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College Football Recap - Sept. 26

Monday, September 26, 2011


COLLEGE FOOTBALL RECAP - 9/26/11
Here's a brief look at the highlights of week four of the college football season, a week which saw four games between ranked teams and a pair of upsets, as well as a host of sensational individual performances. The rankings used in this recap are the AP Rankings from prior to the games.


RANKINGS ARE RIGHT
#2 LSU 47, #16 West Virginia 21: Maybe the most impressive result of the week, the Tigers travel to Morgantown and leave the Mountaineers shell-shocked by converting four turnovers into a pair of scores and taking advantage of excellent punting from Brad Wing to post the blowout victory despite actually being outgained, 533-366. The win vaults the Bayou Bengals into the No. 1 spot in the latest AP poll.

#3 Alabama 38, #14 Arkansas 14: The top-rated defense in the SEC tallied 10 tackles for loss, two interceptions, six pass breakups and four quarterback hurries to thoroughly stymie the top-rated offense in the SEC, while Bama also took advantage of strong special teams play (an 83-yard punt return TD from Marquis Maze) and a big game from Trent Richardson (120 rushing yards, a 61-yard TD catch).

#7 Oklahoma State 30, #8 Texas A&M 29: The Aggies jump out to 20-3 halftime lead, but Brandon Weeden (school record 438 passing yards) leads the Cowboys to 27 unanswered points and a key Big 12 road victory.

RANKINGS ARE WRONG
#21 Clemson 35, #11 Florida State 30: Clemson knocks off a ranked opponent for the second straight week as sophomore Tajh Boyd throws for three touchdowns and runs for another while freshman Sammy Watkins tallies eight catches for 141 yards and his fifth and sixth touchdown catches of the year.

Arizona State 43, #23 USC 22: The Sun Devils jump back into the rankings by cruising to victory over USC, snapping an 11-game losing streak to the Trojans, behind a big effort from Cameron Marshall (141 rushing yards, three touchdowns).


COMEBACKS NOT ENOUGH FOR NO. 1
#1 Oklahoma 38, Missouri 28: After a key victory over Florida State last week, the top-ranked Sooners come out flat, trailing 14-3 in the first quarter before rallying for 28 unanswered points to top Missouri, but the comeback victory isn't enough for voters, who drop them to No. 2 in the latest rankings.

RUNNING WILD
#9 Nebraska 38, Wyoming 14: The Cornhuskers rush for 333 yards and four touchdowns, including 170 yards and two scores by Rex Burkhead to upend previously undefeated Wyoming.

#15 Florida 40, Kentucky 10: Jeff Demps runs for 157 yards and two touchdowns while Chris Rainey adds 105 rushing yards to pace a 405-yard Gator ground game in a blowout of SEC foe Kentucky.

#18 USF 52, UTEP 24: Quarterback B.J. Daniels runs for 130 yards and three other backs tally rushing TDs as the Bulls post a blowout victory of UTEP.

#22 Michigan 28, San Diego State 7: Denard Robinson continues to show his amazing elusiveness, running for 200 yards and three touchdowns to lift the Wolverines to victory over San Diego State - the school that coach Brady Hoke brought back to respectability prior to accepting the Michigan job this past offseason.

#24 Illinois 23, Western Michigan 20: Illinois struggles to get things going, but ends up with 133 rushing yards from backup Troy Pollard and another 100 from freshman Donovonn Young as the Illini remain undefeated.

#25 Georgia Tech 35, North Carolina 28: The Yellow Jackets pile up 311 rushing yards with their deadly triple-option as they hold off the Tar Heels and star freshman running back Giovanni Bernard's 150 yards to improve to 4-0 for the first time since 1990.


HALF A CENTURY
#6 Wisconsin 59, South Dakota 10: Russell Wilson throws for 345 yards and three scores while the Badgers add five other rushing touchdowns in their fourth straight blowout victory.

#10 Oregon 56, Arizona 31: LaMichael James has a huge game with 288 rushing yards as the Ducks pick up where they left off in Pac-12 play with a blowout of rival Arizona.

#17 Baylor 56, Rice 31: Robert Griffin, III, continues his remarkable play - he has more touchdown passes than incompletions after three games this year - by throwing for 338 yards and five scores.

#20 TCU 55, Portland State 13: The Horned Frogs actually trail 3-0 after one quarter, but four touchdowns in the span of three minutes launch TCU to a blowout victory of the FCS foe.


DEFENSIVE MODE
#4 Boise State 41, Tulsa 21: Bronco cornerback Jerrell Givens had a pair of interceptions as Boise jumped to a 27-0 lead on their way to a 33rd straight regular season home victory; Kellen Moore turns in another near-flawless performance as well, connecting on 23-of-29 passes for 279 yards and four touchdowns.

#12 South Carolina 21, Vanderbilt 3: Steve Spurrier improves to 4-0 for the first time with the Gamecocks, as his squad holds Vanderbilt to just 77 yards of offense to offset an offense which saw four Stephen Garcia interceptions.

#13 Virginia Tech 30, Marshall 10: The Hokies hold their state-rival to just 12 first downs and six rushing yards while their own rushing game tallies four touchdowns, led by David Wilson's 132 yards.

 



 


VOTE FOR MANNING STARS
College football fans, be sure to "like" the official Allstate Sugar Bowl Facebook page (linked above) and vote each week for the Manning Award Player of the Week. The top quarterback performances from each week will be posted giving you the chance to vote for what you think was the best effort each week of the college football season.


