Week 11 Recap

#23 Illinois 28, #1 Ohio State 21
Well, that's...odd. Really a perfect storm of perceptions being shattered that led to this win here. First, OSU's run defense completely broke down - unlike against Michigan, Illinois was able to run at will, gaining 265 yards on the ground. Secondly, Juice Williams was actually a legitimately fine quarterback throwing the ball, completing 12 of 22 for 141 yards and 4 TD; he wasn't a top-tier QB or anything, but with the efforts on the ground of both himself and his teammates, a day like that is more than passable. And lastly, Buckeyes QB Todd Boeckman fell to earth - his peripherals weren't much different than Williams (56.5%, 155 yards), but the results were: 3 INT versus, again, Juice's 4 touchdowns. Really, Illinois's offensive performance was only good, not great, but considering the level of competition, it's pretty amazing. And if Williams can actually throw the ball, and really, an above-average day against that defense shows that he can, Illinois is looking REAL good. As for Ohio State, they take an obvious step down, and that Michigan game just got even more interesting.
Illinois: STOCK UP
Ohio State: STOCK DOWN

#2 LSU 58, Louisiana Tech 10
Dominance. Moving on...
LSU: STOCK STEADY
Louisiana Tech: STOCK STEADY

#4 West Virginia 38, Louisville 31
Pretty even game, actually. The difference was probably one of two things: Brian Brohm's 2 interceptions, or West Virginia holding the Cardinals to only 37 rushing yards on 27 attempts. Really, outside of the extremely low Louisville rushing numbers, the game went as you'd expect. Brohm had 345 yards and a 2/2 ratio, even if the 59% completion rate is lower than you might expect. Meanwhile, shock, West Virginia had a lot of success running the ball. And Pat White had his usual success passing, getting 181 and 2 touchdowns on 16 of 25. West Virginia remains, in my eyes, an underrated elite team, and being competitive here should give Louisville some optimism heading into games against USF and Rutgers.
West Virginia: STOCK STEADY
Louisville: STOCK UP

#5 Oklahoma 52, Baylor 21
Quite the mixed bag. DeMarco Murray had 96 yards and 3 TD on only 13 carries, so that's good. And Sam Bradford had 356 yards and a 3/1 ratio on 80% passing, so that's also good. But the OU defense decided to take a day off or something. Baylor QB Blake Szymanski completed 61% for 286 and a 2/2 ratio, and perhaps more shockingly, Bears RB Brandon Whitaker had 140 yards and a touchdown on only 13 carries of his own. I'm gonna knock OU down a notch because...come on? Baylor? Especially the Baylor RUNNING game.
Oklahoma: STOCK DOWN
Baylor: STOCK STEADY

#6 Missouri 40, Texas A&M 26
Pretty close most of the way through scorewise, but statistically pretty much one-sided. A&M had the occassional good drive, but the Mizzou offense pretty much went nuts: Tony Temple had 142 yards and a TD on 21 carries, and Chase Daniel completed 76% for 364 and 3 TD. Why isn't Daniel in the Heisman discussion again? A&M seems to be improving, and the balance on offense is back, but it's too little, too late, both for the season and for Franchione.
Missouri: STOCK STEADY
Texas A&M: STOCK UP

#7 Arizona State 24, UCLA 20
Kind of a boring game. UCLA's offense didn't do much of anything - 178 yards passing and 106 rushing. And UCLA's defense was good enough where Arizona State wasn't able to blow things up or anything - they were good, not great. I suppose it's an encouraging sign for the Bruins that their defense kept it close, but...you know, you gotta score points. Yawn.
Arizona State: STOCK STEADY
UCLA: STOCK STEADY

