CFW Week 8 Results – Oregon replaces Texas at the No. 1 spot
Just an old sweet game,
keeps Georgia on my mind
Yeah, in Austin, it was Georgia, Georgia, the whole game through.
The Dawgs took a 7-0 lead over Texas at the 0:06 mark in the first quarter and never trailed for the rest of the game. By halftime, Georgia had built its lead to 23-0. In the third quarter, the Longhorns scored two touchdowns and closed the gap to 23-15. The Dawgs added a touchdown in the fourth quarter and went on to win 30-15. Georgia (6-1) handed Texas (6-1) its first loss of the season, holding the Longhorns to only 29 yards rushing.
So, Georgia, Georgia, a cheer for you, comes as sweet and clear as moonlight through the pines. Just an old sweet game keeps Georgia on my mind. Maybe a rematch between Georgia and Texas in the SEC championship game? The next six weeks will tell.
Meanwhile, in Saturday’s other big game, and still in the SEC, Alabama was dancing with its darling when an old foe the Tide happened to see – Tennessee. But, in Knoxville, the game wasn’t exactly a Tennessee Waltz for the Vols. It was more like a Tennessee Bird Walk.
Tennessee beat Alabama, 24-17. But it was a struggle for the Vols. They were almost walking in their underwear. Alabama led 7-0 at halftime. Alabama led 10-7 late in the third quarter, and Alabama led 17-14 with less than six minutes to go in the game. But in the final 5:52 of the contest, the Vols found their wings and feathers – scoring a touchdown to retake the lead and kicking a field goal to add some insurance. Tennessee (6-1) handed Alabama (5-2) its second loss of the season.
Yes, Alabama will remember the day and the Tennessee Waltz (or Bird Walk) and know just how much they have lost. Not only could the Tide fail to make the SEC title game, but also, Alabama may fail to make the College Football Playoff. The next six weeks will tell.
College football Week 8 began on Tuesday night, with one Sun Belt game and two C-USA games. In the Sun Belt game, South Alabama (3-4) put down Troy, 25-9. Jaguars quarterback Gio Lopez passed for 158 yards and one touchdown. Lopez also rushed for 67 yards and another touchdown. Troy fell to 1-6. During the offseason, college football analysts agreed that first-year Troy coach Gerad Parker was the worst hire of all the new head coaches. It’s looking like they were right.
In the two C-USA games, Middle Tennessee (2-5) downed Kennesaw State, 14-5, and New Mexico State (2-5) edged Louisiana Tech, 33-30. Middle Tennessee quarterback Nicholas Vattiato passed for 199 yards. Despite two turnovers by New Mexico State and none for Louisiana Tech, the Aggies still won the game.
College football Week 8 continued Wednesday night with two more C-USA games – both from Texas. The first game saw Western Kentucky (5-2) beat Sam Houston, 31-14. Entering the fourth quarter, WKU only led by three points – 17-14. But in the final 12 minutes of the game, the Hilltoppers scored two unanswered touchdowns. WKU quarterback Caden Veltkamp passed for 291 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 27 yards and scored another touchdown.
In the second contest, UTEP won its first game of the season, beating FIU, 30-21. The Miners are 1-6. UTEP running back Jevon Jackson rushed for 148 yards and one touchdown.
Two more games on Thursday night took place in the Virginias. First up, in Huntington, West Virginia, Marshall (4-3) downed Georgia State, 35-20. Herd running back A.J. Turner rushed for 177 yards and three touchdowns. Then in Blacksburg, Virginia, running back Bhayshul Tuten rushed for 266 yards and three touchdowns, as Virginia Tech (4-3) ran over Boston College, 42-21. The Hokies racked up 532 yards on offense.
Four games were on the Friday night lights docket. First up, Duke improved to 6-1, beating Florida State, 23-16. The Duke and FSU offenses were so bad they only combined for 471 total yards. In the second game Friday night, Oregon smashed Purdue, 35-0. Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel was 21-25-1, passing for 290 yards and two touchdowns.
The final two games Friday night took place out West. In Provo, Utah, BYU (7-0) survived Oklahoma State, 38-35. With 0:10 left in the game and trailing Oklahoma State 35-31, the Cougars scored their winning touchdown on a 35-yard pass from Jake Retzlaff to Darius Lasiter. BYU remains undefeated at 7-0. In the nightcap, Fresno State escaped Nevada, 24-21. Nevada led 21-17 at halftime but failed to score in the second half.
