Maybe it was the onset of serious conference play. Or the roller-coaster of emotions watching a Memphis or an East Carolina's uspet bids sealed or squashed on a single play. Or the return of the triple-overtime Pac-10 game that keeps you up till 3 a.m. out of sheer curiosity.
Whatever the reason, Saturday - more so than any of the four before it -- had the look, smell and feel of true college football. With more action than any normally constructed human being could possibly keep up with, it was impossible to leave the T.V. for more than a few minutes without missing something.
In mid-afternoon, Purdue, Georgia and Kansas State were up to their heads trying to fend off surprising opponents. Around dinner time (on the East Coast), just as Wisconsin and Michigan were wrapping up a typical Big Ten bruisefest, Tee Martin was rescuing Tennessee from pesky Memphis.
But the most fun may have come at night, watching East Carolina's students tearing down N.C. State's goal posts (which wasn't even playing!), or Virginia survive Kevin Feterik's best comeback efforts for BYU, or, if you made it that long, seeing Oregon overcome injuries to their star running back and kicker to knock off USC in the third extra period.
| Week 5 Recaps |
| (8) Virginia Tech 31, Clemson 11 |
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Game Recap
Game Summary |
2:29 Span late in the fourth quarter during which Hokies extended lead from 14-11 to 31-11.
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| Player of the Game |
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Corey Moore, DE, Virginia Tech. Had sack and countless pressures on Clemson's Brandon Streeter, plus game-breaking fumble return for TD.
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| Breakdown |
| The normally sound Hokies made all the mistakes for three quarters: a missed field goal, a lost fumble and three Michael Vick interceptions. But the defense hunkered down when it mattered, with Ike Charlton's interception return and Moore's fumble run putting it away.
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| (1) Florida State 42, North Carolina 10 |
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204: Return yards for FSU, compared with four for North Carolina. |
| Player of the Game |
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Peter Warrick, WR, Florida State. Warrick put in another Heisman effort, netting a 75-yard kick return for a TD and 103 receiving yards. |
| Breakdown |
| The Seminoles were up 28-0 faster than you could say "Janikowski," and cruised from there. Chris Weinke got sloppy, throwing two interceptions, but still completed 17-of-27. North Carolina QB Ron Curry and his receivers were helpless against the FSU defense, with Curry finishing 11-of-26 with three INTs.
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| (2) Penn State 45, Indiana 24 |
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20-of-27: Passing line of Penn State's QBs Rashard Casey and Kevin Thompson. |
| Player of the Game |
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Casey, QB, Penn State. Let the controversy renew -- the backup had one phenomenal TD run and threw for two others while completing 13-of-15 for 196 yards.
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| Breakdown |
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Indiana was never really in it, despite Antwaan Randle El's best efforts. The shake-and-bake Hoosiers QB kept the vaunted Nittany Lions 'D' on its toes all day, running for one score and throwing two long TDs. But Casey was similarly impressive, and had better company in his backfield.
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| (3) Florida 38, Kentucky 10 |
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5.5: Yards per attempt for Kentucky QB Dusty Bonner for the game. |
| Player of the Game |
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Doug Johnson, QB, Florida. Johnson had an efficient evening passing, completing 19 passes for 241 yards a 2 TDs.
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| Breakdown |
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Florida won its 13th straight game in the series, and extended its all-time lead in the series to 33-17. The Gators lost RB Earnest Graham to a thigh bruise on the game's second play, but overcame the loss to roll up a 28-0 lead in the second quarter.
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| (4) Michigan 21, (20) Wisconsin 16 |
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0: Ron Dayne's rushing yardage, on nine carries, in the second half. |
| Player of the Game |
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Dhani Jones, LB, Michigan. Key figure in swarming Wolverines defense that stuffed the middle and constantly hurried QBs. |
| Breakdown |
| Despite Wisconsin's offensive woes, it might still have won if not for a questionable fourth-and-1 call for an option pitch to Dayne. Like Michigan, Wisconsin's defense wouldn't surrender running ground. But Wolverines QB Tom Brady showed why he should start full time, orchestrating several big plays to standout WR David Terrell.
