Before we get to the games, it's time for a much-deserved salute to a few of the key figures:
In a weekend seemingly void of marquee matchups beforehand, Alabama-Florida and Texas A&M-Texas Tech will go down as classics. On to the nuts and bolts ...
| Week 6 Recaps |
| (9) Georgia Tech 49, Maryland 31 |
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474: Total offense by Georgia Tech QB Joe Hamilton, breaking the school record.
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| Player of the Game |
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Hamilton. Rebounded nicely from early mistakes and first two INTs of year, throwing for three TDs and darting for another.
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| Breakdown |
| Maryland gave Tech all it could handle in the first half behind Hamilton-clone Calvin McCall and straight-ahead runner Lamont Jordan. But the Hamilton-to- Dez White connection was at its most deadly, with White hauling in 80- and 29-yard touchdowns on his way to a 215-yard day.
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| (1) Florida State 51, Duke 23 |
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5: Touchdown passes by FSU's Chris Weinke, including an 84-yarder to Ron Dugans. |
| Player of the Game |
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Peter Warrick, WR, Florida State. Caught FSU's first three TDs and threw for another, but impressed the most on a busted run where he danced around practically all 11 Duke defenders to avoid a loss. |
| Breakdown |
| Classic example of "not as close as the score indicates." The 'Noles were up 44-0 by halftime, then committed some silly turnovers in the second half. Granted, Carl Franks' Blue Devils are a few shades below average. But this was the kind of dominating performance FSU fans have been looking for from a No. 1-ranked team.
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| (21) Alabama 40, (3) Florida 39, OT |
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3: Lost fumbles by the Gators, compared with one for Alabama. |
| Player of the Game |
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Shaun Alexander, RB, Alabama. The Tide's Mr. All-Everything accounted for more than 200 yards, scored four touchdowns and seemed to get the first down nearly every time the Tide needed one.
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| Breakdown |
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Simply one of college football's wildest, most dramatic contests in recent memory. On the surface, it was decided when Florida kicker Jeff Chandler missed the extra point in overtime, and Alabama's Chris Kemp got two tries on his. But on the larger scale, it was a matter of Alabama being able to move the ball consistently on a Florida defense whose performance against Tennessee now seems an aberration. Tide QB Andrew Zow had the game of his life, going 28-of-40 for 306 yards.
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| (4) Michigan 38, (11) Purdue 12 |
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21-of-52: Passing line for Purdue, which came in completing 62 percent of its passes. |
| Player of the Game |
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Anthony Thomas, RB, Michigan. Finally gave Michigan the kind of game it needed, running for 116 yards and two TDs on 23 carries. |
| Breakdown |
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The Wolverines defense continues to look as impenetrable as its '97 national title unit, this time rising to the challenge of containing Purdue QB Drew Brees (293 yards, one TD, one INT). Brees had trouble finding open receivers, plus when he did they often dropped the ball. The best QB in this game was Michigan's Tom Brady, who continues to split time despite performing near flawlessly. He picked apart the Purdue secondary all day.
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| Texas Tech 21, (5) Texas A&M 19 |
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52: Yards rushing that Tech held A&M to in the game. |
| Player of the Game |
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Sammy Morris, FB, Texas Tech. Morris carried 33 times for 170 yards and scored one touchdown in the Raiders' upset of their instate rivals. |
| Breakdown |
| Tech ran for 185 yards against the vaunted "Wrecking Crew" defense, and controlled the ball for 32:16 of the game. The Red Raiders ran for 117 more yards Saturday night than the Aggies had allowed in their previous three games. A&M lost for the third-straight time in Lubbock, and the game marked the sixth consecutive game in the series to be decided by less than a touchdown.
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| (5) Nebraska 38, Oklahoma State 14 |
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85: Oklahoma State passing yards. |
| Player of the Game |
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Eric Crouch, QB, Nebraska. Continues to be the heart of the Husker offense, throwing for 145 yards and both passing and rushing for a touchdown. |
| Breakdown |
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Nebraska's offense is looking better every week, this time gaining 378 yards on an often stingy OSU defense, including racing to a 21-0 lead. The Huskers "D" also shut down the Cowboys, who have been struggling mightily since losing starting QB Tony Lindsay. QB B.J. Tiger was 3-of-11 for 40 yards.
