Spartans
Stage Record Comeback; Texas, Notre Dame Avoid Upsets
by Mike Mitchell
Updated
10/22/06 1:20 am edt
Michigan
State pulled off the largest comeback in Division 1-A history
on Saturday, shocking the Northwestern home fans and breaking
a four-game losing streak in stunning fashion.
The No. 67 Spartans trailed the No. 92 Wildcats 38-3 when they
finally scored a touchdown with 7:08 remaining in the third quarter.
They tied the game 18 minutes and 25 seconds later with 3:43
left in the game, and won it on a 28-yard field goal with 18
ticks left on the clock.
Maryland and Ohio State had shared the record for the largest
comeback of 31 points since Ohio State's 41-37 win over Minnesota
on October 28, 1989. Until that event, the Terrapins owned the
record outright with their 42-40 victory over Miami (Fla.) on
November 10, 1984.
Michigan State needed the win badly but it couldn't have come
at a less-expected moment. The Spartans had fallen, and couldn't
get up, after blowing a 37-21 lead over Notre Dame a month ago.
That collapse, which took less than 8 minutes to occur, had set
the stage for four consecutive Michigan State losses. The next
week, Illinois snapped a
10-game losing streak to conference teams and a 12-game skid
to 1-A opponents with a 23-20 win at Michigan State. Blowout
losses to Michigan and Ohio State followed.
The unlikely defeat was Northwestern's fifth straight.
Elsewhere on Saturday:
No. 5 Texas needed a 22-yard field goal with 23 second left,
and a failed Hail Mary pass by No. 16 Nebraska on the final play
of the game, to escape Lincoln with a 22-20 win. The kick was
made by sophomore walk-on Ryan Bailey after the starting kicker,
Greg Johnson, suffered muscle tightness late in the game. Ironically,
the winning kick was the same distance as the two field goals
that Johnson made earlier in the game. It was Texas' 16th straight
road win. The Cornhuskers had taken a 20-19 lead with just 4:54
left in the contest.
No. 15 Notre Dame avoided the upset loss at home to No. 31 UCLA
with a 45-yard touchdown pass and run with 27 seconds left that
gave them a 20-17 victory. The Fighting Irish trailed for most
of the game and scored their only other touchdown late in the
first quarter. A loss would have, most-assuredly, knock Notre
Dame completely out of the BCS title picture and maybe even a
spot in any BCS bowl.
No. 21 Tennessee got by No. 31 Alabama, 16-13, in a contest that
featured five field goals and just two touchdowns. The Tide took
a 13-6 lead into the fourth quarter, but the Vols scored the
game's final 10 points and secured the win on their only touchdown
with 3:28 left in the game.
No. 10 Rutgers proved it's for real with a 20-10 win at No. 20
Pitt. The Scarlet Knights are 7-0 for the first time since 1976
when they went 11-0 against a schedule that included just four
teams that are now in Division 1-A. In case you're wondering,
Rutgers hosts Louisville on Nov. 9 and visits West Virginia on
Dec. 2.
No. 4 Louisville and No. 6 West Virginia each won this past week
to set up their showdown on November 2. The Cardinals will host
the match-up that most believe will determine the Big East title.
But Rutgers can not be dismissed form the equation as the conference
boasts three of the nation's seven remaining undefeated teams.
Louisville was a slow starter, and an unimpressive 28-13 winner
at No. 84 Syracuse on Saturday. Nonetheless, the Cardinals are
7-0 for the first time since 1925.
The Mountaineers took downed UConn, 37-11, on Friday night (see more on this game under "Weekend Starters" further
down in this article).
No. 8 Clemson held Georgia Tech wide receiver Calvin Johnson
to no catches while racking up 321 net rushing yards en route
to a 31-7 home win. Each team went into that game as an ACC division
leader, but Georgia Tech was the only school with a perfect record
in conference games. The No. 22 Yellow Jackets are still in first
place in the Coastal Division at 3-1, but Miami trails at 1-1
and visits Georgia Tech next Saturday.
Clemson visits a Virginia Tech team on Thursday that may be playing
with renewed confidence after a 36-6 route of Southern Miss.
More important than the victory, the No. 26 Hokies looked like
a much more disciplined team than the one Kirk Herbstreit chastised
during a Thursday night loss at Boston College in their last
outing. Virginia Tech also gave rebirth to a running game with
Branden Ore racking up 210 yards against the Golden Eagles. Southern
Miss dropped to 4-3 with the loss while the Hokies improved to
5-2.
Also in the ACC, Boston College's 24-19 win at Florida State
dealt the 'Noles their fifth conference loss in their last seven
regular season ACC games.
In the PAC-10 on Saturday, No. 11 Oregon was a surprise 34-23
loser at No. 51 Washington State to suffer their second conference
setback. Now, only USC and Cal have fewer than two PAC-10 losses
and they are each undefeated in league play.
No. 9 California almost saw its perfect PAC-10 record go down
the drain on Saturday. The Golden Bears needed overtime to get
past No. 62 Washington, 31-24, after the Huskies scored on a
40-yard Hail Mary on the last play of regulation.
No. 27 Miami thwarted the upset bid by No. 116 Duke, losers of
17 straight games to Division 1-A teams, by intercepting a Blue
Devils' pass near the goal line on the last play of the game
to preserve a 20-15 win. The Hurricanes were without 13 players
that were suspended for the brawl with FIU in its last game.
WEEKEND
STARTERS
If
the UConn Huskies were going to be the mangy mutts that spoiled
West Virginia's national championship run, consider them officially
house-broken.