#13 Wisconsin 37, #8 Michigan 21
Another weird Big Ten game, as Michigan decided to allow 233 yards rushing, while Wisconsin, who had gotten gashed by every running game of note, gave up only 48 on the ground. And that was really the key - Michigan was forced to becoming a passing team. And Chad Henne by himself might've been able to win the game, but he was knocked out early, and true freshman Ryan Mallett was forced to carry the team. And while Mallett had some good plays, his overall line was generally bad - 11/36 (30.6%) for 245 yards and a 3/2 ratio. Wisconsin gets an obvious bump up - if they have a run defense, then they have no weakness. As for Michigan, the injuries played an obvious major role, but the loss means I'll still bump the Wolverines down - they'd played at their usual level without Henne and/or Mike Hart so far, but this game obviously showed there is some dropoff.
Wisconsin: STOCK UP
Michigan: STOCK DOWN

#9 Florida 51, South Carolina 31
Please give Tim Tebow the Heisman. 22/32 passing for 302 yards and a 2/1 ratio. That's good enough, but he also led the Gators in rushing with 121 yards and FIVE touchdowns. FIVE. He is THAT percentage of THAT good an offense in THAT conference. As a sophomore. Florida still has no defense, so that remains the same as Blake Mitchell racked up a bunch of yardage through the air, but still, Tebow. Jeez.
Florida: STOCK STEADY
South Carolina: STOCK STEADY

#10 USC 24, #14 California 17
Ugh. Ugly. The game consisted of two running backs and not much else - USC's Chauncey Washington had 220 and a score, while Cal's Justin Forsett had 164 and a touchdown. As for the QBs, the less said the better. Booty had 129 and a TD on 55% passing, which I suppose is fine, and Nate Longshore had 199 and a 1/2 ratio on 45% passing, which is decidedly not fine. Just not a good sign for either team. Ugh.
USC: STOCK DOWN
California: STOCK DOWN

#11 Penn State 31, Temple 0
Yep. More or less as one-sided as the score tells, although Penn State did allow 238 passing yards. Anthony Morelli looked pretty good, which was probably the only intrigue going in.
Penn State: STOCK STEADY
Temple: STOCK STEADY

#12 Georgia 45, #24 Auburn 20
Just a beatdown. Georgia absolutely shut down the Auburn running game, and Brandon Cox reverted to form, completing only 47% for 134 yards and a terrible 1/4 ratio. Georgia just kept performing their gameplan of offense - the running game, led by Knowshon Moreno (102 yards, 2 TD) and Thomas Brown (80 yards, TD) carried things, while QB Matt Stafford (11/19, 238, 2/1) was a perfectly fine caretaker. Georgia continues looking good, while Auburn takes a step down with Cox sucking.
Georgia: STOCK STEADY
Auburn: STOCK DOWN

#15 South Florida 41, Syracuse 10
Another whipping - Cuse was held to 15 whole yards rushing. Anything less than this would've been a cause for concern for USF.
South Florida: STOCK STEADY
Syracuse: STOCK STEADY

#16 Kansas 43, Oklahoma State 28
A fun shootout, but Kansas was easily the better team. KU's Todd Reesing had an excellent day, gaining 326 and 3 TD on 68% passing, and Brandon McAnderson added 133 and 2 touchdowns on the ground. OK State's day was like a slightly inferior clone - Zac Robinson had 252 and a 2/1 ratio on 58%, while Dantrell Savage had 106 yards. A good win by Kansas as the Jayhawks continue to legitimize themselves, but Missouri obviously remains the real test.
Kansas: STOCK UP
Oklahoma State: STOCK STEADY

#17 Texas 59, Texas Tech 43
SHOOTOUT! Graham Harrell was, as usual, the entirety of the TTU offense, going 36 of 48 for 465 yards and 5/1 ratio. But Colt McCoy kept up everywhere but yardage-wise, going 21 of 30 for 270 and a 4/1 ratio. And, of course, Texas is a team that actually calls running plays, and Jamaal Charles had another great game, running for 171 and a TD. Texas Tech is what they always are, and I'll give Texas a bump up since, despite their shaky secondary, that offense is looking very, very good.
Texas: STOCK UP
Texas Tech: STOCK STEADY

