On Saturday, Northwestern and Ohio State got brought back to reality. Alabama and Purdue, once left for dead, suddenly look as good as advertised. South Carolina and Oklahoma continued their meteoric rises. UCLA and USC continued their fall from glory.
Anyone watching a scoreboard would have been doing a lot of head-scratching Saturday, seeing two three-overtime games in the Pac-10, or Michgan's 58-0 slicing of Indiana, or Minnesota's upset of Purdue.
But the one with the most impact was Oklahoma's 41-31 victory over No. 2 Kansas State, the second straight impressive showing by the upstart Sooners.
| Week 8 Recaps |
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| (1) Nebraska 56, Texas Tech 3 |
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0-5: Texas Tech's all-time record against No. 1 teams. |
| Player of the Game |
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Eric Crouch, QB, Nebraska. Accounted for three first-half touchdowns to put the game away early.
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| CNNSI.com's Analysis |
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The Huskers won't have any worries about staying at No. 1 after this rout. A pair of Nebraska backs topped 100 yards: Dan Alexander with 120 and Correll Burkhalter with 113. Crouch chipped in 52 on the ground and 86 through the air as Nebraska shredded a Red Raider defense that had been allowing only 9.8 points per game. In the meantime, Tech quarterback Kliff Kingsbury threw for only 165 yards and couldn't find the end zone.
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| (8) Oklahoma 41, (2) Kansas State 31 |
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1-19: K-State's record against Top 10 opponents under Bill Snyder.
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| Player of the Game |
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Josh Heupel, QB, Oklahoma. Once again, superhuman numbers (29 of 37, 374 yards, 2 TDs) out of the Sooners' star. |
| CNNSI.com's Analysis |
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You got the feeling that most of the country was rooting against K-State, just to spite the Wildcats for their guaranteed-blowout schedule up to this point. And for most of the game, Heupel and the Sooners made the Wildcats look just plain mediocre. Jonathan Beasley was picked off twice and couldn't get his team on track until it was too late. It looked for a while like the Sooners might blow their 38-14 lead, but they managed to hang on, thanks to a great defensive play by corner Derrick Strait in the end zone with a minute to go.
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| (3) Virginia Tech 48, West Virginia 20 |
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504: Yards of total offense for the Hokies. |
| Player of the Game |
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Andre Davis, WR, Virginia Tech. Scored on a run, a reception and a punt return in amazing big-play showcase.
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| CNNSI.com's Analysis |
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For a while, this looked as if it would be another thriller, but the Hokies took care of that thought with a 27-point third quarter. Michael Vick was hounded by the Mountaineer defense in the first half, and WVU did a good job of keeping him under control, but you knew it wouldn't last. Surprisingly, it was Vick's arm rather than his legs that did most of the damage. He finally found Davis for some big passing plays that had been absent all year as Virginia Tech ran away with its latest win.
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| (5) Clemson 35, Maryland 14 |
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3: Interceptions by Clemson corner Alex Ardley, including one in the end zone.
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| Player of the Game |
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Travis Zachery, RB, Clemson Took a little bit -- just a little bit -- of Woody's thunder with 28 carries for 148 yards and 2 TDs. |
| CNNSI.com's Analysis |
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Well, it could have been a lot worse for the Terps. Woody Dantzler wasn't flat-out brilliant, but he made several outstanding plays and generally made sure Maryland would be in no position to close the gap on Clemson over the course of the game. The Tigers let Zachery pound away, sprinkling in passes from Dantzler to Rod Gardner for variety, and sealed this one pretty early. As for Maryland ... well, the Terps just aren't very good.
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| Minnesota 29, (6) Ohio State 17 |
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Game Recap
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39.3: Percent completed (11 of 28) by Ohio State QB Steve Bellisari.
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| Player of the Game |
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Travis Cole, QB, Minnesota. Completed 16 of 28 passes for 243 yards and 2 TDs, with no interceptions. |
| CNNSI.com's Analysis |
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Cole keeps getting better and better with each start, and the Gophers will ride him as long as they can. He and Tellis Redmon (118 yards rushing) moved the ball efficiently against Ohio State throughout the day. But the big story was Minnesota's defense, which hounded Bellisari and didn't allow the Buckeyes to get comfortable at any point. Ohio State didn't even turn the ball over, but the Gophers did enough to keep the Buckeyes out of the end zone.
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| (7) Florida State 63, Duke 14 |
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2 of 17: Blue Devils' third-down conversions.
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| Player of the Game |
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Chris Weinke, QB, Florida State. For the second straight week, he topped his career-best yardage total, this time with 536. He added 5 TDs ... and a victory. |
| CNNSI.com's Analysis |
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What did you expect? This one has been a rear end-whipping since the dawn of time, and there was no reason to expect this edition to be different, especially considering the Seminoles' loss last week. Weinke was Weinke -- though the Seminoles were lucky they didn't get him hurt by playing him into the fourth quarter. It was a good game for FSU's psyche, but little else.