Saturday wasn’t only a big day in the SEC for Georgia and Tennessee. It was also a big day for Missouri, South Carolina and Florida. After a 3-3 tie at halftime, Missouri (6-1) trailed Auburn 17-3 midway through the third quarter. But Missouri rallied, kicking a field goal and scoring two touchdowns. With less than a minute to go in the game, Missouri still trailed Auburn, 17-14. Missouri running back Jamal Roberts scored on a four-yard touchdown run with 0:46 remaining in the game. Missouri held on and beat Auburn, 21-17.
South Carolina (4-3) strutted into Oklahoma (4-3) and quickly blew away the Sooners. The Gamecocks led Oklahoma 24-0 at the 12:05 mark in the second quarter and 32-3 at the 1:54 mark in the second quarter. South Carolina settled down in the second half, but went on to beat Oklahoma, 35-9.
Florida (4-3) jumped out to a 27-6 second-quarter lead over Kentucky (3-4). The Gators added to the Wildcats’ woes in the second half, beating Kentucky, 48-20.
In the Big Ten, Wisconsin (5-2) won its third-straight game. The Badgers beat Northwestern, 23-3. Wisconsin held the Wildcats to 82 yards passing. Conversely, USC (3-4) lost its third-straight game. This time, the Trojans fell to Maryland, 29-28. USC coach Lincoln Riley is sinking fast. I find it hard to believe he will still be the coach of the Trojans next season.
Michigan State (4-3) surprised Iowa (4-3). The Spartans downed the Hawkeyes, 32-20. Michigan State dominated time of possession 39:44 to 20:16. UCLA (2-5) won its first game in Big Ten Conference play. The Bruins held off Rutgers, 35-32. UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers was 32-38-0, passing for 383 yards and four touchdowns. Garbers also rushed for 48 yards and another touchdown.
In the ACC, Clemson (6-1) won its sixth-straight game, while SMU (6-1) won its fourth-straight game. The Tigers racked up 540 total yards, thumping Virginia, 48-31. SMU held Stanford to 18 rushing yards, crushing the Trees, 40-10.
Army and Navy remain undefeated. The Cadets blasted East Carolina, 45-38. Army quarterback Bryson Daily passed for 147 yards and one touchdown. Daily also rushed for 171 yards, scoring five touchdowns. Navy sunk Charlotte, 51-17. Middies quarterback Blake Horvath passed for 117 yards and three touchdowns. Horvath also rushed for 56 yards. Army is 7-0, while Navy is 6-0.
In the Big 12, UCF (3-4) almost handed Iowa State (7-0) its first loss. With 1:18 remaining in the first half, UCF scored a touchdown to take a 21-14 lead over Iowa State. The Knights never lost their lead over the Cyclones for the rest of the game. Well, almost the rest of the game. With 0:30 remaining in the contest, Iowa State scored a touchdown to take a 38-35 lead over UCF. It was the Cyclones’ first lead over the Knights since the second quarter when Iowa State was up 14-7.
Colorado improved to 5-2. The Buffaloes trampled Arizona, 34-7.
And yes, Indiana is 7-0. Indiana football, not basketball. The Hoosiers shutdown Nebraska, 56-7. And yes, Michigan (4-3) has lost three games. Illinois (6-1) beat the Wolverines, 21-7.
After you went to bed Saturday night, UNLV beat Oregon State, 33-25, and TCU edged Utah, 13-7. UNLV is 6-1.
Eight weeks into the season and The SEC has no undefeated teams. The Big Ten has three undefeated teams (Indiana, Oregon and Penn State). The ACC (Miami and Pitt), Big 12 (BYU and Iowa State) and AAC (Army and Navy) have two undefeated teams each. C-USA (Liberty) has one. Twenty-five teams are bowl eligible (6 wins).
The first two head coach firings of the season were announced yesterday. East Carolina fired Mike Houston. Houston was hired at East Carolina prior to the 2019 season. Houston came to ECU from James Madison where he was a successful coach. His firing was effective immediately. East Carolina is 3-4 this season. ECU was 27-38 in Houston’s five-plus seasons with the Pirates. Defensive coordinator Blake Harrell has been named the interim coach for the remainder of the season.
Southern Miss fired head coach Will Hall, ending his tenure at 14-30 during his three-plus seasons with the Eagles. Southern Miss is 1-6 this season. Assistant coach Reed Stringer was named the interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
Also, two offensive coordinators were fired yesterday. Oklahoma coach Brent Venables fired his offensive coordinator Seth Littrell yesterday. Assistant offensive coordinator Joe Jon Finley was named the interim OC for the rest of the season.
Utah coach Kyle Whittingham fired the Utes offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig. An interim OC was not named.