MANNING AWARD STARS OF THE WEEK
While 31 quarterbacks are on the Manning Award Watch List, additional players may be added later in the season and every quarterback in the country remains eligible for the honor. Here's a look at the best performances of the fourth week of the football season:

Tajh Boyd, Clemson
(23-of-37, 344 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT)
Boyd tallies his second straight 300-yard game and his second straight win over a nationally-ranked opponent, this time No. 11 Florida State; he also adds a rushing TD in the victory.

B.J. Daniels, USF
(15-of-24, 202 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT)
Daniels keeps USF perfect with an impressive dual-threat performance which includes a 54-yard touchdown pass and a 71-yard run as he finishes with 130 rushing yards in a 52-24 win over UTEP.

Seth Doege, Texas Tech
(26-of-38, 222 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT)
Doege, who also rushes for 83 yards, makes the list for the second week in a row after completing a 14-point comeback with the game-winning touchdown with 44 seconds to go on a fourth-and-three pass in a 35-34 win over Nevada.

Robert Griffin, III, Baylor
(29-of-33, 338, 5 TDs, 0 INT)
Griffin continues his sensational season with another big effort (adds 51 rushing yards and a score) in a 56-31 victory over Rice - Griffin now has 13 touchdown passes this year, and just 12 incompletions.

Keith Price, Washington
(19-of-25, 292 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT)
Price leads the Huskies to their first 3-1 start since 2006 by picking apart the Cal defense in a 31-23 victory in which he ices the win with a 71-yard fourth-quarter TD strike.

Corey Robinson, Troy
(24-of-38, 348 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT)
Robinson puts the Trojans on top for good with a 75-yard touchdown connection as he leads Troy to its first victory of the year, a 38-35 shootout over Sun Belt rival Middle Tennessee State.

Brandon Weeden, Oklahoma State
(47-of-60, 438 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT)
Trailing 20-3 at the half, Weeden leads the Cowboys to a huge Big 12 road victory over No. 8 Texas A&M by throwing for a school record 438 yards as his squad scores 27 unanswered points.

Keith Wenning, Ball State
(24-of-30, 320 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT) Wenning establishes his career-high with 320 yards in just three quarters of play as the 3-1 Cardinals get off to their second-best start since 1995 with a 48-21 win over Army - Ball State was just 4-8 last year.


TOP UPCOMING GAMES
(current AP Rankings)
#3 Alabama at #12 Florida: Alabama looks to add a big resumé-builder with a road win over the Gators, who will be looking to hand rookie head coach Will Muschamp his first signature win.

#8 Nebraska at #7 Wisconsin: After four non-league games, the Huskers finally start Big Ten play for the first time, facing Wisconsin, which has been dominant to open the year under star transfer quarterback Russell Wilson.

Auburn at #10 South Carolina: A rematch of last year's SEC Championship game, the Tigers are adjusting to life without stars Cam Newton and Nick Fairley while the Gamecocks look better than ever under Steve Spurrier.

#13 Clemson at #11 Virginia Tech: Clemson has defeated two straight ranked opponents to climb into the national picture; Virginia Tech can take control of the ACC race with a win here.

#14 Texas A&M vs. #18 Arkansas: Two teams coming off tough losses to top-ranked foes will be trying to recover at the same time with the Southwest Classic at Cowboys Stadium - also a preview of future SEC games between the two.

Michigan State at Ohio State: Two of the three co-winners of the Big Ten last year, new Buckeye coach Luke Fickell hopes to keep his alma mater on top with a win over the Spartans, who hope to get back on track with a key Big Ten road win.

Nevada at #4 Boise State: Nevada spoiled Boise's perfect season last year, as well as its shot at the BCS Championship game; the Broncos won't need more motivation that that.

#17 Texas at Iowa State: Iowa State shocked the Longhorns in Austin last year so Texas will be looking to erase another bad memory by returning the favor in Ames.


Bowl Predictions
Allstate Sugar Bowl, January 3, 2012
ESPN.com (Schlabach): LSU vs. Boise State (LSU replaces Alabama from last week)
ESPN.com (Edwards): Alabama vs. Boise State (Alabama replaces LSU)
CBSSports.com (Palm): LSU vs. Boise State
CBSSports.com (McMurphy): Alabama vs. Oregon
College Football News: LSU vs. Boise State
SI.com (Mandel): LSU vs. Boise State
WDSU-TV (Mackel): Alabama vs. Boise State


Allstate BCS National Championship, January 9, 2012
ESPN.com (Schlabach): Alabama vs. Oklahoma (Alabama replaces LSU from last week)
ESPN.com (Edwards): LSU vs. Oklahoma (LSU replaces Alabama)
CBSSports.com (Palm): Alabama vs. Oklahoma
CBSSports.com (McMurphy): LSU vs. Oklahoma
College Football News: Alabama vs. Oklahoma
SI.com (Mandel): Alabama vs. Oklahoma
WDSU-TV (Mackel): LSU vs. Stanford

YOUTUBE PICK OF THE WEEK
Each week, the Allstate Sugar Bowl will make its YouTube Pick of the Week, top highlights, impressive off-field performances, great plays, or as in this instance, a look back in Sugar Bowl history - take a look at the MVP of the 1966 Sugar Bowl, most fans have probably heard of him, even if Ed Sullivan has not.