College Football Week 5: Terrelle Pryor's Gutsy Return and 25 Things We Learned
We're always excited to wrap up the day in college football because there is so much to talk about. But this Saturday was a little bit different because I could have sworn I saw Willis Reed walk into "The Horseshoe" for the Buckeyes. But we'll talk about that later.
The Red River Shootout wasn't quite as close as the score indicated, there was an inspired performance that ended in a win, and we saw why a young quarterback is leading a lot of Heisman trophy lists.
There are so many other things that we'll cover here so instead of listing every single one in the introduction, let's just get to it, shall we?
No. 25: Baylor Makes Kansas Look Like a Division II School
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I remember looking at the score and wasn't sure I was seeing it right: Baylor 55, Kansas 7. Yeah I saw it right.
Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin threw for three touchdowns, rushed for another, and finished with 444 total yards for the Bears.
No. 24: BYUgly
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There's been nothing pretty about BYU football this season. Maybe that's karma biting them in the backside since they decided they're important enough to become an independent.
They faced, and got worked over, by a Utah State team that got a blowout handed to them by San Diego State a week earlier.
No. 23: Virginia Tech Coming Alive?
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Is Virginia Tech becoming the team that they were expected to be before this season started?
After losses to Boise State and James Madison to start their season, the Hokies have run off three straight victories against East Carolina, Boston College, and then upset 23rd ranked NC State on the road.
Took them long enough to come around.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
No. 22: San Jose State Lessens Strength Of Schedule For The WAC
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The San Jose State Spartans were at home to face UC Davis. The last thing they wanted to do was...too late.
The Spartans suffered a 14-13 loss making the WAC look like that much more of a soft conference. But they don't have to worry. They get a break next week with a so-so opponent: Boise State. Good luck Spartans, you'll need it.
No. 21: Washington Beats USC, Again
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People scoffed when some predicted the Washington Huskies would take down USC last season. The Huskies made them look like geniuses.
Fast forward one year and the Huskies did it again. Knocking off USC thanks to 420 total yards, including 110 rushing from quarterback Jake Locker.
No. 20: Jerrod Johnson Has Five Turnovers All By Himself
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Jerrod Johnson threw five touchdown passes but that's not what people will remember from Texas A&M's loss to Oklahoma State on Thursday night.
What they will remember, however, is his five total turnovers including four interceptions.
Can't turn the ball over that many times and expect to win a lot of games.
No. 19: Kyle Padron Comes Up Big For SMU
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Seems like SMU quarterback, Kyle Padron, forgot about the TCU game and came out with a great performance, leading his team to a 42-31 win over the Rice Owls.
Padron was 24-of-32 for 371 yards and three touchdowns for the Mustangs.
No. 18: Rodney Stewart Too Much For Georgia To Handle
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The Georgia defense had a lot on its hands with Colorado running back Rodney Stewart, and in the end, the Bulldogs couldn't stop him.
Stewart finished the day with 149 yards rushing on 19 carries and a touchdown in Colorado's 29-27 win over Georgia.
No. 17: Northwestern Overcomes Two Red Zone Turnovers
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The game never should have been this close but apparently Northwestern likes a challenge at the end.
The Wildcats got 408 total yards, including 309 passing, from quarterback Dan Persa, but needed a late go-ahead field goal from Stefan Demos to take a 29-28 win over Minnesota.
Northwestern turned the ball over twice—a fumble at the Minnesota six and an interception at the Minnesota 11-yard line that could have put this game away early.
No. 16: Austen Arnaud, Taylor Potts Put On a Two-Man Air Show
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Iowa State quarterback Austen Arnaud (probably the most interesting name I've seen in a while) and Texas Tech quarterback Taylor Potts put on an air show on Saturday.
The two quarterbacks combined for 567 passing yards and nine touchdowns. Iowa State took the win, 52-38.
No. 15: Ugly Second Quarter Dooms Kentucky
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The Kentucky Wildcats wish they could redo their four possessions in the second quarter of their game against Mississippi on Saturday.
Their first two possessions both ended in turnovers—an interception and then a fumble—followed by a punt and a turnover on downs over the next two.
That could have been the biggest difference in a seven point, 42-35 loss to the Rebels.
No. 14: Iowa, Penn State Combine For 16 Punts
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I know people say that baseball is boring to watch, and I'm sure that's true for some people, but what bores me the most is when two football teams can't move the football and keep punting the ball to each other for most of the game.
Iowa and Penn State did just about that as both combined for 16 punts on Saturday.
Despite that, Iowa was never challenged in a 24-3 win over the Nittany Lions.
