College Football: Week 5 Wrap-Up

Once again, I've called all games wrong (well, I guess I knew Dartmouth was going to lose, but that's like shooting fish in a barrel). To be fair, there were two overtime toss-ups, but still, let's take a look at why:

Pennsylvania def. Dartmouth 30-24
Well, it's the closest the Big Green have come to winning in a long time. Watching I-AA football is an odd experience. It looks sort of like the FBS, but everyone is a little smaller, a little slower, and probably is thinking about the philosophy paper he has to write on the bus on the way home. Dartmouth running back Nick Schwieger is my new hero, but other than that, the only really impressive thing Dartmouth did was injure Penn's second and third string quarterbacks (QB1 was inactive for the game).

Michigan State def. #22 Michigan 26-20 (OT)
I didn't actually get to watch this one -- Big Ten Network is still in the doghouse -- but it sounds like Michigan did its thing, coming back in the 4th quarter (boy, if you had told me two years ago that Michigan would be a team known for coming back in the 4th quarter...) and Michigan State almost but not quite did its thing, which is failing to close out a game it has basically already won. And I'm really, really glad I didn't see Michigan's failed fake punt on its own 16. That would have been the Yell at the TV Moment for sure.

Notre Dame def. Washington 37-30 (OT)
Washington had every chance in the world to win this game. Notre Dame outplayed them, but couldn't find the end zone when it counted, partly because of odd coaching decisions (if you're averaging 10+ yards per run on the drive, there's really no reason to run a double reverse halfback pass out of the Wildcat formation) and partly because, try as he might, Robby Parris is no substitute for Michael Floyd. But you can't run seven unsuccessful plays from inside the 2-yard line (should have had more Chris Polk, who ran over people all day, and less Locker in my opinion) and expect to win the game. This is a game Notre Dame won with its defense (well, and some fantastic after-catch running from Golden Tate) and I'll certainly admit I didn't expect that.

#11 Miami def. #8 Oklahoma 21-20
Well, I guess Bradford should have entered the draft. No Heisman, no national championship...I really hope he enjoys the whole Big Man On Campus thing a whole lot. All in all though, I thought it was an odd game. At first, it looked like Oklahoma was going to run away with it in no time. Backup QB Landry Jones does a pretty uncanny Bradford impression, doesn't he? but then somehow, they lost their momentum and couldn't really get it back. And Bradford impression or not, Stoops clearly doesn't trust Jones with the ball. Too many draw plays on 3rd down. Jacory Harris, on the other hand, started slow and finished downhill all the way. At first, it looked like he had never seen a defense that fast and his "touch" quickly turned into "so much air the defender was checking his watch at the interception site". But he made very impressive adjustments and was greatly helped by Miami's truly spectacular kick coverage. Great win for Miami, over a most likely better team.

This Week's 'Yell at the TV' Moment: Proud moment for the Dartmouth punting unit - after the first 3-and-out, the snap goes at least five feet over the punter's head. He runs back to his own 10 or so, clumsily picks up the ball on the run and inexplicably attempts to punt it into the crowd of five or so Penn Quakers. It is, of course, blocked back into his face and the Penn players take it into the end zone. 7-0 Penn. On the plus side, I'm pretty sure the center snapped the ball further than the quarterback can throw it.

In other news: At one point during the Washington-Notre Dame game, the announcers mentioned that Clausen and Locker had bonded over their mutual love of chocolate labs and I almost vomited.....I loved how Washington didn't kneel on the ball with one minute left in the first half. Sarkisian clearly trusts his quarterback and he's been mostly rewarded.....What in the world happened on Jimmy Clausen's backwards pass to nowhere that was handily returned for a Washington touchdown? The face of every single Notre Dame player and fan was a match after that one.....Was it just me or was there a Miami defensive player hurt on pretty much every play? Wonder if they'll be thin this weekend....Incredible atmosphere provided by the Hurricanes fans with the kind of noise you don't usually see outside the SEC. Miami is a momentum team and their fans helped them out here