In this week’s AP Poll, Oregon (7-0) is No. 1, followed by 2. Georgia (6-1), 3. Penn State (6-0), 4. Ohio State (5-1), 5. Texas (6-1) and 6. Miami (7-0). The highest-ranked Group of Five team is Boise State (5-1) at 17th. Army (7-0) is 23rd and Navy (6-0) is 24th.
Actress, singer and dancer Mitzi Gaynor died last week. She appeared in several films but is best known for her appearance in 1958’s “South Pacific.” Other films included “There’s No Business Like Show Business” (1954) and “The Birds and the Bees” (1956). Gaynor’s movie career faded in the mid-1960s, but her television and Las Vegas appearances took off. She also recorded two albums. Gaynor became a columnist for The Hollywood Reporter. A native of Chicago, Francesca Marlene de Czanyi von Gereber was 93.
Touchdown Tom
October 21, 2024
https://collegefootballweek.blogspot.com
(The next CFW – Week 9 Forecast – will be posted Thursday morning, October 24.)
Weekend Recap
GAME OF THE WEEK: Uga corrals the Cows – Georgia 30, Texas 15 (Touchdown Tom said: Texas 27, Georgia 20). In some ways, this was an ugly game. Georgia had three turnovers. Carson Beck threw three interceptions. Texas had four turnovers – three fumbles and an interception. Take away the turnovers and who knows how the game would have ended. The game was a defensive battle. Combined the teams just had 542 total yards between them. Texas only had 29 yards rushing. Carson Beck only had 175 yards passing and no touchdowns. Texas was scoreless in the first half and fourth quarter. Georgia only had 14 first downs. The bright spot for the Dawgs was running back Trevor Etienne. He rushed for 87 yards and scored three touchdowns. Georgia had three field goals – the longest a 48 yarder. In the third quarter, when Texas safety Jandae Barron intercepted a pass and returned it 36 yards to the Georgia 9, Barron was called for pass interference. Objecting to the call, Texas fans began throwing trash on the field and the game was halted. The call was overturned after the stoppage which left you to believe that the behavior of the fans helped to overturn the call. The SEC fined Texas $250K for the incident. Attendance in Austin: 105,215
RUNNER-UP: The Tide had no storm surge – Tennessee 24, Alabama 17 (Touchdown Tom said: Tennessee 27, Alabama 24). This was a game plagued with penalties and turnovers – 26 penalties and five turnovers. Alabama had 15 of the penalties. Tennessee had three of the turnovers. Alabama had no running game – only 75 yards rushing. Rushing was the best part of Tennessee’s game. Vols running back Dylan Sampson rushed for 139 yards and two touchdowns. Neither quarterback had an outstanding game. Bama’s Jalen Milroe threw two interceptions. Tennessee’s Nico Iamaleava only connected on 54% of his throws. Thirty-four of the game’s 41 points were scored in the second half. Attendance in Knoxville: 101,915
REST OF THE BEST: The Hoosiers were the Big Red – Indiana 56, Nebraska 7 (Touchdown Tom said: Indiana 28, Nebraska 21). Indiana is simply amazing. The Hoosiers have yet to trail in a game this season and every victory (7) has been by double points. Indiana was up 28-7 at halftime. The Hoosiers outscored Nebraska 28-0 in the second half, playing with its second-string quarterback. First -string quarterback Kurtis Rourke injured his throwing hand in the first half. Indiana had 504 total yards, well balanced between running (224 yards) and passing (280 yards). Nebraska only had 70 yards rushing. Rushing has been a problem for the Huskers all season. Nebraska was plagued with turnovers – five. Quarterback Dylan Raiola threw three interceptions. The Huskers are still wandering in the wilderness. Attendance in Bloomington: 53,082
Cardinals couldn’t find the bird feeder – Miami 52, Louisville 45 (Touchdown Tom said: Miami 30, Louisville 27). Miami has a strong offense, but the Canes defense is weak. It’s going to catch up with them one of these days. With less than 12 minutes to go in the game, the score was 38-38. Then Miami scored back-to-back touchdowns before Louisville added a final score. Miami controlled time of possession 34:18 to 25:42. Canes quarterback Cam Ward passed for 319 yards and four touchdowns. Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough passed for 342 yards and four touchdowns. Neither quarterback threw an interception. Louisville’s only lead in the game was a 7-3 lead midway through the first quarter. Two minutes later, Miami went up 10-7 and the Canes never trailed for the rest of the game. But the Cardinals kept it close. Attendance in Louisville: 59,115