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| (5) Texas A&M 23, Southern Miss 6 |
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Game Recap
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129: Total yards surrendered by Aggies, making up for its own offense's low 299. |
| Player of the Game |
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Terence Kitchens, K, Texas A&M. It didn't make the difference, but Kitchens' 62-yard FG to close the first half raised more than a few eyebrows. |
| Breakdown |
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Just like it did against Nebraska last week, Southern Miss put the clamps on a top Big 12 offense but couldn't take advantage. Eagles QBs Jeff Kelly and Cable Davis threw four interceptions -- two of which were returned for touchdowns -- and that made all the difference. Southern Miss managed only 29 yards on the ground.
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| (6) Nebraska 40, Missouri 10 |
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Game Summary`
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36: Consecutive losses by Missouri against top-10 opponents since 1981. |
| Player of the Game |
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Eric Crouch, QB, Nebraska. Nebraska quarterback had 92 yards rushing and threw for 143 yards in leading the Cornhhuskers to their 100th win of the '90's.
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| Breakdown |
| Nebraska won its 21st straight game against Missouri thanks largely to a strong defensive effort that limited the Tigers to 25 rushing yards on the day. LB Julius Jackson picked off a pass and recovered a fumble, both of which led to Nebraska touchdowns.
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| (7) Tennessee 17, Memphis 16 |
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32: Tennessee's rushing yards, on 44 carries. |
| Player of the Game |
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Bobby Graham, WR, Tennessee. If not for his 53-yard haul on the final drive, Vols never make it to the end zone.
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| Breakdown |
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Instead of coming out fired up after seeing their 14-game win streak end against Florida, Tennessee played like zombies. The Vols couldn't run, they barely passed, they fumbled five times. Fortunately for them, Memphis didn't have the guns to get up by more than the 16-10 lead it held with 3:20 remaining.
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| East Carolina 27, (9) Miami 23 |
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85: Miles from home East Carolina was playing this "home" game. |
| Player of the Game |
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David Garrard, QB, East Carolina. Performed superbly in face of large deficit and Miami linemen, completing 30 of 36 passes for 328 yards. |
| Breakdown |
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In a performance that was part talent and all guts, East Carolina rallied from 20-0 and 23-3 deficits. The Pirates overcame a 144-yard rushing day by Miami's Clinton Portis by constantly pressuring QB Kenny Kelly, and riding the enthusiasm of their rabid fans. RB Jamie Wilson's two long touchdown runs closed the gap.
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| (11) Georgia 24, Central Florida 23 |
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Game Recap
Game Summary |
35:55 Time of possession by the less-ball-control inclined Golden Knights. |
| Player of the Game |
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Jasper Sanks, RB, Georgia. Budding star carried 19 times for 147 yards. |
| Breakdown |
| The 'Dawgs survived by the skin of their teeth against presumably the best 0-4 team in the country. UCF finished with nearly every statistical edge. But a missed extra point was the difference, and even then, UCF drove into field-goal range in the final minute before killing its chances on costly offensive pass interference and holding calls.
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| (12) Ohio State 34, Cincinnati 20 |
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Game Recap
Game Summary |
525: Cincinnati's total offense. |
| Player of the Game |
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Ken-Yon Rambo, WR, Ohio State: Only got the ball three times -- but for 164 yards.
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| Breakdown |
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Another week, another disappointing Buckeyes effort. For the second straight week, Bearcats QB Deontey Kenner ran his spread offense to perfection, passing and running to a 17-3 first-half lead before OSU clamped down. Meanwhile, OSU QB Steve Bellisari found his receivers often tightly covered. UC stayed within 14 despite losing top RB Robert Cooper to injury early on.
