29 yards. I blame the Wannstache based on pretty much nothing.