BCS, BCS & Top 25 Rankings, NCAA Football NEWS
Texas Hooks Sooners, New No. 1
Published by MoonDog on October 12, 2008
So who is number one now? Obviously, that’s open to debate and I doubt anyone really knows which team in college football deserves to be ranked No. 1.
Nevertheless, the debate will rage this week on which team should rest atop the polls. Personally, I believe Texas has earned the right to be No. 1 after beating previously unbeaten Oklahoma 45-35 in Saturday’s Red River Shootout.
But Alabama and Penn State are going to garner some votes as the No. 1 team in the land. The only argument I can make against the Tide is their season opening win against then No. 9 Clemson doesn’t hold much water now.
Penn State continues to impress, beating the beejeezus out of Wisconsin 48-7 Saturday night in Madison. The Nittany Lions are a complete team and have the ability to run the table all the way to Miami for a chance to win the BCS championship.
How about Oklahoma State going on the road and beating a good Missouri team? In a game that wasn’t anywhere near as high-scoring as I thought it would be, the Cowboys made a statement with quarterback Zac Robinson outplaying Heisman Trophy hopeful Chase Daniel.
The Gators look like they’ve recovered from their loss to Ole Miss two weeks ago. Florida dominated LSU in every facet of the game Saturday as they pounded the Tigers 51-21.
Quarterback Tim Tebow wept after the loss to the Rebels, vowing he would refocus his efforts for the remainder of the season. He isn’t weeping anymore, at least this week.
Michigan had an Appalachian State moment, a nightmare relived in Ann Arbor as the Toldeo Rockets “upset” the Wolverines 13-10. The Maze and Blue faithful have to be wondering if Rich Rodriguez was the right man for the job when he replaced retired coach Lloyd Carr.
Longhorns Shoot Down Sooners
Overcoming deficits nearly the entire game, the Longhorns took control in the fourth quarter when Cody Johnson scored on a 1-yard run with 7:57 left and shut down Oklahoma’s high-powered offense the rest of the way to earn a 45-35 victory over the Sooners in one of the most entertaining games of the season.
Texas WR Quan Cosby Catches a Pass Against Oklahoma
Texas’ ability to control the clock with their running game while not committing a turnover proved to be the difference Saturday. Meanwhile the Sooners couldn’t muster any yards on the ground, rushing for only 48 yards and turned the ball over twice.
Texas beat a No. 1 Oklahoma team for the first time since a 28-7 win in 1963. It’s also the first time Oklahoma has lost a regular-season game under Bob Stoops when scoring at least 35 points.
Colt McCoy had a fantastic game, completing 28-of-35 passes for 277 yards and one touchdown. McCoy also rushed 14 times for 31 yards, often scrambling out of a potential sack. The Sooners’ Sam Bradford was impressive, running the “fast break on grass” offense to perfection for much of the game.
Bradford finished with 387 yards and five touchdowns, but his two interceptions and the Sooners’ breakdowns on special teams would be their undoing.
The win gives Texas (6-0, 2-0) control of the Big 12 South for now, but the Longhorns have a long way to go before they earn a berth in the conference championship game. They’ll play host to No. 3 Missouri on Saturday, then to No. 17 Oklahoma State, followed by a road game against No. 7 Texas Tech.
Oklahoma (5-1, 1-1) isn’t out of the Big 12 title chase by any means, but the Sooners’ face an equally difficult schedule with games against No. 16 Kansas on Saturday, then face Texas Tech and Oklahoma State in the last two games of the regular season.
Oklahoma State Lassos Missouri
In the Big 12’s other marquee game, Oklahoma State traveled to Columbia Saturday, defeating No. 3 Missouri 28-23 behind Zac Robinson’s passing and Kendall Hunter’s running.
Oklahoma State RB Kendall Hunter Gains Ground Against Missouri
Despite turning the ball over three times, the Cowboys were more physical than Missouri, shutting down the Tigers running game and forcing quarterback Chase Daniel to beat them.