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| (13) Purdue 31, Northwestern 23 |
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Game Recap
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405: Purdue passing yards, compared with 241 for Northwestern. |
| Player of the Game |
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Drew Brees, QB, Purdue. One play said it all: Facing 3rd and 11 on his own 1, Sutherland waited patiently until finding his man on the fly pattern for all 99 yards. |
| Breakdown |
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The Wildcats managed to do what no one had yet against Purdue: get to Drew Brees. He fumbled at the NU 2 upon his receiving his first sack of the year, and Kevin Bentley picked off an ill-timed screen pass to run it 40 yards for the score. But besides those instances, Brees and his receivers were on -- especially on the miraculous back-breaker to Vinny Sutherland. The Cats came up short on several scoring opportunities despite moving the ball much better than it had all year.
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| Alabama 35, (14) Arkansas 28 |
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301: Passing yards for the Crimson Tide, 123 higher than their average coming in. |
| Players to Watch |
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Freddie Millons, WR, Alabama. Figured in two huge plays by catching one TD and throwing for a 66-yard score off a fake reverse.
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How does Alabama turn it over six times and still earn a huge win? Finding offense outside of Shaun Alexander (who had his usual 164 yards but fumbled twice), holding the Razorbacks to 64 yards rushing and bending, but not breaking, against Clint Stoerner's devastating air attack. With the chaos that swirled through Tuscaloosa this week, pulling out this win couldn't have been any bigger for the Tide.
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| (15) Kansas State 35, Iowa State 28 |
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21: Second-half rushing yards by Cyclones' Darren Davis, following a 131-yard first half. |
| Player of the Game |
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David Allen, PR, Kansas State. Did what he does best: Turn the entire tide of the game on a 94-yard punt return. |
| Breakdown |
| Talk about halftime adjustments. ISU had jumped to a 28-7 halftime lead by converting turnovers and running Davis down the Wildcats' throats. In addition to silencing Davis, K-State brought in QB Adam Helm to replace Jonathan Beasley in the third quarter and the offense clicked from there.
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| Oregon 33, (16) USC 30 in 3 OT |
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21: Penalties committed by USC, tying a Pac-10 record. |
| Player of the Game |
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A.J. Feeley, QB, Oregon Feeley passed for 275 yards and tossed three short touchdown passes to the lead the Ducks to the mild upset of the Trojans.
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| Breakdown |
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Ducks senior K Josh Frankel was the third kicker Oregon used in the game, but he outdid both Nathan Villegas -- who got injured celebrating the game-tying kick late in the fourth quarter -- and Dan Katz -- who shanked his first-career attempt in the first overtime session. Frankel ended the marathon game in the third overtime with a 27-yard field goal that pulled the Ducks into a second-place tie in the Pac-10 with Cal at 1-0 behind 3-0 Stanford. USC K David Newberry missed two field goals in overtime to doom the Trojans hopes. Oregon leads the Pac-10 with 172 points scored in its first four games, for an average of 43 points per contest.
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| Virginia 45, (17) BYU 40 |
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Game Recap
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57.4: Completion percentage of BYU QB Kevin Feterik, significantly less than the 69.8 percent success rate he had in the first two games. |
| Player of the Game |
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Thomas Jones, RB, Virginia. Jones ran all over the Cougars' defense for a career-high 210 yards and 2 TDs. |
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The Cavaliers were playing west of the Mississippi for just the 11th time in school history, but the long trip out to Provo certainly didn't bother them. Virginia held Feterik to 303 yards, well below the 392.5 yards he was averaging coming in. The 'Hoos moved to 3-1 on the season, and face arch-rival No. 8 Virginia Tech in Charlottesville next Saturday.