Maryland 42, #18 Boston College 35
Not a good game at all for BC. Matt Ryan's peripherals were fine - 59% and 421 yards, but he only had a 3/2 ratio, and the running game didn't really do much. The surprise was Maryland tearing apart what had been a pretty solid BC defense; Terps QB Chris Turner completed 78% for 337 yards and 3 touchdowns, while Lance Ball ran for 109 and a score. Maryland's not dead yet, and the Eagles are quickly falling back to the ACC pack.
Maryland: STOCK UP
Boston College: STOCK DOWN

#19 Virginia Tech 40, Florida State 21
Almost definitely VT's best performance of the year. The defense wasn't dominant, but was very good - they held the two FSU QBs under 40% passing, and only allowed 114 yards on the ground. And while the Hokies running backs didn't do much (Branden Ore only had 41 yards and a TD), QB Tyrod Taylor LANCASTERED the Seminoles, with 279 total yards (188 passing, 91 rushing) to Florida State's 265. FSU's one of the better teams in the ACC, for whatever that's worth in a conference with so much parity, so quite a legitimizing performance for the Hokies in the eyes of skeptics such as myself.
Virginia Tech: STOCK UP
Florida State: STOCK STEADY

Mississippi State 17, #20 Alabama 12
Bama easily could've won this game, as the difference was a 100 yard pick six thrown by John Parker Wilson and returned by Anthony Johnson. Still, a horrible performance by the Alabama offense against an unspectacular MSU defense - Wilson completed only 46% and the Tide only had 159 yards rushing. The Tide's recent great performance seem to have been an aberration, and it's back to looking slightly above mediocre.
Mississippi State: STOCK STEADY
Alabama: STOCK DOWN

#21 Kentucky 27, Vanderbilt 20
Not a very impressive showing at all by the Wildcats, as they got outgained 436-353. Unheralded Vandy QB Mackenzi Adams pretty much matched Andre' Woodson - Adams had 197 and 2 TD on 64.5% passing, while Woodson had 222 and a TD on 61% passing. Plus Vandy was the only team of the two that had much of a running game. Kentucky's really regressed - Vandy's a fine team and all, but playing around even with the Commodores isn't the sign of a top 25 team. I'll also knock Vandy up a notch, since they've been more competitive recently as compared to early on.
Kentucky: STOCK DOWN
Vanderbilt: STOCK UP

Cincinnati 27, #22 Connecticut 3
I thought the dream would come to an end here, but...wow. Not this definitively. The UConn offense did pretty much nothing, though I guess that'll happen when Tyler Lorenzen inexplicably attempts 37 passes. He only completed 18 for the record, for 182 and a pick. I assume Randy Edsall forgot that UConn is, you know, a running team, and that Lorenzen's a fairly mediocre caretaker QB. Cincinnati also mostly passed it, but with much more success - Ben Mauk completed 64% for 276 and 3 TD. And funnily enough, with all the talk about how these are teams that win on turnovers, Lorenzen's pick was the only giveaway of the game. So, yeah, UConn's fallen back to earth - they should still beat Syracuse though, especially at home. Cincy also's looked really good, especially with a performance like this against what is an upper-level defense, regardless or not of UConn's general luck.
Cincinnati: STOCK UP
Connecticut: STOCK DOWN

#25 Clemson 44, Wake Forest 10
Not quite THAT one-sided, but still a definite win by the Tigers. Wake QB Riley Skinner completed 70%, though he only got 170 yards and a pick out of the deal. Meanwhile, Clemson's Cullen Harper was pretty much the dominant player on the Tiger offense - he went 27 of 35 for 366 and 3 touchdowns. CU's getting on a run, so I'll bump them up, but with their streaky nature, part of me feels like they're being set up for a fall.
Clemson: STOCK UP
Wake Forest: STOCK STEADY

Air Force 41, Notre Dame 24
Notre Dame wasn't HORRIBLE - the Irish had 304 yards, and Jimmy Clausen completed 55% for 246 and 3 TD, but, well, that was more or less it. Air Force had no problem running the ball, and Shaun Carney was efficient passing, completing 10 of 16 for 120 and 2 touchdowns. Not really much to say about opinions of the teams - they are who we thought they were, Notre Dame perhaps slightly worse. Still, much like Kansas-Nebraska, what an odd score to see.
Air Force: STOCK STEADY
Notre Dame: STOCK STEADY

