A Breakdown Of The Top 25 College Football Teams Games (Sept 5,2009)

Thursday, September 3rd

16 Oregon           8              14 Boise State    19          

Not much of a game outside of the scene after the game. However, Boise State showed that they can win some games with their defense as well as their offense. Oregon’s offense, which was second in the nation in rushing last year, was completely shut down. Boise State is in great position to run the table the rest of the year if they can continue to play up to their potential. A great mix of run and pass by the Broncos. This game was not as close as the score would lead you to think. 3 Bronco fumbles kept Oregon somewhat in the game.

Utah State          17           19 Utah                35          

A mismatch from the time the teams entered the stadium, Utah simply has too many athletes for the Aggies to handle. Awesome balance shown by the Utes’ offense, but Utah State will never be known as a great defensive team. While the Aggies had almost 350 yards of total offense themselves, going 0-12 on 3^rd downs will no win games. Utah had over 500 yards of total offense. A huge game against Oregon on September 19 will be a test of the Utes’ offense might.

Saturday, September 5th

Charleston Southern      3              1 Florida               62          

This was a beat down as soon as the contracts were finalized to play this game. Florida just has too much of everything for the Buccaneers to deal with. The only things that may be of interest to Gator fans would be that CSU had 320 yards of offense and converted 8 3^rd downs against Florida. Then again, the Gators scored so fast on offense that the Buccaneers actually had the ball 15 more minutes than the Gators. At least the point spread was not covered by Florida.

Louisiana-Monroe           20           2 Texas                 59          

Another complete mismatch of contender vs cupcake, the War Hawks were not going to upset the Longhorns no matter what. While Texas scored almost at will, this was a very sloppy game with lots of penalties and 3 turnovers by each team.  The only real this of interest from this game is that the new Field Turf in Austin looks great.

20 Brigham Young            14           3 Oklahoma        13          

The surprise game of the day for most college football fans, the Cougars proved that respect is due to their program and to the MWC. While Sam Bradford was injured just before the half, the Sooners did not show much offensive might when he was in the game.  The mighty Sooner rushing game was a complete non-factor and BYU out-gained Oklahoma by almost 100 yards of offense.  Just goes to show that you can have all the skill players in the world, but with a bad offensive line, it will not matter much in football. Then again, this season is far from over for Oklahoma.

San Jose State   3              4 USC    56

Who needs to worry about playing a true freshman at QB when you have a dominant running game and great defense against a team that quite frankly is beyond no match for the Trojans?  USC showed that they have running backs to give away and that will be the key to the big game in Columbus, Ohio next week. Barkley was never put in a position to show and prove and the USC offensive line is the best in college football.        

5 Alabama           34           7 Virginia Tech   24          

Don’t let the score fool you, this game was no contest. Alabama dominated the Hokies on both sides of the line of scrimmage and simply wore down VTech.  If not for Alabama stupid penalties and Virginia Tech special teams, this game would have really been a rout.  Alabama’s new QB is not so bad, but he is not that great either. As long as they are able to run the ball with the second best stable of running backs outside of USC, it may not matter. Oh yeah, that front 7 of the Tide is flat out awesome.

Navy      27           Ohio State           31          

The second biggest shocker of the day in college football, Navy gave the young Buckeyes more than they bargained or for that matter paid for. Turnovers doomed the Midshipmen and Ohio State may have felt the game was in check in the mid 4^th quarter.  While people want to down the Buckeye defense, the Triple Option is very hard to defend and even harder to prepare for, and they did hold Navy under 100 yards of their rushing average from a year ago. Terrelle Pryor is just a flat out beast and this kid will be one of the big keys to the game against the Trojans next week.  Navy surprised the Bucks by throwing the ball more than what they generally do and this lead to some very big plays.