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| Stanford 42, (18) UCLA 32 |
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278: Staggering receiving yards for Cardinal's Troy Walters, only 59 less than his total through three games. |
| Player of the Game |
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Joe Borchard, QB, Stanford. Backup stepped in when Todd Husak went down and proceeded to throw for 304 yards and five TDs. |
| Breakdown |
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From seemingly out of nowhere, Stanford has assembled the most potent offense in the Pac-10 and raced to its first 3-0 conference start since 1971. Saturday it did it with a quarterback who had thrown three passes. The only question is, how did it lose 69-17 to Texas? UCLA QB Drew Bennett, back as the starter in Cory Paus' absence, was solid. The problem for UCLA, as always, is the defense.
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| (19) Michigan State 27, Illinois 10 |
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42: Illinois rushing yards, 143 below its average coming in.
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| Player of the Game |
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Lloyd Clemons, RB, Michigan State. Gained 141 (career high) of MSU's 163 rushing yards. |
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The Spartans made up for a so-so offensive effort by stuffing the previously unbeaten Illini. QB Bill Burke finished only 12-of-25 with three interceptions. But the Spartans do have a budding weapon in freshman linebacker/fullback T.J. Duckett, who scored twice from short yardage.
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| (21) Marshall 34, Temple 0 |
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Game Recap Game Summary
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593: Total offense by the Thundering Herd in their 27th-straight home win. |
| Player of the Game |
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Chad Pennington, QB, Marshall. Pennington shredded the Owls' defense for 406 yards and 3 TDs. This is the fourth time that Pennington has thrown for more than 400 yards in a game. |
| Breakdown |
| Marshall's offense continues to impress, but the defense held Temple to 14 first downs and only 195 total yards. Pennington completed 72 percent of his passes on the night, threw only one interception, and left near the end of the third quarter with the Herd up 31-0.
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| (22) Texas 62, Baylor 0 |
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586: Total yards by the impressive Texas offensive unit against its conference rivals in Waco on Saturday.
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| Player of the Game |
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Hodges Mitchell, RB, Texas. Darting Texas RB ran for 131 yards and two scores, and added a receiving touchdown from Major Applewhite. |
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Baylor obviously struggled against the Longhorns, but at least it wasn't as ugly as the 1913 Texas-Baylor game. The Longhorns beat the Bears 77-0 when they matched up 86 years ago. Texas shutout Baylor for the 21st time in the series, but it was the first time since 1979 that the 'Horns held the Bears scoreless.
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| (23) Mississippi State 17, South Carolina 0 |
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12 Points scored by Gamecocks' offense in four games.
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| Player of the Game |
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Ashley Cooper, DB, Mississippi State. Cooper returned a interception 52 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter to give MSU a 10-0 halftime lead. |
| Breakdown |
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It's debatable whether the Bulldogs' offense is that much better than the Gamecocks' non-existent unit. But MSU is 4-0 and USC 0-4. South Carolina's defense acquitted itself well again Saturday night, allowing the Bulldogs only 181 total yards for the game.
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| Wyoming 10, (24) Air Force 7 |
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11: Streak of consecutive Air Force wins broken, leaving Purdue with the longest in the nation.
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| Player of the Game |
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Trent Gamble, CB, Wyoming. Made the hits close to the goal line that stopped two Air Force on two scoring opportunities. |
| Breakdown |
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This was a huge win for Wyoming coach Dana Dimel, who has red-lettered the Air Force game every year only to watch the Falcons bounce his squad from conference title contention. It was a defensive stuggle, with run-happy Air Force still netting 262 yards on the ground yet failing to cash in. Unflashy Wyoming QB Jay Stoner got the job done.
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| Wake Forest 31, (25) N.C. State 7 |
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266-26: Difference in the teams' rushing yards, in Wake Forest's favor.
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| Player of the Game |
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Morgan Kane, RB, Wake Forest. Unheralded senior continues to roll on, amassing 147 yards on 31 carries. |
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It was another sad story for the once 3-0 Wolfpack, who were sloppy with the ball and couldn't move it when they held on. Wake Forest completely silenced the N.C. State running game while quietly moving the ball at will all day.
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