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| (7) Tennessee 24, Auburn 0 |
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7: Interceptions thrown by Tee Martin and Jeff Klein in the sloppily played game. |
| Player of the Game |
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Travis Henry, RB, Tennessee. Henry ran for 84 yards and two scores on 13 carries, and outgained Jamal Lewis who was held under 100 yards for the third straight game.
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| Breakdown |
| Tennesse shutout Auburn for the first time since 1980, but they couldn't close the deal on offense for most of the night. Their 401 yards of total offense looks respectable, but they had five trips inside the Auburn 23-yard line where they couldn't score. Turnovers had something to do with that, as Martin threw three picks and the Vols lost one fumble in the game. After playing three sloppy games in a row, the Vols better tighten the screws this week in preparation for a talented, but struggling Georgia team which visits Knoxville next Saturday.
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| (8) Virginia Tech 31, Virginia 7 |
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51: Rushing yards, on 37 carries, for Virginia, which came in averaging 186. |
| Player of the Game |
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Michael Vick, QB, Virginia Tech. Not often someone completes seven of nine passes -- for 222 yards. |
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The Hokies did exactly what Virginia most feared -- sack its quarterback Dan Ellis six times. As a result, the Cavs needed to go to their running game, where even there, star Thomas Jones mustered only 83 yards on 23 carries. Vick, meanwhile, looked more poised than he had previously, and Hokies RB Shyrone Stith was again the model of consistency, finishing with 113 yards and three TDs.
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| (10) Georgia 23, LSU 22 |
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11: Rushing yards, on 21 carries, by LSU. |
| Player of the Game |
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Jasper Sanks, RB, Georgia. With Quincy Carter having trouble through the air, Sanks ran for 156 yards on 27 carries, including one long TD. |
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It's debatable whether either team deserved to win. Georgia struggled on offense and failed to run out the clock with less than two minutes left and a seven-point lead. LSU hung in despite 19 of 45 passing from Josh Booty to score the potential tying touchdown with 18 seconds left only to go for the 2-point conversion and miss it.
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| Wisconsin 42, (12) Ohio State 17 |
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36: Rushing yards, on nine carries, for Buckeyes' Michael Wiley. |
| Player of the Game |
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Ron Dayne, RB, Wisconsin. Rebounded from down game against Michigan with four touchdowns and 161 yards. |
| Breakdown |
| While beating the Buckeyes was not altogether surprising for Wisconsin, dominating them in such dramatic form -- especially after falling behind 17-0 -- was. Dayne was back in form, and QB Brooks Bollinger was solid in his first start. The Badgers' defense bent, especially to open the game, but by the end their dangerous receiver Ken-Yon Rambo was only a limited factor.
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| (13) Kansas State 35, (15) Texas 17 |
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3: Interceptions thrown by Texas QB Major Applewhite, who had gone 138 attempts without a pick before the first. |
| Player of the Game |
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David Allen, RB, Kansas State. Returned punt 74 yards for a touchdown -- his NCAA record-tying seventh - and ran in another.
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The Wildcats swarmed Applewhite, forcing his worst performance since, quite possibly, his debut last year against K-State. Kansas State QB Jonathan Beasley had trouble getting the Wildcats into the end zone, but kicker Jamie Rheem converted on five field-goal attempts.
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| (14) Michigan State 49, Iowa 3 |
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214-7: Difference in rushing yards, in Michigan State's favor. |
| Player of the Game |
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Bill Burke, QB, Michigan State. Completed 12 of 14 passes for 150 yards and four TDs before giving way to backup Ryan Van Dyke. |
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Yes, Iowa is ghastly, but there's no understating how good Michigan State's offense is looking. It moved the ball at will, putting the game out of reach by halftime, thanks in large part to Burke's chemistry with WR Plaxico Burress (95 yards). Two-way true freshman T.J. Duckett also carried the ball 10 times for 60 yards.