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| (9) Oregon 28, USC 17 |
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8: Consecutive Pac-10 games won by the Ducks, the longest current streak in the conference.
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| Player of the Game |
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Joey Harrington, QB, Oregon. Had a career day with 382 yards and 4 TDs through the air. |
| CNNSI.com's Analysis |
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The Oregon machine just keeps picking up steam on the West Coast. Harrington was unstoppable, down to his touchdown pass to Justin Peelle with 1:10 remaining that iced the game. Meanwhile, Maurice Morris pounded away on 32 carries for 85 yards, eating up a little bit of clock for the Ducks. The only positive for USC was a big game from Sultan McCullough for the first time since the opener. The back ran for 152 yards and a TD, but it wasn't enough.
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| (10) Florida 38, (19) Auburn 7 |
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41: Difference in total yards between the teams -- too bad Auburn couldn't score.
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| Player of the Game |
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Rex Grossman, QB, Florida. Throwing for 5 TDs in a big SEC win is a nice way to pick up some job security. |
| CNNSI.com's Analysis |
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What a difference a couple of weeks can make. Remember when Auburn was everyone's SEC favorite, while at the same time wondering what had happened to mighty Florida? Suddenly, Auburn can't move the ball and is in a tailspin, while the Gators have outscored their last two opponents 79-16. Grossman was unstoppable, and his counterpart Ben Leard hardly looked like the QB he was at the end of last season. Auburn needs to pick it up pretty quickly if it wants to remain a factor in the SEC West.
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| California 46, (13) UCLA 38, 3OT |
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Game Recap
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3: Touchdowns by Cal running back Joe Igber, including the game-winner in overtime.
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| Player of the Game |
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Kyle Boller, QB, California. He made the passes he did complete (16 of 34) count, throwing for 252 yards and 3 TDs. |
| CNNSI.com's Analysis |
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Now here's a prototypical Pac-10 showdown. The Bruins made a nice comeback from a two-touchdown deficit in the fourth quarter, but how did they get that far behind against the Bears in the first place? Boller managed to put points on the board for Cal, and UCLA couldn't get enough done early in the game to keep it close. By the time Cory Paus got his arm warmed up in the second half, it was all the Bruins could do just to get the game to overtime.
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| (14) Georgia 29, Vanderbilt 19 |
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4: Turnovers for Vanderbilt (3 interceptions, 1 fumble), which also had a PAT and field goal blocked. |
| Player of the Game |
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Tim Wansley, CB, Georgia. Returned a blocked PAT for two points, then ran back an interception for a TD. |
| CNNSI.com's Analysis |
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Georgia's defense gave up more yards than it had in any game all season, and allowed Greg Zolman to throw at will. Despite that, and Georgia's offensive struggles, the Bulldog defense managed to generate big plays to keep the Commodores from reaching the end zone a few more times -- as they should have. The biggest concern for Georgia is a shoulder injury that knocked out QB Quincy Carter in the fourth quarter. If it's serious, the Bulldogs are in big trouble.
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| (16) Southern Miss 56, Tulane 24 |
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3: Turnovers by Tulane QB Patrick Ramsey, a pair of interceptions and one fumble.
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| Player of the Game |
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Dawayne Woods, RB, Southern Miss. Picked up 143 yards and scored three times.
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| CNNSI.com's Analysis |
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Southern Miss finally let its offense hang out a bit, putting up some big numbers behind Woods and QB Jeff Kelly. Defensively, it was more of the same -- the Golden Eagles dominated most of the way, with star corner Leo Barnes picking off a couple of passes and returning one for a touchdown. This clearly isn't the same Tulane team that went unbeaten a couple of years back, but Southern Miss will still take this win on the road.
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| (21) Purdue 41, (17) Northwestern 28 |
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Game Recap
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55: Rushing yards for Northwestern's Damien Anderson, 120 below his average.
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| Player of the Game |
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Drew Brees, QB, Purdue. Continued to rebuild his reputation with 239 yards and 5 TDs.
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| CNNSI.com's Analysis |
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Northwestern looked like it would continue what it has done all year, scoring on its first two possessions of the game, but after that outburst, the Boilermakers ran away with it. Brees turned in his second outstanding big-game performance in a row, slicing up the Wildcat defense that has been Northwestern's only weak link. At the same time, Purdue managed to keep Anderson as contained as anyone has all year, and that was enough to thwart any late attempts at a comeback by the Wildcats.
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| (18) Michigan 58, Indiana 0 |
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562: Total yards for the Wolverines, who held Indiana to 186.
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| Player of the Game |
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Drew Henson, QB, Michigan. Wickedly efficient, hitting 14 of 18 passes for 233 yards and 2 TDs with no interceptions.