No. 13: LSU Gets a Scare From Tennessee
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Tennessee players had streaked onto the field, thinking they had just upset LSU in Baton Rouge, something that was, for the most part, unheard of.
Instead, officials ruled that the Vols had too many players on the field, giving LSU another chance. A chance they wouldn't miss.
The Tigers snuck away with a win that really shouldn't have been, 16-14.
No. 12: Landry Jones, DeMarco Murray Too Much For Texas
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Oklahoma Sooners running back DeMarco Murray ran for 115 and two scores, and quarterback Landry Jones added 236 yards and two scores through the air.
Though the Longhorns put up a late rally, it was too little, too late. Sooners took it 28-20.
No. 11: Jacquizz Rogers Has a Big Day For Oregon State
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Arizona State has been killing themselves with turnovers and it hurt them again on Saturday against Oregon State as they turned the ball over three times in a 31-28 win by the Beavers.
Oregon State running back Jacquizz Rodgers had a big day, rushing for 145 yards on 24 carries and a pair of touchdowns in the win.
No. 10: Guest Pickers Are 8-1 Over The Last Two Weeks
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Last week, I had former San Diego Padres catcher Rob Bowen, who finished unbeaten (4-0), and then this week I brought out heavy-hitter RJ Choppy from ESPN Radio who finished 4-1.
Maybe I should ask these guys for picks the next time I put money on a game.
No. 9: Michigan State Uses Inspiration to Upset Wisconsin
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The Michigan State Spartans came into Camp Randall Stadium with their head coach, who was hospitalized with a blood clot, on their minds.
It's amazing what inspiration and emotion can do to a team.
The Spartans used that to their advantage and they took it to Wisconsin to the tune of a 34-24 win on Saturday.
No. 8: Auburn Quietly Hanging Around
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I know the Auburn Tigers are sitting at the eighth spot in the rankings as of right now, but they're doing it very quietly.
They haven't made a lot of noise and if they keep winning, and get a loss here or there from a few teams in front of them, the Tigers could very well make their way into the Top Five.
Look out.
No. 7: Leonard Hankerson, Miami Defense Key in Win
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The Miami Hurricanes picked a big game to put up a big defensive effort, forcing six Clemson turnovers in a 30-21 win on Saturday.
The 'Canes got big days from quarterback Jacory Harris and wide receiver Leonard Hankerson. Harris had four touchdowns through the air on 205 yards passing; three of those touchdowns and 147 yards went to Hankerson.
No. 6: Oregon Outlasts Stanford
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Autzen Stadium is a hard place for a visiting team to win. The Stanford Cardinal found that out the hard way on Saturday.
Stanford led 31-24 at the end of the half, but the Oregon Ducks would score 28 unanswered points to close out a 52-31 win.
It was a win that sent the Ducks to the third spot in the rankings, jumping Boise State who beat New Mexico State, 52-0.
No. 5: Hey, Notre Dame Won
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The Irish needed this one and they got it. After suffering three straight losses to Michigan, Michigan State, and Stanford, Notre Dame picked up a much needed 31-13 win on the road against Boston College.
No. 4: UCLA Keeps Rolling
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Houston, Texas, Washington State.
Those were the last three victims on UCLA's radar and they continue to put up big points in all three of those games.
Are the Bruins better than we thought they were at the beginning of the season? Are the Bruins finally starting to wake up and can they be a factor in the Pac-10 down the stretch?
No. 3: Alabama Gives New Meaning To Winning
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Alabama had to come from behind last weekend against Arkansas, but they got the win.
This week, they didn't trail for a single second and didn't have much of a problem at all ripping Florida, 31-6 in Tuscaloosa.
No. 2: Injury? What Injury?
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Whatever injury Denard Robinson suffered last weekend, it didn't look like it effected him in the slightest.
Robinson, with just seconds to go, used his legs to get Michigan past the Indiana Hoosiers. It was the second year in a row that the Wolverines got a game and a half from the Hoosiers as they nearly had the upset last season.
Robinson finished the day with 477 total yards, 217 rushing, and 277 through the air, and five total touchdowns.
No. 1: Terrelle Pryor Pulls a Willis Reed
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Terrelle Pryor left the field with an injury and the Buckeye fans held their collective breaths, hoping they would see their quarterback come back on the field and lead their team to victory.
In Willis Reed style, just like he did in the 1970 NBA Finals, Pryor came back on the field but admitted that he was only able to hand the ball off and would not be able to run the ball himself.
His presence was enough to get Ohio State the 24-13 win over Illinois.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