Daniel had another big day, passing for 390 yards and one touchdown but threw three interceptions, his last being the most costly with 1:40 left in regulation and the Tigers driving for the go-ahead score.
Robinson didn’t put up flashy numbers but he got the job done, completing 19-of-28 for 215 yards and two touchdowns. His first touchdown pass came at the 2:01 mark in the third quarter that gave Oklahoma State the lead for good.
The Cowboys ran the ball effectively with Hunter gaining 154 yards on 24 carries and one touchdown, scoring on a 68-yard with 14:03 left in the third that gave Oklahoma State a 14-10 lead.
Damian Davis caught both of Robinson’s touchdown passes, one for 40 yards and the last covering 31 yards that put the Cowboys up 28-17 with 6:30 left in the game.
The win ties Oklahoma State (6-0, 2-0) with Texas and Texas Tech atop the Big 12 South standings. Missouri (5-1, 1-1) fell into a tie with Kansas State in the North and travels to Austin on Saturday to take on the Texas Longhorns.
Penn State Throttles Wisconsin
Three weeks ago I was wondering if Penn State was any good, considering their four wins at that time were against weaker competition. As of Saturday, there’s no questioning how good Penn State is.
Penn State QB Daryll Clark Celebrates a Touchdown Against Wisconsin
The Nittany Lions didn’t get rolling until the second quarter, scoring their first touchdown with 10:46 remaining.
But from that point forward Penn State completely dominated the Badgers and came away with an easier than expected 48-7 win.
Penn State (7-0, 3-0) has positioned themselves for a shot at the Big 10 title and also puts them in the mix for the BCS championship.
Wisconsin (3-3, 0-3) hasn’t recovered since blowing a 19-point lead against Michigan on September 27 and has lost three straight in conference play for the first time since 2002.
Daryll Clark led the Nittany Lions attack, accounting for three scores. He completed 16-of-25 passes for 244 yards and one touchdown and ran for two scores.
Penn State has two games remaining on the schedule that should determine the Big 10 champion, starting with the October 25 road date to Ohio State and closing out the regular season against Michigan State on November 22 at Happy Valley.
After beginning the season with Big 10 title aspirations, Wisconsin will need to figure out how to get three more wins to make themselves bowl eligible. The Badgers face Illinois, Michigan State and Minnesota down the stretch and they’ll need to beat one of those teams to give them a shot at earning a bowl bid.
Florida Turns LSU Into Gator Bait
Tim Tebow and Percy Harvin each accounted for three touchdowns as the Gators steamrolled LSU Saturday in Gainesville 51-21. It was the worst defeat for LSU since Les Miles took over as head coach four years ago.
Florida QB Tim Tebow Runs Against LSU
The loss was also the most-lopsided for the Tigers since a 31-0 beating at home by Alabama in 2002. The last time LSU gave up more points, Steve Spurrier’s Gators beat the Tigers 56-13 in 1996.
Tebow, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, completed 14-of-21 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score in the third quarter after LSU had cut the Gators lead to 20-14.
LSU got dominated on both lines of scrimmage and never stopped the Gators balanced attack. Florida (5-1, 2-1) gained 465 yards with 265 of those yards coming on the ground.
Harvin had one of the best games of his career, catching six passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns, including a 70-yard score just 1:38 into the game to put Florida up 7-0.
LSU starter Jarret Lee completed 23-of-38 passes for 209 yards but threw two costly interceptions. The Tigers turned the ball over three times against the Gators were never able to establish their running game, gaining just 80 yards.
The loss put LSU (4-1, 2-1) in second place in the SEC West behind Alabama with games remaining against Georgia and the Tide on November 8.
The Gators moved into a tie with Vanderbilt atop the SEC East standings and face Georgia and the Commodores down the stretch.