Tennessee 34, Arkansas 13
Bad day for both teams. Darren McFadden had 117 yards, but Felix Jones was held to only 3, and the Razorbacks QBs were mostly a parade of suck. As for the Vols, their 155 yards rushing doesn't look so impressive on 44 carries, and Erik Ainge had 2 touchdowns, but only 128 yards and a 45% completion rate. Not terribly inspiring for either side.
Tennessee: STOCK DOWN
Arkansas: STOCK DOWN

Rutgers 41, Army 6
Ray Rice is very good! He had 243 yards and 2 touchdowns here. I thought he was an overrated player last year, but with Mike Hart's injury problems, he's probably the best week-in week-out back of anyone in a major conference.
Rutgers: STOCK STEADY
Army: STOCK STEADY

Boise State 52, Utah State 0
Damn. Not at all unexpected, but damn. Boise's the clear frontrunner in the WAC, while USU is the clear...backrunner.
Boise State: STOCK STEADY
Utah State: STOCK STEADY

Central Florida 45, UAB 31
This week's crazy C-USA running back line of the week: UCF's Kevin Smith! 41 carries 319 yards, 4 touchdowns.
Central Florida: STOCK STEADY
UAB: STOCK STEADY

Georgia Tech 41, Duke 24
It's a shock that Duke got 24 points, as the Blue Devils didn't even crack 150 yards on offense. Much like Virginia Tech did to GT themselves, Georgia Tech absolutely dominated here, and had an honest to God differentiating performance in the ACC. I'll give GT a slightly bump up based on that, but really, it's Duke - who I'm now downgrading because this may have been their worst performance of the season.
Georgia Tech: STOCK UP
Duke: STOCK DOWN

Tulsa 56, Houston 7
Well, that was fairly unexpected. Houston had 5 turnovers, so they should've scored more points, but Tulsa was winning this one either way. Paul Smith wasn't terribly efficient from a completion percentage standpoint (55%), but 313 yards and 5 touchdowns on only 15 completions is pretty good. I'll keep Tulsa constant, but bump Houston down.
Tulsa: STOCK STEADY
Houston: STOCK DOWN

Nebraska 73, Kansas State 31
!!!. Huskers QB Joe Ganz: 30 of 41, 509 yards, 7 touchdowns. Well then. Nebraska gets a slight nudge up for showing both a pulse and an ability to hold an opponent under 40 points, while Kansas State should hang their heads in shame.
Nebraska: STOCK UP
Kansas State: STOCK DOWN

Virginia 48, Miami 0
Miami chose to go out on a joke. Just a completely dominating performance by the Virginia defense, forcing five turnovers and holding the Canes offense to under 200 overall yards. Cavs QB Jameel Sewell completing almost 80% en route to 279 and a 1/1 ratio also helped. I'll give UVA a bump up thanks to finally having a dominant win, and I'll knock the Canes down for their rapidly imploding offense, and really, defense.
Virginia: STOCK UP
Miami: STOCK DOWN

Navy 74, North Texas 62
SCORING! Navy had 572 yards rushing, UNT had 478 passing. And, why yes, the Mean Green did have three 100-yard receivers. Insanity. I love it.
Navy: STOCK STEADY
North Texas: STOCK STEADY

Rice 43, SMU 42
TWO legitimate Rice wins. IN A ROW!
Rice: STOCK UP
SMU: STOCK STEADY

Utah 50, Wyoming 0
Damn. As one-sided as the score, so there's not much to say. Wyoming's falling apart pretty quickly, and after their hot start, actually may not make it to 6 wins. Utah's just the opposite - after looking like one of the worst teams in I-A early on, they're probably now the solid #2 team in the Mountain West.
Utah: STOCK UP
Wyoming: STOCK DOWN