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| CNNSI.com's Analysis |
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On a wild day in the Big Ten, the Wolverines kept pace and then some with a blowout of the Hoosiers on homecoming. Michigan exploded for 35 points in the second quarter behind its Big Three -- Henson, Anthony Thomas and David Terrell. On the other side of the ball, Antwaan Randle El was horrible, completing only 13 of 27. If nothing else, this will help Michigan feel better in the wake of last week's loss to Purdue.
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| (20) Notre Dame 45, Navy 14 |
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Game Recap
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38: Points by the Irish before Navy got on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter.
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| Player of the Game |
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Tony Driver, FS, Notre Dame. Returned a pair of fumbles for touchdowns in the first quarter. |
| CNNSI.com's Analysis |
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The Irish knew this one would be easy (they've now won 37 straight in the series), but Driver's defensive work in the opening 15 minutes quickly turned it into a joke. After that, it was up to Julius Jones (105 yards) and Matt LoVecchio (13 of 20, 183 yards) to basically not make mistakes. LoVecchio was picked off once, but it didn't hurt the Irish in this runaway.
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| (23) Oregon State 38, Stanford 6 |
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172: Combined yardage of Oregon State QB Jonathan Smith's two TD passes -- one 75-yarder, one 97-yarder.
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| Player of the Game |
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T.J. Houshmandzadeh, WR, Oregon State. Caught 5 passes for 109 yards and a TD ... and makes you wonder what the "T.J." stands for.
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| CNNSI.com's Analysis |
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Oregon State gets more impressive with each week. This one was ugly, a blowout all the way, but the stadium in Corvallis was basically full and loud until the end. Smith made the big plays for the Beavers on this day, with Ken Simonton reduced to supporting-cast status after a rare day below 100 yards rushing. Not that the Beavers needed it. Stanford's got some problems.
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| (24) South Carolina 27, Arkansas 7 |
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4: Games of 100 rushing yards or more for the Gamecocks' Derek Watson this season.
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| Player of Game |
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Phil Petty, QB, South Carolina. Finally healthy again, completed 12 of 21 passes for 170 yards and two scores. |
| CNNSI.com's Analysis |
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This is still pretty hard to believe, isn't it? The Gamecocks are bowl bound after entering the season with a 21-game losing streak. Petty was solid throughout, even though it took the Gamecocks a while to get things going offensively. Watson was his usual self, with a beautiful 68-yard scoring run highlighting his 136 yards on the ground. Arkansas, meanwhile, is in danger of a nosedive after a strong start. The Hogs are 1-2 in the conference and travel to Auburn for their next game.
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| (25) Texas 28, Colorado 14 |
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Game Recap
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4: Consecutive home losses for Colorado for the first time since 1980.
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| Player of the Game |
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Major Applewhite, QB, Texas. Had the solid day he needed, throwing 3 TD passes. |
| CNNSI.com's Analysis |
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It wasn't the prettiest victory ever for Texas, but any 'W' was welcome after last week's catastrophe in Dallas. Applewhite and the rest of the team got a much-needed confidence boost against the Buffaloes, who have played a brutal schedule but simply haven't been able to break through. Applewhite was named the starter entering the game and came through, connecting with Roy Williams twice for scores. Texas might not be completely back on track, but this is a start.
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| (11) Washington 21, Arizona State
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Game Recap
Game Summary
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15-of-46: Horrific passing line for ASU's Griffin Goodman and Jeff Krohn, who also threw two INTs. |
| Player of the Game |
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Rich Alexis, RB, Washington. Freshman ran for personal-best 127 yards and two key touchdowns.
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| CNNSI.com's Analysis |
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What happens when a team loses five fumbles, has
a field goal blocked and gets called for a safety on a
holding penalty in its own end zone? In Washington's case, win. After Alexis scored on an 86-yard run early in the fourth quarter, Washington nearly blew a 21-6 lead before clamping down late.
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| (22) Arizona 53, Washington State 47 (3OT) |
| Recap |
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Game Recap
Game Summary
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131: Consecutive passes without an interception for WSU's Jason Gesser before throwing two in his final six attempts. |
| Player of the Game |
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Antonio Pierce, LB, Arizona. Picked off Gesser's pass in the third overtime to mercifully end things. |
| CNNSI.com's Analysis |
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In a wild, wild game, both offenses played the games of their lives till the very end. Gesser's six touchdown passes kept the ever-improving Cougars in the upset hunt, while the combo of QB Ortege Jenkins (297 total yards) and RB Leo Mills (19 carries, 129 yards) was deadly for the Wildcats. Amazingly, the Cougars had a chance to win going into their final drive after stopping Arizona's two-point conversion attempt on the first possession of the third overtime, but Pierce's interception officially ended the contest.
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