Joe Paterno Passes Eddie, Georgia Passes Punchbowl: Week 9 Thoughts

It was a great day for college football on Saturday. Joe Paterno passed Eddie Robinson on the all-time Division I list. Georgia beat Florida in the most entertaining Cocktail Party since, well, last year. Stanford beat USC in three overtimes in a classic for the ages. Georgia Tech upset Clemson. Missouri won at Texas A&M in overtime. And Kansas State's unbeaten run ended as predicted—getting thrashed at home by Oklahoma.

This week's going to be much quieter. Penn State is on a break, meaning that yours truly can relax for a moment and wait for the arrival of Nebraska. And then look forward to Armageddon on prime time: LSU vs Alabama.

Anyway, here's our thoughts on a wild week out.

 

IMPRESSED

Penn State

Not so much for the game, but Joe Paterno for becoming the winningest Division I coach in all of college football. Oh, and the game—decided by a field goal that hit a post right and the end was dramatic enough to cause a heart attack for 30-year-olds, let alone octagenarians.


Stanford/USC

Both sides were very impressive for battling it out in one of the best games of the year, which ended with a SC turnover in triple overtime. Andrew Luck? Matt Barkley? Robert Woods? Welcome to the NFL. This was a great advert for the college football, college football overtime and the current system.

 

Georgia Tech

Tech was tremendous in its upset win over Clemson, backed by a vociferous home crowd. The triple option is definitely an entertaining way to win games, and the Tigers simply couldn't deal with the speed of the Yellow Jackets, who swarmed over them for 60 minutes. What a game, though.


Georgia

Dreadful until the last few minutes of the first half, the Dawgs pulled out an excellent performance in the second half, stopping Demps and Rainey and limiting Florida's already-limited offence. What was also interesting was the destruction of Florida's offensive line, which they killed easily by game-end. This Georgia team's now a favourite to go to the SEC Championship Game...if South Carolina loses at Arkansas.

 

Oklahoma

While their battering of Kansas State wasn't exactly unpredictable, their second-half excellence deserves a quick round of applause. This Landry Jones kid's good, by the way.

 

Ohio State

If you're going to beat a ranked team with a Hail Mary, you might as well do it against Wisconsin in front of a capacity-though-quiet-crowd at the Horseshoe. What a game, what a victory.

 

Nebraska

Brutal defensive performance and boring-but-effective offensive one suffocated Michigan State. If you're a Penn State fan, you can only worry.

 

DEPRESSED


Wisconsin

For two weeks in a row, the Badgers are beaten via a Hail Mary. What a crappy way to lose for Russell Wilson & friends, who showed the capability of consistently coming back, only to be kicked in the face. They deserve to go to the Big Ten Championship Game...but will they?

 

USC/ Illinois

Heartbreak. 'Nuff said.


Clemson

Simple. If your defense isn't good enough to stop a run-orientated giant like Georgia Tech and your offense really doesn't play very well, you're going to lose. And that's what Clemson did. Bye-bye, national championship. Could they be cut out of the ACC title game too? 


Florida
 
It's good that Florida fans are giving Charlie Weis one season's grace. Because if it had been 2012, the knives would be out in the same way as they were for Steve Addazio last year.


Texas A&M

SEC teams can watch and learn from the Aggies' home loss to Missouri, in which they once again blew a first-half lead. The learning point is this: "Remember to go in trailing in the first half. You'll definitely win in the second." There you go. 


Arkansas
 
Scrambled, awful wins against Vanderbilt just serve to remind us how far behind LSU and Alabama the No. 3 SEC team really is.