The No. 6 Mountaineers chased out the home crowd early in a 37-11
win at No. 64 Connecticut in a Big East game on Friday night.
The chilly weather didn't cool off West Virginia as they won
their 14th straight game while improving to 7-0 on the season,
2-0 in the Big East.
UConn sunk under .500 with the loss, dropping to 3-4 over-all
and 0-2 in conference play.
Central Michigan moved one step closer to playing for its first
MAC Championship since 1994 when the Chippewas pulled away from
Bowling Green for a 31-14 win on Thursday night.
No. 66 CMU is just 5-3 over-all but 5-0 now in the West Division
of the MAC. Since claiming their last conference crown, the Chippewas
have turned in only two winning campaigns. They went 6-5 in 1998
and last season.
Central Michigan appears to be on a collision course with Kent
State. The Golden Flashes enter the weekend at 5-2 over-all and
4-0 in the East Division.
Bowling Green could have kept the east division lead in sight
with a win but, instead, the No. 68 Falcons fell to 4-4 over-all
and 3-2 in MAC play.
Also on Thursday night, No. 87 Virginia kept its bowl hopes alive
with a 23-0 win over No. 99 North Carolina. The Cavaliers improved
to 3-5 over-all, 2-2 in the ACC. The Tar Heels sunk to 1-6 over-all,
0-4 in the ACC, with their sixth straight loss to a 1-A team.
No. 82 New Mexico stormed back from a 24-3 first-half deficit
to defeat No. 50 Utah 34-31 in Albuquerque. It was Utah's second
straight conference loss and New Mexico's second consecutive
MWC victory. Both teams are now 4-4 over-all, 2-2 in the Mountain
West.
On Wednesday night, No. 61 Louisiana-Lafayette edged No. 111
FAU 6-0 in its Sun Belt conference opener.
UNBEATEN
TEAMS
All
7 teams that entered the week unbeaten were able to keep their
perfect records intact. No. 7 Boise State downed No. 90 Idaho,
42-26; Louisville defeated Syracuse, 28-13; No. 2 Michigan upended
No. 32 Iowa, 20-6; No. 1 Ohio State trounced No. 73 Indiana,
44-3; West Virginia trumped UConn, 37-11; and Rutgers won over
Pitt, 20-10. No. 3 USC was idle.
WINLESS
TEAMS
No. 101 San Diego State and No. 114 Eastern Michigan notched
their first victories of the season, reducing the number of winless
teams to just 4.
San Diego State's 19-12 upset of No. 53 Air Force was not only
their first victory of the season, and the first under new head
coach Chuck Long, but also the first Mountain West Conference
defeat for the Falcons this year.
Eastern Michigan's 17-13 win over No. 93 Toledo was the first
conference win for the Eagles in their last 10 conference games.
The four remaining winless teams are No. 116 Duke, No. 118 FIU,
No. 115 Stanford and No. 119 Temple.
1-A
vs. 1-AA
Only
one 1-AA school played a 1-A team this week and it nearly came
away with the victory. North Dakota State, which had previously
beaten Ball State 29-24 back on September 23, lost a 10-9 heartbreaker
at Minnesota.
The No. 79 Golden Gophers blocked the Bisons' 43-yard field goal
attempt as time expired to avoid losing to a team that is just
four years removed from Division II football.
1-A schools are 68-6 against 1-AA teams this year. The 1-A teams
went 52-2 in such games last year. Since the beginning of the
2003 season, the 1-A schools are now 232-24 in games played against
1-AA teams.
Over 75 schools took the opportunity of a 12th game to schedule
a cupcake opponent during the 2006 season.
The NCAA has officially re-named them the Bowl Division (1-A)
and the Championship Division (1-AA).
STREAKS
USC has won 37 straight regular season games, a nation's-best
30 consecutive home victories, and 27 straight conference games.
Ohio State owns the nation's longest winning streak at 15 games.
West Virginia has won 14 straight games.
Boise State has won 34 consecutive regular season home
games. The Broncos have never lost a home game to a WAC opponent
(22-0). Boise State has won 10 straight regular season games.
Texas has won 19 straight conference games. The Longhorns have
also won 16 straight road games.
Louisville has won 12 straight regular season games.
Temple owns the nation's longest losing streak at 20 games. They've
lost their eight games this year by an average score of 44 to
8. They lost all 11 games last year by an average result of 45
to 9.
Duke has lost 15 straight games over-all, 17 straight to 1-A
teams.
Stanford has lost 10 straight games.
New Mexico State has lost 18 straight to 1-A teams.
NEW
COACHES
The
2006 season introduces 11 coaching changes. We're tracking their
progress throughout the season.
Boise State, 8-0 under Chris Petersen, beat Idaho 42-26.
Wisconsin, 7-1 under Bret Bielema, beat Purdue 24-3.
Middle Tennessee, 4-3 under Rick Stockstill, beat Louisiana-Monroe
35-21.
Idaho, 4-4 under Dennis Erickson, lost to Boise State 42-26.
Kansas State, 4-4 under Ron Prince, lost to Missouri 41-21.
Rice, 3-5 under Todd Graham, beat UCF 40-29.
Northwestern, 2-6 under Pat Fitzgerald, lost to Michigan State
41-38.
San Diego State, 1-5 under Chuck Long, beat Air Force 19-12.
Buffalo, 1-6 with Turner Gill, lost to Ohio 42-7.
Colorado, 1-7 under Dan Hawkins, lost to Oklahoma 24-3.
Temple, 0-8 under Al Golden, lost to Northern Illinois 43-21. |