Top Teams
Play Game Of "Survivor"
by Mike Mitchell
9/19/04 2:04 am edt
It was reality TV at
its finest. Saturday's college football games looked like an
episode of "Survivor" as Georgia, Michigan, West Virginia,
Ohio State and Nebraska were among the teams who took nail-biting
victories. LSU and Florida were not so lucky.
Auburn won the battle of the Tigers over LSU, 10-9, on a touchdown
pass and PAT with a minute left in the game. LSU missed an extra
point try in the first quarter that became the difference-maker.
Auburn missed its first attempt at the PAT to win the game but
a penalty on LSU gave Auburn another shot. Ironically, it was
Oregon State's failure to convert three extra points that allowed
LSU to beat the Beavers back on September 4. The loss snapped
a 10-game winning streak by the defending BCS national champions.
Tennessee's James Wilhoit kicked a 50-yard field goal with 6
seconds left to give Tennessee the come-from-behind win over
Florida and break a four-game streak of away-team victories in
the series. Wilhoit missed the game-tying PAT after the Vols
pulled within 28-27 with three minutes left. But the Tennessee
defense, with no timeouts left, was able to stop the Gators and
caught a break when Florida was called for an unsportsmanlike
retaliation foul after the Gators failed to convert a third-down
play. The infraction could have easily been called on Tennessee
as the official was staring right at the two players when the
Volunteer initiated the action. Instead, the penalty helped Tennessee
start their final drive at their own 39-yard line with 43 seconds
left and Erik Ainge drove them into field goal range to set-up
Wilhoit's redeeming kick.
Georgia's 13-3 win over Marshall in Athens comes one week after
the Thundering Herd was beaten by Ohio State on a field goal
on the game's final play in Columbus. The weekly picks,
based on the Congrove Computer Rankings, picked Georgia
by 11 while the oddsmakers had established an 18-point line.
Michigan avoided being upset in the "Big House" by
San Diego State. The Wolverines prevailed 24-21 over the Aztecs.
Even the computer thought this would be a three-touchdown Michigan
win.
West Virginia needed a touchdown pass in the first overtime to
prevail 19-16 and snap their four-game losing streak to Maryland.
The computer had forecasted the visiting Terrapins to win by
three. The Mountaineers missed two attempts at a game-winning
field goal in the closing seconds of regulation. The first attempt
was wide right but the Terps were offsides. The second attempt
was blocked. Prior to that, Maryland had missed a 49-yard field
goal with 1:15 left in regulation.
Ohio State capitalized on five Mike Nugent field goals and a
host of penalties and turnovers by N. C. State to subdue the
Wolfpack 22-14. The Buckeyes were lethargic on offense but were
still able to get out of Raleigh with an 8-point win.
At Pittsburgh, Nebraska grabbed an early 24-7 lead but eventually
had to dodge a last-second Hail Mary pass to escape "Steel
Town" with a 24-17 victory. The computer had projected a
Pittsburgh upset.
Wisconsin scored all nine of its points in the fourth quarter
to overcome Arizona, 9-7. The teams endured an 88-minute rain
delay in the second quarter.
The "survivor" theme continued in other college towns.
Memphis scored three touchdowns in the final two minutes of its
game with Arkansas State to rescue a 47-35 win from apparent
defeat. The Tigers trailed throughout the game and were still
behind 35-26 as the clock approached the two-minute mark.
Home-standing Ole Miss needed a 10-point comeback in the fourth
quarter to force overtime with Vanderbilt. The Rebels finally
shook off the pesky Commodores with a field goal in the first
overtime for a 26-23 win.
Iowa State downed Northern Illinois 48-41 by outscoring the Huskies
22-7 in the fourth quarter.
Oklahoma seemed to be one of the few teams that delivered a clear
knockout punch to its opponent as the Sooners dumped Oregon 31-7.
Meanwhile, Virginia Tech won its first ACC game with ease as
the Hokies romped past Duke 41-17. The Blue Devils tallied the
game's first and last touchdowns but, in between those scores,
the Hokies controlled virtually every aspect of the game.
Troy, which had begun the season with wins over Marshall and
Missouri, lost its Sun Belt Conference debut at New Mexico State.
The victory was the first of the season for the Aggies as they
eked out the 22-18 win on a touchdown pass with 2:05 remaining.
Connecticut played its first-ever Big East game on Friday night
and was methodically beaten by Boston College. The 27-7 win pushed
the Eagles' record to 3-0 and their UConn series advantage to
10-0-2.
Notre Dame improved its record to 2-1 by capitalizing on a half-dozen
Michigan State miscues for a 31-24 win in East Lansing.
USC wore down, and eventually rolled to a 42-10 win over Brigham
Young. Norm Chow, the longtime offensive coordinator under LaVell
Edwards at BYU, now heads the offense under Pete Carroll with
the Trojans.
Arizona State sent a message that it may be USC's closest competitor
in the race for the PAC-10 title when the Sun Devils piled on
Iowa, 44-7.
Boise State remained unbeaten with a 47-31 win at UTEP. The Miners
fell to 1-2 with the other loss coming against Arizona State
which is coached by Dirk Koetter, Dan Hawkins' predecessor at
BSU.
Utah stayed perfect with a 48-6 spanking of rival Utah State.
The Thursday night game in Hattiesburg between Southern Miss
and California was postponed due to Hurricane Ivan. The Louisville-Tulane
game scheduled for New Orleans on Saturday was also postponed.
Both games are expected to be made up on the weekend of December
4.
No Blemishes: The weekend action reduced the number
of unbeaten teams from 45 to only 27. There are no undefeated
teams in the MAC or Sun Belt conferences.
Conversely, there are 20 winless teams. Every team in the Big
10, Big 12, and Big East has won at least one game. So have Notre
Dame and Navy, this year's only major independents.
Still Soaring: Florida Atlantic, a 1-AA team transitioning
into Division 1-A and joining the Sun Belt next season, handed
Middle Tennessee a 27-20 loss on its home field for the Owls
third straight win over a 1-A opponent to start the season. Previous
wins came at Hawaii and North Texas.
1-AA Maine also got in on the act as the Black Bears upended
Sylvester Croom and Mississippi State in Starkville, 9-7.
Those victories leave the 1-A schools with a 34-5 record against
their 1-AA brethren with FAU forcing three of the five losses.
Streaking: Boise State has won 14 straight games over-all,
20 straight at home, and 19 straight over WAC foes after its
47-31 win at UTEP.
USC has the nation's second-longest winning streak at 12 after
winning 42-10 at BYU.
North Texas has won 18 straight over Sun Belt conference foes..
Army has lost 17 straight after a 35-21 loss at Houston.
SMU lost its 15th straight when Oklahoma State clobbered the
Mustangs 59-7. |