Enough to make you dizzy – Memphis 52, North Texas 44 (Touchdown Tom said: Memphis 34, North Texas 27). This may have been the wildest game of the day. The lead changed hands no less than seven times. When Memphis went up 42-38 with 9:23 to go in the fourth quarter, the Tigers never trailed again. But with 2:48 to go in the fourth quarter, Memphis only led, 49-44. The teams combined for 1,170 total yards. North Texas had 653 of those total yards. North Texas suffered two turnovers. That may have been the difference in the game. Memphis had no turnovers. North Texas quarterback Chandler Morris passed for 445 yards and three touchdowns. Memphis quarterback Seth Henigan passed for 319 yards and one touchdown. Tigers running back Mario Anderson rushed for 183 yards and four touchdowns. North Texas receiver D.T. Sheffield had eight receptions for 122 yards. Attendance in Memphis: 24,110
The Yellow Jackets had no buzz and no sting – Notre Dame 31, Georgia Tech 13 (Touchdown Tom said: Notre Dame 30, Georgia Tech 23). Georgia Tech played a good first quarter. The Jackets led 7-0 after one. After that, it was all Notre Dame. Tech never scored again until there was 0:23 left in the game. The Yellow Jackets played without starting quarterback Haynes King. King was out with an undisclosed injury. The Irish defense held Georgia Tech to 64 yards rushing. Attendance in Atlanta: 59,021
The Tigers feasted on pork belly – LSU 34, Arkansas 10 (Touchdown Tom said: Arkansas 24, LSU 23). Arkansas is back to being Arkansas. The Razorbacks were flat. Only 38 yards rushing. Three turnovers didn’t help either. The best part of LSU was ball control. The Tigers maintained ball possession 38:53 to 21:07. There were 18 penalties in the game – 11 on LSU. Attendance in Fayetteville: 75,893
Watching grass grow – Illinois 21, Michigan 7 (Touchdown Tom said: Illinois 21, Michigan 20). Not much offense in this game. It was slow and methodical. Michigan had 322 total yards and Illinois had 267 total yards. Illinois was the better running team. Michigan was the better passing team. The Banned Indians only had 80 yards passing. Michigan suffered from three turnovers. Illinois kicker David Olano kicked two field goals – one a 47-yarder. Attendance in Champaign: 60,670
First half Bearcats – Cincinnati 24, Arizona State 14 (Touchdown Tom said: Arizona State 30, Cincinnati 26). Cincinnati was clicking in the first half. The Bearcats scored all 24 of their points in the first two quarters. They were silent in the second half. But Arizona State was pretty quiet too. Cincinnati had 407 total yards – 201 rushing and 206 passing. Attendance in Cincinnati: 38,007
Missing in action – Georgia Southern 28, James Madison 14 (Touchdown Tom said: James Madison 27, Georgia Southern 19). What’s happened to James Madison. This is the team that was scoring 60-70 plus points a game a few weeks ago. Saturday, the Dukes didn’t score any points in the first half. JMU only had 253 total yards. Georgia Southern had four turnovers and JMU had none. Obviously, the Dukes didn’t take advantage of the turnovers. Georgia Southern running back Jalen White rushed for 134 yards. Attendance in Statesboro: 20,153
YE OLDE STOMPING GROUNDS:
Sad and getting sadder – Kansas State 45, West Virginia 18 (Touchdown Tom said: Kansas State 27, West Virginia 20). West Virginia is hopeless. Until WVU gets rid of Neal Brown, there is no light at the end of the tunnel. As a coach, Brown simply flounders. He’s lost. And he has no business calling the offense. He doesn’t seem to do anything well. He can’t recruit. He can’t develop players. His defenses are always bad. His kickoff kickers can’t kick the ball into the end zone. He’s often confused on the sideline. In five-plus years under Brown, the program is going nowhere. It’s meandering – mired in mediocrity. Against Kansas State, WVU only had 295 total yards. Quarterback Garrett Greene threw two interceptions. K-State quarterback Avery Johnson was 19-29-0, passing for 298 yards and three touchdowns. WVU controlled time of possession 34:22 to 25:38. But the Mountaineers never could find the end zone. Attendance in Morgantown: 54,327
