College Football: Week 7 Wrap-Up

#8 Cincinnati def. #21 South Florida 34-17
Another in an increasingly long string of sloppy Thursday night games. This certainly wasn’t Cincinnati’s best game, but they managed to pull it out in the end thanks to the running of backup QB Zach Collaros and some very undisciplined play from South Florida. I’m generally a pretty big fan of Bulls coach Jim Leavitt, but add the dropped passes and penalties to the fact that South Florida apparently couldn’t figure out that Collaros wasn’t ready to pass and this game didn’t reflect well on the man who has built the program from scratch. Still, the Bulls have a fairly young team behind freshman quarterback B.J. Daniels and a lot to look forward to in the future.

#3 Texas def. #20 Oklahoma 16-13
This one was a disappointment for a lot of reasons. The obvious one is the re-injury to Sam Bradford, who could easily be the Detroit Lions starting QB right now (okay, maybe there is an upside for him!). I thought Oklahoma outplayed Texas everywhere except the scoreboard. They got great pressure on Colt McCoy, especially after Texas mysteriously abandoned their misdirection running game, and replaced their own weak running game with very effective screens to DeMarco Murray. Take away any one of the Bradford injury, the Bubba Franks fumbled punt, or the Oklahoma pass interference penalty that set up the Texas touchdown and I think it's a (rather sloppy) Sooners win.

#11 Iowa def. Wisconsin 20-10
Solid Big Ten game here. Wisconsin put most of its offense on the shoulders of John Clay and Iowa's defense is the core of the team, but this game really came down to quarterback play. Wisconsin's pass blocking was a little lacking (as it has been all year) and Iowa QB Ricky Stanzi certainly benefited from a great game from tight end Tony Moeaki, but overall the teams played relatively evenly, allowing for Tolzien's interceptions and Stanzi's efficient 218 yards to make the difference for their respective teams. Look out Ohio State (who loses to Purdue?!?), the Hawkeyes are coming.

#6 USC def. #25 Notre Dame 34-27
The more I think about it, the more I realize that this game was actually almost exactly what we all should have predicted. Notre Dame hangs on Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate (why in the world didn't USC keep track of Tate in the slot?!?) to stay close in the first half, USC uses its superior talent and Notre Dame’s relatively weak defense to pull away in the second half, USC starts thinking about Will Ferrell and Spike Lee (who were at the game) and allows a weaker opponent back into the game. In the end, the combination of Clausen's late game heroics (who does he think he is - Forcier?) and a veritable smorgasboard of dubious penalties fell just short for the Irish in the face of Barkley's 380 passing yards and the relentless pressure of the USC defensive line.

#19 Georgia Tech def. #4 Virginia Tech 28-23
Another one of those strange games where you sort of think that the losing team is better even after they have proved they aren't. I think the monotonous nature of that triple option offense has a lot to do with that. It seems like Georgia Tech is just spinning its wheels, but then suddenly they're up 21-10. And though I remain unimpressed with Tyrod Taylor (well, other than his unreal ability to avoid tacklers 1 on 1), the Hokies seemed to have the edge in speed. The best I can figure is that a running offense makes for very long Georgia Tech drives and ultimately short games - the Hokies just ran out of time. Virginia Tech was a rather silly #4, but it's still a big win for the Yellow Jackets and a nice statement especially for their defense just a week after giving up approximately 1 million yards to Florida State.

#2 Alabama def. #22 South Carolina 20-6
This was my second look at both Alabama and South Carolina and, well, I wasn't too impressed. While it was amusing that both quarterbacks had their first pass picked off, the game never really got a whole lot better. The South Carolina offense sputtered ineffectively all night, and sometimes even comically, as when they failed at three straight fade right calls at the goal line and then kicked a field goal. I was kind of waiting for Steve Spurrier to attempt to steal QB Stephen Garcia's jersey in order to play in his place. Meanwhile, poor play from QB Greg McElroy meant that the Tide had to lean heavily on RB Mark Ingram, who luckily responded with a monster game. Alabama stays undefeated, but loses a lot of style points.

This Week's 'Yell at the TV' Moment: I try not to complain about the refereeing because I'm aware it makes me sound like a child, but I think the refs have a lot to be ashamed of on the last drive of the Notre Dame game. On a critical 4th down play, receiver Robby Parris made the catch just across the first down marker and a USC player pulled him down by his neck. Parris's foot was firmly planted in the turf at the time and I wouldn't be surprised if his ACL was torn. Unfortunate, but part of the game. No bone-crushing hit, no snap-back, no helmet to helmet contact. Inexplicably, the refs call a personal foul for 'targeting a defenseless player.' Apparently it is now 'targeting a defenseless player' to tackle him. I guess you're supposed to subtly alert him to your presence first. On a subsequent play, the Trojans broke through the Irish offensive line for the 347th time in the game. They chased Clausen out of the pocket and then gave him a shove after he threw the ball. Simple shove within a split second of the ball being thrown, one hand on the chest, Clausen went down on his back. I admit I've seen similar plays deemed as penalties. but it's ticky tacky, especially with less than 30 seconds left! Let the players play the game. When I remember the final drive, I should remember Clausen's heroics or USC's defense, not your stupid stripey face. I was half afraid they were going to find a way to put the ball in the end zone. Notre Dame was awarded five first downs by penalty on Saturday! The refs may not have affected the outcome of the game, but it wasn't for lack of trying.

In other news: I was watching the Cincinnati-South Florida game with a friend who mentioned that Tony Pike bears an uncanny resemblance to "a 30-year-old French dude." Good quarterback though, hope he's okay.....Tough media day for Longhorns receiver and Colt McCoy co-dweller Jordan Shipley. Herbstreit accidentally called him Jeremy Shockley and Brent Musberger referred to him as "the roommate".....Down 10-3 with 3:22 left in the first half, Iowa got the ball on its own 21 and proceeded to run three times and punt to Wisconsin. Why were they so reluctant to try to tie it?.....The announcer during the Virginia Tech-Georgia Tech game informed us all after a nice play by a receiver on a long pass that there was no "analyzation" necessary.....Michigan and Penn State join the too little too late club with respective clubbings of Delaware State and Minnesota. Meanwhile, Ohio State joins the too little right now club with an embarassing loss to Purdue!.....I also watched the Missouri-Oklahoma State game (can't get enough!), which wasn't particularly interesting other than Barry Sanders' induction into the Cowboys Hall of Fame, but I have to wonder why Zac Robinson isn't in Heisman contention. He's like Colt McCoy with more foot speed and a stronger arm.