We're already four weeks into the college football season and our very own Tufts University has been in session for less than two weeks. But while we're just getting settled into college life, we had the privilege of being treated to some cr??me-de-la-cr??me football performances that one expects during the bowl season in January.
TOP 25 BREAKDOWN: Of the teams ranked in the ESPN/USA Today Top 25, 21 played this weekend. The top three teams, USC, Oklahoma and Georgia, respectively, posted convincing victories over their unranked opponents.
Fourth-ranked LSU, on the other hand, succumbed to 15th- ranked Auburn. After having missed a PAT on the opening drive, LSU surrendered the game-tying touchdown with 1:14 remaining in the fourth quarter. John Vaughn, Auburn's place-kicker, had the chance to put the game away with a PAT, but the kick went wide left after a botched snap. However, LSU's Ronnie Prude picked up a personal foul and gave Vaughn another shot; this time he didn't miss. Auburn upset the defending co-national champion Tigers by a score of 10-9.
Fifth-ranked Miami blew out Louisiana Tech 48-0; the seventh-ranked Ohio St. Buckeyes played amazing defense despite their atrocious offense, holding off North Carolina State 22-14; and eighth-ranked West Virginia knocked off the 19th-ranked Maryland Terrapins 19-16 in OT.
I had the pleasure of watching the Tennessee Volunteers/Florida Gators match-up, one of the most heated rivalries in all of college football. The game was back and forth the whole way; when one team scored, the other team always had an answer. With the game tied 21-21, Gators sophomore QB Chris Leak threw a deep pass to Chad Jackson. The pass was deflected by a Volunteer defender, but Jackson's focus kept him on track. He came up with Leak's pass and ran for an 81-yard TD to put the Gators up 28-21.
With 3:40 remaining in the game, freshman QB Erik Ainge stepped it up for Tennessee, driving the team 80 yards in four minutes and finding Jayson Swain in the end zone. However, James Wilhoit, the Volunteer place-kicker who had hit every PAT in his career, missed the game-tying kick. The score remained 28-27, and Tennessee was forced to kickoff.
After some stifling D and a couple of nice passes from Ainge, Wilhoit was given the chance to make up for his terrible PAT failure with a 50-yard field goal attempt. With 13 seconds remaining in the contest, the ball was snapped and the game was on the line. The snap was good, and as soon as Wilhoit laid his foot on the ball, he knew his kick was good as well, for a 30-28 win. The Vols' sideline went nuts, along with the record Tennessee crowd of over 109,000 covered in orange.
Continuing the top 25 breakdown, the 11th-ranked Florida State Seminoles routed the University of Alabama Birmingham, number 12 Iowa was smothered Arizona State 44-7, and 14th ranked Utah and 16th-ranked University of Virginia ran past their opponents. Number 17 Michigan snuck by San Diego State 24-21, and numbers 20 through 23, Fresno State, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Boise State, respectively, all posted victories. Clemson, the 25th- ranked squad, was smoked by Texas A&M by a score of 27-6.
In other big-name programs, Nebraska defeated Pittsburgh 24-17, Penn State ran down Central Florida 37-13, and Notre Dame knocked off Michigan State by a count of 31-24.
RECORDS: Mad props go out to the following fellas for breaking some big time records at some serious college football programs. Braylon Edwards of Michigan and Mark Clayton of Oklahoma now own the record for most career receptions at their respective schools. Zach Mills became Penn State's all-time passing yards leader, and Andrew Walter passed the NFL's own Jake "The Snake" Plummer for most TD passes in Arizona State history.
PLATINUM PLAYAS OF THE WEEK: There were plenty of great performances this week. I could give out 100 game balls and their explanations, but I have to sleep at some point, so I'll leave you with what I believe to be the best of the best for week four.
The Texas Tech Red Raiders exploded on offense after a dismal start. After trailing TCU 21-0 after the first 23 minutes of the game, TT went bonkers. The Red Raiders went on to score ten touchdowns in the remaining 37 minutes, amassing 70 points (56 unanswered) in their 70-35 victory over the Horned Frogs.
A shout out goes to the 1-AA Maine Bears for knocking off a big-time opponent. In the Bears' first 1-A game since 1991, Maine defeated the Mississippi St. Bulldogs of the SEC, one of the top college football conferences in the country.
My two platinum balls, one for offense and one for defense, go to two of the best performances that we'll see all year.
The offensive platinum ball goes to Maurice Drew, the UCLA running back. At halftime, Drew had amassed 235 yards and four touchdowns. On the day, Drew picked up 322 yards (a UCLA record) on 26 carries and scored five times (also a UCLA record) in the Bruins' victory over the University of Washington.
The defensive award goes to Tom Zbikowski of Notre Dame. The Z man forced two fumbles, one of which he returned for a TD, and picked off a Michigan State pass in the Irish's win over the Spartans.