No blue grass in the swamp – Florida 48, Kentucky 20 (Touchdown Tom said: Florida 24, Kentucky 21). Florida’s offense looked good. The Gators defense was sloppy at times. The Gators had 476 total yards – rushing for 197 yards and passing for 279 yards. Quarterback D.J. Lagway played his first full game. Kentucky was hampered by four turnovers. Florida led 27-13 at halftime and outscored Kentucky 21-7 in the second half. Attendance in Gainesville: 89,906
A first – Duke 23, Florida State 16 (Touchdown Tom said: Duke 21, Florida State 17). The Duke victory was the Blue Devils’ first ever over Floria State. The Dookies are now 1-20 against the Noles. After Duke went up 7-3 with 1:36 to go in the first quarter, the Blue Devils never trailed for the remainder of the game. The Dookies led 17-6 at halftime and 20-13 as the fourth quarter began. At times, this was a difficult game to watch, as the two offenses were so bad. Duke quarterback Maalik Murphy and FSU quarterback Brock Glenn combined for only 180 yards passing. The Noles had tour turnovers. Duke only had 10 first downs. Attendance in Durham: 30,735
Webbed – Oregon 35, Purdue 0 (Touchdown Tom said: Oregon 33, Purdue 20). Oregon led 21-0 at halftime and closed out with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel completed 84% of his passes. Ducks receiver Evan Stewart had four receptions for 96 yards. Purdue was held to 93 yards passing. Oregon improved to 7-0. Purdue fell to 1-6. Attendance in West Lafayette: 57,463
Week 8 Results: 10 winners, 4 fumbles (71.4 percent)
For the Season: 79 winners, 36 fumbles (68.7 percent)
ELSEWHERE AROUND FLORIDA:
UTEP 30, FIU 21 – Attendance in El Paso: 11,373
Davidson 70, Stetson 42 – Attendance in Davidson: 2,367
West Florida 35, Chowan 6 – Attendance in Murfreesboro: 478
Bethune-Cookman 20, Mississippi Valley State 10 – Attendance in Itta Bena: 9,321
South Florida 35, UAB 25 – Attendance in Tampa: 28,154
Jackson State 35, Florida A&M 21 – Attendance in Jackson: 28,450
Iowa State 38, UCF 35 – Attendance in Ames: 61,500
Superlatives
Impressive Passers:
North Texas’ Chandler Morris – 36-61-1 for 445 yards (3TDs); UCLA’s Ethan Garbers – 32-38-0-385 (4TDs); UAB’s Jalen Kitna – 33-56-1-384 (2TDs), and Louisiana’s Ben Woodbridge – 25-36-0-373 (3TDs).
Also, Maryland’s Billy Edwards – 34-50-1 for 373 yards (2TDs); Utah State’s Spencer Petras – 32-47-1-360 (2TDs); Louisville’s Tyler Shough – 31-51-0-342 (4TDs); UTSA’s Owen McCown – 26-45-2-340 (2TDs), and USC’s Miller Moss – 34-50-1-336 (3TDs).
Impressive Rushers:
UCF’s R.J. Harvey – 196 yards (2TDs); Memphis’ Mario Anderson – 183 yards (4TDs); Marshall’s A.J. Turner – 177 yards (3TDs), and Army’s Bryson Daily – 171 yards 5TDs).
Quotes of the Week
“Now we’ve set a precedent that if you throw a bunch of stuff on the field and endanger athletes you’ve got a chance to get your call reversed. That’s not what we want, but that’s what happened,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart, on a pass interference call on Texas being reversed after fans threw trash on the field.
“I really do feel like we’re just getting started as a program,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel, after the Vols win over Alabama.
Joke of the Week
Florida State to sue the CFP for expansion to 128 teams.
Touchdown Tom
https://collegefootballweek.blogspot.com
P.S.
Not exactly college football related, but as the days were getting shorter, the nights were getting cooler, the leaves were falling, the frost was on the pumpkins and Halloween was just around the corner, the number one song in the country…
…80 years ago, this week in 1944, was “You Always Hurt The One You Love” by The Mills Brothers, and
…75 years ago, this week in 1949, was “That Lucky Ole Sun” by Frankie Laine
…70 years ago, this week in 1954, was “Hey There” by Rosemary Clooney with Buddy Cole and His Orchestra
…65 years ago, this week in 1959, was “Mack The Knife” by Bobby Darin
…60 years ago, this week in 1964, was “Do Wah Diddy Diddy” by Manfred Mann
…55 years ago, this week in 1969, was “I Can’t Get Next To You” by The Temptations
…50 years ago, this week in 1974, was “Nothing From Nothing” by Billy Preston
…45 years ago, this week in 1979, was “Rise” by Herb Alpert
…40 years ago, this week in 1984, was “I Just Called To Say I Love You” by Stevie Wonder
…35 years ago, this week in 1989, was “Miss You Much” by Janet Jackson
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