Toledo Adds Misery To Michigan’s Season
Toledo wide receiver Nick Moore had 167 yards on 20 catches, tied for the fifth-most in FBS history, and quarterback Aaron Opelt completed 33-of-50 passes for 257 yards as the Rockets defeated the Wolverines 13-10.
Toledo's Shane Hubbard Intercepts a Pass Against Michigan
Michigan had seemingly moved into position to force overtime with 0:04 remaining in regulation with the ball at the Toledo 9, but K.C. Lopata’s 26-yard attempt sailed left of the uprights leaving Michigan fans with thoughts of last season’s embarrassing loss to Appalachian State.
The Wolverines (2-4, 1-1), are off to their worst start since 1967 and are in jeopardy of making a 33rd consecutive bowl appearance.
Michigan quarterbacks Nick Sheridan and Steven Threet combined to complete 15-of-27 passes for 120 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.
Toledo (2-4), a member of the MAC Conference, had only one win coming into the game, getting a victory against Eastern Michigan on September 13. The Rockets jumped out to an early lead getting a 100-yard interception return from Tyrrell Herbert with 6:05 left in the first quarter.
Michigan answered with their only touchdown of the game later in the first quarter when Brandon Minor caught a 27-yard touchdown pass from Threet. The teams traded field goals the rest of the way to set up Lopata’s miss at the end of regulation.
The Wolverines are in serious trouble considering their remaining schedule includes games against Penn State, Michigan State, and improved Minnesota team and the season finale against Ohio State.
The latest polls have been released and you can check out the AP and ESPN/USA Today Top 25 here.
My Personal Top 5 For This Week
1. Texas
2. Penn State
3. Alabama
4. Oklahoma
5. Florida
Similar Posts:
- Sooners Win Makes BCS A Mess
- Gators Are On A Mission
- Volunteers Offense Struggles Again In Loss To Georgia
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...1 views
None
MFSKEN on Mon, 13th Oct 2008 17:16
I heard local radio hosts with obvious SEC bias, on Sunday complaining that Oklahoma didn’t deserve to be ranked ahead of Florida. I didn’t hear their argument but I’d like to hear a case made.
I think there are two reasons why most voters put Oklahoma ahead of Florida. First, Oklahoma was considered by many of the pre-season voters to be a legitimate top 5 team. Most pre-season polls had Florida in the top 10, but favored Georgia from the SEC to be the class of the conference.
Second, Oklahoma lost to a top 5 team at a neutral site. Florida lost to Ole Miss, a team that is not ranked.
Both teams are in a position to control their own destiny and receive a BCS bid. With some luck they may even play for the National Championship game.
Personally, I am pulling for an Alabama v. Penn State matchup on the 30 year anniversary of the 1979 Sugat Bowl. A game that featured the Number 1 Penn State against Number 2 Alabama. The Crimson Tide narrowly edged the Nittany Lions in a matchup for the ages, 14-7, on a spectacular goal line stand late in the fourth quarter of the game. We won’t have Bryant v. Paterno, but it will be a heckofa game.
GoPurple on Mon, 13th Oct 2008 18:11
The Big 12 is just plain brutal. As OU demonstrated, they are a heck of team but with a couple of minor flaws. Texas is every bit as good as I feared; their schedule coming up is an absolute gauntlet. Bottom line is if ANYBODY can come out of the Big 12 unbeated or with only one loss they will have a tremendous case for a title game berth.
MoonDog on Mon, 13th Oct 2008 22:38
Ken - I agree about OU being ranked above Florida. I too would like to see a Bama-PSU BCS title game. It’s not out of the realm of possibility yet, although I like PSU’s chances better than I do Bama.
Go Purp - I agree, the Big 12 is the king of college football this season, bar none. The SEC is still strong, but no where near as strong as the Big 12. This will be the year where a Big 12 team with one loss gets preferential treatment, even over the SEC.
NESW Sports Headlines 10/14/2008 | NESW Sports, Sports Videos on Tue, 14th Oct 2008 00:19
[...] Texas is the new #1 < Moondog Sports [...]