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| (16) Mississippi State 42, Vanderbilt 14 |
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42: Points allowed by Mississippi State through five games.
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| Players to Watch |
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Waybe Madkin, QB, Mississippi State. Completed 13 of 22 for 257 yards and two TDs.
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The Bulldogs put an end to any possible Vanderbilt momentum real fast, holding the Commodores scoreless for 40 minutes and surging to a 32-0 lead. MSU's defense continues to be the key to its success, and little-used backup fullback
Rod Gibson cashed in twice from short yardage.
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| (17) Marshall 32, Miami of Ohio 14 |
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98: Rushing yards, on 39 carries, for the RedHawks. |
| Players to Watch |
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Chad Pennington, QB, Marshall. Wins the battle of Heisman outsiders, completing 18 of 35 throws for 294 yards. |
| Breakdown |
| Marshall dominated the supposed next-best team in the MAC in all aspects, actually going up 32-0 at one point. Travis Prentice did finish with 131 rushing yards, but Miami's passing game was nonexistent. The Herd did a better job of getting points on the board, hitting four field goals.
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| (19) East Carolina 33, Army 14 |
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39.8: Average length of Kevin Miller's four field goals for ECU, including a 52 yarder. |
| Player of the Game |
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David Garrard, QB, East Carolina. Continued his productive season, completing 24 of 34 passes for 300 yards.
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The Pirates improved to 5-0 for the first time since 1976 in another game away from home by putting points on the board when it mattered and containing Army's run game. The only down note was the performance of star RB Jamie Wilson, who finished with 19 yards on 10 carries.
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| Kentucky 31, (20) Arkansas 20 |
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97: Rushing yards allowed by Kentucky. |
| Player of the Game |
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Dusty Bonner, QB, Kentucky. Another big game for the Wildcats' latest QB hero, who threw four touchdown passes. |
| Breakdown |
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Bonner's performance stands out in the stats, but the real reason for Kentucky's upset was the surprising performance of its normally porous defense. Besides shutting down Arkansas' runners, it held dangerous receiver Anthony Lucas to 14 yards, had two interceptions, a fumble recovery and a blocked field goal.
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| (22) Syracuse 44, Tulane 17 |
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5: Syracuse interceptions of Tulane passers. |
| Player of the Game |
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Madei Williams, QB, Syracuse. May have finally distanced himself in Syracuse QB battle, going 9 of 15 for 168 yards. |
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The Orangemen secondary exceeded expectations against the Tulane aerial attack, with Green Wave QB Patrick Ramsey completing only 26 of 53 passes and throwing two balls into the hands of Syracuse S Ian McIntosh. Orange RB Dee Brown also ran for 79 yards.
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| Notre Dame 34, (23) Oklahoma 30 |
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19:19 Oklahoma's time of possession, as Notre Dame ran the ball 56 times.
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| Player of the Game |
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Jarious Jackson, QB, Notre Dame. Had perhaps his best game yet, completing 15 of 21 passes for 276 yards and rushing for 107 yards. |
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This one was deceiving in that Notre Dame actually dominated the line of scrimmage and limited Sooners QB Josh Heupel to his lowest passing yardage of the year (168), yet the game went to the wire. The Irish ran the ball brilliantly, finishing with 284 yards, but OU benefited greatly from the school-record 229 return yards by Brandon Daniels.
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| Washington 34, (25) Oregon 20 |
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194: Washington's advantage in rushing yards for the game, as the Huskies ran for 256 yards on 57 carries, while the Ducks gained only 62 yards on the ground on 20 carries. |
| Player of the Game |
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Marques Tuiasosopo, QB, Washington. The junior signal caller completed 17-of-21 passes for 211 yards and three touchdowns. |
| Breakdown |
| Washington pulled the mild upset at home by playing error-free football against the Ducks. Tuiasosopo played well at quarterback after committing seven turnovers in his last two starts, and Willie Hurst gained 161 yards on 30 carries with one touchdown to help the Huskies down their rivals to the South. Washington beat Oregon for only the second time in the last six seasons, and got revenge for being knocked out of Rose Bowl contention each of the last two seasons by the Ducks.
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