Akron    7              9 Penn State      31          

Very good game by the Nittany Lions, or should I say a very good half. Penn State did all of its damage in the first half and held the Zips to 8 yards of total offense in the 1^st half. Not much more to say about his one and the true test of how good this Penn State team is will not be known until they play some better competition.

13 Georgia          10           9 Oklahoma State            24          

The outcome of this game was not a shocker as the Cowboys just have too much offense for the Bulldogs to be able to contain. Georgia’s defense did play pretty good considering its reputation coming into the game, but the skill players for Oklahoma State are some of the best in the country. The Bulldogs must find more offense than what they showed, because the Cowboys are just not that good on the defensive end.

11 LSU   31           Washington        23          

This game was a stunner for those who did not see the outcome, as LSU had a much tougher game than they have anticipated.  The Huskies game the Bayou Tigers a great effort, but there are times when talent will just simply prevail in the end.  Washington ended up with almost 500 yards of offense on LSU, so either the Huskies will be a threat come PAC-10 time, or maybe LSU is not as good as advertised.   In football, the team that scores touchdown will beat the team that settles for field goals. John Jefferson is a player, but down sleep on the Huskies Jake Locker either.

Maryland             13           12 California       52

Talk about some serious payback, the Golden Bears just manhandled the Terrapins from the kickoff.  Jahvid Best is the best running back in America and if Cal can continue to win games and maybe win the PAC-10, he is a real threat to be in NYC for the Heisman Trophy show.   The game with USC on October 3 is must-see TV. Lots of balance by the Bears and as for Maryland, well the did get a chance to see how nice the Bay Area is this time of year.

Jacksonville State             17           15 Georgia Tech                37          

This contest was not much of a contest as the Yellow Jackets vaunted Triple Option attack just did its thing against that other Gamecocks team. 500 yards of offense for GTech, including 335 rushing, was just no match for Jacksonville State.

Citadel 6              21 North Carolina             40          

The Tar Heels just opened a can on the Bulldogs in the contest of which team has the best looking shade of Light Blue in their school colors.  In regards to that contest, that also went in favor of UNC.  This was a very ugly game with 4 turnovers by each team, then again when you both have pretty much the same color jerseys, I guess it can be hard to tell who is who.

Northern Iowa 16           22 Iowa                17          

This was one of those wow games, as the Hawkeyes needed two block field goal attempts to escape the upset bid of the Panthers.  Northern Iowa maybe a great D-1AA team with 18 starters returning, but maybe Iowa really will miss having Shon Greene generating that Hawkeye offense.  A true trap game it was, Iowa is just glad to get the win. Maybe it had something to do with the new Field Turf at Kinnick Stadium, well maybe not.  

Nevada                0              23 Notre Dame                 35          

While this was over when the Wolfpack left Reno to head to South Bend, it may be a bit too soon to say that the Fighting Irish are back. Nevada has the worst passing defense in the country last year and it really showed in this game. The stars of the day may have just been the Notre Dame defense, which shout out the Wolfpack and forced 3 turnovers. The game next week against Michigan in the Big House will help determine the true worth of the Fighting Irish.

Florida Atlantic 3              24 Nebraska       49

Not much to report here other than the Owls came in, collected a nice check for the program, saw that there is not much in Lincoln, Nebraska other than Cornhusker Football and well corn, got pretty much beat down on the field by the Huskers, and flew home.                Then again, Lincoln is not that bad a place and has some things to do besides football, but it did not matter because FAU was going to be run off the field anyway, and well, they were. A very balanced offensive effort by the Cornhuskers, but tougher completion may be in order to prove if they are ready to claim the Big 12 North.

Northern Colorado          3              25 Kansas            49          

Well, the Jayhawks just flat out dismantled the Bears of Northern Colorado. The Kansas offense was in full effect to the tune of 550 yards of total offense and the Jayhawk defense shut down NCU and forced 2 turnovers. Kansas will truly be in the running along with Nebraska and Missouri as to which team will represent the Big 12 North in the conference championship game.